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94% of visitors to Waterford Greenway rate it as either excellent or good, landmark study shows. Well over 9 out of 10 (94%) of visitors to Waterford Greenway rated it as either excellent or good, a comprehensive new report on the spectacular 46km all weather route shows. Read more on the link below. Thanks.

The Irish flag was flown for the first time 170 years ago in Waterford Long before the Irish tricolour became the official flag of Ireland, before it was waved over Dublin’s GPO during the 1916 Rising, the tricolour was flown in Waterford City for the first time recorded in history by one of Ireland’s most important figures: Thomas Francis Meagher. "Cllr. Eddie Mulligan has printed an excellent brochure entitled 'Protocols and Guidelines for use of The National Flag' and you can view it here: http://www.eddiemulligan.com/waterford-city-respecting-the-tricolour-for-170-years/ (The link to the PDF brochure is on the bottom of the page." Meagher would go on to achieve renown and respect in America, fighting as a Brigadier General with the Union Army in the American Civil War, and becoming Lieutenant Governor of the Montana Territory before his untimely and mysterious death in 1867 at the age of 43. In Ireland, Meagher had been fierce Irish nationalist and a proud member of the Young Ireland movement, helping to lead the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Check out the complete article here: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/the-irish-flag-was-flown-for-the-first-time-170-years-ago-in-waterford Waterford Council

YOUR TOWN - (CITY?) WATERFORD This week on 'Your Town', our forever travelling reporter Colm Flynn visits the city of Waterford in the south-east! Like, share and tag your friends! Up The Déise!

Local authorities ‘will significantly increase building delivery’ Waterford Councils Michael Walsh says all councils will ‘ramp up’ social housing building A representative from the City and County Managers Association has said that local authorities have the staff and facilities to administer the new government backed mortgage scheme. Michael Walsh is also adamant that local authorities will soon return to pre-Recession levels of building 4,000 to 5,000 social houses. Mr Walsh is also the chief executive of Waterford City and County Council. “We will significantly increase our building delivery. We are ramping up,” he told RTE’s Morning Ireland. Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has unveiled a new scheme of local authority mortgages that will be available from next week. Under the scheme, the Government will finance local authorities to provide mortgages to people who have been turned down by banks. Mr Walsh said that in 2017 local authorities, in conjunction with approved housing bodies, delivered 2,400 social houses. He anticipates a 50 per cent increase this year with a further increase of 50 per cent next year. “For ten years there was no housing construction. Now we are ramping up. It started from zero. We’ll get back to 3,000 to 4,000 per year and then we’ll hit 4,000 to 6,000 per year.” Issues such as land availability, political acceptance, procurement and processing have slowed the process in the past, but Mr Walsh was adamant that all local authorities would be “ramping up and improving”. “We (Waterford) will deliver our targets,” he added. Repair and lease scheme The low-interest rate mortgages will be available to purchasers of properties worth up to €320,000 in the greater Dublin area, Cork and Galway, while the ceiling in the rest of the country will be €250,000. The scheme will be reserved for borrowers with an annual gross income of no more than €50,000, or €75,000 for couples. Central Bank rules will apply so borrowers will be able to take a mortgage for 90 per cent of the property’s value. Borrowers will be able to choose a fixed rate of 2-2.25 per cent over 25-30 years, terms unavailable from any bank. Article courtesy: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/local-authorities-will-significantly-increase-building-delivery-1.3365432

Here is a link to some very interesting footfall statics for Waterford City Centre. These were collated for the a "City Health Check" by the City Centre Management Group, which the WBG are an integral part of, with Cllr Eddie Mulligan, our Group's representative on this body. Thanks. Michael Garland Chair of Waterford Business Group. http://www.eddiemulligan.com/city-centre-management-groups-action-plan-update-for-2018/

Waterford based researchers seeking to develop ‘tracker’ for dementia sufferers Wandering among patients ‘can be very serious, and in some cases fatal’ A Waterford-based research team has secured funding to develop a “low cost” technological tool to help track dementia patients whose safety is put at risk by wandering from care settings. Researchers at the Telecommunications, Software and Systems Group (TSSG) at Waterford Institute of Technology have linked up with partners in Belgium, Switzerland and Portugal to work on the initiative which they say will increase the survival rates of “wandering patients” and reduce stress for caregivers. Carelink — carelink-aal.org — is a 30-month, €2.5 million project funded under the European Commission’s Active and Assisted Living programme, in the “Living With Dementia” category. Acting director of research at TSSG, Dr Sasitharan Balasubramaniam said they were seeking to “further improve the tracking of dementia patients [who tend to wander] in a low-cost manner”. There are about 55,000 dementia sufferers in Ireland at the moment and, according to TSSG project co-ordinator Gary McManus, wandering is a common occurrence among sufferers. “There can be many causes of wandering, including confusion, boredom, restlessness or even out of habit,” he said. “Whatever the cause, it can be extremely stressful for both patients and their carers and the outcomes can be very serious, and in some cases fatal.” Mr McManus said the Carelink solution aims to improve quality of life for dementia patients and their carers through the creation of “an intelligent location monitoring system” customised in each case to meet their needs. The project leader previously worked on Inspiration, an initiative which built an app to “inspire” elderly people to develop a healthier lifestyle including physical activity, better eating habits and social engagement. According to the researchers, initial training courses will focus on the wandering aspect of dementia, dealing with the risks involved and recommendations for spotting or dealing with wandering. “Carers require customisable, low cost methods for remotely monitoring the location and proximity of patients,” Christine O’Meara of TSSG said. Article courtesy: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/irish-researchers-seeking-to-develop-tracker-for-dementia-sufferers-1.3364364

Waterford Greenway on track for coveted national award Waterford’s recently-opened Greenway has a chance of coming away from the venue with an All-Ireland title next month. Waterford’s hurlers may have come up slightly short at Croke Park last September but the county’s recently-opened Greenway has a chance of coming away from the venue with an All-Ireland title next month. The Waterford Greenway will celebrate its first birthday this springtime but its early successes have been recognised with a nomination in the Best Tourism Initiative section of the All-Ireland Community and Council Awards taking place in Croke Park on February 3. The awards recognise and celebrate communities and councils working together and provide an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the work done within communities as well as rewarding unsung heroes. The 46km Waterford Greenway has already attracted close to 250,000 visitors. Securing the Fáilte Ireland-sponsored award would be a huge boost and a massive coup, according to Waterford City and County Council Mayor Cllr Pat Nugent. “We’re very proud of the Waterford Greenway and great credit has to go to the staff who have developed and maintain it, to the surrounding communities who have embraced it and promoted it and to the 247,000-plus visitors who used it between March and early December of last year.” Among those visitors, 105,639 were on foot and 141,906 cycled with a 94% visitor rating of either excellent or good. Waterford City and County Council chief executive Michael Walsh is hopeful they may scoop the coveted award. “The data we gleaned from a pre-Christmas report on the Greenway was extremely encouraging and it was fantastic to see the Greenway being used for so many purposes and by so many age groups right throughout the year. “Visitors and local people alike take great pride in it. We’re planning further investment and further attractions along the Greenway and are in negotiations with a number of groups regarding same. It’s been a phenomenal boost to Waterford and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved.” Article Courtesy: https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/waterford-greenway-on-track-for-coveted-national-award-466068.html Waterford Council

Waterford gets Irish premiere of Dutch cycling film ‘Why We Cycle’ — Documentary premiere to be hosted at launch of Waterford Cycling Campaign. — Waterford Greenway has “changed people’s attitudes to cycling in the county”. https://vimeo.com/246432864 Waterford residents who want to see more cycling in the county are to be treated to new developments next month — the Irish premiere of Why We Cycle documentary on Dutch cycling combined with the launch of new advocacy group, likely to be called the Waterford Cycling Campaign. The event is to take place on Thursday February 8 at Greyfriars Municipal Art Gallery in Waterford City — we’ll have more details closer to the date. “It is not a film about policy and strategy. Instead, it is more of a manifesto, showing people why they should want to aspire a cycling society,” said Marco te Brömmelstroet (aka Cycling Professor), a producer of the documentary, when interviewed by Carlton Reid of bikebiz.com. Brömmelstroet said the film should help advocates to “know what to ask from your politicians and why you should start fighting for such a future.” There are Dublin and other possible screenings in Ireland planned, but no details confirmed yet. The main person behind the launch of the Waterford Cycling Campaign is Marc O Cathasaigh — speaking to IrishCycle.com this weekend he said the main things which have pushed him to start the campaign are the success of the Waterford Greenway; the need to safe space for cycling, especially for children; and a visit to the Dutch city of Utrecht. O Cathasaigh is involved in the Green Party, but he stresses that the new campaign will not be party-political. In Dublin, the promotion of cycling used to be seen as the reserve of the Greens and, then also, the Labour Party, but some of the strongest political advocates for cycling in the city now include councillors ranging from Fine Gael, socialists, to independent. O Cathasaigh also points to Fine Gael minister for state Ciarán Cannon, who is a strong supporter of cycling. O Cathasaigh said that children changed his view on cycling and the opening of the Waterford Greenway has pushed him to set up the new group and the documentary was a perfect fit to launch the campaign. “So for me, it started with a bike trailer,” said O Cathasaigh. “I’d been a cyclist all my life, and biking on busy roads had never really bothered me. But once I had boys in the bike trailer behind me, suddenly I was thinking: ‘This is my whole family here. This isn’t safe enough’.” O Cathasaigh, who is a school teacher, said: “At the same time, in 2011, a colleague in school and I started working with a local cycle tour operator, a guy called Dermot Blount, to put together a cycling programme for PE in our school. Once you begin to ask kids to bring their bikes to school, you begin to worry about how safe it is for them to get there.” After this, he was one of the organisers of an event with 350 school children from three school in Tramore who cycled on the town’s ring road to demonstrate the need for safe cycling infrastructure. “At this stage, I’m considering myself a cycling campaigner, which leads me off to Utrecht,” O Cathasaigh said of a Dutch cycling study tour which took place last year. “It’s the trip to Utrecht that really lights the fuse for me. To see what’s possible and its benefits, and to meet up with all you guys, enthused me to the point that I thought I might as well go for it.” He said Waterford needs cycling as a solution against traffic gridlock: “In terms of the need in Waterford, we’re seeing a big growth in projected population and car traffic is reaching the point of grinding to a halt on some of the heaviest routes. Changes in traffic management planned by the Council are really bringing these issues into focus as well.” “But of course, the main impetus [to set up the campaign] has to be the Greenway. 250,000 visitors in its first 9 months has really changed people’s attitudes to cycling in the county. it’s a good news story that Waterford really needed in a place that’s so often in the ‘nearly man’ category,” said O Cathasaigh. He added: “There’s increased interest in the bike, with staff I’ve worked with for years suddenly asking me about the bike to work scheme. it feels like there’s a groundswell of support, and I think it’s the right time to launch something to surf that swell. Once the film popped into view, it felt like the perfect opportunity.”

Waterford is looking good in this Tourist Video (Spanish i think) Revolution Waterford for craft beer is at 4.00mins in - good over view of the city. Good to see the City so Busy (thanks to Darren Skelton for the link) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u2cirFpDmE like and share to your hearts content - this message is brought to you be Waterford Business Group

Waterford may be home to a new music festival this year......

Waterford Council using drone to tackle fly-tipping and litter A local authority is embracing cutting-edge technology in its battle against fly-tipping and illegal dumping. Waterford City and County Council has been using a drone to accumulate information on unlawful waste disposal since last summer. Senior executive engineer at environment Niall Kane said the DJI Phantom model was purchased last July, with the €1,300 cost provided by the Department of Communications, Climate Action, and Environment under an anti-dumping initiative. The Chinese-built model has an operating temperature of -10C to -50C and a power consumption of 3.12W, meaning it stays airborne for about 20 minutes. The drone’s take-off weight stands at 1,200g and has an angular velocity, or yaw rotation, of 200 degrees with an ascent/descent speed of 6m/s, and maximum flight velocity of 10m/s. The drone can send back live footage as well as store data for later analysis. Mr Kane said the council has been deploying the drone “at least once a week, to help identify the scale and extent of waste on various sites and to pinpoint unauthorised dumping locations”. advertisement Its main benefit is the “ability to survey large areas far faster than on foot and its capacity to obtain a bird’s eye view of waste on the ground which makes it easier to quantify larger deposits of waste”. Having a high-resolution camera, it assists with GIS (geographical information systems) mapping. Mr Kane said these maps and other drone footage help the council follow up leads extracted from websites such as DoneDeal or Facebook that may suggest unauthorised activities such as car trading being perpetrated. While no drone footage has yet been directly involved in court evidence, it has led to several notices of fines being executed. Mr Kane said as environment personnel presently operate the drone on a non-licensed basis, they are prone to stringent IAA imposed limitations. “So, last year, we also commissioned a fixed-wing aircraft on three occasions to take aerial photographs of larger scale sites or sites where drone flight is restricted,” he said. Conducted in conjunction with the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority, they cost about €700 per flight.