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Fifty young people were presented with prestidious Gaisce Gold Awards by President Mary McAleese, in Dublin Castle, at a special ceremony on Monday last.
The President’s Award Programme, which currently enjoys its 25th year in existence, honours young achievers in four named categories: Personal Skills Development, Community Involvement, Adventurous Expedition, Physical Recreation, and medals are awarded to individuals who achieve their agreed goals in all four of these categories.
The fifty men and women honoured at yesterday’s ceremony included three recipients from Co. Tipperary. These Tipperary recipients are named as Zoë Murphy a native of Clonmel, Co Tipperary, Ciara O’Meara, Borrisokane, Co Tipperary and Clodagh Joyce, also from Clonmel, Co Tipperary.
Commenting on the wide variety of achievements and experiences celebrated by this years Awards Ceremony, President McAleese , pointing out that the very heart of the Gaisce Programme, was the choice, by this years contenders, to not wait for life to grab them, but instead to have choosen to go out and grab life.
President McAleese stated:
“Your achievements were not merely a series of gratifying experiences, but are ones that have deepened you, sharpened you and changed you quite profoundly. Your imprint of the Gaisce Gold Award on your Curriculum Vitaes should signal to college applications officers, recruiters and employers that you are people of initiative, showing leadership, dynamism and self-discipline. It may well open doors to you in these early days of your adult lives and careers, but the imprint of Gaisce Gold on your future lives will reveal itself over your span of many years. It will have helped awaken in you a determination to be considerably more than a mere spectator on the sidelines of life. You have put down a marker here today, that you are now what you intend always to be, active contributors to your own lives, to your community and to our society as a whole.”
The Gaisce Awards are non-competitive and are presented at three separate levels, namely Bronze, Silver and Gold each year. Gaisce Gold Awards are affectionally known as ‘Goldies’ and all entrants must successfully complete agreed tasks, decided between the participant and a President Award Leader (PAL) volunteer.
A record number of nearly 17,000 young people, between the ages of 15 and 25, fully participated in the Gaisce Award programme last year.
 Thurles C.B.S. Visit Dáil Eireann Pictured here are Transition Year students from Thurles C.B.S School who took time off to visit Dáil Eireann last Wednesday.
Here they were met by North Tipperary Fine Gael Deputy, Noel Coonan and Dáil Eireann tour guides who took the pupils first to the Chamber’s Public Gallery.
At the time of visiting, Leader’s Questions were taking place and the students witnessed at first hand a heated debate across the floor between Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny and An Taoiseach Brian Cowen regarding the Government’s reshuffle the day previous.
Students stayed in the gallery for some twenty minutes before continuing their tour, which included the viewing of paintings of previous, now famous, Government leaders. They were informed of how the Dáil and Seanad operate and the important roles that each play in Irish democracy.
The tour guides then escorted the students through Leinster House, an historic building originally built between 1745 -1747 by the Earl of Kildare, James Fitzgerald, and then it was on to Seanad Éireann.
Following a tour of the Seanad the group was brought for a snack courtesy of Deputy Coonan, who then addressed the students and teachers outlining how the Fine Gael party is eager for responsibility in Government to implement their many effective and costed policies which would lead to a fairer and more balanced economy.
Noel thanked the students for coming to Leinster House and paused for a picture with the group on the plinth before they left.
Feedback from the students later declared the event a most positive experience.
Last week the Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe announced that refurbishment work at Nenagh Vocational School can now go to tender and construction.
Other school projects authorised to prepare tender documents include Borrisokane Vocational School, Ursuline Convent, Thurles and Scoil Mhuire Presentations Secondary School, Thurles. The Sacred Heart Convent in Roscrea has been authorised to appoint a design team in quarter three.
North Tipperary Deputy Noel Coonan has welcomed the recent announcement but said there is long way to go with 36 schools still waiting for their projects to advance.
He stated:
 “There are 41 schools in North Tipperary that have made applications for major capital building works to the Department of Education. Five of these projects will now advance to the next stage as announced by Minister Batt O’Keeffe but it is my role in opposition to highlight the needs of the remaining schools and ensure Government Deputies in North Tipperary honour commitments made. The urgency of the situation cannot be underestimated with only five out of 41 schools, or 12%, moving to the next stage in North Tipperary. With new applications continuously being submitted to the Department of Education, this Government has a long way to go and supporting Deputies should not be blowing their own trumpets just yet.
I am continuously submitting parliamentary questions to the Minister for Educations to find out when local school projects will be advanced. In return the Minister replies that ‘in view of the level of demand on the Department’s capital budget, it is not possible to give an indicative time frame for the progression of individual school projects at this time’. This reply is unacceptable when it is the education of the children of our nation that is suffering. “
Individual school projects fall under four band ratings, each of which describes the extent of accommodation required and the urgency attaching to it.
Band One has the highest priority rating and Band Four has the lowest rating.
Boher NS Ballina, St.Anne’s Special School, Roscrea and Templemore NS, are of high priority with a band rating of One. These schools have applied for extension and refurbishment works with Boher NS urgently waiting on a Special Needs Unit.
Meanwhile, 22 North Tipperary schools are in the Band Two rating. Some of the schools waiting include Our Lady’s Secondary School, Templemore which is in early architectural planning for an extension, Scoil Ruaine, Killenaule which has an application for a PE Hall and Cloughjordan No 1 NS which has an application for refurbishment works. St.Joseph’s College in Newport have made an application for an extension and it too has been waiting patiently.
Seven projects have a band rating of Three and three projects have a band rating of Four.
 Ursuline Convent Thurles, Co Tipp The Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD, today [Tuesday] announced details of 52 school building projects which can now go to tender and construction as part of the Government’s €579 million school building programme.
Five North Tipperary schools are named, which had been earlier sanctioned to further progress their building work.
The schools named are Ursuline Convent, Thurles, – Nenagh VEC, – Borrisokane College, – Presentation Convent, Thurles and the Sacred Heart Primary School in Roscrea.
Borrisokane will also receive funds for a ‘Special Needs Autism Unit’. This unit is designed to compliment as a second level outlet to the recently announced special needs unit in Puckane National School.
Last year, over 32 large-scale projects in primary and post-primary schools were completed.
The Government’s capital programme for schools and colleges this year are forecast to create 7,300 jobs in the construction industry. (Well that’s according to the Minister for Education and Science.)
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‘Last year 967 schools benefited from small-scale projects undertaken under the Summer Works Scheme, while 1,700 schools received the go-ahead to carry out works under the Energy Efficiency Scheme,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.
These projects nationally are expected to create 23,000 new school places for children, through the building of 20 new schools and extensions.
Presented by Teagasc and the Irish Bioenergy Association, the National Bio-Energy Conference 2010 will take place at the Tipperary Institute (TI) in Thurles on the 18th February 2010.
 Teagasc and IrBEA The theme of the 2010 Conference – ‘Developing and Financing Bio-energy‘ – is appropriate, given the challenges currently faced at the different stages of developing a bio-energy project.
The line-up of expert panel speakers, will see bio-energy business developers tell the story behind their respective projects, whether this be based on wood energy, cereal crops or bio-fuels.
This conference is of interest to a broad audience including, farmers/landowners, consumers with large energy requirements, project developers, policy makers/regulators, legal advisers/consultants, business analysts/planners, economists/financial advisers technical/engineering managers, finance directors/financial controllers and finally energy purchasers/facilities managers.
Attendance fees include lunch and refreshments served during the conference.
Conference Fee: (For IrBEA and Teagasc members) – €50 .
Conference Fee: (For non-IrBEA and Teagasc members, and delegates registering on the day) – €100 .
To download the Conference brochure and to reserve a place at this Conference – Click Here
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