Category: News

The Department of Social Protection

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The Department of Social Protection will be attending the National Ploughing Championships from 19 to 21 September. 

We will be based in the Our Rural Future: Supporting People and Communities section of the Government of Ireland Village, at Block 3 | Row 22 | Hub 348 seen on the map here.

The changes in the State Pension (Contributory) and the new Auto-Enrolment scheme are our focus this year.

Over the course of the three days, experts from the Department will give talks on the latest developments taking place on State Pension (Contributory) changes and the new Auto-Enrolment retirement scheme that will give employees extra income in retirement.

These presentations will take place in the nearby We’re Taking Climate Action section of the Government of Ireland Village based at Block 3 |Row 23 | Stand 361, each day at 10:30am.

Pensions and Auto-Enrolment experts will also be available on our stand each day to answer queries on the new Auto-Enrolment retirement scheme and the changes to the State Pension (Contributory).

Visitors can learn the latest information on the Long-Term Carers Contributions Periods and the enhanced Pensions Contributory Statement now available at MyWelfare.

A visit to our stand is also a must for anyone interested in creating and verifying a MyGovID account, which gives safe, online access to a range of government services including JobsIreland, Revenue, the National Childcare Scheme and the National Driving License Service (NDLS).

There will also be staff from the Rural Social Scheme at our stand for the duration of the event.

For queries in relation to the Department’s attendance at the National Ploughing Championships, please email us at Customerservice@welfare.ie

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empowerDX, a Leading Home-test Provider Launches in Ireland

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empowerDX Ireland, a leading producer of self-sampling health tests, will attend the National Ploughing Championships 2023, the largest agricultural show in Europe, which will take place in Ratheniska, Co. Laois, Ireland, from September 19th to 21st. 

Inspired by the work of the Agriculture & Food Development Authority in promoting health and wellness among the farming community, empowerDX Ireland will be showcasing its innovative and high-quality products for human health and wellness, such as self-sampling blood and DNA tests.

empowerDX tests are already available in several countries across the world, including the USA, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In Ireland, empowerDX is initially launching the following home tests: Colorectal Cancer, Haemochromatosis, Prostate Cancer (PSA), Diabetes, Vitamin D and Cholesterol, with additional tests to follow. Home health testing can provide the public, especially those who have busy lives, like farmers, with an accessible, affordable and convenient way of monitoring, and increasing their knowledge about, their health.

The National Ploughing Championships 2023 is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors and the event will feature ploughing contests, livestock exhibitions, machinery demonstrations and many other activities related to the farming industry.

empowerDX Ireland invites attendees to visit its stand at the event and discover its latest self-sampling health test innovations and solutions.

For further information about empowerDX Ireland, please visit www.empowerDX.ie or contact support@shop.empowerdx.ie.

About empowerDX: 

Following the successful footsteps of its sister company in the USA and joining the recent launch of empowerDX in a number of European countries including Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy, empowerDX Ireland will offer Irish customers affordable, safe, easy to use and modern home health testing kits to screen for a wide variety of health considerations. 

Customers order testing kits online, collect their sample from the comfort of their home and then send the sample to be analysed by empowerDX’s partner laboratories, which are part of the international network of Eurofins laboratories. Customers receive an uncomplicated, intuitive, and user-friendly report containing their results; accessible through a secure online account a few days after the laboratory receives the sample.

Virtual Reality Quad Experience

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VIRTUAL REALITY QUAD EXPERIENCE AIMED AT IMPROVING FARM SAFETY WILL BE AVAILABLE AT PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS – FRS TRAINING 

10 quad related deaths on Irish farms over last decade 

Special training programme on quad safety will be rolled out around the country

A virtual reality (VR) quad bike experience, aimed at helping improve farm safety, will be available for visitors to the National Ploughing Championship from FRS Training. The VR experience will take the user across various agricultural scenarios and terrains such as the farmyard, herding cattle, rough and inclined ground, showing how these vehicles should be handled. 

Quad bikes have been growing in popularity as agricultural vehicles in recent times but their use has also led to a number of accidents occurring. 10 quad related deaths are reported* to have occurred on Irish farms over the last decade.

From 20th November 2023, Government regulations will make it mandatory for all quad operators to undergo training and to wear appropriate protective equipment, including a helmet.  To help address these significant agricultural health and safety regulations, FRS Training will be rolling out a new quad bike training programme nationwide. 

The FRS Training Quad Bike Courses will run over two days and will be QQI accredited. The training covers operations, loading as well as health & safety around quad use. Group courses can be arranged, and individual public courses can be booked at www.frstraining.com

Speaking about the VR quad experience and the new training programme, Colin Donnery, Group CEO of FRS Network said, “The use of quads on Irish farms continues to grow.  These vehicles are becoming an increasingly popular choice for farmers as they are a useful and multipurpose vehicle for transport, spraying, spreading and a range of other work on the farm. Yet with this growth in usage, there are rising safety concerns around how they are being operated.

“Unfortunately there have been far too many accidents related to quad bikes on Irish farms in recent years, with at least 10 deaths being linked to their use in the last decade. Part of the problem is that people haven’t been properly trained in how to use these extremely powerful and heavy vehicles, which can lead to high risk driving behaviour and unfortunately in some cases, even dangerous misuse. 

“Our VR quad experience aims to give our visitors an immersive experience that will correct some of the misconceptions people have about driving quads, showing both their advantages and their perils. It will bring the VR user through several typical farm environments and scenarios, such as the farm yard, rough and inclined terrain, using the quad around livestock and more.

“Under new Government regulations, from the 20th November 2023 anyone operating quads on farms will also have to undergo training. We want to make Irish farms safer while also enabling those farmers who use quads to receive the training they need. Which is why we are rolling out our QQI accredited quad training programme nationwide.

“We truly hope that as more people grasp the key health and safety principles behind operating quad bikes, they will become more aware of the potential dangers. This will hopefully help reduce the number of quad related accidents on Irish farms, which is ultimately in the interest of everyone associated with Irish farming,” Mr. Donnery concluded.

The FRS VR Quad Bike experience is open to all free of charge on Row 11, Stand 204 at the National Ploughing Championships, Ratheniska, Co.Laois, between the 19th and 21st of September 2023. 

For further information contact Jimmy Healy, Cogency – 087 6479104

*Figure from Health & Safety Authority (HSA)

McAree Engineering

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McAree Engineering will have a vintage Farmall Super A from the late 1940’s (see photo)  which they believe is the only one in Ireland.  It has been restored by Benny McCabe in Monaghan.

McAree will be displaying their full range of V-Mac silos on their stand – with single and split silos along with legged, offset and enclosed options available to check out.  This year they will also have one of their feeder wagon storage solutions – their enclosed silo with feeder wagon augur fitted to it.  Their very popular tote bins will also be on display. The feed silos are constructed using Magizinc, a modern steel that provides the extremely high levels of protection against corrosion and with exclusive interlocked forming and are incredibly strong. 

McAree make their silos different from anyone else as the rolled body construction ensures a smooth inside wall helping excellent product flow and super-strength construction. Suitable for the agricultural, biomass, waste water treatment and plastics industries – V-Mac silos are available in a range of styles and formats. 

In addition McAree will be featuring the award winning SiloSpi feed silo monitoring solution, featuring Lvlogics software and monitoring application. This innovative technology is solar powered, with a lid fitted silo monitor, is easy to install and trouble free.

According to Peter Richardson, Sales & Marketing Manager “it is the easiest and quickest way to accurately monitor the volume and quality of the dairy, pig or poultry ration in your feed silo.

Visitors to Stand No. 40 on Block 2 (Row 2) also have the opportunity to win a V-Mac feed barrow valued at €400. McAree technical advisors on the stand will include Fergal Sherry, Noel Kiely, Peter Richardson along with Barry & Eileen Finnegan from Lvlogics Ltd . 

McAree Engineering has been helping farmers to protect their feed since the 1960’s when Vincent McAree designed and manufactured the very first V-Mac feed silo. V-Mac silos are constructed using Magizinc, a modern steel that provides the extremely high levels of protection against corrosion and with exclusive interlocked forming and are incredibly strong.

McAree now has one of the most modern manufacturing facilities in Europe. This family owned business has developed a reputation for Quality, Value, and Customer Service over the last 75 years. They focus on the design and manufacture of sheet metal fabrication solutions for the industrial and agricultural sectors.

Operating across three factory units in North Monaghan, they have an strong machine capability including a Trumpf 8000 Trulaser with 12m x 2.5m laser bed and a 7m wide, 600 ton EHT Press Brake leading their suite of Lasers and Press Brakes.

The modern manufacturing facilities are operated by a 180+ strong team of experienced professionals whose focus is on delivering quality products to all customers on-time, in full, all the time. They offer a  full outsource sheet metal service from design through to laser cutting, folding,  fabrication, dry powder paint coating and assembly in addition to the design and manufacture of V-Mac Silos.  

McAree Engineering are committed to achieving the highest quality of engineering – from design, to fabrication, delivery and project management. They are proud to have achieved the Certification of CE Marking (EN1090) up to and including Execution Class 2 (EXC2).

 The management system is accredited to ISO9001:2015 (Quality), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental) & ISO 45001:2018  to ensure that everything manufactured is off the highest quality, with minimal risk to the Environment and in the safest possible way.

Check out the V-Mac range of market leading feed silos, tote bins etc on YouTube at www.mcaree-eng.com or at https://www.vmacsilos.ie . For more information please contact McAree Engineering, Ballinode, Co. Monaghan. Tel:  + 353 (0)47 79000 or Peter Richardson, Sales & Marketing Manager. Tel: + 353 (0) 872584584) or Email: peter@mcaree-eng.com

 

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