Podcasts about HSE

HSE Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown joins the podcast for a candid look at the financial challenges facing the Hamilton Southeastern School District. We dig into the district's overall budget picture, declining enrollment, and Senate Enrolled Act 1 — the 2025 Indiana property tax law reshaping how schools are funded. Brown also breaks down the district's budget-cutting committee and roughly $7.8 million in identified reductions, new fees coming for the 2026-2027 school year, and the operating referendum headed to voters on the November 3 ballot. Essential listening for HSE parents, taxpayers, and anyone following local school finances.

The HSE got confirmation on Friday that the Health Information and Quality Authority will register the new Killarney Community Nursing Unit from today. HSE South West hopes a phased transfer to the new unit will begin on July 13th, pending the outcome of a ballot by INMO. Jerry spoke to Kathryn Courtney of the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation.

BACK on Air is the podcast for operators who have compliance on their mind and road transport at the heart of their business.This podcast is a recording of our live fortnightly webinar held every other Friday. So, if you like what you hear and fancy joining the live event – where you can ask questions and vote in our interactive polls – you can register here: https://backhousejones.co.uk/free-webinar/In this episode, we take a look at recent issues arising from inquests, investigations, and operator responsibilities, with a particular focus on where health and safety law intersects with transport operations.From prevention of future deaths reports through to RIDDOR reporting and the practical realities of managing risk across bus, coach, and road transport operations, this session explores what operators need to be aware of in today's regulatory environment.We explore:Inquests and Prevention of Future Deaths reports – what they are, what they mean for operators, and the practical steps businesses should consider in responseWhere health and safety law meets road traffic incidents – understanding when the HSE has jurisdiction and how investigations may overlapBus and coach operations – a practical discussion on managing situations involving unwell passengers and associated operational challengesRIDDOR reporting requirements – clarifying when incidents are reportable and what this means in practice for operatorsManaging risks associated with self-employed drivers – key considerations for oversight, responsibility, and practical risk management approachesThis session is packed with practical guidance and real-world insight to help operators navigate complex regulatory boundaries and strengthen day-to-day operational compliance.This podcast is correct at the time of broadcast and is not a substitute for tailored legal advice. If you need specific help, please seek professional legal guidance.Like the episode? Leave us a review and tell us what you'd like us to cover next – we read every one, and your feedback helps others find us.Contact: marketing@backhouses.co.ukwww.backhousejones.co.uk

Health Correspondent, Fergal Bowers reports on an internal HSE audit into the implementation of the public-only consultant contract.

Damien McCallion, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer at the HSE joins Jess to explain the functionality of the new HSE Health app and how it helps both the patients and the system.

For this week's Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk's Technology Correspondent joins Ciara to discuss the new update for the HSE health app, and what it means for you.

In this episode of the HSE Talking Health and Wellbeing podcast, we welcome award-winning writer, poet, and mental health advocate, Daragh Fleming, for an open and thoughtful conversation about men's mental health and healthy masculinity. Daragh shares his personal journey through depression, grief, and unhealthy coping mechanisms, exploring how poetry helped him reconnect with his emotions. He challenges rigid ideas of masculinity, encourages men to break away from traditional ideas of what it means to be a man, and highlights the value of creativity in emotional wellbeing. The episode highlights the free counselling and mental health supports available for men through the HSE,  insightful for anyone interested in or concerned about men's mental health. For more information on men's mental health supports go to: https://www2.hse.ie/mental-health/services-support/men/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23016926794&gbraid=0AAAAADtFcVUGKeuTc4JdAQvcaIZs3cuxF&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXawgt7h3mY8ectUZR8PnRhwNqscV6UsscJdn0EG1LkP0wgXqHtPqiQaAvO2EALw_wcB#connect-counsellings-phone-service-for-men   Produced by GKMedia.ie

This bonus episode of Rethinking EHS, Season 3 focuses on the invisible cultural factors that shape organisational risk and safety performance. The discussion highlights how companies can have strong procedures, audits, and compliance systems in place while still experiencing serious incidents because underlying cultural issues remain unresolved. Through real-world examples, the episode explores how communication breakdowns, siloed decision-making, and inconsistent leadership behaviours can undermine even the most mature EHS programs. Ultimately, the episode underscores that strong safety culture requires more than documentation and compliance — it depends on leadership alignment, open communication, consistent behaviours, and a long-term investment in people. Guest quotes: Alizabeth Smith: “The risk they hadn't controlled, the risk they hadn't looked at, was cultural.” Alizabeth Smith: “If you don't deal with communication and consistency, people start believing the program will change in six months anyway.” Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Introduction to cultural risk management  00:00:33 – Case study: when strong systems still failed  00:01:25 – Identifying cultural breakdowns and lack of trust  00:02:46 – Communication silos in large organisations  00:03:55 – Building a global risk register and consistent controls  00:05:00 – Why onboarding and training often fall short  00:06:09 – Wearables, micro-training, and new approaches to engagement  00:07:27 – Executive incentives and unintended reporting behaviours  00:09:39 – Leading indicators versus lagging indicators  00:11:44 – Case study: transforming culture in a global manufacturing company  00:15:04 – Developing future EHS leadership internally  00:15:51 – Closing reflections  Sponsor Copy Rethinking EHS is brought to you by the Inogen Alliance. Inogen Alliance is a global network of 70+ companies providing environment, health, safety, and sustainability services, working together to provide one point of contact to guide multinational organizations to meet their global commitments locally. Visit inogenalliance.com to learn more. Links https://Inogenalliance.com/resources  https://Inogenalliance.com/podcast  Keith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-knoke-27587a7  Alizabeth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alizabeth-aramowicz-smith-61618615/  Produced by https://madcontent.co.nz/

Naomi James (38) was pregnant with her fourth child when, disillusioned with Ireland's maternity services, she chose to give birth at home without medical assistance.Shortly after her baby was born at home in Drogheda in June 2024, she became ill and was taken to hospital, where she died.Naomi was just one of an unknown but growing number of women in Ireland who opt for a free birth, – to have their babies without a midwife or doctor present.Such is the concern over free births that the State's directors of midwifery have warned the HSE that such births are linked with “perinatal and maternal mortality and severe morbidity”.So what is driving this choice? How are home births different from free births? What role do online free birth influencers play in this dangerous movement? And how has Naomi's family coped since her tragic death?Irish Times reporter Ellen Coyne investigated free births in Ireland, and the people advocating them.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jerry spoke to Kathryn Courtney, Industrial Relations Executive with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. The INMO has served a notice of industrial action on the HSE over proposed staffing levels at the Killarney Community Nursing Unit, which has yet to open.

Today is the deadline for the Rotunda Hospital to provide the HSE with an audit of all private work being carried out by consultants on public only contracts in the hospital. It follows revelations at an Oireachtas committee last week that this practice is continuing despite a direction it was to stop. Anton discusses further with Joe Neville, Fine Gael TD for Kildare North.

The board of the Rotunda has until close of business today to give the HSE a list of public-only consultants who have been given permission to continue providing private practice at the maternity hospital.It comes after the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill turned down an invitation for a meeting with the board of the hospital, with the Department of Health saying no such meeting would be agreed to until the Rotunda backed down.For more on this, Shane is joined by Priscilla Lynch, Clinical Editor with the Medical Independent and Brenda Power, Columnist with The Irish Independent.

Today is the deadline for the Rotunda Hospital to provide the HSE with an audit of all private work being carried out by consultants on public only contracts in the hospital. It follows revelations at an Oireachtas committee last week that this practice is continuing despite a direction it was to stop. Anton discusses further with Joe Neville, Fine Gael TD for Kildare North.

Tomorrow is the deadline set by Health Minister Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill for the Rotunda Maternity Hospital to provide the HSE with an audit of the private work being carried out by consultants on public-only contracts. Paul was joined by David Cullinane, Sinn Féin's health spokesperson and one of the party's two TDs in Waterford.

Yesterday, board members of the Rotunda Hospital defied the Health minster by refusing to accept a government order to halt public-only consultants caring for private patients. The number of consultant obstetricians on public contracts at the hospitals is small, but it is reported that the hospital wishes to make a stand as a matter of principle. The dispute could see HSE funding for the rotunda withdrawn. Joining Pat for more on this was Dr Peter Boylan, former master of the National Maternity Hospital and former chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Marie Sherlock, Labour Party health spokesperson, discusses HSE data which shows 5,500 more people were hospitalised following road traffic incidents over almost a decade when compared to Gardai/RSA serious injuries figures.

Brenda Power, columnist with the Sunday Independent and Irish Daily Mail; Tony O'Brien, former Director General of the HSE; Phil Ní Sheaghadh, General Secretary of the INMO; Cian O'Carroll, solicitor who specialises in medical negligence

HSE national clinical lead on addiction Professor Eamon Keenan has warned an influx of synthetic cannabis products is causing more individuals to present with mental health problems. We discussed this issue further withJo-hanna Ivers, Professor of Addiction at School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin.

HSE national clinical lead on addiction Professor Eamon Keenan has warned an influx of synthetic cannabis products is causing more individuals to present with mental health problems. We discussed this issue further withJo-hanna Ivers, Professor of Addiction at School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin.

The HSE has apologised unreservedly for the ‘deficits in care' which it said culminated in the untimely and tragic death of a 25-year-old woman, Maxine Maguire in February 2017. For more on this our Health Correspondent, Fergal Bowers.

Clare's Opposition TD says the Government is taking advantage of the good will of ordinary people when it comes to home care support. Data provided by the HSE to Shannon Sinn Féin Deputy Donna McGettigan shows 314 people in Clare are currently waiting for home care support, up from 304, 18 months ago. This amounts to 1,871 of home care hours. Deputy McGettigan says it's an indictment of the State.

It's being argued a new analysis of healthcare data points to decades of underinvestment in healthcare in the midwest. The Friends of Ennis Hospital group has completed a comparative analysis of Ireland's major Model 4 hospitals using HSE workforce, activity and capacity data. Among the findings are that University Hospital Limerick has had the highest emergency department attendances, emergency admissions and admissions per acute bed and per consultant so far this year. Friends of Ennis Hospital spokesperson Angela Coll says staff at the region's main hospital are under undue pressure due to the inadequate allocation of resources.

The new HSE protocol hopes to tackle long waiting lists for Assessments of Need (AON) for autistic people. However, The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has “several significant concerns” and will not endorse the new protocol in place.Joining Shane to discuss this is Dr Patricia Byrne from the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland.

Pete Andrews from EchoBolt joins to discuss ultrasonic bolt inspection, the Bolt Wave device, and blade stud defect detection. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining light on wind. Energy’s brightest innovators. This is the Progress Powering tomorrow. Pete Andrews: Pete, welcome to the program. Good to be back. Yeah. See you face to face. Yeah. Yes. This is wonderful. It’s a really great event to catch it with loads of the. UK innovation that are happening in the supply chain. So it’s, yeah, really nice to be here.  Allen Hall: This is really good to meet in person because we have seen a lot of bolt issues in the us, Canada, Australia, yeah. Uh, all around the world and every time bolt problems come up, I say, have you called Pete Andrews and Echo Bolt and gotten the kit to detect bolt issues? And then who’s Pete? Give me Pete’s phone number. Okay, sure. Uh, but now that we’re here in person, a lot has changed since we first talked to you probably two years ago.[00:01:00] You’re a bootstrap company based in the UK that has global presence, and I, I think it’s a good start to explain what the technology is and why Echo Bolt matters so much in today’s world.  Pete Andrews: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, as you said, we’re a uk, um, SME, there’s a team of 13 of us based here in the uk. Yeah. But we do deliver our services internationally, but really focused on Northern Europe. Yeah. But increasingly we’ve done more in the US and North America, a little bit in Canada. Um, but our big offering really is to help wind turbine operators and owners reduce the need to routinely retire in bulks. So we have a quick and simple inspection technology that people can deploy, find out the status of their bolt connections, and then. Reti them if necessary, but the vast majority of the time we find that they’re static and absolutely fine and can be left [00:02:00] alone. So it’s a real big efficiency boost for wind operators.  Joel Saxum: Well, you’re doing things by prescription now, right? Instead of just blanket cover, we’re gonna do all of this. It’s like, let’s work on the ones that actually need to be worked on. Let’s do the, the work that we actually need to, and instead of lugging, like we’re looking at the kit right here, and I can, you can hold the case in one hand, let alone the tools in a couple of fingers. As opposed to torque tensioning tools that are this big, they weigh a hundred kilos, and those come with all of their own problems. So I know that you guys said you’re, you’re focused here. You do a lot of work, um, in the offshore wind world as well. Yeah. I mean, offshore wind is where you add a zero right? To zeros. Yeah. Everything else is that much more complicated. It costs that much more. It’s you’re transitioning people offshore to the transition pieces. Like there’s so much more HSE risk, dollar risk, all of these different spend things. So. The Echo Bolt systems, these different tools that you have being developed and utilized here first make absolute sense, but now you guys are starting to go to onshore as well.  Pete Andrews: Yeah, that’s right. So I mean, as as you said, that there’s really [00:03:00] three main benefit areas we focus on. The first one is the health and safety of technicians, right? As you said, some of the fasteners used offshore now are up to MA hundred. So a hundred millimeter diameter bolts,  Joel Saxum: four inches for our American friends. Yeah, absolutely.  Pete Andrews: And they probably weigh. 30 kilos plus per bolt. Yeah. Um, so just the physical manual handling of that sort of equipment and the tightening equipment for those bolts is a huge risk for people. If you think 150 bolts lifting or maneuvering, the tooling around on on its own can cause all the problems. So as well as the inherent risk of the hydraulic kit failing. So occasionally we see catastrophic tool failure. Is, which have really high potential severity, you know, sort of tensioner heads ejecting or crush injuries from Tor. So that is really a key focus for our customers, just to [00:04:00] keep their teams safe, but also you have to be the cost effective and the the major cost benefit we allow is that we don’t have to revisit every bolt and every turbine like you’d have to do if you were retyping. So we believe there’s something of the order of a million pounds per installed gigawatt saving. By moving from a routine REIT uh, maintenance strategy to a focused condition based inspection, you significantly reduce the amount of intervention you make and keep your turbines running more and reduce the boots on the ground on the turbine. So three real kind of, um, key. Benefits for people adopting our technology  Allen Hall: because we routinely see tower bolts being reworked or retention depending on who the manufacturer is. And I’m watching this go on. I’m like, why are [00:05:00] we doing this? It seems, or the 10% rule, we’re tighten 10% this year, and they’ll come back and see how it’s going. That’s a little insane, right, because you’re just kind of. Tensioning bolts up to see if one of them has a problem and then you just do more of them and we’re wasting so much time because echo bolts figured this out years ago. You don’t need to do that. You can tell what the tension is in a bolt ultrasonically, which was the original technology, the first gen I’ll call it, uh, that you could tell the length of the bolt. If the length of the bolt is correct within certain parameters, you know that it is tension properly. If it’s shrunk, that probably means it’s not tensioned properly. That’s a huge advantage because you can’t physically see it. And I know I’ve seen technicians go, oh, I could take a hammer and I can tell you which ones are not tensioned properly wrong. Wrong. And I think that’s where equitable comes in because you’re actually applying a a lot of science simply [00:06:00] to a complex problem because the numbers are so big. Pete Andrews: Yeah, I mean that, that, that’s been the real. Driving force between our offering is to simplify it. So ultimately we’re based on a non-destructive testing technique. It’s an ultrasonic thickness checking technique, but when from the non-destructive testing background, it’s crack detection, people have time, they can be, it’s a very precision measurement. People have to be trained in the wind industry. We’re trying to inspect. A thousand, 2000 bolts a day at scale. It’s a completely different, um, ask of the technology and the way the technology has been developed historically has required too much technician expertise, too much configuration and set up time, and hasn’t delivered on the, on the speed that’s needed to be efficient in wind. And that’s where our bolt wave [00:07:00] unit we’ve, that we’ve developed over the last. 18 months, let’s say, where all of our focus has gone to make it as slick and as easy for a client technician to pick up with minimal training. It’s through an iOS interface. Everyone understands it intuitively. Um, it’s a bit like using the camera app on your phone. You know, you’re just hitting measure, measure, measure, measure, measure 10 seconds a bolt as you move the, um, ultrasonic transducer across, and then the data gets moved. Automatically to the cloud, to our bolt platform. And customers can view it in near real time. The engineer in the office can see the inspections happened. They can see if there are any anomalous bolts, and then there can be communication there and then whether an intervention is necessary. So it’s sort of really changed the way our customers think about managing their, um. They’re bolted joints.  Joel Saxum: Well, I think these are, these are the kind of innovations that we love to see, right? Because [00:08:00] we regularly talk about a shortage of technicians, and this isn’t, I was just learning this this week too, like this is not a wind problem. This is a everywhere problem. No matter what industry you’re in. Use are short of technicians. But we’re seeing like a tool like this is developed to be able to scale that workforce as well. Right. You don’t need to be an NDT level three expert to go and do these things. ’cause there’s a very few of those people out there. Right? Right. We know the NDT people, a lot of NDT people, and that’s a hard skillset to come by. Yeah. This can be put in the hands of any technician. Yeah, a quick training course. Just, Hey, this is how you use your iPhone. You can check Instagram, right? Yeah. Okay. You can off figure. Yeah, have fun. See you at lunch. Um, but they can, they can make this happen, right? They can go do these inspections and you’re getting that, that, uh, data collected in the field. Centralized back to an SME that’s looking at it and you don’t have to put that SME in the field and try to scale their ability to go and travel and do all these things. They can be in the office making sure that the, the QA, QC is done correctly. I love it. I think that that’s the way we need to go with a lot of things. [00:09:00]Uh, and you’re making it happen.  Pete Andrews: Yeah. And it’s a real kind of. F change in mindset for us. So originally when we started Ebot, we were using third party hardware. Yeah. Which required a bit of that specialism. Yeah. A bit of care about the setup of the project, getting multiple parameters configured before you got going. And it wasn’t really something we could put in the hands of a customer.  Joel Saxum: Yeah.  Pete Andrews: Which meant Ebot scale was limited to what our own team could go and do, and regionally as well. You know, so we’re UK based. Probably 60% of our customers are uk, but now we have this Northern Europe offshore wind is obviously on our doorstep, but then increasingly we’ve done more and more in North America, so we’ve probably been to five or six sites now in North America and expect that to be a growth market because we can, we can now ship the devices over there, give some virtual training help. Uh, [00:10:00] people set themselves up and then that opens up that market, you know, so it’s been a real change in strategy for us, but has allowed us to have far more impact than we otherwise would just try to be a pure service.  Allen Hall: Well, let’s talk about the big problem in the states of a minute, which are the root bushing or inserts that are loose in some blades. When you lose that pushing, you also lose the tension on the bolt that can be measured. Is that something you’re getting involved with quite a bit now because of just trying to determine how many bolts are affected and, and where we are on the safety scale of can we run this turbine or not? Is that something that EE bolt’s been looking into? Pete Andrews: Yeah, absolutely. So I, I’d say there’s sort of two halves of what we do. There’s the, there’s the bulk wholesale monitoring of. Typically static connections to eliminate this routine retitling where it’s not needed typically, typically. But then we have these edge cases of certain [00:11:00] connections and certain platforms that have known bolt integrity problems, and we are working with clients to really, um, manage those integrity risks. Blade stud is an absolute classic, you know, sort of, I think almost every turbine OEM on some, if not all of their platforms has got. Embedded risk into their blades, pitch bearing connections. Um, so yeah, exactly as you said, our customers are using the technology for two things really. One is to ensure the bolts have been tightened to the preload that was specified or the target window. And quite often we find there is an opportunity to increase the preload and therefore increase the resistance to fatigue failure. So. You know, particularly on older sites where the bolts perhaps not in the condition they were on day one. Well, they definitely won’t be. Um, when people have gone and retti them, they haven’t got back to where they, they should be.[00:12:00] So we can prove that and increase a bit of that resilience, but then also start to look for the segments around the joint where, um, the bolt might start loosening or failures are occurring, and find areas where they can really hone in. And actively manage risk. And that sort of leads to what we’ve decided to do for the next year, particularly with Blade Stud in mind, is evolve this technology. So whilst it’s also measuring the elongation, we will do a defect scan at the same time. So you’ll monitor your blade stu, um, connection and we’re hoping that we can set the device to flag to you there and then. We believe this bulk has got a defect while you’re here, get it changed out before it fails and, and all the knock on problems, um, from there. Joel Saxum: So what you’re just pointing to there is a, is a workflow, right? So to me that is typical [00:13:00] of some of the amazing, innovative companies in the UK that I’ve run into throughout my career. And that is, you’re a group of SMEs, you know, bolted connections. That’s what you do, right? But then you’re like, hey. If there’s a tool, we could make a tool that would make our lives a bit easier, then it’s like, well, we could make the entire industry’s lives a little bit easier as well. So let’s iterate on that. And now you’re able to send these kits around the world to look at these things. Hey, you have a problem with this specific model. We can help you with this because we know the failure mode and we know how to look for it. Let’s do that for you. Also here, you’re doing bolt bulk measurements. We got that for you. But it all kind of flows back to the fact that Echo Bolt is a team. A bolted connection, SMEs that are making tools and being able to also provide consulting if need be. Yeah. Right. Um, to, to an entire industry. And I think that, um, this is my take on it, right? Wind is stop number one. I think you guys are gonna do a fantastic year, but there’s a lot of, uh, opportunity out there in bolted [00:14:00] connections as well. Allen Hall: A tremendous amount blade bolts being broken from defects in the crystalline structure. What appears to be a more. Rapidly developing issue across fleets that I’ve seen. I went to a farm this summer and the number of blade bolts that were there on the table that were broken on the conference room table was And the whiteboard office. Yeah. Yeah. This one,  Joel Saxum: this one.  Allen Hall: Your hard head is not gonna protect you from this one. It’s, it’s, it was this, um, I couldn’t imagine the amount of time they were spending hunting these things down. And of course, the only way they were finding ’em was they were broken. You like to catch ’em before they break because it becomes  Joel Saxum: a safety risk. Just not too long ago we saw an insurance case where there’s an RCA going on and it is pointing at an entire tower came down. Right. And it is pointing at a mid, mid tower section bolted connection. How often do you guys run into those problems? Or are you contacted by insurance companies or anything like that to, to take a peek at those? Pete Andrews: We haven’t done anything directly for insurance [00:15:00]companies, but we have been engaged by. Engineering consultancies that are doing RCA type activities. Okay. Um, things like at the end of defect liability periods mm-hmm. A customer has, has seen, they’ve had a lot of, uh, issues from an OEM, maybe an OE EM has offered a modification or an upgrade, assessing whether that upgrade is actually solved the problem or not. We’ve got involved in, um, but the tower. Issue specifically. It’s actually very rare we find, um, problems with tower connections, but where we do is often where they haven’t achieved good flange flatness, ah, during installation or the bolts have been, let’s say, left out in the elements for a period and lubrication has been, has deteriorated before the bolt’s been installed. So there are cases out there, but what I would say is. [00:16:00] To think about your whole life cycle, so ensure the bolt’s installed correctly and we can help with that with a QA to say, yes, this torque or tightening method has got you to the load that you want. Do some through life monitoring, but often if you install it correctly, it will it’s operational life. You will have very little concern. But then in the UK market, we’re increasingly getting involved again at the end of life, right? Life extension where life extension turbines are 20, 25 years old. How does an operator make a decision to carry on running without replacing all bots? Um, and that’s where increasingly we being asked to use the technologist just to say, actually the joint is fine. The bolts have run in a good, um, operational envelope. Run them on. Don’t replace a hundred percent of them like you might have been recommended to from your, um, yeah. Turbine supplier side. [00:17:00] Allen Hall: So Pete, if someone’s doing a repower where they’re basically putting a new one in the cell on an existing tower, they’re making a lot of assumptions about all the bolts from the ground up that they’re gonna be okay. And I know we’re talking about that. We’re in a lot of installations where. If the turbine has gone through a repowered or two. So now those bolts are 20 years old. Yeah. And trying to get ’em to  Joel Saxum: 30 35. 35  Allen Hall: 40. Yeah. I don’t know what they’re doing. By those bolted connections. Are they just like replacing the bolts? Are they hitting ’em with a hammer again? Is that the, yeah,  Pete Andrews: I mean, they might replace ’em, but you’ve got a problem with the foundation bolts. ’cause they’re obviously often anchor bolts set into concrete, so you have to reuse them and. With the projects, both in wind and in process power industry with the chimney stacks to try and ascertain whether foundation bolts that are set into concrete are still suitable for operations. So look for corrosion losses, look for [00:18:00] defects. Um, so yeah, they’re all things that need thinking about before you just make the snap decision to repower. But I think  Joel Saxum: a lot of that, uh, going back to a couple minutes ago, you were talking about at the commissioning phase, making sure that you have proper qa, QC of how these things were installed day one, and then making sure that before commissioning of a turbine, they’re checked. I think that’s really important. We’re starting to see that in the blade world now too, where we’ve been talking about it for a long time, and now when you talk to operators, they’re like, we’re getting inspections done on the blades before they’re hung. Or at the factory before they’re hung. After they’re hung. Like they want a good foundation baseline. Are you seeing that in the bolted connection world too?  Pete Andrews: Yes. Sort of. It’s just emerging for us. What we’ve found is, so most of our customers are in the operational phase ’cause they are the ones feeling the pain. Yeah. Of the routine retitling work. When they do major components, they sometimes engage us to come and say, can you check [00:19:00] before and after the blade was removed? What was it? Before we took it off from a a bolt load perspective, what is it afterwards? Can you then recheck after 500 hours When we retalk it? And what we’ve seen there often is the initial install hasn’t got them to where they needed to be and they’ve had to go and do the break in maintenance or the 500 hour REIT to get the bolts to the right load. So one of the questions that we have is whether. Some of the defects are actually being initiated very early on in that initial running in period and whether if, if actually you’d taken the time at, at the point of assembly to make sure you were correct, whether that avoids some of the knock on integrity concerns. So yeah, it’s interesting area.  Allen Hall: Well, bolts are what hold wind turbines together and you better know you have the right. Tension and [00:20:00] torque on your bolts to get to the lifetime of the wind turbine and to, and to check it once in a while. And I know there’s a lot of operators I can think of right now in the United States that are sort of doing that job somewhat. I I think they have missed out on opportunities to save a lot of money and to call it echo bolt. How do people get ahold of you? Because that’s one thing I run into all the time. Like, Hey, hey, you gotta talk to Ebol, call Ebol. How do they get ahold of you?  Pete Andrews: So the easiest ways are via our website. Which is echo bolt.com. Um, LinkedIn, you’ll find us at Echo Bolt on LinkedIn. Reach out. Our email would be info@cobolt.com. So any of those route and you’ll, uh, reach me and the team and more than happy to speak to you about any of your faulting concerns or problems. We are, uh, yeah, we’re passionate about your problems.  Allen Hall: Pete, thank you so much for being on this podcast. I, it is great to actually see you in person and see the bolt wave technology. It’s really [00:21:00] impressive. So anybody out there that needs bolt tensioning to checking tools, you need to get ahold of Pete at Echo Bolt and get started today. Thank you Pete. Thanks guys. It’s great to be here.

The Oireachtas Health Committee will meet with representatives from the HSE and the Rotunda Hospital to discuss the future of maternity services. Speaking to Anton ahead of the meeting was Professor Jennifer Donnelly, Consultant Obstetrician in the Rotunda Hospital.

The HSE has launched new tiered approach to autism assessment and intervention. For the details Adam Harris Founder and CEO of AsIAm, Ireland's Autism Charity.

A new autism assessment protocol has been announced by the Government, which will provide for the first time, a standardised autism assessment for children and adults right across the HSE.It is to be rolled out in the coming weeks, and will see a tiered approach to autism assessment, which aligns with evidence based research.Joining Ciara Doherty with details on this and what the new protocol means for waiting lists and access to supports is Emer Higgins, Minister of State with special responsibility for Disability and Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid West…

OxygenCare, a leading Irish medical device distributor with over 54 years of experience supporting anaesthesia and critical care, has announced the Irish launch of the GE Carestation 850 Anaesthesia Delivery System at the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI) Annual Congress, held in O'Reilly Hall, UCD. The launch marks a significant milestone in OxygenCare's long-standing partnership with Irish healthcare, reflecting more than five decades of innovation supporting clinicians, from early gas delivery systems to today's connected, data-driven care environments. As the exclusive Irish distributor for GE HealthCare's anaesthesia portfolio, OxygenCare is introducing the GE Carestation 850 as a Digital for Care-ready platform, aligned with the HSE's evolving digital infrastructure, including the One Health Record (National EHR), NIMIS, and future integrated care systems. "The theme of this year's CAI Congress, 'The Evolution of Anaesthesia and Critical Care', perfectly reflects our journey," said Maurice Moran, Managing Director, OxygenCare. "For over 50 years, we have enabled Irish clinicians to deliver safer, more effective care as technology has evolved. The GE Carestation 850 represents the next step: advanced clinical performance combined with seamless digital integration, fully aligned with HSE Digital for Care standards. We are proud to launch it here among the clinicians shaping the future of anaesthesia in Ireland." Designed for Ireland's Digital Healthcare Ecosystem The GE Carestation 850 is built as a fully connected medical device, supporting the transition from paper-based workflows to a data-driven, integrated perioperative environment. Key Digital Features include: Interoperability by Design: Simplifying connections to other medical devices and to hospital networks. Real-time data transmission can be configured to automatically send important physiological, machine and service data to various clients simultaneously. Integrated Care Connectivity: Bi-directional data exchange with Shared Care Record and future Community Care Record. Cybersecurity Framework: Future-ready: Extra computing power to accommodate smart tools and features. AI-Ready Architecture: Supports future decision tools such as predictive alerts and ventilation optimisation. Advanced Clinical Performance The GE Carestation 850 is engineered to support the evolving demands of anaesthesia and critical care: Advanced ventilation modes for both low-flow and high-flow anaesthetic techniques. High-resolution touchscreen interface for intuitive operation and rapid clinical decision-making. Efficient vapouriser and gas management systems. Native integration with anaesthesia information systems and hospital PAS. End-tidal control (Et Control) Automatically adjusts fresh gas flows to maintain EtO2 and EtAA targets. The new GE Carestation 850 is a platform for today and for the future – engineered with digital architecture that supports ongoing software innovations while delivering advanced clinical performance combined with seamless digital integration.The system will be displayed at the CAI Congress, continuing OxygenCare's long-standing commitment to engage directly with Ireland's anaesthesia community. See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Talks at the Labour Court aimed at resolving a pay dispute at the National Ambulance Service will resume this morning. SIPTU has described the discussions as "difficult" and said agreement has not yet been reached. "The Labour Court has asked the parties to return today as a final opportunity to try to resolve the dispute before next week's industrial action, which would involve a 72 hour work stoppage amid an ongoing work to rule according to the Union. The dispute over pay and conditions stems from accusations that the HSE has failure to implement the pay scale recommendations of an independent report in 2020. For their part, Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and Ambulance staff claim the scope and duties of their roles has expanded in recent times but the pay has not matched this change. To find out the latest, Daragh Dolan was joined by Clooney-Quin based Orla Considine who is on the Midwest Irish Ambulance Representative Council.

The Oireachtas Committee for Health will be holding a meeting about staff morale in the HSE later today. Speaking to Anton ahead of this meeting was Matthew Sadlier, President of the Irish Medical Organisation.

A new ESRI report projects major increases in HSE primary and community care workforce needs by 2040, driven mainly by population growth and ageing, with all staff categories expected to expand significantly. The biggest increases are forecast for services focused on older people, including occupational therapists, podiatrists, audiologists, and public health/community nurses, with annual workforce growth needs of up to 3.2%. Dr Aoife Brick, Senior Research Officer at the ESRI, and lead author of the report joined Anton to discuss.

A Clare senator is calling for an audit of vacant State-owned properties. Ennistymon Senator Martin Conway is seeking an assessment of buildings owned by the likes of local authorities, the OPW, HSE, Irish Rail and Bus Éireann as a means of making more units available for housing. As of April 20th, Clare County Council is dealing with 380 derelict properties across the county. Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Conway says leaving buildings lying idle in a housing crisis in unacceptable.

Five years ago today, a Russian linked cybercrime group hacked into the HSE's system leading to a shut down and the cancellation of appointments for thousands of patients. Edel McAllister reports.

The Shop Steward of Ennis Ambulance Base claims morale within the service is at an "all-time low". National Ambulance Service staff are on strike nationwide today, with pickets in place at stations across the country until 8am tomorrow. The industrial action centres on the claim by trade unions that the HSE has failed to implement the recommendations of a 2020 report on updating salary scales to reflect changes in responsibilities and workload within the last 15 years. Paramedic and Shop Steward at Ennis Ambulance Base Finola Croke has been telling Clare FM's Seán Lyons recruitment into the service will become more difficult if conditions aren't improved.

There could be delays to some non-emergency ambulance call outs from today. A work-to-rule by workers in the National Ambulance Service is getting underway today. Members of SIPTU and Unite are taking the industrial action because their pay rates are "out of kilter" with other health professionals. They say frontline staff have taken on major increases in responsibility and qualifications, but that agreed recommendations on pay and career structures have still not been implemented. The HSE says contingency plans are in place and insists substantial pay proposals have already been made. Alan Morrissey spoke about all of this with SIPTU Ambulance Sector Organiser John McCamley. Image © Pat Flynn

Close to 2,000 National Ambulance Service members of UNITE and SIPTU began industrial action from 8am this morning, over a dispute with the Government regarding pay for ambulance staff.People who require an ambulance have been told they should still call 999/112, but those experiencing cardiac or respiratory arrest, as well as serious injuries, will be prioritised.The HSE has said the ability of the National Ambulance Service to respond to requests for help will be “significantly impacted”.Stephen McMahon is Co-Founder & Director of the Irish Patients' Association and joins Ciara to discuss.

Two Irish citizens have been evacuated from a cruise ship in Tenerife and are scheduled to be repatriated home on the Government jet after health checks. Both passengers are currently asymptomatic and will be transferred to an HSE isolation facility for monitoring. From Tenerife, we were joined by journalist Cliodna O'Flynn with the latest.

The Government has a recurring problem with budgetary overruns. Last year, overspending amounted to €4.1 billion. Already this year Education needs an extra 646m, while the HSE is 250m over for the first three months of the year. Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Jack Chambers joined Paul now in studio to discuss the way forward.

Rebecca Brennan, a student nurse in her final year of study, and Tony O'Brien, former Head of the HSE, join the panel of Naoise Ó Muirí, Fine Gael TD for Dublin Bay North, Louise O'Reilly, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Fingal West and Rory Hearne, Social Democrats TD for Dublin North-West.

Rebecca Brennan, a student nurse in her final year of study, explains her concerns about entering the working world following the HSE's announcement this week that it will pause some recruitment.

The number of Dementia care beds in Clare has been described as "a drop in the ocean" in comparison to what's needed. The HSE has revealed there are just 30 dementia specific beds in this county, 17 of which belong to private hospitals. It's understood 1,700 people here are living with the condition. Newmarket-On-Fergus Fianna Fáil Councillor David Griffin says much more resources are needed.

Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:· The findings of the Irish Times/TG4 opinion poll on first preference votes, carried out by Ipsos B&A, suggests three leading candidates in the Galway West byelection. It shows Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) at 17 per cent followed by Noel Thomas (Independent Ireland Party) on 16 per cent and Helen Ogbu (Labour) on 12 per cent. · In Dublin Central, candidate and veteran criminal Gerry Hutch rejected claims that recent comments he made about immigrants were racist. In a social media post on Sunday Hutch said, “illegal immigrants”, including Somalis, who were “mooching” their way into the country, should be interned in the Curragh.· And Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton's recent confirmation that her department is facing a deficit of more than €500 million this year was dwarfed by the HSE's decision to pause recruitment in non-frontline roles across significant parts of the country due to a projected €1 billion overspend this year.Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:· Mark Paul on nationalist-led administrations running Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Finn McRedmond is not a fan of ‘grotty' Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, and Donald Trump's boundless appetite for self‑memorialisation. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ashley Connolly, Fórsa Trade Union, discusses the financial issues at the HSE.

The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, has said the HSE needs to demonstrate it's in charge of its Budget following a 250 million euro overspend. For the latest, Ronan Mahon, Lecturer in Health Economics at the University of Galway.

The HSE is urging people to protect themselves against tick bites ahead of the summer season, as they warn of several hundred Lyme disease cases a year in Ireland.Professor Jack Lambert, Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Mater Hospital and UCD School of Medicine joins Shane to discuss.

HSE Chief Anne O'Connor had told senior management the organisation is “significantly over budget” and the situation is “serious” while a Dáil spending watchdog was announced in response to the €127,000 bike shed in Kerry hospital.The HSE will be pausing recruitment in some non-frontline roles due to a €250 million overspend…Joining Shane to discuss this is Pádraig Rice, Social Democrat TD for Cork South Central and Health Spokesperson for the Social Democrats.Image: University Hospital Kerry

The HSE is being urged to progress it's new plans for a community hospital in Ennis as soon as possible. The controversial €25m proposal for the facility on a grace space at St Flannan's College was refused by An Coimisúin Pleanála last December. The HSE has now signalled its intention to reapply for planning at the site, with a submission expected to be made by September. Doonbeg Fianna Fáil Councillor and HSE Regional Health Forum MidWest member Rita McInerney says a geriatric hospital is urgently needed.

PJ talks to Barbara Louise Brennan about surviving severe bipolar disorder and the Mental Health Matters poster campaign along with Martin Ryan of the HSE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 1 of Rethinking EHS, Season 3 reflects on 25 years of the Inogen Alliance, highlighting how its success has been built on connecting global organisations with deep local expertise to tackle complex environmental, health, safety, and sustainability challenges.  The discussion underscores key lessons for organisations: prioritise local knowledge, embrace technology, and foster strong partnerships to deliver meaningful, scalable impact, ultimately demonstrating that sustainable progress depends on aligning global ambition with on-the-ground realities. -------------- 00:00 – Intro  00:03 – Opening & Series Introduction  01:13 – Setting the Scene: Topics & Guests  01:43 – The Origin Story: Why the Alliance Was Created  03:15 – Rising Complexity: Regulation & Local Expertise  05:43 – Why an Alliance Model (Not Expansion)?  07:21 – Evolution Over 25 Years  09:49 – Key Moments: When the Model Proved Itself  16:32 – The Present: Strategy, Purpose & Growth  22:09 – The Future: Risk, Uncertainty & Opportunity  31:52 – Advice & Closing Reflections  -------------  Sponsor  Rethinking EHS is brought to you by the Inogen Alliance. Inogen Alliance is a global network of 70+ companies providing environment, health, safety and sustainability services working together to provide one point of contact to guide multinational organizations to meet their global commitments locally. Visit http://www.inogenalliance.com/podcast to learn more. -------------  Links  https://www.Inogenalliance.com/resources https://www.Inogenalliance.com/podcast Angelique on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angeliquedickson Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-ferguson-1a40b511 Keith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-knoke-27587a7 Produced by https://www.madcontent.co.nz

New research suggests that dredging is affecting water quality in Lough Neagh. Scientists from Queen's University Belfast believe that commercial dredging for sand which is widespread across the Lough has a deeper more harmful impact on ecosystems than originally thought. Serious concerns have been raised about weaknesses at Northern Ireland's Agri-food and Bio-sciences Institute. A report from the Health and Safety Executive highlighted issues with bio containment and the condition of the facilities. AFBI is an arm's length government body which carries out scientific research and also testing for diseases like bluetongue. The HSE report said that at the time of the inspection that testing was unsafe, with measures required to protect the environment. The Institute says action has been taken to 'to drive improvements and address all issues raised.'All this week we've been hearing from our National Parks, and today is the turn of Northumberland, covering much of Hadrian's Wall and the vast Cheviot Hills, it sells itself as home to England's cleanest rivers and darkest skies. It's also the least visited and one of the most remote of the National Parks in England and Wales. Rural churches are a hotspot for theft and vandalism according to a new report from the Countryside Alliance. It got data from 37 police forces across the UK which shows that last year nearly 4,000 crimes at churches were recorded, in urban and rural areas, however it says churches in villages and countryside areas are particularly vulnerable.Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney