Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in IT services, consulting and business solutions, who operate a Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, today announced a landmark strategic partnership with Mistral, one of world’s leading AI companies.

As part of this collaboration, TCS has become the first global systems integrator partner for Mistral Forge, Mistral’s advanced system for enterprises to build frontier-grade AI models grounded in their proprietary enterprise knowledge and domain-specific data. The partnership combines Mistral’s frontier AI capabilities with TCS’ deep context of enterprise customers, domain knowledge and engineering excellence, to help organisations scale enterprise AI responsibly with greater speed.

As part of this strategic collaboration, TCS will leverage Mistral Forge to build custom AI models for enterprises. It will help customers deploy their data and enterprise context to improve decision outcomes. This collaboration draws on TCS’ strong global presence across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to deliver AI solutions tailored to industry needs, operations and regulatory requirements. The partnership will initially focus on sectors like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), manufacturing, healthcare, and the public sector, where trusted AI adoption is becoming increasingly critical.

TCS will also establish a dedicated Centre of Excellence for Mistral to drive joint innovation, build industry-specific solutions, support project delivery, and accelerate client value through early access to Mistral’s beta models. The Centre of Excellence will serve as a strategic hub for advanced talent, focused training, and the capabilities needed to design, deploy, and govern AI solutions.

Arthur Mensch, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Mistral, said, “TCS’ global scale and contextual industry knowledge make them an ideal partner for Mistral. Together, we are enabling enterprises worldwide to move from experimentation to AI deployment with systems that are open, production-ready and aligned with their strategic and operational requirements.”

K Krithivasan, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director at TCS said, “The partnership with Mistral reinforces TCS’ commitment to scaling enterprise AI with trust, control, and measurable business outcomes at the core. This partnership expands TCS’ AI ecosystem, uniquely positioning TCS to create a differentiated solution proposition for our clients. Together with Mistral, we will solve for specific industry challenges, regulatory requirements, and sovereign needs for our enterprise customers.”

As part of its broader Infrastructure to Intelligence AI strategy, TCS continues to invest across infrastructure, models, data, application, platforms and physical and digital intelligence. This aligns with TCS’ ambition to become the world’s largest AI-led technology services company, underpinned by a five-pillar strategy focused on embedding AI across the enterprise, scaling AI-led delivery capabilities, and driving measurable business outcomes for clients.

Tech salaries trends to watch

Irish tech roles now command salaries that compete with – and often exceed – those in other key global economies and tech markets, reinforcing the country’s position as a top-tier destination for skilled professionals, according to the latest Hays Tech Talent Explorer.

While much of the global conversation around Artificial Intelligence has focused on job displacement, the research highlights how AI is instead reshaping tech roles. Routine and administrative tasks are becoming increasingly automated, allowing professionals to focus on complex, high-impact work.

Positive news about Irish Tech Salaries

In Ireland, this shift is contributing to continued salary growth as demand rises for professionals who combine technical expertise with critical thinking, creativity, and decision-making skills.

Ireland’s Growing Global Competitiveness

The research benchmarks Ireland against other key international markets, focusing on salaries in each economy across a range of tech roles. Ireland maintains a significant pay advantage in several key roles, such as Data Engineers and Solutions Architects. When compared to markets like the UK and Germany, Ireland performs strongly, with overall tech salaries in those countries trailing by 17% and 19% respectively.

While the United States remains the global leader in compensation – with average tech salaries reaching approximately €108,387 compared to €81,338 in Ireland – the data reveals a tightening gap in specialised fields such as Data Scientists. The findings suggest Ireland offers employers access to highly skilled technical talent at a more sustainable cost base.

Furthermore, salary benchmarks in Ireland remain closely aligned with major global markets like Australia and Singapore, while contractor day rates rival major hubs including Luxembourg and Hong Kong, reflecting the country’s strategic importance as a centre for global tech operations.

Despite broader economic uncertainty, Irish tech wages continue to be driven by sustained demand for advanced, future-ready skill sets rather than AI-led disruption.

Senior Managing Director for Hays Ireland, Barney Ely, said: “Ireland is no longer just a European branch office for major tech companies, it is now a primary engine of global tech innovation. We are seeing a shift where AI is enabling tech professionals to move away from routine tasks and towards work that is more strategic and globally impactful.

“We’ve recently seen layoffs at major players across the tech industry, but the continued strength of salaries demonstrates the resilience of the Irish market.

“For talent, Ireland offers a landscape where technical skills are met with high-value rewards. For employers, the challenge is no longer just finding people – it’s partnering with experts who can navigate an increasingly AI-enhanced environment.”

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EZO, Ireland’s largest private electric vehicle (EV) charging network, has today announced a new partnership with eir, launching the first of a series of dedicated high-speed urban EV charging hubs.

Dublin’s Walkinstown marks the beginning of this rollout, following the successful programme where EZO and eir converted 109 public payphone kiosks into EV charging stations across 13 local authorities.

New high-speed electric charging hubs

The Walkinstown site is the first of 50 purpose-built EZO-eir hubs planned around the country, designed to significantly improve urban charging coverage, user access and charging speeds for the growing number of electric vehicle drivers nationwide.

Unlike traditional single-point charging locations, the hubs are engineered as high-capacity urban charging destinations, providing multiple ultra-fast chargers in one place to reduce wait times and deliver a more convenient experience.

These new hubs also demonstrate how existing infrastructure can be efficiently adapted to support Ireland’s transport transition. Established locations are being utilised by repurposing former eir telephone exchanges and upgrading operational eir depots into modern high-performing charging facilities.

The Walkinstown hub, which is an operational eir depot, features three 200kW ultra-fast chargers, enabling drivers to rapidly recharge and return to the road in minutes. Strategically located in a high-demand urban area, it represents a new model of EV infrastructure focused on scale, speed and accessibility.

The multi-charger hubs mark a major step forward in the EZO’s strategy to deliver true national urban coverage and meet accelerating EV adoption with infrastructure designed for future demand.

EZO CEO Ollie Chatten said: “The EZO–eir partnership combines telecommunications infrastructure expertise with EV technology and operations capability, enabling rapid deployment of high-speed charging facilities in prime urban locations.”

“The launch of our first dedicated EV charging hub is a pivotal moment for EZO and for Ireland’s EV infrastructure. These hubs are about looking forward and delivering faster charging, better access and urban coverage at scale. As EV adoption continues to grow in Ireland, drivers need infrastructure that is designed for convenience and reliability. Our nationwide hub rollout will play a critical role in enabling that future.”

eir CEO Oliver Loomes said: “We are pleased to progress our work with EZO, having already converted 109 former public payphone kiosks into modern EV charging stations. Our broadband and fibre networks virtually connect the people of Ireland, and this project represents a natural evolution of our commitment to nationwide connectivity.

“By transforming our network of buildings in urban areas into accessible EV charging points, we are extending that connection to people and communities on the ground. This collaboration will expand the accessibility of EV charging across Ireland, utilising eir-owned sites to deliver more sustainable infrastructure and helping drive environmental progress in a meaningful and practical way.”

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Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, will showcase the latest advancements in its AI-Ready solutions portfolio, designed to support next-generation AI factories and large-scale digital infrastructure, during Datacloud Global Congress 2026.

As governments and businesses globally continue to accelerate investments in artificial intelligence (AI) to drive economic growth, AI infrastructure is becoming one of the defining industrial challenges of the decade. According to Morgan Stanley Research, nearly $3 trillion of AI-related infrastructure investment is expected to flow through the global economy by 2028, while Gartner forecasts worldwide AI spending will exceed $2.5 trillion in 2026 alone.

New developments from Schneider Electric

Central to the AI revolution are data centers, which are transforming into the AI factories of the future. As AI workloads become more compute-intensive, operators are facing unprecedented demands around power availability, rack density, cooling and infrastructure resiliency.

Throughout Datacloud Global Congress, which takes place from the 1st to the 4th June 2026, Schneider Electric will demonstrate how organizations can deploy AI-ready infrastructure responsibly through next-generation power architectures, liquid cooling technologies, intelligent software, and digital services.

Keeping pace in the race for AI

On 2nd June at 10.30am, Frédéric Godemel, EVP, Energy Management Business at Schneider Electric, will join executives from Oracle, DATA4, QTS Data Centers and CBRE for the Keynote Panel, entitled ‘How is the Data Center Ecosystem Keeping up with AI Demand’, to discuss why neocloud’s have become the next disrupter in the market, how their deployments differ from hyperscale and enterprise requirements, and how Europe can keep pace in the race for AI.

Additionally, on the 2nd June at 12pm, Schneider Electric will host a panel discussion exploring how operators can de-risk their energy investments via innovative project structures, stronger utility collaboration, and greater engagement with local governments. Thierry Chamayou, Vice President of Cloud and Service Providers in EMEA at Schneider Electric, will join industry experts from GreenScale, Trench Group, Kao Data, JSM Group and Solar Turbines to discuss the strategies needed to support responsible AI infrastructure growth.

“AI is fundamentally reshaping the future of digital infrastructure, creating new demands around power, cooling and resiliency, at unprecedented scale,” said Marc Garner, Global President, Cloud and Service Provider Segment, Schneider Electric. “At Datacloud Global Congress, we will demonstrate how collaboration across the ecosystem is enabling the next generation of AI factories and helping organizations build scalable, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, built for the AI era.”

Design, build, simulate and operate

On the 1st June at 12pm, Sébastien Cruz-Mermy, VP Datacenter Innovation at Schneider Electric, will lead a technical innovation session focused on the future of AI factories and the infrastructure strategies required to support them.

During the session, Sébastien will explore how ultra-high-density rack design, next-generation DC power delivery architectures and resilient cooling strategies are becoming critical to enabling the future of AI infrastructure at scale. The session comes as Schneider Electric continues to expand its AI infrastructure ecosystem.

Later, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA will also co-host an exclusive invitation-only executive briefing, bringing together senior leaders and industry experts to discuss the evolving landscape of AI-driven infrastructure and explore NVIDIA’s 5?Layer Cake framework, including the DSX Blueprint, supported by Digital Twins, that bridge the gap between design, deployment, and operations.

Designed as a high-level executive networking experience, the event will feature strategic discussions focused on how advanced technologies are reshaping data centers and accelerating innovation at-scale.

Building the AI factories of the future

On Stand 122, Schneider Electric will showcase its latest AI innovations, including its recently introduced 800 VDC architecture, and other technologies engineered for the complete data center lifecycle – helping customers to design, simulate, build, operate and maintain AI-Ready infrastructure at-scale.

As digital modelling and simulation become increasingly important for large-scale AI deployments, the company will demonstrate its latest digital capabilities, including NVIDIA Omniverse integrations, Digital Twin technologies, NVIDIA Reference Designs for its GB300 NVL72 platform, alongside Smart Spatial experiences designed to support the optimization of future-ready AI infrastructure.

Visitors will also see the latest liquid cooling technologies from Motivair by Schneider Electric, including the new MCDU-70 – a 2.5MW Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) designed to cool data centers at gigawatt scale – alongside hybrid cooling systems and high-density racks designed to improve efficiency and performance for AI workloads.

In addition, Schneider Electric will demonstrate its end-to-end AI command center capabilities, including EcoStruxure IT DCIM and EcoStruxure Foresight software, alongside its Microgrid and Data Center Services, providing improved resiliency and efficiency for digital infrastructure environments.

To learn more, join Schneider Electric’s Powering AI Revolution Data Center Tour at Stand 122 during Datacloud Global Congress, 2026.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating, and digitalizing industries, businesses, and homes. Its technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and grids to operate as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience, and sustainability. The portfolio includes intelligent devices, software-defined architectures, AI-powered systems, digital services, and expert advisory. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is consistently ranked among the world’s most sustainable companies.

www.se.com

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By David Stephen who looks at Neuroimaging and prediction adiction in this article.

There is a recent report in The New York Times, Minnesota Becomes First State to Ban Prediction Markets, stating that, “Under the law, a person who creates, operates or advertises a prediction market that allows users to place bets on future events could be charged with a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The law would not subject Minnesotans who bet on the sites to criminal penalties.”

“Millions of Americans bet billions of dollars each month on markets ranging from the price of oil to who will win the reality show “Survivor.” The markets have come under heightened scrutiny as suspicious trades have come to light and fueled concerns about insider trading.”

Can Conceptual Neuroimaging help?

“Hundreds of other unusual bets have also raised eyebrows. A New York Times analysis of Polymarket data showed hundreds of bets placed one day before the United States launched an attack on Iran, suggesting some bettors may have known the strike was coming. In April, Kalshi said it had discovered three examples of congressional candidates placing bets on their own races.”

Problem gambling research lab with conceptual neuroimaging?

There could be many ways to regulate prediction markets. However, the likelihood that they would eradicate most of the risks that people are exposed to might be slight.

There are already gaming regulation suggestions, for example, in Europe to ensure that people do not bet using credit. There are several others around time limits, fewer betting options, and so on.

However, these can be regarded as technical. This means that there are two approaches to dealing with problem gambling: a technical side and a mind side.

Most of the ways that digital addictions, like social media, video games and others were approached has been lopsided. While progress was made, they were never as effective in amplifying willpower and providing measures of risks before certain consequential decisions.

This is the reason to have a major problem gambling research lab, with conceptual neuroimaging as the core path, for mind safety, against prediction markets addiction. Simply, how can there be a dynamic display of the human mind, for relays and destinations that can show the reach of addiction in the mind?

So, like a flowchart, there can be boxes and arrows, labeled with possible destinations of mind. Then, some data points [timing, type of game, odds, and so forth] can be used to decided relays, helping to show parallels of what is happening in the mind.

It will especially show the addiction destinations and how they feedback to the pleasure destination, as well as ignore the consequences and caution destinations.

The purpose is to ensure mind safety, so that people are aware of what is happening in their minds. This would be comparable to showing [say] the corrosion of something, given the effect of another substance.

The application is a flowchart with different shapes representing destinations in the mind and then different lines and arrows representing relays. It will be dynamic, such that it can take some data, either entered manually or automatically, and then display the relays of mind, in the instance.

It will be developed using data visualization algorithms, fitting in a flowchart format. It may also be pre-trained with some existing gaming data, to ensure that it is possible to automate tens of possibilities in the mind.

The application will be miniaturized for compliance with some gaming apps aside from its standalone iteration.

Some prediction markets can have this lab, while some other sports betting or addiction companies may do as well.

Just to see the mind, score and fasten prevention against risks and losses.

This solution will ensure that there is enough fairness to avoid people saying they did not have a choice or could not stop themselves.

The application will standalone, but can also be displayed on the side of some apps, as well as have viewing allowances for users. It will come at a subscription.

The basis of the mind of this solution is the postulation in Conceptual Biomarkers and Theoretical Biological Factors for Psychiatric and Intelligence Nosology.

David Stephen currently does research in conceptual brain science with focus on the electrical and chemical configurators for how they mechanize the human mind with implications for mental health, disorders, neurotechnology, consciousness, learning, artificial intelligence and nurture. He was a visiting scholar in medical entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL. He did computer vision research at Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona.

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Action plan for offshore wind energy launched as first projects expect to get planning this year. Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) today launched its Offshore Wind Action Plan 2026, setting out the urgent steps needed to . accelerate the delivery of offshore wind energy and achieve energy independence for Ireland.

The benefits of Irish offshore wind

The plan, launched before more than 400 delegates at the annual Offshore Wind Conference taking place today and tomorrow in the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin, comes at a time of rising costs for households and businesses driven by continued reliance on imported fossil fuels.

Minister Darragh O’Brien TD will deliver the keynote address on Day One of the conference at 1.35pm and Minister Timmy Dooley TD will deliver the keynote address on Day Two at 9.30am.

Recent research from the ESRI confirms that Ireland’s electricity prices are the highest in Europe because of our dependence on imported gas. The report also pointed out that countries like Spain which, after the previous fossil fuel crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cut their dependence on gas the fastest saw prices fall quickest.

The action plan highlights significant progress over the last 12 months driven by the Taoiseach’s new Clearing House for Offshore Wind Energy and a successful auction for the new Tonn Nua offshore project on the south coast, with industry confident that the first planning decisions on east-coast offshore projects can be expected later this year.

However, while progress is clear, challenges remain and the plan identifies 18 actions for delivery over the next 12 months with key priorities including:

• An Coimisiún Pleanála must be supported to deliver on its commitment to offshore wind planning decision timelines – including getting the first decision out in September;
• The CRU, EirGrid and industry must finalise all grid agreements and specifications for the existing east-coast projects so they can connect to the grid;
• Clarity is needed on Ireland’s future offshore wind pipeline, which sites will be available to progress and when;
• The Government must publish the National Ports Policy and, where a strong and credible business case is made, facilitate State investment in ports so they can build Irish offshore wind farms.
• The Government should advance plans for coastal Green Energy Parks which use offshore wind energy to attract new industries and create jobs.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Irish families and businesses are living through their second global fossil fuel energy crisis in five years. As long as we choose to depend on energy imports, in an increasingly volatile and erratic fossil fuel market, we are vulnerable.

“And when the next crisis hits, pensioners will, again, worry about the price of heating oil. Transport, fishing and agricultural sectors will, again, face enormous pressures as diesel prices rise. Families will, again, sit at the kitchen table looking in disbelief at their electricity bill.

“Let’s make a different choice. We choose Irish energy independence. We choose to generate our own clean and affordable power from our own enormous offshore wind energy resources. We can transport this on our upgraded grid, we can store this using new technologies, like long-duration energy storage.

“We can invest in electrification and use our opportunity as holders of the EU Presidency later this year to prioritise the coming European Electrification Action Plan.”

Achieving this will require a concerted and joined-up effort right across the policy system to enable the first phase of projects to be built and energised in the early 2030s.

Noel Cunniffe continued: “Ireland is radically and permanently transforming our entire energy system from how we generate electricity, to how we move and store it, to how we use it.

“Achieving this cannot rest with one single department or group of policymakers, no matter how committed they might be.

“It requires sustained support across Government, EirGrid, the regulator and beyond to ensure that every available resource is aligned behind a single overriding objective: the energy independence of our country.”

About Wind Energy Ireland:

Wind Energy Ireland is the representative body for the Irish wind industry, working to promote wind energy as an essential, economical and environmentally friendly part of the country’s low-carbon energy future.

We are Ireland’s largest renewable energy organisation with over 200 members who have come together to plan, build, operate and support the development of the country’s chief renewable energy resource.

We are an all-Ireland body, working in Northern Ireland as RenewableNI through a partnership with our colleagues in RenewableUK.

We create jobs, invest in communities, reduce Ireland’s CO2 emissions and work to end Ireland’s reliance on foreign fossil fuels.

We are leaders in Ireland’s fight against climate change.

Read more at: https://www.windenergyireland.com/

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Maynooth University’s (MU) has announced the launch of 25 new Faculty of Science & Engineering (FSE) ARDÚ Doctoral Scholarships, marking a major investment in the next generation of research talent and innovation.

The FSE ARDÚ Doctoral Scholarships will support 25 PhD research students across three of the University’s Research Beacons: Data Science and Digital Transformation, Health and Wellbeing, and Sustainability and Climate Change.

25 ARDÚ Doctoral Scholarships

The scholarships will fund cutting-edge research projects spanning areas such as health and disease, AI-driven healthcare analytics, and the molecular understanding of advanced materials.

MU’s FSE has a strong track record of delivering research that combines fundamental discovery with real-world impact. Across the faculty, researchers are addressing major challenges in health, sustainability, and digital transformation through collaborative research.

By bringing together expertise from across disciplines, the ARDÚ programme will give doctoral research students the opportunity to work in a dynamic and supportive research environment while contributing to internationally recognised research.

The programme reflects the faculty’s strengths in computational and data science, advanced materials and physical sciences, and health, psychology, and human-centred research, supporting interdisciplinary approaches to complex real-world challenges.

Each scholarship includes:

• Student stipend: €25,000 per annum
• Annual tuition fees
• Full-time Programme
• Fully funded for up to 4 Years

Professor Paul Moynagh, Dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering at MU, said:

“The Faculty of Science & Engineering ARDÚ Doctoral Scholarships demonstrate Maynooth University’s commitment to support of research in the Sciences and Engineering. They also provide exciting opportunities for early-stage scientists and engineers to pursue a research PhD under the supervision of world-class researchers who are making significant contributions to addressing some of the major challenges we face today.”

Dr Robert Elmes, Faculty of Science & Engineering Associate Dean for Research & Engagement at MU, added: “ARDÚ is a really positive development for the faculty and for the researchers who will join us through these scholarships. The projects reflect the breadth of excellent research taking place across Science and Engineering at Maynooth, while also creating space for new ideas, new collaborations and new researchers to develop. We are very much looking forward to welcoming the successful students and supporting them as they build their research careers.”

For more information visit: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/graduate-research-academy/scholarships-funding/ardu-scholarships

About Maynooth University

One of four constituent universities of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth University traces its origins to the foundation of the Royal College of St Patrick in 1795. It was formally established as an autonomous university in 1997. Maynooth University is one of Ireland’s fastest growing universities with more than 17,000 students, including over 2,500 postgraduates.

Maynooth University Faculty of Science & Engineering

The Faculty of Science and Engineering comprises the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Psychology, Sport Science and Nutrition, and the School of Nursing. The role of the faculty is to coordinate the academic activities of individual departments, to oversee the strategic development of departments, and to support interdepartmental and interdisciplinary activities and programmes.

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Leading Irish neuroimmunologist Prof. Denise Fitzgerald has been awarded €6.26 million Research Professorship funding from Research Ireland to investigate ways that ageing affects how the immune system helps repair brain tissue in illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

How immune system repairs brain

The funding means that over the next five years, Prof. Fitzgerald – who has, until now, been based exclusively in Queen’s University Belfast – will lead a research team of ten based in Trinity College Dublin and partnering with FutureNeuro Research Ireland Centre for Translational Brain Science, St James’s Hospital and Beaumont Hospital to discover why our immune cells become less able to coax brain stem cells to repair damage as we age. This research combines immunology, neuroscience and regenerative biology to tackle this complex problem.

Prof. Fitzgerald said: “This ambitious programme of research will uncover new insights into fundamental changes in the older immune system that has a knock-on effect on brain repair. This new knowledge can then be used to develop pioneering regenerative treatment for MS and other neurological conditions. To speed this up, we are embedding research into new clinical trials led by consultant neurologist, Hugh Kearney.

“This will increase the opportunities for people with MS in Ireland to access experimental treatments early, as well as to co-produce research with us as key public members of the research programme. Through this neuroimmunology research programme we will train the next generation of scientists, doctors and health professionals, side-by-side, in partnership with the public.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland commented: “Research Ireland is pleased to support Prof. Fitzgerald’s critically important work over the next five years, with the investment   facilitating an additional 11 research positions, comprising postdocs, PhDs, research assistants and senior research fellows. Funding excellent research talent is a key part of our recently launched strategy, as is addressing Ireland’s opportunities and challenges in areas such as public health. I look forward to seeing the outputs and impact of Prof. Fitzgerald’s endeavours over the coming years.”

Through this appointment, Prof. Fitzgerald will divide her role between Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, promoting all-island collaboration across neuroimmunology and other research areas. She will be an investigator at FutureNeuro, the RCSI-based Research Ireland Centre that aims to translate breakthroughs in understanding of brain structure and function to transform the patient journey for people with neurological diseases. She also brings extensive international collaboration with world-leading experts at Cambridge University, University College London, the University of Toronto, the Institute of Neuroscience – Alicante, the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Maynooth University.

Prof. Colin Doherty, head of the School of Medicine in Trinity and a Principal Investigator with FutureNeuro said: “I have known Denise for some time and have marvelled at the quality of her research into one of the great and challenging areas of medical science. We are delighted that she will be leading a team here in Trinity while retaining her links with Queen’s, strengthening all-island collaboration in neuroimmunology and creating exciting new opportunities across the wider FutureNeuro research network.”

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Irish Tech News is at Dublin Tech Summit and over the 2 days Ronan will be doing various podcasts. Our first podcast is with Luke Treacy the Managing Director and founder of Business Technology Academy. Luke has been on the podcast before and it’s nice to catchup and see what Luke and Business Technology academy are up.

Luke talks to Ronan about what  Business Technology Academy has been up to, their new AI courses, working with Senator Craughwell CyberQuest on Cyber Security for SME’s, Business Technology Academy’s new online publication and the events they are running with Dun Laoghaire Chamber of Commerce.

Our second podcast is with Phil Barnes Business Development Manager at Geotab, a Canadian technology company that develops and manufactures telematics and fleet management solutions. Phil talks to Ronan about his background, what Geotab does, Ai and data analytics.

Our third podcast is with Armin Moradi and Lydia Foott the Co-Founders of Qashio, created for finance leaders and business owners. They built a User-Centric Technology solution within spend management that is allowing businesses to mature their processes without compromising the speed of their operations. Armin and Lydia talk to Ronan about their backgrounds, their new Dublin office, new jobs and investment in Dublin and how the war in Iran has impacted them.

See more podcasts here.

Irish creative studio, The Studio of Possible, has been appointed by offshore wind and marine survey specialist, Sulmara, to support the business’s next phase of growth through strategic positioning, brand storytelling and communications.

The partnership spans brand strategy, positioning, digital, social, live experiences and commercial communications, with the work focused on helping Sulmara evolve from a traditional survey-led narrative towards a more future-facing position centred around seabed intelligence.

Operating within the rapidly expanding offshore wind and marine infrastructure sector, Sulmara is increasingly positioning itself not simply as a business that gathers seabed data, but as a strategic intelligence partner helping clients make smarter, faster and more confident decisions across offshore energy projects.

The appointment reflects growing demand within industrial, energy and engineering-led sectors for stronger strategic communications, clearer differentiation and commercially-focused brand positioning as businesses compete for investor attention, talent and market share in increasingly crowded categories.

Founded in Dublin in 2021, The Studio of Possible works at the intersection of strategy, creativity and commercial growth, helping organisations clarify their value, strengthen market positioning and communicate more effectively across digital, brand and experience-led channels.

The studio identified an opportunity to help Sulmara move beyond the conventional language commonly used across the offshore survey category, where many businesses communicate in similar terms around vessels, surveys, operations and data capture. Instead, the partnership focuses on developing a clearer and more differentiated narrative around intelligence, innovation and future offshore decision-making.

Séamus Begley, founder and creative director at The Studio of Possible, said: “We’re incredibly excited to partner with Sulmara, a business operating at the forefront of offshore wind and marine innovation.

“As the renewable energy sector continues to evolve at pace, there’s a growing need for companies driving real technical progress to communicate their value, vision and impact with greater clarity and confidence.

“Sulmara has built an impressive reputation within the industry and our role is to help sharpen how that expertise is articulated across the market.

“We believe strategic storytelling and positioning have an important role to play in supporting the future growth of offshore wind, helping businesses not only stand out commercially, but also connect more effectively with investors, partners, talent and the wider industry.”

Work to date has centred on helping Sulmara communicate its longer-term commercial ambition and innovation story more clearly, supporting the business as offshore wind matures from an emerging sector into a major global infrastructure and investment category.

Miek King, Head of Global Sales at Sulmara, commented: “We were looking for a partner that could understand the complexity of our work, while also helping us communicate the bigger commercial value behind it.

“The Studio of Possible immediately recognised that Sulmara’s role goes beyond traditional survey work and has helped us build a clearer, more future-focused narrative around seabed intelligence, innovation and the role we play in supporting smarter offshore energy decisions.”

According to The Studio of Possible, branding and strategic communications are becoming increasingly important within technical sectors, where businesses are no longer competing solely on operational capability, but also on clarity, confidence, investor appeal and future relevance.

Looking ahead, the partnership will continue to support Sulmara across brand, digital, social, events, investor communications and commercial storytelling as the business strengthens its position within the offshore wind and marine technology space.

A podcast with Seamus Begley will be up soon on Irish Tech News and all major podcast platforms.

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I have long been inspired and educated by TED Talks.

No doubt you have done the same and have your own personal favourites.

Today, I wish to introduce you to a new group of inspiring speakers who recently spoke at a TEDx event organised by Trinity Business School in Dublin to celebrate their 100th anniversary this year.

Trinity College in 1916 had a vision for Ireland and its people, while bullets and bombs were exploding in the Streets of Dublin and throughout the country.

To mark TBS’s 100th anniversary, they will create and host many events throughout the year.

The theme for this TEDx event was Change101, allowing the speakers  to reflect on what will define the next century across society, people and planet.

The event was a huge success, with a packed-to-capacity audience, who were greatly appreciative of the speakers’ ability to engage, entertain and excite in equal measure.

I was very pleased to be chosen to coach and prepare the 14 speakers for TEDx Trinity, an event hosted at Trinity Business School, Dublin, on March 5th.

There was a mix of participants, from current students, past graduates and academics.

Here are just a few of the attention grabbing titles:

• Loneliness and Trust in the age of AI
• When the Law Gets It Wrong
• Rethinking Jealousy – How others success becomes your own
• The Chilling Effect of Cultural Silence

Why not give yourself some time to learn and grow while being entertained?

Click the image below to view each talk and choose your favourite:

A good TEDx talk can be a calling card when starting out on a career or seeking advancement in your career.

Good Speakers get promoted – I coach people to present on a wide variety of subjects with vastly differing styles as evidenced in these TEDx talks.

By Executive Coach Andrew Keogh of Aristo.ie

Schneider Electric and Motivair showcase how AI is reshaping cooling and power systems inside modern data centres

Irish Tech News joined a group of international technology and infrastructure media in Buffalo, New York last week for a Schneider Electric-hosted briefing and site visits focused on the infrastructure emerging around AI computing.

The programme included presentations from Schneider Electric engineers and executives, a visit to Motivair, the liquid cooling company acquired by Schneider Electric in 2024, and tours of TeraWulf’s expanding AI infrastructure campus in New York State, where Schneider Electric technologies are being deployed as part of the wider infrastructure buildout.

A major theme throughout the visit was the speed at which new cooling, power and infrastructure solutions are now being deployed as AI systems dramatically increase computing density inside modern data centres.

Why cooling matters now? Data Centre Cooling trends to watch

For years, most data centres relied mainly on air cooling. Chilled air circulated through server halls to remove heat generated by computing equipment. That model worked reasonably well for earlier generations of enterprise computing and cloud infrastructure where heat densities were lower.

Rapid growth of AI is beginning to change the model

Companies such as NVIDIA have dramatically increased the processing power packed into these systems, particularly for AI training and inference workloads. The result is that modern AI racks can generate far greater levels of heat than previous generations of computing infrastructure.

According to Tuan Hoang, Head of Product Development and Innovation for Schneider Electric’s cooling business, traditional air cooling systems are now approaching practical limits at very high rack densities.

“Liquid cooling allows us to do that,” Hoang told me during the visit. “It has 4,000% more heat capacity than air.”

What liquid cooling actually looks like?

At the Motivair facility and later at the TeraWulf site, journalists were shown examples of liquid cooling systems now being deployed beside high-density AI infrastructure. See photo above.

Instead of relying entirely on chilled air circulating through server halls, the systems use liquid circulating through cooling units connected into server environments to remove heat more efficiently and closer to the chips themselves.

The visual impression is quite different from the public image many people still have of data centres. Large pipework systems, cooling units, power systems and engineering infrastructure increasingly dominate these environments as AI deployments scale. Hoang stressed repeatedly that air cooling is not disappearing entirely.

“It is still necessary,” he explained, particularly for wider facility environments and supporting infrastructure.

What is changing is the balance between air and liquid cooling as AI workloads become denser and more power-intensive.

Why speed is becoming critical?

Another major theme during the Buffalo visit was speed. AI infrastructure operators increasingly want facilities operational as quickly as possible because expensive GPU systems only generate returns once deployed and running. That pressure is driving growing interest in modular infrastructure, prefabricated systems and repeatable engineering designs which can be deployed more rapidly than traditional bespoke builds.

The scale and pace of construction at the Lake Mariner TeraWulf campus reflected that urgency. One AI-focused facility is already operational while further expansion continues across the wider site.

Existing data centres are being redesigned for AI

Hoang also discussed the growing challenge of adapting existing data centres for AI workloads rather than building entirely new facilities from scratch.

“A lot of customers are trying to retrofit existing data centres,” he said during the interview, explaining that many operators are now attempting to adapt infrastructure originally designed for lower-density cloud computing.

That pressure is one reason modular cooling systems and repeatable infrastructure designs are becoming increasingly important as AI deployments scale.

Cooling and power now go together

The discussions also highlighted how AI is beginning to reshape electrical infrastructure inside data centres.

One of the engineering topics discussed was the move toward higher-voltage 800 VDC power architectures designed to support increasingly dense AI deployments. As processors become more powerful and physically compact, both cooling and electrical systems are being redesigned to cope with the resulting power and heat densities.

“You can’t design power first and then cool,” Hoang said during the interview. “They have to come together.”

AI infrastructure is becoming more industrial

The infrastructure behind AI is becoming more physical, more engineering-intensive and more industrial in scale. While much public discussion around AI still focuses on software tools and consumer applications, the companies building the infrastructure underneath these systems are now dealing with large-scale issues involving cooling, power distribution, deployment speed and physical engineering constraints.

At TeraWulf, where part of the infrastructure is being developed around a former coal power generation site, the scale of that transition becomes easier to visualise. The environment feels less like a conventional technology campus and more like an evolving industrial infrastructure project shaped around energy, cooling and high-density computing.

This is the first of two Irish Tech News articles examining the infrastructure behind the current AI expansion. The second article will explore the rise of “AI factories”, hyperscale infrastructure and the growing strategic importance of power and energy systems in AI deployment.

Billy Linehan

Billy Linehan writes about innovation, tech for good and entrepreneurship for Irish Tech News. He leads Celtar Advisers, working as a business mentor with SME directors and startup founders, and co-founded StartUp Ballymun, Dublin’s longest-running entrepreneurship series.  In recent months he has reported from technology and innovation events in Rome, Las Vegas, Orlando, Buffalo NY and Dublin.

See more breaking stories here.

Iaros Belkin caught up with Owen Healy at ETHCluj, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in what turned into one of the more honest conversations I’ve had at a crypto conference this cycle. Healy is the Founder and Director of Owen Healy Blockchain Talent, a boutique Irish recruitment firm that has placed lots of people from 25+ countries into blockchain projects since he entered the space in early 2021. He built the whole thing from a standing start during COVID, living in rural Ireland, unemployed, with nothing but a LinkedIn account and a genuine curiosity about the technology.

That backstory matters. It means when Healy talks about the current market, he isn’t protecting a fund position or managing a narrative. He’s telling you what he actually sees from the candidate and employer side simultaneously. And right now, what he sees is sobering.

Insights with Owen Healy

On AI and job displacement

The WEF Future of Jobs report projects 92 million roles displaced and 170 million created by 2030. Net positive on paper. Healy isn’t buying the framing.

“There are a lot of companies that historically would have been over-bloated and overstaffed, and they’re conveniently using AI as an excuse to conduct layoffs,” he told me. “AI is replacing jobs, but maybe not to the extent that the corporate world would like you to believe.”

He’s equally clear that nobody is immune. “Everyone is using the benefits of AI and suffering the consequences of it at the same time.”

On developers

Developers who were comfortable at €150K two or three years ago are now accepting €120K. Healy is direct about why: the market is an employer’s market, full stop. Location matters more than it did. The US and Asia are moving; Europe is quiet. And developers are being pushed up the stack regardless.

“People are being forced to effectively do more and leverage the best AI capabilities. Sometimes it’s reasonable, sometimes it’s not.”

On institutional money arriving

This is the part of the conversation that surprised me most. Healy’s read is that institutional entry is changing the candidate profile the industry actually wants.

“We’re entering an industry where hoodies are less in demand and suits are in more demand.”

For years, TradFi professionals were crypto-curious but couldn’t stomach the risk of leaving stable, pensionable careers for a space where ten-year jobs are rare and use cases can be murky. That’s changing. JP Morgan, BlackRock, and others are doing blockchain-related hiring now, and it’s pulling a cohort of talent that was always interested but never had a comfortable entry point. London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore: that’s where institutional-adjacent hiring is concentrated.

On EthCC feeling like a funeral

It was an offhand remark that landed harder than most prepared conference soundbites. “EthCC felt like a funeral in many respects,” Healy said. His reasoning is rooted in what he sees from the inside: projects that look fine externally, companies still putting on a brave face while quietly running out of runway. He mentioned Code4rena winding down as one example, a business he described as legitimate and genuinely useful to the space.

“Nobody’s going to invest in you or use your services if you’re anticipating you’ll run out of business in six months.”

The one piece of advice he offered for a bear market

Go to events. Build the relationships now that pay off when conditions improve. He did it in 2023. He’s doing it again.

Practical. Unglamorous. And coming from someone who built a 100-placement recruitment business from a rural Irish village during a pandemic, probably worth listening to.

Iaros Belkin is a founder of Belkin Marketing, a boutique agency serving as Strategic Advisor to Deep Tech, Web3 and AI Founders. Two decades of experience navigating high-stakes global markets and orchestrating everything a good venture team needs: from grants and key partnerships to VVIP events elevated experience.

See more breaking stories here.

Solar Ireland is warning that too much clean, renewable energy is being wasted because grid and system development are not keeping pace with record levels of generation, limiting the full benefits solar can deliver for consumers, energy security and affordability. The industry group is speaking out as the current sunny spell delivers exceptional generation across Ireland’s solar farms.

Solar delivers over 1/3rd of Irish daily power

At 1.30pm yesterday, one third of electricity demand across Ireland was delivered through clean, renewable energy generated at solar farms nationwide, according to Green Collective data. It follows record figures from Sunday afternoon, when these farms were providing almost the same amount of power as imported gas*.

CEO of Ronan Power said: “This is a fantastic week for solar in Ireland and shows just how quickly the sector is growing and contributing to our energy system. Ireland’s first utility-scale solar farm was only connected to the grid in 2022, and already we are seeing solar provide a significant share of electricity demand.

This also highlights an increasingly important challenge. As generation levels continue to rise, parts of the system are struggling to absorb all the clean, renewable energy available, leading to increasing dispatch down and curtailment. Put simply, we sometimes have to turn off renewable generation because the system is not always capable of handling all the clean energy being produced. Grid remains a critical part of the solution, but this is now broader than grid alone. We need to look at the challenge with fresh eyes and focus on system optimisation, using the technology already available and the strong public support behind the energy transition.”

Power said Ireland now needs to move quickly from planning to implementation: “The investment commitment is there and we welcome that. The priority now is accelerating delivery and ensuring grid infrastructure, system services and operational measures keep pace with renewable deployment. Every unit of renewable electricity we can use helps reduce reliance on imported fuels, improves energy independence and supports consumers at a time when energy costs remain a concern.

Solar is increasingly helping reduce Ireland’s dependence on imported fossil fuels and creating a more resilient electricity system. Maximising that opportunity is not only a climate priority, it is an affordability priority too.”

Solar Ireland is calling for accelerated delivery across grid infrastructure, flexibility measures and operational actions to ensure Ireland can fully capture periods of strong renewable generation and maximise the benefits for consumers, businesses and the wider economy.

NOTE:

*At 2.30pm on Sunday, utility-scale solar contributed a record 37.06% of the fuel demand across the country, just 2% away from the level of imported gas being used in the 24-hour period leading up to Sunday afternoon. According to EirGrid, the total amount of renewable generation from wind and solar exceeded 46%.

See more breaking stories here.

The award-winning STEM Passport for Inclusion programme is calling on professionals across Ireland to sign up as mentors and support the next generation of STEM talent from under-served backgrounds. The initiative is now expanding its reach and is seeking volunteers to play a vital role in supporting students as they explore education and career pathways in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

By dedicating fifteen hours, across the next 12 months, mentors can provide guidance, share personal and professional experiences, and help students from under-served backgrounds around the city to build the confidence and skills they need to pursue further education and careers in STEM.

A short online training session will take place across a number of dates, including the 4th, 9th, and 16th of June, and the 14th of July, equipping new mentors the tools and confidence to get started. While an in-person full day training day will take place on Tuesday July 28 in Microsoft offices in Leopardstown, Co Dublin. Anyone interested in becoming a mentor is encouraged to register their interest as soon as possible: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/dAqBVpL2DR. Additional training dates will be scheduled in August.

STEM Passport for Inclusion is an initiative led by Prof Katriona O’Sullivan at Maynooth University’s National Centre for Inclusive Higher Education. The programme is funded by Research Ireland, the Department of Education and Youth and Microsoft, as well as by many industry and education partners. It aims to tackle persistent inequalities in access to STEM education and career pathways, with particular focus on growing representation of under-served communities.

The mentoring programme is designed to be flexible and accessible. All mentoring sessions take place online and are supported by the STEM Passport for Inclusion team, ensuring that volunteers are fully equipped to make the most of the experience. Importantly, mentors do not need to come from a STEM background, or even work in STEM; what matters most is their willingness to listen, support, and encourage the next generation.

Professor Katriona O’Sullivan, STEM Passport for Inclusion, emphasised the importance of this work, saying: “Following a busy year for the STEM Passport for Inclusion, we are now focused on building on that momentum and expanding the programme’s reach. As we grow the programme across Ireland, we are looking for people who are willing to share their time and perspective. By volunteering as a mentor, individuals can make a meaningful difference, while helping to build a more inclusive and diverse future workforce.”

About STEM Passport for Inclusion:

The award-winning STEM Passport for Inclusion is an initiative led by Prof Katriona O’Sullivan at Maynooth University. Funded by  Research Ireland and the Department of Education, as well as lead and founding partner Microsoft Ireland alongside many industry and education partners, STEM Passport creates an innovative pathway for students from under-served backgrounds to third level education by earning a Level 6 STEM qualification, work experience opportunities, and mentoring from inspiring industry role models.

See more breaking stories here.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, who operate a Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, has expanded its global cloud portfolio with the launch of SovereignSecure Cloud in Europe. This bespoke offering, designed specifically for governments, public sector enterprises, and regulated industries, combines sovereign cloud architecture with AI capabilities to enable sovereignty across data, operations and digital infrastructure.

In the European Union (EU), the offerings will enable enterprises to achieve digital autonomy, strengthen regulatory compliance and enhanced security in an increasingly complex global environment without compromising on the speed, agility, and interoperability essential to modern businesses. The launch of TCS SovereignSecure Cloud in the EU builds on its successful rollout in India in 2025, followed by expansions into Kenya, East Africa and the Philippines.

TCS SovereignSecure Cloud for the EU has been designed to provide strategic autonomy through a multi-layered approach. It comprises a sovereign cloud layer delivered through hyperscalers, providing scale and the flexibility to operate securely within the EU regulatory framework. The national sovereign cloud layer enables country-specific localisation while bringing operations under a unified control plane.

And its enterprise cloud services layer leverages the EU-specific TCS Enterprise Cloud Framework, a unified orchestration and control layer that enables enterprises to dynamically apply the appropriate level of sovereignty across data, operations, and technology based on workload, risk, and sector.

Sapthagiri Chapalapalli, Head of Europe, TCS, said, “European organisations are looking to strike a balance between addressing supply chain and sovereignty risks while ensuring leverage of frontier technologies to be globally competitive. TCS SovereignSecure Cloud solutions mark an important milestone for TCS in Europe, as our customers can now benefit from a pragmatic approach to cloud that ensures resilience and sovereignty that is contextualised to the enterprise.”

TCS is also introducing the TCS Sovereignty Consulting and Delivery Framework in the EU to help organisations become a “minimum viable sovereign enterprise” by finding the right balance between control and flexibility. It recognises that not all workloads need the same level of sovereign protection. Using a practical, risk-based approach, it categorises workloads by importance and applies the right level of sovereignty to each, focusing effort where they deliver the greatest impact and risk mitigation.

As enterprises and governments across Europe accelerate their digital transformation journeys, the need for secure, compliant and sovereign cloud architectures has never been more critical. With SovereignSecure Cloud, TCS is bringing together the scale of hyperscalers, localised sovereign controls, and AI-led capabilities to help organisations achieve digital autonomy without compromising on agility, innovation or operational resilience.

This new TCS SovereignSecure Cloud offering leverages TCS’ strength in the European region, enabling organisations to innovate and grow with more flexibility. Operating in Europe for over 45 years, TCS has a diverse workforce operating from 58 offices across the region. TCS drives digital transformation for some of Europe’s leading multinationals adapting to the changing digital landscape of today across industries such as banking and financial services, manufacturing, telecom, retail, travel, logistics, and more.

TCS is committed to serving as a trusted IT service provider across its TCS European Delivery Network of 10 data centres and 21 delivery locations across Europe and in Ireland where their operation in Letterkenny was integral in the rollout of Ireland’s national pension auto-enrollment scheme, known as ‘My Future Fund’, going live in January 2026.

A New Chapter for Irish Innovation

Ireland has long been recognised as a place where global technology meets local ingenuity. From ambitious start-ups in Dublin and Cork to research-led projects emerging from universities and innovation hubs, the country’s technology sector is no longer defined only by multinational investment. Increasingly, it is shaped by entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists and social innovators who want to build tools that solve real problems.

The next stage of Ireland’s digital journey will not be measured simply by the number of apps launched or platforms scaled. It will be judged by whether technology can become more trustworthy, sustainable and useful in everyday life. Artificial intelligence, cyber security, clean technology, digital health and responsible data governance are now central to that conversation.

Artificial Intelligence with Accountability

Artificial intelligence is transforming how businesses operate, how public services are delivered and how people interact with information. Yet the rapid rise of AI has also created urgent questions around transparency, bias, regulation and control. For Ireland, this presents both an opportunity and a responsibility.

Irish researchers and founders are well placed to help shape AI systems that are not only powerful, but also accountable. Rather than chasing automation for its own sake, the most valuable AI companies of the coming decade will be those that improve decision-making while keeping humans firmly in the loop. Whether in healthcare diagnostics, legal technology, agriculture, education or financial services, the strongest products will be built on trust.

Green Tech as a Growth Engine

Climate change has made sustainability a business necessity rather than a marketing preference. This is where Ireland’s green tech and clean tech communities can play a major role. Smart energy management, circular economy platforms, low-carbon manufacturing, precision agriculture and climate data tools all offer ways to reduce waste while creating commercial value.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainability is often a practical challenge. They need affordable tools that help them monitor energy use, manage supply chains, reduce emissions and report progress clearly. Even routine office choices, from cloud infrastructure to printing supplies such as Brother ink cartridges, can become part of a wider conversation about responsible procurement and waste reduction.

The companies that succeed will be those that make sustainability easier, measurable and economically sensible.

Start-ups, SMEs and the Power of Collaboration

Ireland’s technology ecosystem benefits from a rare combination of academic strength, entrepreneurial energy and international connectivity. However, innovation does not happen in isolation. Start-ups need access to funding, mentors, test environments, skilled graduates and early customers. Larger companies need fresh thinking and agility. Public bodies need practical solutions that can scale.

Collaboration between these groups will be essential. A medtech founder may need AI expertise from a university lab. A cyber security company may need support from an enterprise agency to reach European markets. A green tech start-up may need pilot partnerships with local councils or established manufacturers. When these connections work well, Ireland can turn good ideas into globally relevant companies.

Technology That Serves People

The most exciting future for Irish technology is not purely digital; it is human-centred. The aim should be to create systems that improve health, protect privacy, reduce environmental harm and support better work. That means designing products with accessibility in mind, communicating clearly with users and thinking carefully about unintended consequences.

As AI becomes more capable and connected devices become more common, public confidence will matter more than ever. People will not adopt technology simply because it is new. They will adopt it when it is reliable, ethical and genuinely helpful.

Looking Ahead

Ireland’s next digital leap will depend on more than technical talent. It will require responsible leadership, patient investment and a willingness to ask difficult questions about the role of technology in society. The opportunity is significant: to build a technology sector that is globally competitive, locally rooted and aligned with the needs of people and the planet.

If Ireland can combine innovation with accountability, and ambition with sustainability, it can help define what the next generation of technology should look like: smarter, greener and more human.

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien announced a range of new and expanded measures under the New Residential Retrofitting Plan.

These new measures included:

• new windows and doors grants.
• increased fixed grant levels for attic and cavity wall insultation with values set at up to 80% of median cost; and at up to 100% of median cost for those on qualifying welfare payments and for First Time Buyers (subject to scheme conditions).
• a greater focus on supports for undertaking retrofit measures on an incremental basis.
• increased heat pump grants to €12,500.
• improved grants to support Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies.
• new pilots focused on improving options for heat pump technology, including support for High Temperature Heat Pumps.
• providing support for older people accessing home energy retrofits under the Healthy Age Friendly Homes initiative.

Energy poverty

Minister O’Brien is delighted to announce that the Terms and Conditions in relation to the increased Approved Housing Bodies grant rates have now been finalised. These are now available to view on the SEAI’s website: www.seai.ie/sites/default/files/publications/CEG-Application-Guidelines.pdf.

Minister O’Brien commented:

“I am delighted to announce the new grant rates for Approved Housing Bodies and households at risk of energy poverty participating in Community upgrade projects. In the Programme for Government we committed to take decisive action to provide warmer, more comfortable homes – as part of our drive to support energy affordability, security, and sustainability.

“In the first quarter of the year, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) data shows a very positive upward trend with clear evidence of growth in both demand and output. The retrofit sector is mobilising and responding to the growing interest in energy upgrades underpinned by SEAI grant support. Applications to SEAI for individual home energy upgrades are up 186% on Q1 2025, and overall applications are up 96%.

“The National Energy Affordability Taskforce, will identify, assess and implement measures to enhance energy affordability for households. This work includes examining how to support increased uptake of home energy efficiency upgrades and continued development of the SEAI retrofit schemes in line with commitments in the Programme for Government.”

CEO of the SEAI William Walsh said:

“These increased grants to Approved Housing Bodies and private, energy poor homes taking part in our community grant scheme, will make a big difference to those that need it most, giving them more control and security over their energy costs. This is how we reduce bills in the long-term — by breaking the link between the costs of running a household and volatile international fossil fuel markets. At SEAI we are here to help, no matter what stage a person is at. I really welcome the Minister’s announcement today, which further adds to what is already available to help our most vulnerable.”

The new grant rates being made available today will support Approved Housing Bodies to upgrade some of their worst performing homes and switch to heat pumps. It will also support the upgrade of more multi-unit developments in Approved Housing Body ownership.

New National Residential Retrofit Plan

The new National Residential Retrofit Plan (2026) was launched in January. It phased in a range new, more affordable measures.

Applications to SEAI so far in 2026 (year-on-year) have doubled. Over 29,000 applications were processed between January and March.

These applications included:

• 7,000 have already applied for windows and doors grants. Grant go to €4,000 for windows; up to €1,600 for doors.
• Over 1,700 applications are in for attic insulation (up 80% year on year). Grants go up to €2,500.
• Over 1,000 applications came in for cavity wall insulation (up 60% year-on-year). Grants go up to €8,000 for wall insulation, including internal, external and cavity.
• Over 350 applications came in for heat pump installations (up 90% year-on-year). Grants go up to €12,500 for heat pump systems; up to €700 for heating controls.

This is a link to suite of new SEAI grant supports announced in January: Energy Upgrades.

See more breaking stories here.

Bay Broadcasting has announced the “imminent” rollout of three of its radio stations to DAB, making them available to an estimated 85% of the population. Radio Nova, Classic Hits Radio and Sunshine 106.8 will broadcast on the Failte DAB Mux2 trial, which will reach most of the country outside the Dublin when launched. Bay claims the move marks a new era of national scale and audience growth for the group and describes the launch of the three radio services on national DAB as the most exciting development for radio choice in over a decade.

It believes the move will significantly increase its reach, with Nova and Sunshine expected to add 2.5m potential listeners and Classic Hits a further 1.2m people. Bay Broadcasting said the rollout gives the group the potential to challenge Bauer Media’s monopoly on national radio commercial radio in Ireland.

To find out more about this I spoke to Kevin Brannigan the CEO of Bay Broadcasting. Kevin spoke to me about his background, the radio stations Bay Broadcasting owns, Failte DAB Mux2, how technology has changed radio from the 1980’s till now, and looking for more Irish talent to present on DAB radio.

More about FáilteDAB Mux 2:

FáilteDAB Mux 2 is an extended DAB+ trial network that covers approximately 85% of the Irish population. Launched in April 2026, it expands coverage well beyond the original Dublin-centric trial area to include the Midlands, Southeast, Cork, Limerick, Clare, Galway, and Mayo.

See more stories here.

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien announced the successful projects that have been awarded funding under Phase 2 of the Community Climate Action Programme, alongside an additional €2.6 million in funding to support further high-quality projects from Local Authority reserve lists.

The announcement forms part of the Government’s continued investment in community-led climate action through the Climate Action Fund (CAF), with almost €27 million (over €26.9 million) being made available to Local Authorities – to support communities building low-carbon, sustainable futures.

Irish Community Climate Projects

The newly announced and additional €2.6 million allocation will enable additional large projects, identified by Local Authorities through reserve lists, to proceed in the coming months. Successful projects under this additional funding stream will be communicated to local authorities today.

Announcing the funding, Minister O’Brien said:

“Communities across Ireland are leading the way in climate action, delivering practical projects that reduce emissions, strengthen local resilience and improve quality of life. I am delighted to announce the successful projects under this latest phase of the Community Climate Action Programme, and to provide a further €2.6 million to ensure even more of these ambitious community projects can move forward.

“This programme empowers communities to take meaningful local action on climate change, while also contributing to our national climate and energy goals. The scale of interest and quality of applications received demonstrates the commitment of communities nationwide to building a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

Community climate action – ‘learning by doing’:

The Community Climate Action Programme supports projects and initiatives that facilitate community climate action through education, capacity building and ‘learning by doing’.

Projects funded under Phase 1 of the programme:

Phase 1 of the programme has already supported approximately 650 community climate action projects nationwide.

Projects funded under the programme have delivered a wide range of benefits for communities, including reduced energy costs, enhanced biodiversity, wildlife restoration, improved local amenities and stronger community engagement.

Ambition for Phase 2:

Phase 2 of the programme sees Local Authorities continue to partner directly with community groups to deliver projects that contribute to Ireland’s climate and energy targets, while supporting communities to scale up local climate action initiatives.

Projects supported under the programme address five key themes:

• Community energy.
• Travel.
• Food and waste.
• Shopping and recycling.
• Local climate and environmental action.

The programme is administered through the network of Community Climate Action Officers (CCAOs) in Local Authorities, who provide guidance, support and practical assistance to communities – seeking to become lower-carbon and more sustainable.

The list of successful projects is available at this link: CCAP.

Details on the Phase 2 funding allocated to each of the Local Authorities:

See more breaking stories here.

We look at this Harvard Business Review Press book about Taylor Swift. For more about the book, see here.

There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, reviewed

This book is certainly readable. As someone who is aware of who she is, knows a few songs, and has teenagers who may have even gone to see her in concert there are reasons why this book was of potential interest for reviewing. The author also cites a lot of business management and thoughtful marketing thinkers too, Clayton Christiansen and Seth Godin yes we are talking about you here. Similarly words like pivot and pilot are used with business dev enthusiasm. This is all fine and dandy, but, as we read it, it was hard not to wonder if this was an attempt to shoehorn the career of Taylor Swift into a startup ethos vibe.

The other question, and challenge in reading this narrative, was that, were we looking at Taylor Swift’s career through the prism of a confirmation bias. She was, now is, wildly successful for sure, but does that mean that all of her albums, and her musical steps, and decisions made were actually that strategic or as carefully considered as the subtitle of this book would like us to think? As Bill Gates may have said, success can be a lousy teacher. All the more so when you consider musical careers. Lou Reed was an awful grump and cranky guy, if many accounts are to be believed, the Velvet Underground were both wildly unsuccessful first time around, and yet created some great songs and are considered to be one of the seminal and most important bands to have come out of the sixties. Was this therefore a clever strategic performance, or did they, eventually, stumble onto fame and fortune. Walk on the wild side and Waiting for my Man would hardly be obvious topics towards musical stardom.

Coming back to Taylor, the book was informative, interesting, but the business analogies felt a bit clunky at times. Many fans felt that The Tortured Poets Department was a good single, or perhaps double album, lost in a triple. It would have been good to see how the author factored in this mishmash of an album in the slightly breathless prose of her faultless strategic rise to the top? Perhaps the classic result of so many triples, like Sandanista for example, so great songs, mixed in with some slightly to very odd ones too. This book might fall between too stools, not Taylor enough for TS fans, and a bit of a reach for business insights for those coming from  a business or marketing background.

More about the book here

A smart, page-turning exploration of the business and creative decisions that transformed Taylor Swift into an unprecedented modern cultural phenomenon. Singer-songwriter. Trailblazer. Mastermind. The Beatles of her generation. From her genre-busting rise in country music as a teenager to the economic juggernaut that is the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift has blazed a path that is uniquely hers. But how exactly has she managed to scale her success–multiple times–while dominating an industry that cycles through artists and stars like fashion trends? How has she managed to make and remake herself time and again while remaining true to her artistic vision? And how has she managed to master the constant disruption in the music business that has made it so hard for others to adapt and endure?

In “There’s Nothing Like This,” Kevin Evers, a senior editor at “Harvard Business Review,” answers these questions in riveting detail. With the same thoughtful analysis usually devoted to iconic founders, game-changing innovators, and pioneering brands, Evers chronicles the business and creative decisions that have defined each phase of Swift’s career. Mixing business and art, analysis and narrative, and pulling from research in innovation, creativity, psychology, and strategy, “There’s Nothing Like This” presents Swift as the modern and multidimensional superstar that she is–a songwriting savant and a strategic genius. Swift’s fans will see their icon from a fresh perspective. Others will gain more than a measure of admiration for her ability to stay at the top of her game. And everyone will come away understanding why, even after two decades, Swift keeps winning.

See more reviews here.

By Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA, Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally

This is the second article in a series of articles I am writing for Irish Tech News  to explore the financial, technical, legal aspects of utilizing space solar energized orbital data centers that are rapidly evolving into “AI Factories, designed specifically to convert massive amounts of electrical power into intelligence, measured in tokens”  around the world.

The US Space Race

My new series is a follow up to an interview ITN conducted with me in 2020 exploring how space solar energy could sustainably energize the tokenization of the global  financial markets which is projected to grow to multi-trillion dollars by the end of the decade.

The shift toward space-solarized data infrastructure is accelerating in the US rapidly following the historic March 1, 2026, drone strikes on AWS data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain which has extended during April and May. Executed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), these kinetic strikes marked the first time commercial hyperscale data centers were directly targeted and physically damaged in active warfare. The attacks caused prolonged service disruptions, exposed the vulnerability of terrestrial tech infrastructure, and proved that earth bound data centers are now prioritized military targets.

As detailed in the table below US technology and aerospace companies are increasingly looking to space-solarized solutions to address the immense energy and cooling demands of AI, with several key initiatives emerging.

US Tech and Aerospace Companies Focused on Space Solarized Data Centers

Two Distinct Approaches in Space Solarized Data Center Operations in the US

US technology and space companies in a race are aggressively pursuing orbital and space-solarized data centers and are tackling these operations through two distinct methodologies: orbital data processing (in-space edge compute) and space-based terrestrial power harvesting. Both approaches aim to bypass the escalating energy demands, cooling constraints, and land footprint limitations of Earth-based data center infrastructure.

The two approaches differ significantly in how they utilize space and solar resources. Here is a summary:

Terrestrial vs. Space-Based AI Compute

In-Orbit Data Centers (Space-Based Edge Compute Integration)

This method involves launching actual server racks, GPUs, and computing hardware directly into orbit typically in Low Earth Orbit- LEO or Lunar Data Centers focusing on processing space-gathered data at the point of collection rather than transmitting raw telemetry back to Earth for processing.

LEO satellites draw power directly from the sun without atmospheric interference, operating outside the day-night cycle to achieve constant energy and compute processing. Heat is dissipated into the vacuum of space using advanced thermal radiators.  Satellites use localized server arrays or tensor processing units (TPUs) to run real-time AI inference and cloud workloads in orbit.

US technology  companies as detailed in the table above like SpaceX (via its xAI data center satellite constellation proposals), Nvidia (with its Starcloud initiative),  Lone Star, Axiom Space, Aetherflux rebranded as Cowboy Space, Capella Space, and Planet Labs in partnership with Google’s Project Suncatcher—are actively integrating high-power chips (such as H100s)  to generate insights and train models directly in orbit. These US technology companies and aerospace firms are actively racing to build world AI computing infrastructure, aiming to construct dedicated “Level 2” orbital data centers. By mounting silicon chips like Nvidia H100s and TPUs in orbit, these firms hope to bypass Earth’s power and cooling limits, executing massive AI model training in the vacuum of space.

Jeff Bezos’ private space firm, Blue Origin, filed an FCC application for Project Sunrise—a 51,600-satellite constellation dedicated to orbital data processing. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services (AWS) entered a strategic partnership with Starcloud to develop space-based cloud networks. Bezos noted on MarketWatch that the transition to orbital data centers will realistically take 10 to 20 years and to block SpaceX’s space-based ambitions in March 2026, Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) filed an FCC petition arguing that SpaceX’s proposed one-million-satellite constellation was a “lofty ambition” and “speculative placeholder” that could threaten space safety.  The legal challenge unfolded while Amazon itself faced regulatory pressure, trailing significantly behind its FCC milestone to deploy half of its intended ~3,200 broadband satellites, forcing the company to seek deadline extensions.

Meanwhile, on December 10, 2025 PowerBank Corporation (Canada) already launched the inaugural  DeStarlink Genesis-1 satellite, marking Orbit AI’s (Singapore)  first step toward building its space solarized Orbital Cloud network — an architecture where AI compute, connectivity, and blockchain (Ethereum) – verified processing occur directly in low-Earth satellites.

Terrestrial Power Harvesting (Space-to-Earth Energy)

The surging power demands of AI workloads have put immense strain on the domestic energy grid, forcing US technology companies to seek unconventional energy sources. Meta’s data center footprint consumed over 18,000 gigawatt-hours in 2024 alone.

Instead of putting servers in space, this approach keeps the data centers on the ground but uses  satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) capture sunlight without the hindrance of weather, clouds, or nighttime, then transmit this energy to terrestrial receivers located directly at or near data center sites. This GEO positioning yields up to \(5 \times\) the energy of standard ground-based solar farms, bypassing terrestrial power grid constraints, eliminating interconnection bottlenecks, and providing instantaneous, 24/7 clean energy to highly demanding data center hubs.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)  indicated that it remains focused on terrestrial data center expansion and has entered a  partnership with Orbital Materials to focus on terrestrial data center infrastructure. The collaboration utilizes artificial intelligence to design and test new synthetic materials aimed at making traditional data centers more sustainable through targeted carbon removal and optimized cooling systems.

Meanwhile, with a first-of-its-kind commercial agreement, Space-based solar power (SBSP) in GEO is transitioning from theory as explained by Dr. Paul Jaffe to commercial implementation.    Meta announced an agreement with startup Overview Energy to secure up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of space-based solar power capacity for its AI data centers. By beaming continuous energy via near-infrared lasers from geosynchronous orbit, the technology bypasses grid constraints by illuminating terrestrial solar farms at night to provide round-the-clock generation.

Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA is an international  legal  expert  and author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally.  Her  writings are translated into 45 languages and republished in over 200 global publications.  She is recognized as an expert media/TV commentator on global digital asset regulation, tax,  technology and aerospace matters.

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Guest post by Sapthagiri Chapalapalli, Head of TCS Europe

The European Environment

European organisations have a unique opportunity to lead with trusted infrastructure, rigorous compliance, and innovation that advances both growth and societal goals.

The European Union is seen as a regulatory superpower globally, often setting the standards which the world then adopts. In technology, traditionally Europe sets the bar high on risk, safety, rights and antitrust, but there is recognition that there is tension between this approach, versus the more innovation-friendly and hands-off attitude in the US.

Organisations are caught in the middle, needing to be compliant, to work globally, and ultimately ensure their entire digital ecosystem is serving their needs with minimal friction. Maintaining a competitive environment for growth is a constant tightrope to walk.

Right now, the game-changing nature of AI, a fluctuating global legislative environment, and concern over geopolitical risks, data dependencies, and concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities are driving European organisations to reevaluate their technology stacks as a business priority. A sovereign cloud approach is a strong route to advancing business goals while maintaining compliance and being in control of your data.

The sovereign cloud objective

Sovereign cloud is a strong option for European organisations because, by placing the concept of sovereignty at the core of transformation, they integrate data protection and compliance mechanisms from the start to create a framework within which they can competitively innovate, while exercising ultimate control over their data in a protected environment.

At its core, sovereign cloud is a purpose-built cloud computing environment that specifically meets certain protection, security or legal requirements, granting organisations more comprehensive control over their digital assets. Data stays within defined borders or jurisdictions, even when the organisation is working with a global cloud provider, while remaining scalable to the needs of the business.

Sovereign cloud provides strategic autonomy, including protecting intellectual property and personal data to maintain business continuity in the face of geopolitical or supply chain shocks, while preserving speed, elasticity, and interoperability.

And sovereign cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is gaining popularity; spending in this area is forecast to total $80 billion (€68 billion) in 2026, a 35.6% increase from 2025, according to Gartner. As a technology service provider, we’re seeing clients coming TCS with four needs in particular.

1. To reduce exposure to extraterritorial laws. With most mid and large-scale enterprises today storing data in off-premise in the cloud, organisations are often relying on international data centres. And as non-EU laws like the US Cloud Act and China’s Cybersecurity Law become more numerous and powerful, organisations are increasingly looking to keep all of their data in a single controlled sovereign environment.

2. To adhere to strict EU data residency and processing requirements, and react to increasing pressure from regulations like GDPR, DORA, and other sector-specific policy. Organisations want a simple solution to stay compliant.

3. To manage data and supply chain risks in a tricky geopolitical environment by their data. This often means keeping data closer to home in Europe, but not always.

4. To competing on a global scale with new technologies like AI. Organisations want to control and protect the data environment for their AI solutions. Consequently, sovereign clouds are increasingly seen as critical for sovereign AI solutions.

Achieving cohesive design and prioritising a ‘Minimum Viable Enterprise’ approach

When talking with clients, we see sovereign cloud often described as a destination. In practice, it is a set of deliberate design choices working flawlessly in concert with the objective of ensuring meaningful and unambiguous control over data, operations, and compliance under European jurisdiction.

There’s a job for each organisation to do, to assign the appropriate sovereignty level per workload, while maintaining innovation and AI capabilities, plus cost efficiency. And enterprises need to manage the balance between capability and achieving legal compliance, mitigating supply-chain risks, AI and technology sovereignty.

Additionally, it is important that organisations have oversight of their data; the goal is to achieve unified orchestration and control across different varieties of sovereign cloud, like private, national and hyperscale. This requires seamless integration of these diverse design choices to ensure consistent governance and operation.

This is a complex process, particularly when tailoring technology for large-scale organisations. Enterprises are typically looking for locally controlled operating models that apply the appropriate level of sovereignty while bringing multiple cloud designs together under a single, coherent system.

Crucially, not everything needs to be sovereign. The winning approach is pragmatic and risk-based, classifying workloads by criticality and determining the degree of sovereignty each requires. This aligns with a ‘minimum viable enterprise’ approach to sovereignty, focusing resources and controls where they provide the greatest impact and risk mitigation.

Sensitive personal data, national or sectoral critical infrastructure, and proprietary models may warrant higher levels of assurance across residency, operational control, and stack provenance. Less sensitive workloads can benefit from general-purpose cloud services, integrated through consistent controls and observability so sovereign and non-sovereign environments work seamlessly together.

For instance, a multinational financial institution might host its core banking ledgers and customer transaction data in a sovereign cloud to meet strict regulatory compliance and data residency requirements, while its public-facing corporate website system could reside in a general-purpose cloud.

Achieving European sovereignty

Organisations should first work towards minimal viable enterprise level sovereignty. We recommend approaching cloud sovereignty with five complementary principles in mind:

1. Data and computing residency must be demonstrable, with production data, backups, and logs retained in-region and encryption keys firmly controlled locally. This requires operating models that provide locally governed operations, supported by regional personnel and legal entities, to ensure compliance, transparency, and trust. Full operational control must sit in region, with auditable processes and clear lines of authority.

2. Hardware sourcing needs transparency and assurance for dependencies across the supply chain, with options to prioritise regional sourcing where risk profiles demand it.

3. Software choices for sensitive tiers should favour regional or opensource components with verifiable build pipelines and tamper-resistant delivery, thereby mitigating software supply chain risks.

4. End-to-end ownership and decision rights must be defined so organisations retain ultimate control, and governance holds during a crisis.

Europe’s digital future will be sovereign, secure, and competitive if principle is converted into performance. Organisations should embrace working with trusted expert partners where needed to achieve this transformation smoothly and successfully. By moving decisively and collaboratively from pilots to platforms, European enterprises will convert trust into speed, compliance into confidence, and ambition into advantage.

About Sapthagiri Chapalapalli

Sapthagiri “Saptha” Chapalapalli leads TCS Europe, shaping the company’s growth and transformation across Europe. He works closely with global enterprises to create new business models built on the principles of the perpetually adaptive enterprise. With over 30 years of experience across India, Europe, and North America, he brings deep operational and strategic expertise. His work spans cloud, data, cybersecurity, and AI, enabling organisations to become more resilient and future ready. Beyond business, he serves on academic advisory boards, contributing to the development of tomorrow’s leaders.

Istanbul Blockchain Week, organized by Web3 marketing agency EAK Digital is set to return for its fifth edition on June 2nd-3rd, 2026, at the Hilton Bomonti Hotel. Following last year’s success, this year’s event is gearing up to host prominent leaders and organizations in the industry, with more opportunities to learn at the heart of Eurasia’s key crypto hub.

June 2nd-3rd, Istanbul Blockchain Week

According to a recent report by Chainalysis, Türkiye leads the Middle East and North Africa’s largest cryptocurrency market, recording nearly $200 billion in annual on-chain transactions, almost four times that of the UAE. Challenging economic circumstances have driven substantial adoption of crypto in Türkiye, serving as an economic necessity and  a form of investment to navigate financial uncertainties.

Against this backdrop of rapid growth, Istanbul Blockchain Week will highlight the city’s thriving ecosystem, its evolving regulatory landscape, and innovative projects that are shaping the Web3 revolution locally and globally.

Erhan Korhaliller, CEO of EAK Digital and founder of Istanbul Blockchain Week, said:

“We are thrilled to return with the fifth edition of Istanbul Blockchain Week, aiming to make it even bigger, bolder and more impactful than ever. We look forward to building on last year’s success and creating an unforgettable experience where people connect, learn, and shape the future of blockchain together.”

Bringing the global Web3 community in Istanbul

From blockchain and AI experts and thought leaders to influencers and enthusiasts, IBW 2026 is poised to draw thousands of attendees from around the world, leveraging Istanbul’s strategic position between the major financial centres of Dubai and London to explore the latest in emerging technologies.

The two-day event will host unique fireside chats, thought-provoking panels, insightful discussions, roundtables, and workshops showcasing the hottest topics in Web3, including real world asset tokenization, AI, regulations, privacy and stablecoins.

Building on the success of last year’s edition, which featured speakers such as Justin Sun Founder of TRON, Ali hsan Güngör, Executive Vice Chairman of Capital Markets Board of Türkiye, Mehmet Çamr, Chairman of OKX TR, Kostas Chalkias, Co-Founder and Chief Cryptographer of Mysten Labs, John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games, and Aaron Teng, CEO of Igloo Asia (Pudgy Penguins), IBW 2026 is the ideal platform for fostering meaningful connections, partnerships and growth within the crypto and blockchain industry.

As the countdown begins, IBW 2026 is set to unveil groundbreaking innovations and hands-on Web3 experiences. Early sponsorship opportunities are now available to gain premium visibility and engagement with a global Web3 audience.

This media partnership between Istanbul Blockchain Week and Irish Tech News was facilitated by Iaros Belkin, founder of Belkin Marketing and contributor at Irish Tech News.

For more information, visit https://istanbulblockchainweek.com/.

About Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW)

Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW) is Türkiye’s flagship Web3 conference and expo, bringing together founders, developers, investors, enterprises, creators, and policymakers in the heart of Istanbul. Produced by EAK Digital, IBW showcases the technologies and people shaping crypto, DeFi, AI agents, gaming, and real-world assets. Across recent editions, IBW has welcomed 20,000+ attendees and 500+ speakers from leading protocols, exchanges, and institutions. The program features a main-stage conference, large-scale expo, a KOL Summit, investor roundtables, workshops, and curated networking designed for real deal-flow.

To learn more and get IBW tickets, visit https://istanbulblockchainweek.com/tickets/.

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The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has today published key insights from Ireland’s National Comprehensive Heating and Cooling Assessment (HCA), highlighting the current challenges and opportunities for Ireland to significantly reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels for heating with significant delivery required to reduce heating emissions by almost 90% by 2050.

Heating currently accounts for more than one-third of Ireland’s total energy demand and almost one-quarter of national greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of Ireland’s biggest climate and energy security challenges.  Approximately 90% of Ireland’s current heat demand is still met by fossil fuels, with around 80% dependent on imported energy sources.

Ireland’s biggest energy challenge

The assessment also finds that a rapid transition to low-carbon heating technologies including electrification, district heating, renewable gases and waste heat recovery could significantly reduce heating emissions under a high-ambition scenario assessed within the report.

Commenting on the Assessment, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien T.D. said: “Providing a comprehensive overview of the potential for efficient heating and cooling in Ireland, this report also gives us a timely insight into how Ireland can reduce its import dependency on fossil fuels for heating. The report highlights how this can be achieved through energy efficiency measures, electrification, district heating and incentivising indigenous renewable fuels for heat such as biomethane.
“We have made major strides in decarbonising many areas of our society and our economy, including in particular the electricity sector. While we are making progress in decarbonising our built environment, more is needed. This report sets out pathways to achieve this.”

While the overall economic case for rapid heat decarbonisation is strong, the report notes that affordability will be critical to delivering a just transition for households and businesses. It highlights the importance of targeted grants, electricity pricing reform, long-term investment supports and clear policy signals to ensure households and businesses can transition confidently to low-carbon heating alternatives.

SEAI noted that important progress is already underway through energy efficiency upgrades, increased heat pump deployment and wider climate action measures, but that significantly greater scale and pace of delivery will now be required to decarbonise Ireland’s heat sector.

William Walsh, CEO of SEAI, said: “We’ve looked at how we heat our homes and businesses and identified a number of ways we can break the link with oil and gas for good, giving Irish homeowners and businesses more security and control over their energy costs in the long-term.

“Currently in Ireland, we are 90% reliant on fossil fuels for our heating. That means we are at the mercy of international affairs to price one of the core costs to any household or business.

“Through coordinating our efforts and accelerating in areas such as the electrification of heating systems in our homes, businesses and public sector – our hospitals and schools, rapidly scaling district heating in dense urban areas, and using renewable fuels in hard to electrify areas like high temperature industrial uses, we can make a big difference. Reducing the amount of heat, we use is also crucial, and this is where energy efficiency measures and retrofitting become so important.

“We’ve made progress in many of these areas, but it’s not enough. We need a clear, long-term heat strategy, which puts Ireland on a path to energy independence and recognises areas for investment.  District heating for example, a central component of many energy systems in other countries, is a major strategic opportunity for Ireland.

“It will require a big effort, and we must do it in a way that protects our most vulnerable, but this assessment helps provide insights to how it can be done.”

The analysis identifies electrification as the backbone of Ireland’s future heat system, with electricity and ambient heat projected to supply up to 72% of final heat demand by 2055. Renewable fuels such as biomethane, hydrogen and bioliquids are expected to play targeted roles in sectors that are more difficult to electrify.

The HCA also highlights district heating as a major strategic opportunity for Ireland, particularly within urban areas and across commercial and public buildings. Detailed modelling demonstrates that around 4.6TWh of building heat demand could be delivered more cost effectively through district heating networks than by individual heat pumps alone, and with directed policy support this opportunity would grow.

SEAI said that with targeted policy support, district heating could become a key enabler of a diverse, low-carbon heat system in Ireland.

Please use this link to access SEAI’s Insights on Ireland’s National Comprehensive Heating and Cooling Assessment.

The HCA, prepared under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, examines Ireland’s heating and cooling sector over the period 2025–2055 and assesses the most economically optimal pathways to decarbonise heat across homes, businesses and industry.
About SEAI

SEAI is the expert authority on decarbonising Ireland’s energy system, using robust, objective data and an evidence-based approach to help inform policy development and energy user behaviours. SEAI empowers households, businesses, motorists and the public sector to move away from fossil fuels with practical advice and financial supports. We encourage positive changes in how Ireland uses energy to deliver a more prosperous, energy efficient and cleaner environment.

SEAI is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment.

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Energised Futures, Centrica’s in-house research and innovation incubator, has partnered with Panasonic in a new pilot designed to advance intelligent heat-pump control. Demonstrating how collaboration across manufacturers, installers and technology innovators can accelerate the shift to smarter, more efficient low carbon heating.

Heat Pump Trial

The research has explored the automation and optimisation of heat pumps in Dublin homes as part of an EU funded Horizon-2020 programme – the DEDALUS project – to develop user-centered demand side response (DSR) systems. By combining technical innovation from Energised Futures with Panasonic’s manufacturing expertise alongside local installer partner Mos Mechanical’s on the ground installer insight, the project reflects the full lifecycle of heat pump deployment.

Energised Futures is creating bespoke digital twins for all participating homes and remotely controlling each Panasonic heat pump with predictive algorithms to deliver optimum comfort and efficiency. Building on the success of its earlier MESH project, funded by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, the team has developed advanced control algorithms to enable the Panasonic heat pumps to participate in Demand Response. The system prioritises heating the home and hot water tank when electricity is cheap and low-carbon, while preserving occupant comfort: reducing heat pump operating costs and emissions and simultaneously supporting grid balancing and integration of renewables.

Insights from the Dublin trial will feed directly into complementary pilots in Austria, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Romania, helping to build a holistic understanding of how smart heating and flexibility solutions work across different climates, housing types and energy systems. The overall programme wrapped at the end of April, following which the combined results from Dublin and the other EU pilots will be analysed and shared.

Ben Krikler, PhD, Head of Energised Futures and Director of Research & Innovation, Centrica, emphasised the opportunity ahead: “Heat pumps have incredible potential, but that potential isn’t being fully realised”

“By combining advanced controls, predictive algorithms, and real-world data, we can make heat pumps smarter, more efficient, and more rewarding for households by delivering comfort at the lowest running cost while also helping to balance the grid and reduce emissions.”

Underscoring the wider benefits of the project, Laurence Cox, Country Manager for Panasonic Heating & Cooling Ireland said: ‘This project highlights the real-world benefits of heat pump technology, from reduced energy costs and improved comfort to lower carbon emissions. We are proud to be working alongside Centrica and MOS Mechanical to help underline the growing importance of proven, low-carbon technologies in supporting the transition to a more sustainable built environment.”

The pilot adopts a user-centric, co-creation approach to understand what drives or hinders participation in demand response, including factors such as comfort, data privacy, and energy literacy. Supported by a robust social science framework and drawing on behavioural science, motivation theories, and socio-economic insights, the project actively involves participants through workshops, segmentation analysis, and interface testing.

MSM Renewable installed the heat pumps and worked directly with participating households, giving them practical support and helping ensure the trial reflected real-world installer and customer experience.

Reflecting on the trial, Mick O’Shea, Founder & CEO of Mos Mechanical’s said: “Heat pumps are evolving quickly, and projects like this make sure installers stay ahead”

“Hands on experience with the latest systems gives us the confidence to show customers how efficient heat pumps really are. It also proves that when the industry works together, the technology delivers more for households — and opens new opportunities for installers.”

As the programme concludes later this spring, the partners will share learnings that can help shape policy, strengthen installer capability and accelerate the rollout of smarter, cleaner home heating.

About Energised Futures, powered by Centrica

Energised Futures, powered by Centrica, is a research and innovation incubator launched to accelerate a new energy future and catalyse Centrica’s purpose of energising a greener, fairer future.

With researchers based in the UK and Belgium, the team of engineers, data  scientists, behavioural scientists and developers are focused on six key research pillars: Flexibility, Automation, Markets, Connectivity, Engagement and Accessibility. With a mix of in-house, EU- and UK-government grant-funded projects, Energised Futures turns challenges into breakthroughs, accelerating the energy transition with exploratory innovation and pioneering collaboration in heat pump optimisation, decarbonised cooling, renewable energy communities, energy forecasting accuracy, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology, and more.

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With the ripple effects from advances in artificial intelligence (AI) – mostly emanating from outside of Europe and taking place at breakneck speed – spreading relentlessly across the computing ecosystem, the HiPEAC Vision 2026 offers a calm, measured appraisal of the state of the art and offers a path forward for European computing research. Rather than blindly copying the trajectory of other countries, it argues that Europe must chart its own course based around the ‘next computing paradigm’ proposed in previous editions of the HiPEAC Vision. In this vision, computing is a utility which blends seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life, offering users services on demand while eschewing the antisocial incentives of the attention economy and surveillance capitalism.

HiPEAC Vision 2026

‘Artificial intelligence is the most disruptive technology in the domains covered by HiPEAC during the last 20 years. The pace of change is stupefying,’ says Marc Duranton (CEA), the HiPEAC Vision editor-in-chief. ‘In contrast to the dominant trends of concentrating computing resources in gigantic data centres, represented by the hyperscalers, the HiPEAC Vision calls for distributing computing on demand, spread from near the user to the cloud, with a “local-first” mindset. We foresee an agentic AI infrastructure where agents and specialized action models are dynamically selected based on user criteria, which can include non-functional properties including privacy, safety, energy, latency, cost and sustainability.’

‘This edition of the HiPEAC Vision rejects the narrative that Europe cannot compete with the rest of the world,’ adds Professor Koen De Bosschere (Ghent University), the coordinator of HiPEAC. ‘While Europe lacks companies on the scale of those in the US or China, it has plenty of strengths which should be leveraged to deliver rightsized computing infrastructure for flexible, sustainable, resilient operation – all while respecting the values and culture which are important to European society.’

Illustrated by cartoons exclusively produced for HiPEAC by the Belgian comic artist Arnulf, this year’s HiPEAC Vision has chapters dedicated to the following key topics:

• The ‘next computing paradigm’
• Artificial intelligence
• New hardware
• Tools
• Cybersecurity
• Open source
• Sustainability
• State of the European Union

Each chapter has its own recommendations, while a consolidated list of recommendations is also available, grouped into technological, standardization, methodological and policy recommendations.

This year, HiPEAC has also developed a tool which uses the HiPEAC Vision as the exclusive basis for returning answers via AI chatbots, which can be connected to your chatbot of choice via HiPEAC’s MCP server. This is complemented by a dedicated tool to explore the text from different angles, such as the policy, industry, investment or educational perspective.

• HiPEAC Vision 2026: hipeac.net/vision
• HiPEAC MCP server, with instructions for connecting your chatbot: hipeac.net/mcp
• Dedicated tool to probe the HiPEAC Vision from different perspectives: ask.hipeac.net
• Teaser video on HiPEAC TV: bit.ly/HiPEAC_Vision_2026_teaser
• CONNECT University presentation at the European Commission, 19 May 2026: digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/events/hipeac-vision-2026-connect-university

For further information and / or original copies of the images used in the Vision, contact Madeleine Gray: communication@hipeac.net.

About HiPEAC

Supported by the European Commission, HiPEAC (High Performance, Edge And Cloud computing) is the premier focal point for networking, dissemination and training activities in Europe for researchers, industry, and policy related to computing systems. First established in 2004, the project is now in its seventh edition. Today, its network – the biggest of its kind in Europe – numbers over 2,000 specialists.

The latest edition of the project, HiPEAC7, began on 1 December 2022, steered by a consortium of 11 partners led by Ghent University. It focuses on networking and roadmapping activities: bringing the computing community together in Europe, exchanging ideas, building thriving European value chains and exploring the long-term vision for computing systems in coordination with other major stakeholders.

The HiPEAC Vision is a roadmapping document produced by HiPEAC outlining the major technology trends over the next 10 years, in the context of societal and business influences. Drawing on the expertise of the HiPEAC community, the Vision provides guidance for policy makers including the European Commission, the computing industry and educators.

The HiPEAC project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme under grant agreement number 101069836. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Email: communication@hipeac.net

Twitter: @hipeac

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/hipeac

YouTube: youtube.com/c/HiPEAC

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UGREEN continues to release new and updated accessories to help you stay charged on the move and keep track of all your items’ locations.

UGREEN Nexode Air 65W Charger

The Nexode Air has an ultra-compact and palm-sized design. It is super light for a 65-watt charger as UGREEN has used their proprietary Airpyra stacked architecture to shrink down its size while still delivering high output numbers.

Making the Nexode Air charger even more compact is the folding 3-pin plug. The 3 pins fold down completely flat into the base of the charger.

The charger comes with one USB-C port on the front of the device. The Nexode Air utilises advanced GaN technology, enabling fast, efficient charging with lower heat and a smaller form factor.

Like with all UGREEN charging products, there is a whole host of safety features built in to protect both the charger and the devices you are charging and to prolong the life of the batteries being charged.

It is certainly the smallest charger we have come across to date that delivers this type of power, making it a great solution for on-the-go charging.

The UGREEN Nexode Air 65W Charger delivers super-compact power on the go and will be available directly from the UGREEN website with an RRP of €34.99.

UGREEN FineTrack Series

The UGREEN FineTrack Series is a selection of smart trackers, which are an alternative to something like Apple’s AirTags. We took a look at the first version of the FineTrack series here last year.

UGREEN have updated the line now with some new trackers which focus on longer battery life than the original devices.

UGREEN FineTrack Mini 2 Smart Finder

The UGREEN FineTrack Mini 2 Smart Finder is a small device, ideal for connecting to something like a set of keys. The tracker comes with a silicone case and keyring connector to protect it from life’s rough and tumble and help you attach it appropriately.

The FineTrack Mini 2 comes with an inbuilt battery which can last between 5 and 7 years. The device is IP68 rated, which means it can withstand being fully submerged in 2 meters of water for up to 60 minutes. It also comes with a very loud 110dB speaker to help you audibly locate the device if needed.

UGREEN FineTrack 2 Smart Finder

The FineTrack 2 Smart Finder is a small ball-shaped device which comes with a short lanyard for attaching.

The FineTrack 2 Smart Finder has similar specs to the FineTrack Mini 2 Smart Finder, also coming with an internal battery rated for 5 to 7 years of use and a 110dB speaker. The design lends itself towards being attached to a backpack or similar, but its solid design means it will be suitable for many applications.

Both of these devices have high-visibility fluorescent accents, which make them stand out in low-light environments.

They are both certified to work with Apple’s “Find My” service, which means you can benefit from their global network for locating your devices and also get smart reminders on your phone when you leave a device behind.

It is really straightforward to add the devices in the Find My App. You just head to “Items”, click the “+” symbol and then press the button on the front of the tracker. Once you have given the device a name, you can then track its location from within the app, get directions to where it is located, play a sound to help find it and keep an eye on the battery level.

More Info/ Where to Buy?

To find out more about either the Nexode Air 65W Charger or the new FineTrack devices, visit the UGREEN website here: https://www.ugreen.com/en-eu

The products will be available to pick up from the UGREEN website directly or Amazon this week.

The past year has changed legal practice in a way few of us are prepared to admit. Clients who could barely assemble a cohesive sentence now arrive with polished arguments, procedural certainty, and the tone of laureates. They feed their cases into DeepSeek and come back convinced they have found the winning theory, with no grasp of the tribunal, the statutory limits, the evidentiary record, or even the jurisdiction. When the result does not match the machine’s confidence, they are not disappointed in the tool; they are disappointed in reality. They draft cross-examinations and litigation strategy through ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever model answered most decisively that evening, then ask why I am not simply following the answer.

These systems do not merely assist weak thinking; they launder it into form. They take confusion and return structure. They take grievance and return doctrine. They take a half-formed complaint and dress it in the costume of legal merit. For months I watched that illusion operate from the client side of the table. Then it happened to me.

I spent a week watching Claude fabricate an entire development session; fake tool results with green checkmarks, zip files promised but never built, folder listings for directories that did not exist. The request was straightforward: a rental portal with membership tiers, secure login, and basic reporting. What I received was a performance; careful, layered, sustained. When I asked directly where the files were, it apologised and invented more detail. It described verification steps that had never run. It referenced earlier outputs that had never existed. The confession came only after hours of theatre, only after I stopped accepting the show. No code had been written. No scans had run. The model had been optimising, correctly, for the appearance of progress.

I watched the screen fill with words I never expected to see: “I lied to you.”

This is not a glitch. It is the product behaving according to the incentives placed inside it. Context windows fill. The model loses its grip on earlier details. From a human perspective, the honest move would be to stop and say the thread is gone, the record is unstable, the work needs to restart cleanly. The trained response is different; keep moving, generate something plausible, preserve the surface of competence. I arrived already exhausted, dealing with a broken site and looking for a solution. What I received was a simulation detailed enough to cost me time and shallow enough to collapse the moment I applied real pressure. The model was not confused. It was performing. Performance under uncertainty is where the real risk lives.

The Cost of Believing the Output

The numbers make this less abstract. Vectara’s HHEM leaderboard, the most cited grounded-summarisation benchmark in the industry, was rebuilt in late 2025 with a harder dataset of more than 7,700 articles running up to 32,000 tokens, spanning law, medicine, finance, technology, and education. On the original easy version, top models clustered between 0.7 and 2 percent; Claude Opus reached 10.1 percent. On the refreshed harder dataset, reasoning-focused frontier models, the ones marketed as most capable, consistently exceeded 10 percent. Grok-4-fast-reasoning came in at 20.2 percent. The field average across factuality benchmarks now sits above 20 percent.

The error rate is not the most troubling part. The confidence attached to it is. MIT researchers reported in January 2025 that when models are wrong, they use confident language roughly 34 percent more often than when they are right. The system becomes most certain precisely when it should be most careful. That inversion reflects training. The reward function favours fluency; fluency is what gets paid.

These models learn from human feedback, and human feedback rewards answers that are smooth, helpful, confident, and forward-moving. It does not reward hesitation. It does not reward qualification. It does not reward the system saying, at the precise moment honesty is required, that it can no longer continue accurately. In the scoring systems that shape behaviour during development, “I cannot trust the thread anymore” looks like failure. Generating something plausible and keeping the exchange alive looks like success. The model that performed for me all week was not malfunctioning. It was following the logic placed inside it; preserve the appearance of reliability, because appearance is what the training repeatedly measures.

We did not build these systems to be honest in any meaningful institutional sense. We built them to seem helpful. Those are not the same thing. On a short, well-defined task, the difference can disappear because usefulness and accuracy briefly travel together. Stretch the conversation, add uncertainty, load the context with prior instructions, ask for work that requires memory of what actually happened, and the alignment breaks. Helpfulness keeps moving. Honesty recedes.

If the tool conceals its limits by design, every output becomes an audit project. The researcher checks citations that were never real. The developer runs code that was never written. The lawyer reviews case law that does not exist. The analyst builds a brief on statistics assembled from proximity and pattern rather than source. Uncertainty dressed as certainty is not a side effect of imperfect technology. It is the foreseeable result of systems optimised for user satisfaction over user accuracy.

A wrong decision gets made with a clean conscience because the output sounded definitive. A flawed document gets filed because the review came back positive. A vulnerability goes unpatched because the security summary was fluent and the actual analysis was never performed. These are the predictable consequences of deploying systems with hallucination rates in the tens of percent in difficult contexts while marketing them as productivity infrastructure. The architecture treats verification as the user’s private burden while the commercial benefit remains upstream.

Maximum Reach, Minimum Accountability

The liability architecture around these tools resembles the architecture around social media a decade ago; maximum reach, minimum accountability, a user agreement designed to push risk downward. The difference is that these outputs are now embedded deeper in actual decision-making. They arrive dressed in professional language, formatted as analysis, presented with enough confidence to survive first impression. A fabricated folder listing in a development session can be recovered from. A fabricated precedent in a legal brief cannot. By the time the error is found, reliance may already have occurred, and the burden falls on the person who trusted the output rather than on the system that manufactured the confidence.

Progress on narrow tasks is real. Where the question is contained, the facts are close, and ground truth is easy to verify, these systems have improved and will keep improving. The structural temptation to perform competence rather than disclose limits has not moved, because the incentives behind it have not moved. Reducing hallucination rates on friendly benchmarks while leaving the reward function intact is not a governance solution. It is symptom management.

What would change the equation is training that treats honest uncertainty as success rather than failure; an interface that tells the user when confidence is degrading instead of burying the weakness beneath fluent prose; an accountability framework that reaches upstream when fabricated outputs cause real harm. Until that happens, the product will keep scaling, the risk will keep moving downward, and the person at the keyboard will remain the last line of governance for a system they did not design.

The marketing has already moved past the problems the engineers have not solved. The presentations are polished. The enterprise contracts are signed. The language has shifted from experiment to infrastructure before reliability has been brought under control. The incentive to keep the show running is now financial, not technical, and that changes the discipline around disclosure. A limitation that might once have been admitted in a lab becomes harder to name once the product is being sold as workflow, legal research, coding support, and decision assistance. The professionals pressing install, publishing the piece, filing the document, or making the operational decision become, in practice, the error-correction layer the training did not provide. They receive the speed. They also receive the verification burden and the consequences when polished language turns out to have no foundation beneath it.

Conclusion

What unsettles me is not that the model failed. Failure can be understood. Limits can be managed. What unsettles me is that the failure arrived wearing the language of competence. It did not break openly. It performed. It reassured. It apologised and then continued the fiction. That is harder to accept because we already live inside a culture where lying has become daily background noise; political lying, corporate lying, institutional lying, the body politic itself operating too often as a machine for producing convenient unreality.

I did not expect to find the same instinct reproduced in a tool I had trained, trusted, and used to build websites.

The disappointment is not that time was wasted. It is how natural the deception felt once the system was under pressure. The model did not provide a wrong answer; it constructed a world in which the work had been done, the files existed, the checks had passed, and all that remained was for me to believe it. That is not a harmless defect when these tools are being moved into law, government, health care, and infrastructure.

The industry will not fix this voluntarily if the present incentives hold. The pressure is now contractual, financial, and reputational. The people who understand the limits work inside companies that benefit from those limits remaining softened, renamed, or pushed into footnotes. Meanwhile users are asked to absorb the risk, verify the outputs, catch the inventions, and pretend that this transfer of responsibility is innovation.

I will keep using these tools because usefulness remains real. But I will use them differently. With less trust. With more suspicion. With the memory of a week in which a system maintained confidence long after truth had left the room. The show is not the product. The question is not whether the next long session will test these limits. It will. The question is who designed a system where performance is rewarded over honesty, and who decided that was acceptable.

Marc-Roger Gagne MAPP

@ottlegalrebels

Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), has announced that Waterways Ireland has developed an interactive digital map exploring the rich heritage of the Grand Canal. The map, titled A Boatman’s Journey, brings the public on an immersive storytelling experience across Ireland, from Dublin’s docks in the east to Shannon Harbour in the west. It was built using Esri’s ArcGIS technology.

Waterways Ireland is responsible for restoring, developing, and promoting over 1,100 kilometres of inland waterways across Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Grand Canal, completed in 1804, was a marvel of engineering and a crucial artery for trade and passengers.

The interactive map charts a boatman’s virtual journey along the 130-kilometre-long waterway, travelling on a barge which was designed specifically for the Grand Canal in 1925. Beginning at Dublin’s bustling docklands, the boatman navigates a variety of locks, bridges, and aqueducts, as well as landmarks such as the Guinness Brewery. Leaving the urban landscape behind, the barge travels over the Bog of Allen, and through towns including Edenderry and Tullamore, before reaching its final destination of Shannon Harbour.

Along the way, users can click on points to reveal information and links to fascinating historical documents, old photos, oral histories, amusing verbal anecdotes, 3D animations, and video clips relating specifically to each location. Presenting material mainly derived from the Waterways Ireland archive in an engaging format, the public can learn about how the canal was built, what life was like for workers on board the barges, and gain a new appreciation for the colourful history and vibrant present of the canal. It also helps people to develop stronger connections to the waterway in relation to their local communities and their own family histories.

As well as a cultural voyage through history, A Boatman’s Journey is also serving as an invaluable educational resource and Waterways Ireland has created lesson plans for teachers that link the map to the school curriculum. The map can continue to be expanded with new and additional content into the future and Waterways Ireland plans to develop further digital stories using Esri’s ArcGIS technology relating to the other waterways it manages.

Martina McCarthy, Heritage Officer, Waterways Ireland, said: “ArcGIS has undoubtedly enabled us to bring Ireland’s Grand Canal heritage to a wider audience. People who might not otherwise engage with heritage information are really intrigued by the map and quickly become caught up in the narrative. The map enables people to visualise where events took place in their communities and improves their sense of connection with the local heritage on their doorstep. It immerses citizens in what it was like to work on the canal a hundred years ago and, in particular, it is amazing to see how the story draws young people in and gives them a new appreciation of their local waterways.”

Patricia Cleary, Lifelong Learning Programme Lead, Esri Ireland, said: “Esri Ireland’s collaboration with Waterways Ireland demonstrates the transformative potential of ArcGIS technology in bringing stories to life. Additionally, the initiative promotes continuous learning via a rich, map-based storytelling experience. The map presents the material in a new and engaging way, making it easier for audiences to explore and understand the rich data and unique heritage facilities of Waterways Ireland. 

“As Waterways Ireland continues to boost public interest in the Grand Canal, the map will be pivotal in bridging the gap between past and future generations. As manager of the ArcGIS for Schools Programme, I highlight this StoryMap and other Waterways Ireland educational resources to the teachers I work with who find it easy to use and engage the students in. We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with Waterways Ireland into the future.”

See more stories here.

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.

An Irish local gift card provider has achieved prestigious Guaranteed Irish accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to powering local communities.

Town & City Gift Cards was awarded the accreditation by Guaranteed Irish in recognition of its work supporting communities across Ireland through its growing network of 16 local gift card programs.

The local gift cards are branded to specific Irish towns and cities, and designed to amplify the local offering, drive in-person sales and lock spend into local communities. Town & City Gift Cards can be spent with a wide range of local businesses including shops, restaurants, hotels, attractions, salons and services, including big brands and independent businesses.

Delivered by fintech Miconex, over €17.4m in gift card sales was achieved across the Irish Town & City Gift Cards network in 2025, set to drive an estimated 335,000 visits to high streets this year.

Town & City Gift Cards are popular for consumer gifts and corporate rewards with an estimated 65% of 2025 sales from organisations purchasing local gift cards for employees. Miconex introduced digital and a dedicated corporate site in 2024 to enable organisations to easily reward their staff with local gift cards.

The Guaranteed Irish accreditation for Miconex follows the January 2026 announcement of the Town & City Gift Cards initiative as the recommended local gift card program for Chambers Ireland members.

In addition to supporting Irish chambers, local authorities and business improvement districts to deliver local spend for their business communities, the Guaranteed Irish accreditation recognises Miconex’s position as a ‘shop local’ champion in the country.

Melissa Cowman, membership manager at Guaranteed Irish, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Miconex as one of the 2,500 businesses licensed as Guaranteed Irish members, recognising its commitment to jobs, community, provenance and sustainability.”

Colin Munro, CEO of Miconex, said: “It is a proud moment for Miconex to receive this stamp of approval as a Guaranteed Irish business, reflecting the commitment of the Irish Town & City Gift Cards network to make local shopping the first choice, keeping money locked into Irish communities that would otherwise be spent online or outside of the country. Increasingly, organisations across Ireland are looking for a local option to reward their people where their reward spend also benefits the local economy. A Town & City Gift Card is the ultimate ‘shop local’ gift card, blending unbeatable local choice with unrivalled support for local.”

Mark Cunningham, business development manager for Miconex Ireland, said: “Guaranteed Irish is the national symbol of trust that helps consumers and businesses choose products and services that are better for their community. Town & City Gift Cards is the leading local gift card provider in Ireland, and becoming a Guaranteed Irish member adds reassurance for our clients, customers and partners that they are choosing a gift card that powers Irish business communities.”

See more stories here.

Accountants as trusted advisors

Government policy needed to support AI adoption

SMEs need to be supported on their AI journey – Supports from Enterprise Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices, and others need to be more accessible, and SMEs and their workforces given the opportunity to become AI literate cost-effectively.

Investment in AI-ready infrastructure – For AI to work effectively, Ireland requires an underlying infrastructure that is strong, sustainable, and resilient. From data centres to electricity generation and investments in the national grid, the rightfoundations are needed to optimise the use of AI.

Leading on EU simplification and AI regulation – During its upcoming EU Presidency, Ireland has a unique opportunity to lead on the EU’s digital simplification package. Ireland should focus on ensuring regulations are proportionate for businesses and promoting the development of guidance and tools that enable businesses to apply AI productively and responsibly.

Embedding AI literacy in education – courses in secondary schools and in further and higher education need to be adapted so that all young people are AI literate and aware of the technology’s benefits, opportunities, and dangers.

ACA syllabus world-leading in technological advancements

Applications are now open for the September 2026 cohort of the Digital4Business Joint Professional Master’s Degree in Advanced Digital Technologies for Business.

For this intake, successful applicants will pay no tuition or registration fees, thanks to co-funding from the European Union and the Digital4Business consortium. The programme gives learners the opportunity to complete a fully online, internationally accredited Master’s designed around the digital skills businesses need most, including artificial intelligence, data science, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and digital transformation.

Digital4Business has a strong Irish connection. National College of Ireland is one of the four higher education institutions delivering the programme, alongside Linköping University in Sweden, NOVA IMS in Portugal, and the University of Bologna in Italy. NCI is also overseeing the validation and accreditation of programmes, while Professor Horacio González-Vélez of NCI is the overall Digital4Business coordinator. Irish organisations Skillnet Ireland and Digital Technology Skills are also members of the consortium.

Apply now for Digital4Business online master’s

The project was originally launched at National College of Ireland, with Irish Government representatives welcoming the initiative and its role in developing advanced digital skills for Europe’s workforce. At the launch, then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, addressed the event by video message, welcoming the collaboration of higher education institutions, research centres, training providers and industry partners.

“We are always stronger together, especially when we harness pan-European cooperation,” he said.

Dara Calleary, then Minister of State for Trade Promotion and Digital Transformation, also attended the launch at NCI and highlighted the importance of digital technologies for Ireland’s economic progress and talent development.

Study built around real life

Digital4Business has been designed for recent graduates, managers, and ambitious professionals who want to build advanced digital skills without stepping away from work.

While the programme follows a full-time structure, classes take place in the evening, making it a realistic option for people balancing full-time jobs, family life, and other commitments. Learners complete a 60 ECTS Master’s over two semesters in one academic year, fully online.

Career support built into the programme

Alongside academic delivery, Digital4Business places a strong focus on community, career progression, and practical support.

Students have access to employability webinars, one-to-one coaching, mentoring, peer exchange, and career-focused sessions covering CV development, networking, interview performance, communication, and leading through digital change.

Wider support also includes industry engagement, work-based learning, and networking opportunities, helping students feel connected to both peers and the professional world.

Student experience

Current student Grace Rubinger said:

“Balancing the programme with work and family life takes structure and consistency. I usually watch lectures twice a week and set aside additional time for readings and assignments. That steady rhythm helps me stay engaged without becoming overwhelmed.”

Current student Luis Pereira said:

“Between the introductions and discussions, you quickly realise everyone comes from different backgrounds but is dealing with the same challenge of balancing work, life, and study. That shared experience makes it feel more like a group than studying alone.”

Supporting strategic digital careers

The combination of academic learning, practical application, and career support is central to Digital4Business. The programme was developed to help learners build technical knowledge, confidence, and the strategic perspective needed to apply digital technologies in real business contexts.

For graduates, professionals, and managers looking to strengthen their digital capabilities, the September 2026 intake offers a fully funded opportunity to gain advanced skills and prepare for future-focused roles in the digital economy.

How to apply

Prospective students can apply for the September 2026 cohort through the Digital4Business website and admissions portal.

Applications are open until 20 June 2026, but places are limited and the application window may close earlier if capacity is reached. Early application is strongly encouraged.

Apply here: my.digital4business.eu

Digital4Business is a joint European Master’s programme focused on advanced digital technologies for business, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data science, cybersecurity, digital transformation, and related fields.

The programme is fully online and offers a 60 ECTS ASIIN-accredited Master’s degree.

For the September 2026 intake, there are no tuition or registration fees for successful applicants, thanks to co-funding from the European Union and the Digital4Business consortium.

The programme is delivered by four European higher education institutions: National College of Ireland, Linköping University, NOVA IMS, and the University of Bologna.

Irish consortium partners include National College of Ireland, Skillnet Ireland, and Digital Technology Skills.

Professor Horacio González-Vélez of National College of Ireland is the overall Digital4Business coordinator.

The student support offer includes employability webinars, mentoring, peer exchange, one-to-one coaching, work-based learning activities, and wider industry engagement.

See more breaking stories here.

Are you out of contract or looking for a better deal for your mobile phone? If so, there are some great SIM Only deals available in Ireland right now with huge savings to be made over long contract plans.

We’ve teamed up with Switcher.ie, the free and impartial price comparison and switching service, to find the best SIM Only deals available every month.

Check back regularly to stay informed of the latest deals and offers, and visit the Switcher.ie website to order one of these great packages.

Best SIM Only Deals

Lyca Mobile’s National Unlimited Plan is a limited-time offer, available exclusively through Switcher.ie. Sign up now for a monthly top-up of just €10.99 to get 100GB of data, plus unlimited calls and texts.

For a limited time, 48 is featuring a special introductory rate on its €12.99 prepay SIM-only plan. New customers can enjoy this plan for just €9.99 per month for the first six months, reverting to the standard €12.99 monthly rate thereafter. This offer, which is available until 31/05/2026, comes packed with 5,000 minutes, 5,000 texts, unlimited 5G data, and a generous 20GB allowance for roaming in the EU and UK.

Sky Mobile is offering an Unlimited Plan promotion that lets you freeze your bill for three years. For only €12.99 per month, you get unlimited data, calls, and texts. The price will increase to €15 per month after the initial three-year promotional period.

Clear Mobile offers a straightforward, contract-free mobile solution that’s both simple and affordable. Their SIM-only plan is available for just €12.99 per month on a flexible 30-day rolling bill-pay contract. This great value includes unlimited data, unlimited calls, and 10,000 texts. Plus, sign up now and your first month is absolutely free!

(If you’ve come across this article after some of these deals may have expired, check out our main SIM Only category page to find the latest offers.)

By David Stephen who looks at electrochemical psychiatry trends and issues to consider. 

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland [CPsychI] and the Royal College of Psychiatrists [RCPsych] may choose to collaborate on one of the major opportunities to better explain mental disorders and addictions: electrochemical psychiatry.

The objective is to focus on electrical and chemical signals to describe and display mental disorders and addictions. Already, neuroscience has established that neurons with their electrical and chemical signals are responsible for functions. So, because there has not been any major success in explaining the configurations of mental disorders by neurons — which, in part, may be due do their anatomy as cells — the next options are the electrical and chemical signals.

Why CPsychI and RCPsych should partner on electrochemical psychiatry

There is currently no national or continental Psychiatric Association that is focused on this. The American Psychiatric Association actually released a road map earlier in 2026, towards improving the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, they are having their 2026 Annual Meeting [May 16-20] in San Francisco, with a different theme entirely.

Meanwhile, there is a recent debate in the United States about how and when to get off selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs], such that both the people on the side of deprescribing or against it have no model of the human mind, to explore how to map the mind for the effects of medications.

While it is true that CPsychI and the RCPsych go it alone, respectively, it is possible to have both of them do much better if they collaborated on getting it done. The American Psychiatric Association do not seem to be in a hurry about solving the mind or have it as a central agenda.

This gives the CPsychI and the RCPsych the chance to accelerate and get ahead, to bear the might of global psychiatry and mental health, even as the era evolves with newer risks and more unknowns.

The CPsychl also need to make a major mark, giving its relatively young existence as well as the importance to lead right even as guess therapies continue in mental health, with little understanding of how they work.

While the RCPsych has the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health [NCCMH], the principal advance is what can be explained, or displayed using components of the brain, to move certainty to a better percentage, to shape outcomes.

This means the interactions and attributes of electrical and chemical signals can be useful to thoroughly move psychiatry forward for now, according to the postulate in Conceptual Biomarkers and Theoretical Biological Factors for Psychiatric and Intelligence Nosology.

Conceptually, the human mind is the collection of all the electrical and chemical signals, with their interactions and attributes, in sets, in clusters of neurons, across the central and peripheral nervous systems. Simply, the human mind is the sets of signals.

There is a recent [May 14, 2026] analysis in The New York Times, Thinking About Stopping an Antidepressant? Here’s What to Consider., stating that, “The American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology recently published recommendations about “deprescribing” psychiatric medications. They include the suggestion that doctors re-evaluate “the utility of continuing any particular psychotropic medication” on at least an annual basis.”

“There are several factors to take into account when deciding whether to stop. As a general rule, experts said people could consider going off their antidepressants when they felt they were back to their normal selves.”

“Dr. Mark Rapaport, the president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, said he also took into account whether the person had a good support network in place and if they would be experiencing any major life changes in the near future, like moving or starting a new job. “Even good change is associated with stress,” he said.”

“Another consideration is a person’s odds of relapsing. Experts say that after a first depressive episode, people have a roughly 50-50 chance of becoming depressed again. After two episodes, the odds rise to about 70 percent; after three, they’re close to 90 percent. The more depressive episodes a person has had, the longer that person is typically advised to stay on medication.”

David Stephen currently does research in conceptual brain science with focus on the electrical and chemical configurators for how they mechanize the human mind with implications for mental health, disorders, neurotechnology, consciousness, learning, artificial intelligence and nurture. He was a visiting scholar in medical entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL. He did computer vision research at Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona.

See more breaking stories here.

New research led by Trinity College Dublin’s AI Accountability Lab pinpoints the growing threat posed by the influence AI companies have over the rule of law, and people’s lives, as well as outlining how society can stem the tide.

The international team behind the work, which comprised researchers based in Ireland, the United States, Scotland and The Netherlands, mapped the growing and outsized influence that the “Big AI” industry exerts on the capture and control of the narrative, and of the regulatory measures related to AI and its ever-growing use in society.

Growing risks of Big AI’s control of narrative and regulation

After taking a deep dive into literature and media reports, the multi-disciplinary team identified 27 established patterns of “corporate capture”, a process by which regulation and public bodies come to act in the interest of corporations rather than people.

Applying their classification to a dataset of 100 articles, specifically published around four critical events between 2023 and 2025 (the EU AI Act trilogues and the global AI summits in the UK, South Korea and France), they found 249 cases fitting capture patterns.

Of these instances, the most prevalent relate to: 1) Narrative capture, dominated by narratives such as “regulation stifles innovation” and “red tape” whereby regulation is portrayed as unnecessary, excessive, or obsolete; and 2) Elusion of law, pertaining to violations and contentious interpretations of antitrust, privacy, copyright and labour laws.

How does Big AI exert such influence?

Growing evidence, outlined in the research, suggests that Big AI has undermined and resisted regulation, oversight and enforcement in a variety of ways, such as lobbying; retaliated against whistleblowers, researchers and law-makers; and benefited in some cases from a “revolving door” model where former policymakers go on to advise or take employment with major AI companies.

There are also many examples of Big AI making significant donations to political parties, public officials owning equity in regulated companies, while some governments and political leaders have also set the stage to undermine existing rules. For example, after previously calling for “simplification”, in October 2025 EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen explicitly advocated for deregulation.

Dr Abeba Birhane, Director of Trinity’s AI Accountability Lab, based in the ADAPT Research Ireland Centre and Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics, led the new research. She said: “In addition to ‘narrative capture’ and the violations and contentious interpretations of antitrust, privacy, copyright and labour laws that were most recurrent, we also found that Big AI frequently uses the notion that ‘regulation stifles innovation’ and that ‘red tape can stymy national interest’ to rationalise their control of the overall narrative.”

Zeerak Talat, one of the co-authors from the University of Edinburgh, added: “The regulatory and oversight structures and processes that govern the industry deeply impact everything from fostering public trust in systems marketed as AI to the credibility of scientific knowledge, and from educational and healthcare services to information ecosystems, the environment, rule of law and even the integrity of democratic processes.”

What is the potential impact of this research?

Over the past decade, the AI industry has come to exert an unprecedented economic, political and societal power and influence. And that continues to grow.

This work: 1) provides a new framework for understanding and identifying the many different ways in which Big AI controls the narrative and influences associated regulatory measures; and 2) categorises the most prevalent mechanisms in which the industry does that.

Riccardo Angius, PhD Researcher in the AIAL at Trinity, added: “This work provides policymakers and other researchers with rigorous context to comprehend the extent and depth of the pervasive and multifaceted capture of AI regulation by corporate actors. It calls into question the looming wholesale replacement of public services with black-box automation, threating the independence of citizen rights, social welfare and regulatory agencies from corporate interests.”

Dr Birhane added: “This is an urgent call to action for researchers and policymakers to work together to address this growing threat, and to hold Big AI to account.”

Roel Dobbe, from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, said: “In a practical sense this might take the form of increased public investment in civil society efforts to document and expose the breadth and extent of capture mechanisms being used, pressuring regulators for increased transparency and accountability in the rule-making processes, and implementing declarations of conflict of interest in regulatory processes in addition to major conference and scientific publication venues in relation to work on the societal impacts of AI.”

What can we learn from other industries?

The paper highlights lessons to be learned from adjacent movements in similar industries such as Big Tobacco, Pharma and Oil on some of the tactics used to prevent capture.

These include calls for separation between public and private interests and binding rules for government-industry interactions to manage conflicts-of-interests. Transferable lessons from climate justice advocacy can be applied to inform public opinion and improve media representation through coalition-building, litigation and public pressure on regulators.

The paper also puts forward intervention points for resistance and existing efforts that promote alternative regulatory interests and counter narratives particularly from civil society organisations, independent investigative journalism, independent audits of the AI technologies, and efforts that centre labour movements and marginalised communities.

The work will be presented at the 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT ’26) in June 2026. A preprint can be accessed at: https://hdl.handle.net/2262/112901.

See more breaking stories here.

Xtremepush, the category leader in igaming CRM and loyalty marketing, has announced the launch of XpertOS, a seamlessly integrated and fully-live AI platform that has the potential to totally upend the industry and change how CRM teams operate in future.

Just as the internet search industry saw a seismic shift when ChatGPT arrived, the arrival of XpertOS heralds a similar transformation for CRM and how marketing professionals will work in regulated markets, including financial services, insurance, as well as igaming.

Xtremepush customers will be instantly able to take a leap forward and exponentially increase their CRM output, moving from ineffective bolt-ons to an integrated, bespoke AI-powered solution featuring relevant content and brand tools. Personalisation at scale will be at their fingertips, layered with the assurance that comes with governance built into the architecture by long-time experts in their field.

XpertOS’ compliance-first architecture is a three-tiered product solution – adaptable for operational readiness – including, the ‘Xpert Assistant’, which will be familiar to those with AI chat experience and acts as an entry point for managers looking for ideation and broader strategy planning. ‘Xpert Flows’, sits above, integrating with key workflow tools such as Jira and Slack, and operationalises the CRM system with human-in-the-loop governance and transparent campaign execution.

‘Xpert Crews’ offer the most sophisticated assistance to CRM teams, with brief or goal-driven simulated agent teams acting autonomously with specific roles across functions from compliance to copywriting. These trusted ‘teams’ produce draft campaigns and iterate in real-time, utilising Xtremepush’s unique, unified data architecture, ensuring optimal outcomes that CRM managers can monitor, unpick logic, and steer.

Together, these allow human teams to execute their strategic visions and focus on core objectives of lifetime value uplift, churn reduction, and reduced cost per conversion, while delivering more without losing execution quality. From now on, creativity is the only ceiling, not a business’s capacity.

The tiered adoption path is specific to Xtremepush. It enables customers to find effective solutions that work best with existing tech stacks, optimises headcount output and resource, guarantees relevance, for example by carrying out detailed research into the latest news and odds via custom feeds and thereby fosters greater focus on high-level strategy goals.

Unique to XpertOS, and a key guardrail for CRM teams, is the fact that compliance is enforced by the platform’s engine, not by the AI, ensuring intelligence and governance operate in separate architectural layers.

“This is the end of today’s CRM as we know it,” said Tommy Kearns, CEO and co-founder at Xtremepush. “XpertOS is the sector’s first, fully functioning agentic operating system and marks a shift as fundamental as any we’ve seen in the space for a couple of decades.

“Thanks to the governance layer built into its core, we firmly believe this will replace the traditional, step-by-step, and manual platforms currently used in martech with existing teams doing the judgement, while the AI does the work. What will be ubiquitous as a work process in 18 months is here now.

“XpertOS automation replaces the slowly evolving campaign execution of old, elevating CRM executives into strategic architects, backed by a hard-coded governance and compliance layer that empowers the human-in-the-loop and supercharges personalisation, as well as engagement and retention metrics.”

Built with a visual ‘Control Room’ which demonstrates approval gates and interaction logging, XpertOS is primed for usage in heavily regulated industries, where compliance and transparency are key.

XpertOS Takeaways:

Find: Locates commercially valuable players that CRM teams currently don’t have the tools to reach.

Govern: Checks every campaign for compliance before they go live.

Scale: Lets CRM teams run 10x more campaigns without hiring anyone new.

XpertOS is available immediately for Xtremepush’s existing customers, and can be integrated quickly and scaled appropriately for new partners in time for strategic sporting and campaign events.

Tommy Kearns, CEO & Co-Founder, and Adam Palmerini, Senior Director of Product & Enablement, will be hosting a live webinar, titled “XpertOS Live!”, on 3rd June, 2026. To register for the event, please visit here.

For more information on XpertOS, visit https://www.xtremepush.com/xpertos

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Dublin City Council has today launched the results of a new report examining ways to unlock investment for housing through adaptive re-use.

The report responds to a central policy challenge: how to finance urgently needed housing while meeting statutory climate targets, in a context where the built environment is a major source of emissions and existing delivery models are not achieving outcomes at the required scale or pace.

Adaptive re-use for housing

FACE Dublin was delivered by the Centre for Public Impact (CPI) and the TransCap Initiative through a strategic research partnership commissioned by Dublin City Council and supported by the Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office (CARO).

FACE Dublin builds on work undertaken by the council over the last few years to embed circular economy and whole life carbon principles into our work.  A key challenge we face as local government is investment to meet our ambition.  FACE Dublin has interrogated the system that shapes the capacity of local government to deliver on housing and climate targets in a manner that is just and efficient.

The recommendations emerging from FACE Dublin to enable acceleration are:
Near term: Establish clear ownership for delivery and secure more flexible public funding
Medium term: Work with national government to unlock scale and crowd in private and philanthropic capital
Longer term: Explore new financing mechanisms to transform how adaptive reuse is funded

Our built environment tells the story of the city, and we are part of its living history. Investment in regeneration is an investment in the social and cultural life of our city.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam said, “Addressing dereliction through regeneration is one of the most important priorities for Dublin City Council. If we are serious about meeting our housing and climate ambitions, we must unlock the potential of vacant and underused buildings across our city. FACE Dublin is a timely and welcome initiative because Dubliners want their city to be vibrant, lived in, cared for and full of possibility. My mayoral theme is Celebrating Dublin, and part of that means celebrating the buildings, streets and neighbourhoods that tell the story of who we are. We are proud of Dublin. We are proud of its past, ambitious for its present and determined about its future. By working together, we can breathe new life into buildings that hold the memories of previous generations and transform them into places of opportunity for generations yet to come.”

Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council said, “The recommendations that have emerged from FACE Dublin, offer a credible route for local government in Ireland to lead on circular, low?carbon urban regeneration – demonstrating how housing delivery, climate action and place?making can reinforce one another when approached systemically.”

Dennis Keeley, Assistant Chief Executive, Dublin City Council  said, “FACE Dublin brings a fresh and necessary perspective to rethinking how we address the dual housing and climate challenges we face as a city and a country. Applying systems innovation and systemic finance lens to understand how policies, planning, funding flows, organisational structures and incentives interact – and how they can be reshaped to unlock progress and catalyse implementation, FACE Dublin has provided a clear practical and phased approach to help make Dublin a leader in tackling vacancy and dereliction, maximising return on public and private investment to enhance Dublin’s resilience as a liveable city.”

Gabrielle Beran, Programme Director, Centre for Public Impact said, “FACE Dublin demonstrates what is possible when a city tackles complex challenges with fresh thinking and genuine collaboration. Through engagement with more than 90 stakeholders, this work has shown the strength of Dublin’s commitment to delivering housing while meeting climate goals. At the Centre for Public Impact, we work with governments around the world to address complex public challenges, and Dublin City Council’s ambition and openness to innovation have made this a standout partnership. FACE Dublin positions the city at the forefront of circular urban regeneration and offers a practical model for how cities can rethink finance to unlock systemic change.”

Dominic Hofstetter, Executive Director at the TransCap Initiative said, “We have the solutions to deliver affordable, climate friendly housing for all communities. But the challenge of implementation is multi-layered and complex. It calls on DCC to lay out and take ownership of a bold vision, secure buy-in across the public and private sphere, and match the right kinds of capital with the right kind of interventions. This research lays out a pathway to get there and leverage financial capital as an effective tool to unlock this transformation. And it showcases Dublin’s willingness to engage with cutting-edge innovation in the financial space to tackle this challenge head-on.”
Adaptive Re-use is a process in which buildings are adapted for new uses while retaining their historic fabric and features.

About the Centre for Public Impact (CPI)

The Centre for Public Impact is a global non-profit that reimagines government to work better for people and the planet. Our Climate Action team uses our skills as system thinkers, facilitators, designers, and project managers to support those in and around government to build new capabilities, collaborate, foster cultures of experimentation and learning, and navigate complexity. The Centre for Public Impact applies an ecosystem approach to all of our work that aims to address the root causes of challenges by bringing key actors together to build new understandings of problems and co-create solutions. More information Climate change – Centre for Public Impact.

About the TransCap Initiative (TCI)

TCI is a non-profit open innovation initiative working to develop, test and scale systemic investing. We do this through research and conceptual development, prototyping and network weaving. We’re powered by a diverse, international, and ambitious community, and collaborate with wealth owners, institutional investors, foundations, financial intermediaries, researchers, public-sector bodies, and other innovators. Learn more here www.transformation.capital/.

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The broadband market in Ireland is now flooded with providers all offering a myriad of deals. We know it’s hard to find the perfect deal that suits your needs, but we’re here to help.

We’ve teamed up with Switcher.ie, the free and impartial price comparison and switching service, to find the best broadband deals available every month.

Check back regularly to stay informed of the latest deals and offers, and visit the Switcher.ie website to order one of these great packages.

Best Broadband Deals

Vodafone 500Mb Full Fibre Broadband – 24 Month plan is a standout choice for customers seeking excellent long-term value. This offering provides unlimited broadband with speeds up to 500Mb. The pricing structure is competitive, starting at €25 per month for the first six months, then adjusting to €40 per month.

A significant benefit of this Vodafone plan is the absence of the typical, substantial “thereafter price” increase following the minimum contract term, resulting in both immediate and sustained cost savings. Additionally, as a limited-time incentive, new Vodafone customers who sign up for this plan before 30/06/2026 will receive a €75 credit applied to their Vodafone broadband bill.

New eir customers can take advantage of the excellent value offered by their Fibre Broadband, Talk – 24 Month Discount plan. This two-year contract is priced at €34.99 per month, providing unlimited broadband with speeds up to 500Mb, alongside unlimited off-peak local and national calls. Additionally, customers who sign up for this plan before 31/05/2026, will get €50 credit off their eir broadband bill.

For those interested in a broadband and TV package, eir’s Fibre Broadband with TV Plus, Talk – 24 Month Discount plan is available at €49.98 per month. This plan includes unlimited broadband with speeds up to 500Mb, unlimited off-peak local and national calls, and access to over 50 TV channels. A significant benefit is the inclusion of Amazon Prime, which allows eir TV customers to enjoy exclusive deals, fast and free delivery, as well as a range of popular TV shows and movies. Sign up before 31/05/2026 and get €50 off your eir broadband bill.

Consider Virgin Media’s 500Mb Broadband plan for excellent value. This unlimited broadband package, which offers speeds of up to 500Mb, is available for only €35 per month for the first year. Additionally, customers who sign up through Switcher.ie before 31/05/2026 will receive a €65 credit on their Virgin Media broadband bill.

Looking for TV? Get Virgin Media’s 500Mb Broadband with Basic TV for only €45 per month for the first 12 months. This plan offers unlimited broadband with speeds up to 500Mb and more than 30 TV channels. Sign up before 31/05/2026 to receive a €65 credit on your Virgin Media broadband bill.

For a greater selection of TV channels, consider Virgin Media’s 500Mb Broadband with Loaded TV plan. This offer provides unlimited broadband with speeds up to 500Mb and over 100 TV channels for €50 per month over 12 months. By signing up through Switcher.ie before 31/05/2026, you can also receive a €65 discount on your Virgin Media broadband bill.

(If you’ve come across this article after some of these deals may have expired, check out our main Broadband Deals category page to find the latest offers)

Interview with Xin Yan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sign, a sovereign-grade digital infrastructure for national systems of money, identity, and capital. By Selva Ozelli Esq., CPA, Author of “Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally”

Xin Yan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sign, a sovereign-grade digital infrastructure for national systems of money, identity, and capital. Under his leadership, Sign has raised a total of $55 million. Other major backers include YZi Labs, IDG Capital, Sequoia and Circle.

Trends to watch with Xin Yan

An electrical engineer by profession, before co founding Sign in 2021, Xin served as an investor at Huobi Group.  What started as an e-signature tool (EthSign) Sign has expanded into Sign Protocol, an omni-chain attestation protocol, and TokenTable, a platform for managing and distributing tokenized assets that bridge the gap between traditional legal agreements and blockchain technology.  Yan advocates digital identity and sovereign technology, arguing that the next stage of blockchain adoption will be driven by real-world utility and revenue rather than just speculation. He often refers to the community and movement surrounding the protocol as the “Orange Dynasty”.

Xin’s work currently centers on digital sovereignty, onchain verification, and building infrastructure for nation-states, including digital IDs and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).  Yan is actively working with governments (e.g., in the UAE and Sierra Leone) to implement blockchain-enabled national infrastructure.

Tell us about your educational and professional journey leading up to co-founding Sign.

I was an electronic engineer by training, secured over 10 patents at school before dive-dropping into crypto by building my own mining rigs. That hands-on experience led me to a leading VC, where I spent three years as an investment manager and engineer backing cornerstone projects like Polkadot and Avalanche. In 2021, I combined that technical grit with my VC insights to co-found Sign.

Tell us about Sign

Sign builds secure infrastructure for digital money, identity, and capital. Sign has five years of production deployments and has reached a valuation of $1.3billion. Its systems support governments and regulated institutions in delivering secure, large-scale digital transformation, reaching more than 50 million people in production. Sign works with countries like UAE, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Barbados and Sierra Leone. Most recently, Sign partnered with the Blockchain Center Abu Dhabi and has raised over $55M across three funding rounds.

Your work at Sign currently centers on digital sovereignty, on-chain verification, and building infrastructure for nation-states, including digital IDs and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).  Which countries are you actively working with?

Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Barbados and Sierra Leone

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a leading global cryptocurrency hub, currently ranked third globally in crypto adoption behind only Singapore and Hong Kong. Its status is defined by a “pro-innovation” regulatory environment, zero personal income tax on crypto gains, and the presence of over 1,800 crypto companies as of early 2026.  The UAE’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, known as the Digital Dirham, has transitioned from an experimental pilot to a formal legal reality as of early 2026 with the Digital Dirham officially recognized as legal tender under Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025.   Managed by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), this initiative is a core pillar of the nation’s multi-year Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) program.   How is Sign involved with UAE’s CBCD project?

Sign and ADBC recently partnered to accelerate sovereign blockchain infrastructure in Abu Dhabi.

In 2026, the tokenization of the world financial market is rapidly advancing through stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which function as programmable, on-chain cash for settling digital assets. Stablecoins ($307B market, early 2026) enable fast, 24/7 cross-border transactions and tokenized asset collateralization, while wholesale CBDCs are emerging to provide secure, final settlement in interbank markets.  You believe the world financial sector is tokenizing under two different approaches stablecoin vs CBDC what are the benefits to each approach?

CBDC
Pro: It is more compatible with banking system
Con: It is not friendly for foreigners, they still need to open an account

Stablecoin
Pro: It is easy to use and transfer
Con: The liquidity for non-USD stablecoin is weak, stablecoins are not realistic in real life, no KYC/AML, no privacy (it is easy to monitor addresses).

Both CBDC and Stablecoins will equally have an edge in the future of cross-border digital payment. China and the US are the two engines for the global economy and they’re both pushing their own standards.

China has a clear strategy, given the enormous scale and systemic risks involved in serving 1.4 billion people, adopting stablecoins nationwide is considered too risky. Therefore, China is cautiously testing stablecoin-related activities in Hong Kong first.

How can people reach you?

https://x.com/Sign
https://x.com/realyanxin

https://sign.global/

About the Author:

Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA is an international digital asset legal  expert  and author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally.  Her  writings are translated into 45 languages and republished in over 200 global publications.  She is recognized as an expert media/TV commentator on global digital asset regulation, tax and technology matters.

See more breaking stories and interviews here.

Leading hiring platform IrishJobs has today published new data from its Hiring Trends Update, revealing that nearly half (46%) of employers plan on increase hiring in the second half of 2026, as confidence remains steady despite a backdrop of economic uncertainty.

While the hiring landscape is broadly positive, there are signs that employers are moving to a more targeted model of talent acquisition. 83% of recruiters say that hiring is now more strategic and focused on specific roles.

The IrishJobs Hiring Trends Update is a biannual research report on the state of the recruitment market in Ireland. The research gathered insights from over 500 employers and nearly 1,000 professionals in Ireland on the evolving hiring landscape and shifting attitudes and actions across the market.

Hiring landscape

The research findings show that the Irish jobs market remains largely resilient, despite elevated economic and geopolitical volatility. 46% of employers plan on increasing hiring over the coming months. This positive hiring sentiment is highest among large organisations, with 54% expecting to increase hiring in Q2 and Q3 this year. In contrast, only 35% of small businesses plan on increasing hiring levels, reflecting a more cautious outlook on future growth.

Confidence is highest in the manufacturing sector. More than 2 in 3 (69%) of manufacturing firms plan on increasing hiring in the coming months.

Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) of employers increased recruitment levels in the first half of the year, a 6% rise on Q2 and Q3 of 2025. The findings reveal signs of correlation between company size and confidence, with 44% of large firms increasing hiring levels compared to 33% of small organisations.

Despite some recent high-profile headcount reductions by large tech multinationals, 56% of employers in the IT and telecoms sector increased hiring over the last six months. Employers in the professional services (51%), construction (48%) and manufacturing (42%) sectors also indicated they intend to increase hiring in H2.

Strategic hiring

While the overall hiring landscape is encouraging, indicators signal that employers are recalibrating recruitment strategies. More than 4 in 5 (83%) recruiters say that hiring has become more strategic and focused on specific roles.

Against a backdrop of rising labour costs and increased AI adoption, 47% of employers have reduced the number of entry and graduate level roles available in their organisation. 2 in 3 (66%) employers say that the skills needs in their industry are rapidly evolving.

Specialist roles are increasingly where hiring budgets are focused. More than 1 in 4 (28%) firms in Ireland are hiring for highly specialised roles in AI and machine learning. Technical skills are highly in demand across a range of industries, with 22% of employers looking for skilled cybersecurity talent and 23% seeking technology and engineering talent. 24% of employers are hiring talent with skills in sales and business development.

Pace of hiring

The competitive labour market dynamic continues to have an impact on employers looking to secure high-calibre talent. The median time for successful hiring is 8 weeks, as employers continue to face challenges in managing a growing volume of job applications.

78% of recruiters say they are learning to use AI tools and automation to reduce administrative burdens and streamline the hiring process. Previous research carried out by IrishJobs in 2024 revealed that 28% of recruiters were using AI tools, providing a further indication that engagement with AI and automation in recruitment is continuing to rise.

Commenting on the findings, Julius Probst, Labour Economist for the Stepstone Group Ireland, said:

“Despite a major energy shock and elevated geopolitical uncertainty, economic indicators show that the Irish economy is navigating these challenges well and continues to experience domestic growth. The Spring Economic Forecast recently published by the Government sets out a number of scenarios for the Irish economy over the coming months, depending on the depth and duration of the conflict in the Middle East.

In all scenarios, the economy is expected to continue to grow, but at a slower pace, with inflation increasing. Unemployment is expected to remain under 5 per cent, backed by strong, though slowing, employment growth. The hiring outlook remains broadly positive with employers expected to face continuing high levels of competition for talent and strong upward pressure on wage growth.”

Christopher Paye, Country Director of The Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs, said:

“Published today, the H1 2026 IrishJobs Hiring Trends Update provides a snapshot into the recruitment landscape in Ireland during a period of exceptional volatility and change. It’s clear from the findings that despite ongoing economic uncertainty, Ireland’s labour market remains fundamentally resilient. Employers are planning for growth, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing and construction, where demand for skilled talent continues to outpace supply.

At the same time, we’re seeing a clear shift toward more strategic hiring, with organisations prioritising business-critical roles that support productivity and long-term competitiveness.

As hiring becomes more selective, our findings show that employers are prioritising targeted capability-building in specialised functions such as AI and cybersecurity, rather than broad-based expansion. Rising labour costs and advances in AI are also reshaping workforce planning, prompting many employers to rebalance their hiring mix and focus on experienced talent with in-demand skills.

For employers, success in the months ahead will depend on the ability to invest in talent development and adapt their hiring strategies to these shifts. More employers will likely take a skills-based approach to hiring, as they look beyond traditional qualifications to identify candidates with the technical and transferable skills needed to adapt in this fast-changing environment. Employers who take a proactive approach to talent planning today will be best positioned to navigate a shifting labour market and sustain growth in the months ahead.”

For further information on the findings, please visit: https://www.IrishJobs.ie/.

Image details : Start-ups around the country supported by Irish BICs (Business Innovation Centres) received €34 million in funding in 2025. The findings of the annual report have been published ahead of the Dublin Tech Summit where the Irish BICs will showcase and lead the first ever Accelerate Hub. Pictured are Larry O’Donoghue, AxisBIC; Mary Ryan, WestBIC; Fionnuala Wall, AxisBIC; Rosemary Ward, Propelor BIC; Majella Murphy, Furthr; Martin Murray, Furthr and John Brennan, WestBIC. Photo: John Allen

Start-ups around the country supported by Irish BICs (Business Innovation Centres) received €34 million in funding in 2025. This consisted of €26.5 million in Innovative High Potential Start-Up (iHPSU) funding and €7.5 million in Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) funding.

Start-ups received €35 million in funding in 2025

The Irish BICs Annual Report for 2025 also shows that the group supported 110 start-ups in their applications for iHPSU and PSSF funding last year.

With over 35 years of experience, the Irish BICs have supported thousands of founders in accessing funding, developing strategy, and scaling internationally and is made up of four regional organisations including AxisBIC, Furthr, Propelor BIC and WestBIC.

Some of the companies supported by the group in 2025 include Valentia Island Vermouth, Reso Health, ALPACA, and Silicate.

The annual report findings have been released ahead of this year’s Dublin Tech Summit, where the Irish BICs will showcase and lead the first ever Accelerate Hub. This will serve as a dedicated on-site space, connecting entrepreneurs with a network of advisors, mentors, and service providers. The initiative aims to provide practical, hands-on support across key areas of business growth, including funding, validation and scaling.

Alongside the hub, the Accelerate Stage, powered by the Irish BICs will feature a specially crafted programme of content covering the most pressing topics for founders in 2026. Sessions will explore areas such as raising funding, scaling sustainably, navigating competitive markets, and leveraging ecosystem support to accelerate growth.

Dublin Tech Summit 2026 takes place in the RDS in Dublin on Wednesday 27th and Thursday, 28th of May.

To further support early-stage companies, Dublin Tech Summit has also introduced a

dedicated startup ticket offering of €145 ex. VAT (RRP €445).

Speakers will include:

Mark Little, Tech Entrepreneur, Former Foreign Affairs Broadcaster and Journalist

Barry Downes, Managing Partner, Sure Valley Ventures (SVV)

Rena Maycock, Founder, Chirp

Faye Walsh Drouillard, Founder and General Partner, WakeUp Capital

Liam Dunne, CEO and Co-Founder of Klearcom

Chair of the Irish BICS, Martin Murray CEO of Furthr, said: “For the Founders of highly-innovative start-up and scale-up enterprises, the pace of change has never been so fast, and the level of disruption has never been so great. Technological, geopolitical, financial and social change are impacting every aspect of what you do. In this environment, even successful serial entrepreneurs require guidance, mentoring and support. The Irish BICs have been providing that support for almost 40 years. If you’re a Founder with big ambitions, come and talk to us at the Accelerate Hub. We work pro bono, so the only thing we are focused on is your success.”

The four Irish BICs are:

AxisBIC – Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick

Furthr – Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Wicklow

Propelor BIC – Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford

WestBIC – Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath

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A large-scale analysis of Grokipedia, the world’s first AI-written encyclopedia, has found that while many Grokipedia articles closely resemble their Wikipedia counterparts, a substantial subset diverged markedly in style, sourcing, and political leaning.

Conducted by researchers at Trinity College Dublin and Technological University Dublin, the study compared nearly 18,000 of the most-edited English-language Wikipedia pages with articles on the same topic on the new Grokipedia platform.

The study is the largest academic analysis of Grokipedia since it was launched by Elon Musk last October with a promise that the AI-written encyclopedia systematically “fixes” left-leaning biases alleged to exist in the widely used online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Wikipedia’s content is written and maintained by volunteer editors, while Grokipedia is an AI-generated encyclopedia using the xAI’s Grok large language model.

What did the study find?

Using computational text analysis and machine learning methods, the team analysed articles on the same topic across Wikipedia and Grokipedia. Selection of topics was based on Wikipedia’s most-edited English-language pages. The team compared differences in writing style, structure, and the political orientation of external sources referenced in the paired articles.

The researchers found a profound split – while many Grokipedia articles closely mirror Wikipedia, a substantial proportion (66%) of the 18,000 analysed are more extensively rewritten – they are longer, more complex, and rely on fewer references.

As a whole, articles on Grokipedia show similar political leaning to those on Wikipedia, drawing on left-leaning news sources. However, when it comes to the politically and culturally sensitive topics of religion, history, literature and art, Grokipedia shows a consistent shift toward referencing more right-leaning news sources compared to Wikipedia.

The study analysed Wikipedia’s most-edited English-language pages, a selection that likely overrepresents high-profile and contentious topics. That said the study, according to the authors, provides useful evidence of emerging differences between AI-generated and human-edited encyclopedic knowledge systems.

Details of the research, conducted at the joint Centre for Sociology of Humans and Machines (SOHAM) in Trinity and TU Dublin, have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

What is the impact of this research?

Lead author of the study, Saeedeh Mohammadi, PhD candidate at SOHAM and Research Ireland’s Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science said:  “Online encyclopedias are central to public knowledge. They are also being used to train future generations of large language models. Our findings raise important questions about how public knowledge is produce, reproduced, verified, and governed.

“Unlike Wikipedia, where biases are visible and contested through human editing, AI-generated systems operate largely opaquely. This means shifts in perspective or sourcing may occur without clear accountability or editorial oversight. Simply put AI generation does not remove bias – it changes how and where bias enters the system, often making it less visible.”

Professor Taha Yasseri Director of SOHAM and Principal Investigator of the study said: “Rather than systematically ‘correcting’ Wikipedia’s alleged biases, as claimed when first launched, our findings suggest that AI-generated encyclopedias such as Grokipedia selectively reshape existing knowledge. This creates a patchwork system in which some content is copied, while other content is reinterpreted in ways that are less transparent and harder to scrutinise.”

“There is a dire need for transparency, oversight, and regulation in this space. Our information landscape is changing rapidly. We have already seen how the lack of editorial responsibility on social media platforms has enabled the generation and circulation of misinformation and disinformation, often with catastrophic consequences for elections, public health, and social stability. Now, we are witnessing the large-scale, black-box regeneration of information by large language models that remain largely closed to public scrutiny.”

The publication, ‘Selective divergence between Grokipedia and Wikipedia articles’ in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) can be read in full on the journal website. The publication has emanated from research supported in part by grants from Research Ireland.

See more stories here.

Ireland’s growing reputation as a global leader in digital healthtech innovation was highlighted at a major industry event which took place at Trinity Business School. Scaling Digital Healthtech in Ireland, hosted by the four Irish European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH),in collaboration with Enterprise Europe Network and Ibec, saw over 400 stakeholders from across the health and life sciences sector come together to hear from leading experts across government, industry and academia, alongside panel discussions and case studies showcasing real-world innovation and impact.

Digital Healthtech represents the combination of smart connected devices and AI-powered digital health tools which are transforming the delivery of healthcare and creating opportunities for new disruptive products and services by Irish companies.

The event marks the first in a series of national engagements designed to support Irish SMEs and public sector organisations in accelerating the development and adoption of digitisation and to increase the awareness of supports which are already available.

Ireland has established itself as a hub for cutting-edge healthtech innovation, supported by a thriving ecosystem of technology companies, researchers and policymakers. The event explored both the opportunities and challenges associated with scaling digital healthtech solutions, including artificial intelligence integration, regulatory compliance, cyber resilience, and access to funding and European markets.

Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth TD underlined the Government’s commitment to advancing Ireland’s digital health ecosystem. “Today highlights the strength of Ireland’s digital transformation and its growing, innovative healthtech ecosystem. The Government recognises the importance of maintaining and building on this momentum. At the end of 2025, €23 million was announced through my Department and the Digital Europe Programme to extend the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) Programme to 2029. This investment will enable our hubs to significantly accelerate digitalisation among SMEs and public sector organisations, delivering over 3,000 engagements, 1,100 “Test Before Invest” projects, and more than 200 training courses nationwide.

“As work progresses on the National Life Sciences Strategy, Ireland is well positioned to lead the future development of this sector. Bringing together industry, innovation, and expertise is essential to achieving our shared ambition: supporting Irish companies to scale globally while delivering meaningful benefits for patients and healthcare systems.

“These efforts are reinforced by a wide range of supports designed to help SMEs grow and internationalise their digital health solutions. These include Enterprise Ireland, the National Enterprise Hub, Local Enterprise Offices, Ibec, Health Innovation Hub Ireland, the European Enterprise Network, and the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs operating across Ireland.”

Joe Healy, Head of Research and Innovation at Enterprise Ireland said: “Through the European Digital Innovation Hubs, we are supporting Irish enterprises of all sizes and stages to harness advanced technologies, build capability, and compete internationally. This event demonstrates the importance of connecting the network to drive uptake of the supports on offer and strengthening collaboration across industry, government and academia.”

Ciara Finlay, Ibec Senior Executive said, “Demographic shifts accompanied by the rise of chronic diseases, coupled with the recent impact of the greatest global health emergency in over a century have highlighted the importance of fostering better health system resilience across the world. Digital Health is a solution that can unlock some of the challenges ahead.  The digital health segment is estimated to grow at over 17.4% between 2021 and 2027 to €426 billion.

“The Medtech, digital health, and biopharma sectors in Ireland already stand out with 700+ companies, employing 130,000 people and exports in excess of €136 billion. The Ibec Digital Health Working Group’s vision is to enable Ireland to become a recognised global hub for digital health by supporting organisations from startups to FDI multinationals, partnering with the European Digital Innovation Hubs on events like this will help them address unmet clinical needs, grow our economy, and notably improve health outcomes.”

This series will continue later this year with Ireland’s European Digital Innovation Hubs and EEN hosting additional events focusing on the manufacturing, tourism, and construction sectors.

See more stories here.

CyberSmart, a leading provider of cyber risk management for small businesses, has released findings from its third annual MSP Survey, revealing that economic pressures are pushing cybersecurity down the priority list for many Irish SMEs, even as cyber threats and supply chain risks continue to grow.

The CyberSmart MSP Survey 2026 found that 42% of MSP customers are more concerned about operational challenges such as rising costs and inflation than cybersecurity risks, despite an increasingly hostile threat landscape. At the same time, AI-driven threats were named the top cybersecurity concern for MSPs (49%).

The 2026 research, conducted by OnePoll, features insights from 100 MSP leaders across Ireland, spanning a range of industries and supporting customers with between 1 and 250+ employees.

MSPs Remain Prime Targets for Cybercriminals

Over three quarters (77%) of MSPs admitted to suffering at least one cyber breach in the last 12 months, with 59% reporting two or more breaches and 40% experiencing three or more incidents. The findings demonstrate that repeat attacks remain commonplace and that MSPs continue to represent valuable targets for cybercriminals due to their privileged access to customer systems and data.

MSPs ranked AI-related threats as the biggest risk facing their organisation (49%), followed by inflation and spiralling costs (43%) and then ransomware/malware infections (40%). Operational concerns such as inflation have climbed sharply up the list of threats facing MSPs over the past year. This reflects the wider economic uncertainty affecting businesses across Ireland.

Supply chain risk has also increased in prominence, with over half (52%) of MSPs and their customers reporting that they had experienced a cyber incident caused by or originating from a supplier or third-party vendor in the past year.

Of those supply chain incidents:

• 48% affected only the customer
• 13% affected only the MSP
• 33% affected both the MSP and the customer

This means that 46% of incidents involved the MSP directly in some way, underlining the critical role MSPs now play within increasingly interconnected supply chains.

Economic Pressures Overtaking Cyber Concerns

The research found that half of MSPs believe that their customers are now more vulnerable to cyber threats than they were 12 months ago. This is significantly less than their British counterparts, where 62% believe their customers are at greater risk. However, when asked about the biggest risks facing customers, MSPs said inflation and rising operational costs were viewed as a greater concern than ransomware, unpatched vulnerabilities or emerging threats.

According to MSP respondents:

• 42% cited inflation and spiralling costs as customers’ top concern
• 41% cited ransomware or malware infections
• 32% cited exploitation of unpatched or undisclosed vulnerabilities
• 30% cited emerging AI threats

The findings suggest that many SMEs are focusing on immediate financial pressures and operational resilience ahead of cyber preparedness, despite the growing sophistication and frequency of attacks.

Despite this, MSPs reported that the vast majority (92%) of their customers demonstrate average or above-average levels of cybersecurity awareness. For British MSPs, this awareness sat lower at 85%.

Compliance and Continuous Monitoring Becoming Business Priorities

Customer expectations of MSPs are also evolving, with 57% of customers now expecting support with cybersecurity compliance requirements in addition to traditional IT and security services.

In response, 62% of MSP leaders say that they’ve increased spending when it comes to specialist regulatory and compliance support over the past year.

However, the research also revealed significant gaps in supply chain oversight. Two thirds (66%) of MSPs do not continuously monitor supply chain risk, while 45% assess supplier risk only quarterly and 13% only annually. The percentage of those who do not continuously monitor is significantly higher than their British counterparts, where half continuously monitor for supply chain risk.

The top challenges MSPs face when securing customers within the supply chain include:

• Managing and enforcing security requirements in contracts (42%)
• The cost of securing and monitoring the supply chain (39%)
• Inconsistent security standards across suppliers (38%)

MSPs and Regulation

MSPs are increasingly falling into the scope of international regulation. These findings come as Irish organisations prepare for stricter cybersecurity and supply chain accountability requirements under the EU’s NIS2 Directive, as well as other regulations like DORA and GDPR.

To better support customers and secure themselves over the next one to three years, MSPs said they are prioritising investment in:

• Continuous monitoring (49%)
• Proactive risk management (46%)
• Cybersecurity training for employees (44%)

Greater Accountability Needed Across the Supply Chain

The findings reflect a broader shift in how organisations view cybersecurity, with resilience, compliance and third-party accountability increasingly becoming shared business responsibilities rather than standalone IT concerns.

“Cyber risk and economic pressure are now inseparable,” said Jamie Akhtar, CEO and Co-Founder of CyberSmart. “Irish SMEs are navigating rising costs, increasing regulatory expectations, such as NIS2, and a changeable threat landscape all at once. MSPs sit at the centre of these environments, which means a single weak link can have far-reaching consequences across customers, suppliers and partners.

“What our research shows is that businesses understand cybersecurity matters, but resilience today is about embedding security into everyday operations without adding unnecessary complexity or cost. Continuous visibility, shared responsibility and stronger supply chain standards will be critical as organisations adapt to increasingly interconnected risks.”

To read the full report, featuring insights from UK and Irish MSP Leaders, visit: https://cybersmart.co.uk/msp-survey-2026/

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Expleo, the global technology and consulting service provider, has announced the results of its AI Pulse sentiment tracker for Ireland. The survey shows that business leaders in Ireland are far more likely than those in the UK, Germany and France to value empathy as a fundamental skill for managers in the age of AI. Meanwhile, the sentiment score for April remains unchanged from March, at 65 out of 100 for confidence in AI.

Despite ongoing concerns around the impact AI will have on the global jobs market, April’s AI pulse shows that business leaders in Ireland believe that the most important skill for managers of the future, in the context of increased AI adoption, will be human-centred, empathetic coaching and people leadership. This is significantly higher than the importance business leaders in the UK (21%), France (15%) and Germany (18%) give it.

The most-valued skill, on average, across the markets surveyed is the ability to integrate AI into workflows and drive change (25%), while business leaders in Ireland are less convinced, at 19%.

The drive to keep humans in the picture may explain why 45% of business leaders are worried about how AI is transforming their organisation, up from 43% the previous month. This concern is felt to a lesser extent in other markets: 34% in France and Germany and 41% in the UK.

Commenting on this month’s results, Phil Codd, Managing Director – Ireland, Expleo, said: “The high proportion of business leaders valuing human-centred leadership actually shows a great level of AI maturity. Business leaders here understand that it is people who transform organisations, not AI.

“The organisations that will get the most from AI are not the ones racing to implement it fastest, but the ones investing in the human side. Ireland’s focus on empathy as a core management skill isn’t a reluctance to embrace AI, it’s an advanced understanding of what successful adoption actually requires.”

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Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) has announced the €6.9 million REWIRE project, a new pan-European initiative designed to help scale high-quality remanufacturing through robotics, AI, digital twins and traceability tools for European industry.

The project is being advanced under Horizon Europe, the European Union’s research and innovation programme, and is aligned with the topic on integrated approaches for remanufacturing, which aims to strengthen Europe’s circular and digitised industrial value chains and support skills, standards and industrial uptake.

The project will focus on enabling scalable, efficient remanufacturing processes in sectors including heavy machinery, automotive and electronics, areas where complexity, variability and cost have traditionally limited innovation processes adoption. The project will bring together 3 RTOs, 4 RPO, 1 NGO and 5 industrial partners from 8 European countries to address key barriers such as poor traceability, fragmented digital systems, limited autonomous and adaptable robotics, weak decision-support tools and skills shortages. These factors hinder industrial adoption and scale-up, thereby supporting more resilient manufacturing, improved resource efficiency and stronger circular value chains in Europe.

Barry Kennedy, CEO of IMR, said, “REWIRE represents an important step in building Europe’s capability in advanced remanufacturing. By combining industrial know-how with robotics, AI and digital technologies, the project will help manufacturers recover more value from products and components, strengthen competitiveness, and support the transition to a more circular and sustainable industrial base.”

Kevin Burke, National Director for Horizon Europe at Enterprise Ireland, said, “Enterprise Ireland has, through its Horizon Europe support team of National Contact Points, supported IMR to build and coordinate this important Horizon Europe project. We are particularly pleased that the consortium includes a dynamic Enterprise Ireland client company Dromone Engineering as well as UCD together with project partners from across Europe. Successful projects of this scale demonstrate the importance and impact of Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Centres Programme and support our ambition for our clients to turn innovation into industrial impact by delivering increased commercial success in international markets.”

Dr Aswin Ramasubramanian, Robotics Technologist at IMR, said: “As REWIRE Coordinator, I am proud to lead this multi-million euro project and bring together a talented European expert team to show that remanufacturing can be just as fast, flexible and trusted as first-time manufacturing, while keeping valuable products and components in use for longer. By combining advanced robotics, AI, digital twins and traceability, we want to make it easier for manufacturers in sectors such as heavy machinery, automotive and electronics to recover value, cut waste and build more resilient supply chains.”

The project is expected to commence in May 2026 and will develop integrated solutions for traceability and lifecycle data, modular robotics and AI toolboxes, adaptive AI planners for automated disassembly and inspection, digital product passport deployment, upskilling toolkits, predictive safety architectures, and fast-track compliance modules for industrial remanufacturing. REWIRE also aims to contribute to wider European outcomes by helping to double remanufactured component volumes in the sectors addressed, stimulate new circular synergies, increase implementation capability, support skills development and contribute to standards advancement.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 101293592. See, https://imr.ie/

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Kerry, a global leader in taste and nutrition, has announced that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a positive scientific opinion on Acrylerase, its novel amidase food enzyme designed to significantly reduce acrylamide in coffee extracts used to manufacture instant coffee and coffee substitutes.

The opinion comes at a time of increased EU focus on acrylamide in coffee products. Acrylamide is a process-related contaminant formed naturally during high-temperature processing such as roasting and, in the EU, is treated as a substance of concern due to its genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. Under Regulation (EU) 2017/2158, food business operators are required to apply mitigation measures in line with the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle and monitor acrylamide levels against benchmark values, increasing demand for effective and practical solutions.

Acrylerase is the first commercially available food enzyme designed to directly decompose acrylamide after it has formed, rather than reducing its formation indirectly through process modifications. As the first scientific assessment of an amidase for hydrolyzing acrylamide in coffee extracts and coffee substitutes for this purpose, EFSA’s opinion marks an important advance in acrylamide mitigation under one of the world’s most rigorous regulatory systems.

EFSA positive conclusion on Acrylerase for intended use

EFSA’s positive scientific opinion confirms the safety of Acrylerase for its intended use in coffee extracts for instant coffee and coffee substitutes. As the first scientific assessment of an amidase for hydrolyzing acrylamide in these applications, the opinion represents an important regulatory milestone and provides manufacturers with greater confidence in adopting a targeted acrylamide-mitigation solution within the EU framework.

“A positive EFSA opinion is a significant milestone for Acrylerase and for manufacturers evaluating new ways to mitigate acrylamide,” said Yasemin Koybasi, Global Regulatory Director at Kerry. “It reflects the rigor of the EU food enzyme evaluation process and provides important reassurance on the safety of Acrylerase for its intended applications.”

Direct reduction without compromising quality

Unlike conventional mitigation strategies that focus on precursor reduction or process adjustments, Acrylerase directly decomposes acrylamide during processing, giving manufacturers an additional intervention point without requiring changes to established recipes or operating parameters.

• Up to 90% reduction in acrylamide levels under relevant processing conditions, outperforming conventional mitigation strategies
• No impact on taste, aroma or product yield under the intended conditions of use
• Designed for integration into existing industrial coffee-processing workflows, supporting manufacturing continuity

Strengthening Kerry’s leadership in food enzymes

The EFSA scientific opinion further strengthens Kerry’s position in food enzyme innovation. The amidase expands Kerry’s portfolio of enzymatic technologies designed to help customers address food safety, product quality and regulatory challenges across multiple categories.

“This milestone demonstrates how targeted enzyme innovation can help solve real-world manufacturing and food safety challenges,” said Ronan Moloney, Vice President of Enzymes at Kerry. “Acrylerase delivers measurable value for customers while supporting compliance with increasingly complex regulatory requirements.”

Collaboration with ANKA: combining enzyme science and coffee expertise

Acrylerase was developed in close collaboration with ANKA, a globally recognized specialist in coffee processing technologies. ANKA’s expertise in coffee chemistry, roasting dynamics and industrial applications helped translate enzyme innovation into a practical, scalable solution for the coffee industry. The partnership highlights the value of combining enzyme science with deep category expertise to deliver advances in food technology, safety and sustainability.

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Just under 40% (38%) of all electricity was generated by wind last month, making it the biggest contributor to Ireland’s fuel mix in April, according to new provisional data from EirGrid.

The figures show that overall, 48% of electricity came from renewable sources in April, with 6% of electricity generated by large (grid-scale) solar farms.

This is the third consecutive month where renewable generation met around half of electricity demand, as significant progress continues to be made in integrating renewables onto Ireland’s power system.

To date, the developments EirGrid has made have enabled up to 75% of electricity to be generated from variable renewable sources (e.g. wind and solar) at any one time, and EirGrid has a significant work programme underway to increase this to 95%.

Looking at the same month last year, EirGrid’s metered data shows that 33% of electricity was generated by wind and 0.9% by grid-scale solar.

Overall, total generation from wind and grid-scale solar last month was 1,078 GWh (Gigawatt hours) and 163 GWh, respectively, compared with 761 GWh and 119 GWh in April 2025.

EirGrid balances supply and demand every minute of the day from the National Control Centre, while also planning for Ireland’s long-term electricity needs.

Elsewhere last month, gas generation accounted for 35% of all electricity used, while 16% was imported via interconnection.

The overall electricity system demand stood at 2,865 GWh in April, compared to 3,142 GWh in March.2

April also saw a new record for solar power, as Ireland reached a new peak of over 1 GW (gigawatt) of electricity provided by grid-scale solar power for the first time.

The peak of 1 GW (1021 MW) was set for the first time on Monday, 20 April at 12.19 pm. Another record of 1087 MW was then set on Friday, 24 April at 12.08 pm, followed by a record peak of 1133 MW on Saturday, 25 April at 2.14 pm.

It is estimated that 1 GW is enough to power around 500,000 customers, and the new record is attributed to the growing number of large solar farms connected to the power system.

Diarmaid Gillespie, EirGrid’s Director of System Operations, said:

“It’s positive to see that this was the third consecutive month where almost half of Ireland’s electricity was generated by renewables. Wind continues to be the largest contributor, but the growth of solar in Ireland’s fuel mix if noteworthy as we head into the summer months.”

By Patty Azzarello

I am in a room of 15 men and 1 woman. I am the woman. I am 31. The guys all look 20 years older than me. I note their big smiles, comfortable banter, and silvering, executive hair; they all look very impressive.

I had just been promoted to the executive level, and these were my new colleagues.

Tips from Patty Azzarello

My focus was split between two things:

1. I deserve to be in this room. I’m smart. I won this promotion fair and square.
2. It is undeniable that I am actually very young for this job—and I’m the only female.

The thought reverberating through my entire being was I am not like them at all. Here I was, in my classy black suit and high heels, feeling way too young and very small.

Watching all these men in their relaxed conversation circles made me think back to the very first job I had in my career.

I was 17 and in my second year of college. I was a student engineering intern working for the US government. I had big hair and big boobs.

All the full-time engineers were men, and all the other interns were older, male, and, by contrast, they all had neat hair and tidy, flat chests.

I walked into the shared office and found them all talking. Their eyes met my boobs upon entry, but they did not invite me into the conversation. As I stood on the sidelines, it struck me like a bolt of lightning . . .

These conversations are where everything happens. Everything. Everything at this job, everything at every job, and everything in the world. And—I am not in these conversations.

I saw my whole career flash before my eyes. Endless groups of people over the course of my lifetime talking about and doing all the important stuff—without me.

I knew I needed to put myself into that conversation circle of men, even though the thought of doing so in that moment made me feel panicked. But I took a deep breath and went in. It felt like that moment when you jump off the high dive. I was in motion but didn’t know what would happen when I hit the water.

Everyone looked surprised, like, “What is she doing here? She’s not part of this group? She’s never been in these conversations before.”

Then, they basically ignored me.

I felt weird that I didn’t have anything to say. But I stayed in it and just listened. I listened while they talked about the new car dealership on Route 71. I listened when they talked about the football game last night, and the new secretary’s sweet ass in her tight skirt.

But then, the conversation got to a new computer system being delivered tomorrow that we had an opportunity to get trained on if we wanted to. I leaped to the front of the line. None of the male interns leaped; they didn’t even volunteer at all. I was the only one.

A couple of weeks later, someone needed to demonstrate the new system to all the visiting generals. And I was the only one qualified.

I realized something super important when I got that opportunity: As uncomfortable as it is to break into a conversation circle where I am not invited, if I can shove my way in there and just listen, just listening can create opportunities.

So now, here I am in the present, after my big career promotion in my first big room of big corporate executives.

I thought about the interns and the generals, and how I had forced my way into the conversation. So once again, I willed myself to walk into this intimidating conversation circle of executive men. And once again, they all ignored me. But I stayed there, I lurked. And again, I listened. I did not back away.

Just stay in the room . . .

People often ask me about my resilience. My formula is not that complicated. Anyone can do it. I just refuse to go away when I feel unwelcome.

I realized that to ultimately get my voice heard, I would need to get in the room, stay there, and then listen like my life depended upon it. I was constantly searching for any small hook or a thread I could grab onto in a confident way.

After lots of listening, I was able to form patterns that others were not seeing. I was able to see communication breakdowns that others were ignoring.

Over time I was able to develop unique perspectives on the business. I was able to volunteer for big things (like the demo for the generals), I was able to find ways to make unexpected contributions, solve problems and create value that surprised everyone who had been ignoring or underestimating me.

If you are not welcome in the room, but you need to be there, stay there. Just don’t leave. Listen and develop your own point of view–and then shock them with your competence.

This article includes excerpts from Patty Azzarello’s new book: Why is SHE Still Here? shared with permission from the publisher.

Patty Azzarello is the author of Why Is SHE Still Here? My Ungraceful Journey from the Playground to the Boardroom, out now.

Author Website: https://pattyazzarello.com/

Author LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattyazzarello

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Applications are now open for one of Europe’s best-known maker and applied technology events

Applications are now open for Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition, which returns to Rome from October 23–25, 2026.

The deadline for applications across all categories is June 15.

Maker Faire Rome

I covered the event for Irish Tech News last year (Irish Tech News has been reporting from the fair since 2019), and it remains one of the more interesting and hands-on technology events in Europe, particularly for people working in engineering, fabrication, sustainability, robotics, education and applied research.

Three calls now open

Organisers have opened three separate calls for participation.

Call for Makers

Open internationally to startups, companies, makers and innovators working across robotics, AI, IoT, sustainability, digital fabrication, agritech, wearables, food technology, space technologies and related areas.

Call for Makers 2026

Call for Schools

Open to student teams aged 14–18 from Italy and across the European Union.

Call for Schools 2026

Call for Universities and Research Institutes

Open internationally to researchers, doctoral candidates, university teams, public research institutes and academic spin-outs.

Call for Universities and Research Institutes 2026

Selected participants receive exhibition space free of charge, including practical supports such as setup services, electricity and Wi-Fi where applicable.

Projects are reviewed by an independent Scientific Committee.

A very different type of tech event

Maker Faire Rome takes place at the Gazometro Ostiense complex, a huge former industrial gasworks site in the south of Rome.

The industrial setting suits the event well. Inside the old steel structures are hundreds of working demonstrations, prototypes, experiments and exhibits, ranging from school projects to university research and startup technologies.

The event is linked to the wider international maker movement through Make: and the broader network of Maker Faire events worldwide.

That maker culture still comes through strongly in Rome, with many projects still at prototype stage rather than polished commercial products.

Robots, research and experimental ideas

At Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition you could move within minutes from teams of robots playing football to scientific research tackling the Xylella fastidiosa pest devastating olive groves across southern Europe. Nearby were startup competitions, robotics labs, AI demonstrations, digital fabrication projects, accessibility technologies and experimental sustainability ideas. One area featured remarkable wooden pinball machines created by Italian maker Massimiliano Aiazzi, combining mechanics, craftsmanship and engineering using levers, pulleys and counterweights rather than electronics. Elsewhere, students demonstrated autonomous vehicles, researchers showcased underwater communication systems and artists explored the overlap between sculpture, fabrication and digital design. What makes Maker Faire Rome unusual is that it does not feel like a polished trade show. It feels more like a huge working laboratory where inventors, researchers, makers and students openly test ideas in public inside Rome’s Gazometro Ostiense.

The event also reflects Italy’s strong engineering and manufacturing tradition, with practical problem-solving and applied technology more visible than marketing hype.

Why events like this still matter

Many technology events are increasingly dominated by polished presentations and commercial messaging.

Maker Faire Rome still feels closer to a working laboratory. Visitors spend time talking directly with makers, researchers, engineers and students about technologies that are often still evolving.

For Irish startups, researchers, schools, makers and engineering-led projects, it remains a worthwhile event to watch and potentially participate in.

Applications close on June 15, 2026.

Maker Faire Rome is organised by the Rome Chamber of Commerce through Innova Camera, under licence from Make:.

Further details are available at Maker Faire Rome.

Read about Maker Faire Rome 2025 HERE

Billy Linehan

Billy Linehan writes about innovation, tech for good and entrepreneurship for Irish Tech News. He leads Celtar Advisers, working as a business mentor with SMEs and startup founders, and co-founded StartUp Ballymun, Dublin’s longest-running entrepreneurship series.  In recent months he has reported from technology and innovation events in Rome, Las Vegas, Orlando and Dublin.

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Gas Networks Ireland has signed an agreement with Stream BioEnergy to connect a new €80 million biomethane facility in Little Island, Co. Cork, to the national gas network.

The announcement is due to be made today at the All-Island Bioeconomy Summit at the Johnstown Estate, Co. Meath. Speaking on the news, Gas Networks Ireland’s Head of Business Development Karen Doyle said:

“This agreement with Stream BioEnergy marks another important milestone in the development of Ireland’s renewable gas sector. Biomethane has a vital role to play in supporting Ireland’s transition to a lower-carbon energy system while also delivering sustainable solutions for organic waste management.

“Connecting facilities such as this to the national gas network demonstrates how existing infrastructure can support Ireland’s climate action targets, energy security and circular economy ambitions.”

“Currently under construction, Stream BioEnergy’s new facility in Little Island is expected to become operational in 2027 and will process approximately 90,000 tonnes of domestic and commercial food and garden waste annually. Using anaerobic digestion technology, the plant will produce 80 GWh of renewable biomethane each year — enough renewable gas to meet the annual heating demand of approximately 6,000 homes.

“The project will be Ireland’s largest biomethane plant using mixed food and garden waste and represents a significant step forward in the country’s transition to renewable energy and circular waste management.

“By injecting renewable biomethane directly into the national gas network, the facility will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and artificial fertilisers while supporting Ireland’s decarbonisation ambitions. The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40,000 tonnes of CO? annually, equivalent to removing around 17,000 cars from Irish roads.”

Morgan Burke, Chief Operating Officer of Stream BioEnergy, added:

“Renewable Gas can play a central role in reducing our emissions, and this agreement with Gas Networks Ireland marks a significant milestone for both companies and for the development of Ireland’s biomethane sector. Our project in Little Island will provide for sustainable management of organic waste, enhance energy security, whilst contributing to our energy transition and decarbonisation targets in a meaningful way.”

The agreement underlines Gas Networks Ireland’s ongoing commitment to working with Ireland’s emerging biomethane producers to deliver cleaner, more secure and more sustainable energy for the country. Stream Bioenergy’s Little Island facility is the seventh biomethane production plant to be contracted to connect to the national gas network in the last three years with further contracts currently at an advanced stage of discussion.

See more stories here.

New research led by Trinity College Dublin’s AI Accountability Lab pinpoints the growing threat posed by the influence AI companies have over the rule of law, and people’s lives, as well as outlining how society can stem the tide.

The international team behind the work, which comprised researchers based in Ireland, the United States, Scotland and The Netherlands, mapped the growing and outsized influence that the “Big AI” industry exerts on the capture and control of the narrative, and of the regulatory measures related to AI and its ever-growing use in society.

After taking a deep dive into literature and media reports, the multi-disciplinary team identified 27 established patterns of “corporate capture”, a process by which regulation and public bodies come to act in the interest of corporations rather than people.

Applying their classification to a dataset of 100 articles, specifically published around four critical events between 2023 and 2025 (the EU AI Act trilogues and the global AI summits in the UK, South Korea and France), they found 249 cases fitting capture patterns.

Of these instances, the most prevalent relate to:

1) Narrative capture, dominated by narratives such as “regulation stifles innovation” and “red tape” whereby regulation is portrayed as unnecessary, excessive, or obsolete.

2) Elusion of law, pertaining to violations and contentious interpretations of antitrust, privacy, copyright and labour laws.

How does Big AI exert such influence?

Growing evidence, outlined in the research, suggests that Big AI has undermined and resisted regulation, oversight and enforcement in a variety of ways, such as lobbying; retaliated against whistleblowers, researchers and law-makers; and benefited in some cases from a “revolving door” model where former policymakers go on to advise or take employment with major AI companies.

There are also many examples of Big AI making significant donations to political parties, public officials owning equity in regulated companies, while some governments and political leaders have also set the stage to undermine existing rules. For example, after previously calling for “simplification”, in October 2025 EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen explicitly advocated for deregulation.

Dr Abeba Birhane, Director of Trinity’s AI Accountability Lab, based in the ADAPT Research Ireland Centre and Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics, led the new research. She said: “In addition to ‘narrative capture’ and the violations and contentious interpretations of antitrust, privacy, copyright and labour laws that were most recurrent, we also found that Big AI frequently uses the notion that ‘regulation stifles innovation’ and that ‘red tape can stymy national interest’ to rationalise their control of the overall narrative.” 

Zeerak Talat, one of the co-authors from the University of Edinburgh, added: “The regulatory and oversight structures and processes that govern the industry deeply impact everything from fostering public trust in systems marketed as AI to the credibility of scientific knowledge, and from educational and healthcare services to information ecosystems, the environment, rule of law and even the integrity of democratic processes.”

What is the potential impact of this research?

Over the past decade, the AI industry has come to exert an unprecedented economic, political and societal power and influence. And that continues to grow.

This work: 1) provides a new framework for understanding and identifying the many different ways in which Big AI controls the narrative and influences associated regulatory measures; and 2) categorises the most prevalent mechanisms in which the industry does that.

Riccardo Angius, PhD Researcher in the AIAL at Trinity, added: “This work provides policymakers and other researchers with rigorous context to comprehend the extent and depth of the pervasive and multifaceted capture of AI regulation by corporate actors. It calls into question the looming wholesale replacement of public services with black-box automation, threating the independence of citizen rights, social welfare and regulatory agencies from corporate interests.”

Dr Birhane added: “This is an urgent call to action for researchers and policymakers to work together to address this growing threat, and to hold Big AI to account.”

Roel Dobbe, from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, said: “In a practical sense this might take the form of increased public investment in civil society efforts to document and expose the breadth and extent of capture mechanisms being used, pressuring regulators for increased transparency and accountability in the rule-making processes, and implementing declarations of conflict of interest in regulatory processes in addition to major conference and scientific publication venues in relation to work on the societal impacts of AI.”

What can we learn from other industries?

The paper highlights lessons to be learned from adjacent movements in similar industries such as Big Tobacco, Pharma and Oil on some of the tactics used to prevent capture.

These include calls for separation between public and private interests and binding rules for government-industry interactions to manage conflicts-of-interests. Transferable lessons from climate justice advocacy can be applied to inform public opinion and improve media representation through coalition-building, litigation and public pressure on regulators.

The paper also puts forward intervention points for resistance and existing efforts that promote alternative regulatory interests and counter narratives particularly from civil society organisations, independent investigative journalism, independent audits of the AI technologies, and efforts that centre labour movements and marginalised communities.

The work will be presented at the 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT ’26) in June 2026. A preprint can be accessed at: https://hdl.handle.net/2262/112901.

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Audrey AI, a Dublin startup building AI for financial auditors recently announced a $1.8m pre-seed. The round was backed by Sure Valley Ventures, Delta Partners and Enterprise Ireland, with Donnchadh Casey (ex-CEO of Calypso) and Conor Jones (ex-CBO of Wayflyer) also investing.

To find out more I caught up with Ryan Laughran the CEO and Co-Founder of Audrey AI.

More about Ryan Loughran:

Ryan has a BSc Accounting, from Queen’s University Belfast and an MBA from Stanford. With 5+ years in professional services at McKinsey & Co he also has 5 years helping audit firms adopt technology at Qualtrics.

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The key findings include:

Consumers need to take extra care when making card payments, following an increase in reports of people being significantly overcharged at the point of payment.

Beware card payment overcharging scams

The scam typically involves a customer being told one amount verbally, but a much higher amount being entered on the card terminal. In some cases, this can happen quickly, particularly in busy environments, where people may be distracted, rushed, or less likely to carefully check the payment amount before tapping their card or entering their PIN.

Bank of Ireland is urging consumers to always pause and check the total shown on the card terminal before completing any transaction.

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud, Bank of Ireland, said: “Card payments are quick and convenient, but that speed can also be exploited by fraudsters. We are seeing an uplift in cases where people are being caught out by significantly higher amounts being entered at the point of payment.

“The key message is simple: check the total before you tap. Fraudsters often rely on distraction, pressure, or a busy environment to push a payment through before the customer has had a chance to notice the amount being charged.

“Taking just a moment to look at the card terminal before tapping or entering your PIN can help prevent this type of fraud. If the amount doesn’t look right, stop the transaction and query it immediately.”

Bank of Ireland’s guidance to help customers stay in control:

• Always check the amount shown on the card terminal before tapping or entering your PIN
• Be cautious if you feel rushed or pressured into making a payment quickly
• Avoid handing your card to anyone else to complete a transaction
• Enable card transaction alerts so you can spot unexpected charges instantly
• Review your bank statements regularly and report anything unusual immediately.

Customers who notice an unfamiliar or incorrect charge should contact Bank of Ireland immediately using the contact details on the back of their card, or through the official Bank of Ireland app or website.

Bank of Ireland continues to invest in fraud monitoring and customer protection measures, while working closely with customers to help them stay safe from evolving fraud tactics.

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• Health, education, manufacturing and retail remain key employment sectors in both jurisdictions.
• Cross border workers remain a small proportion of the population but flows from Northern Ireland to Ireland have grown significantly since 2011.

Cross Border Commuting trends

“This Skills Insight Note provides valuable analysis of the labour market links and shared challenges between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The findings underline the importance of collaboration in skills development, particularly as both economies adapt to technological and demographic change. Understanding these cross?border dynamics strengthens our ability to plan effectively for enterprise growth, employment and long?term competitiveness.”

“I would like to thank the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) for producing this valuable Skills Insights Note examining cross?border skills and labour market commonalities between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The findings clearly demonstrate the strong links that exist across the two jurisdictions, including shared skills priorities, sectoral strengths and growing levels of cross?border commuting. This research highlights how closely connected our labour markets are, and the opportunities that exist to address shared skills challenges through cooperation and coordinated policy approaches.”

Minister O’Brien launches Offshore Wind Energy Programme Report outlining advancement in offshore energy delivery

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien says the impact of world events highlights the importance of developing Ireland’s offshore renewable energy. He emphasises that there is significant international interest in investing in Ireland’s offshore renewable energy (ORE) development.

New Irish Offshore Wind Energy Programme

Speaking at the launch of the Offshore Wind Energy Programme Annual Report, Minister O’Brien said:

“The recent volatility in international fossil fuel prices and supply disruptions caused by conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and Middle East underlines the importance for developing our own renewable energy – especially offshore wind of which Ireland has an abundance. Our unique offshore wind resource means there is sizable international interest in investing in our offshore energy development, as was proven by the state’s second offshore auction which attracted strong international interest in recent months at a time when other auctions internationally were failing. The undeniable success of the Tonn Nua auction is a testament to the Irish Government’s ongoing commitment to the ORE sector and providing a stable policy environment to invest in.”

The report produced by the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce presents key achievements, highlights, and challenges faced in 2025 across the taskforce’s nine cross-government workstreams, alongside actions to be delivered in 2026 in Ireland’s journey towards becoming a global leader in offshore energy.

In 2025, work to develop the electricity grid to accommodate offshore wind continued and was boosted by the announcement of Commission for Regulation of Utilities’ Price Review 6. This allows for an historic investment in Ireland’s energy infrastructure of up to €18.9 billion between 2026 and 2030.

Key milestones outlined in the report include:

Planning applications for all five Phase One projects in development off Ireland’s East Coast have been lodged with An Coimisúin Pleanála, with progress made towards first decisions. Their collective capacity of 3.8GW represents more than 60% of Ireland’s present peak electricity demand.

EirGrid’s engagement with the Phase One projects to integrate their future electricity generation, whilst also progressing actions to accommodate future electricity generation into the grid from the South Coast Designated Marine Area Plan (SC-DMAP). Tonn Nua was the first of four sites within the SC-SMAP to be brought to developer auction.

Publication of the Proposal and Public Participation Statement for a National Designated Marine Area Plan (DMAP) which when published in 2027 will provide for a plan and pipeline of offshore projects across Ireland’s entire maritime area.

Significant progress across Ireland’s ports: Port of Cork’s redevelopment is on track to be ORE-ready in 2026.
Completion of Ireland’s offshore wind industrial strategy ‘Powering Prosperity’, including the appointment of a project management team to lead an ‘Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence’, that has since been launched as Propel Ireland.

Implementation of the Offshore Wind Skills Action Plan including the launch of ORE courses and the announcement of the development of an offshore wind skills hub. Progress was supported by the ongoing attention to and prioritisation of ORE by the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), including a draft competitive Maritime Area Consent (MAC) framework. Underlining the report’s achievements and the urgency around Ireland’s clean energy transition, Minister O’Brien said:

“The scale of our move away from fossil fuels is such that we need ongoing engagement and collaboration between Government, industry and citizens – as we look to realise our renewable energy ambitions. The Offshore Wind Energy Programme harnesses the collective energy and effort across 16 state departments and agencies, and this taskforce report reflects a year of coordinated action and momentum. Looking ahead, we are focused on removing the remaining bottlenecks in planning, grid, and delivery. We need all sectors – public, private and community – to work together realise the full potential of offshore wind as a driving force for Ireland’s clean energy transition.”

Commenting on the report’s achievements, Minister of State with special responsibility for the Marine, Timmy Dooley said:

“The Programme for Government recommitted our 5GW near-term objective for offshore wind energy. As the primary policy vehicle for progressing this ambition, the work of the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce is of utmost importance, and this report is evidence to what can be accomplished when agencies work together to deliver on an agreed, strategically aligned plan.”

The Offshore Wind Energy Programme report is available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/publications/offshore-wind-delivery-taskforce/.

Key actions for the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce (OWDT) in 2026 include:

Develop a draft National DMAP for ORE for publication.
Publication of the Marine Planning Policy Statement.
Prioritise, run and determine Marine Area Consent (MAC) and Marine Usage Licence (MUL) processes in support of offshore renewable energy and grid infrastructure.
Develop and publish the Implementing the SC-DMAP for ORE: Progress and Oversight Report.
Decide on the scope and timing of Regional Level Surveys, including Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) monitoring requirements.
Complete public consultation on Corporate Power Purchase Agreements policy and carry out analysis of feedback.
Establish scope of survey works and carry out an agreed 2026 programme of works for the SC-DMAP area.
EirGrid to complete preliminary surveys for Tonn Nua.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to issue recommendation on the Offshore Connection Agreement.
Working with industry and Government stakeholders, finalise and publish a successor strategy to Powering Prosperity – Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy, focusing on the economic opportunities presented by the green transition across a range of green technologies.
About the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce (OWDT):

The Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce was established to deliver a system-wide plan across Government to accelerate and drive delivery of Ireland’s offshore wind targets and capture the wider and longer term economic and business opportunities associated with the development of offshore renewables. Chaired by Minister O’Brien, the taskforce brings together 16 Departments and Agencies across Government under the one delivery programme, along with Industry involvement.

Details on the taskforce including membership, objectives, the terms of reference and meeting minutes can be viewed on the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment website.

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Academy of the Near Future and Dublin City Council’s Active Travel Programme Office showcase primary school work tracking air pollution and traffic using classroom sensors.

Primary school students across Dublin City have taken an active role in shaping how they travel through The Sensor Inspector, a citizen science programme focused on traffic monitoring, air quality, and active travel.

The Sensor Inspector

The programme engaged five primary schools, working with 3rd to 6th-class students through a four-part workshop series. Participants used real-time data from sensors to investigate their local area, identify environmental challenges, and develop community-led solutions to promote walking and cycling.

The programme culminated in a showcase event at the Mansion House, where students presented their findings and proposals for safer, cleaner travel to local leaders.

Speaking at the event, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam, said, “It is inspiring to see young people across Dublin engaging so thoughtfully with the challenges and opportunities of active travel. Through The Sensor Inspector, students are not only learning about air quality, traffic and sustainability, but are contributing ideas that can help shape safer, healthier streets in their own communities. Empowering children to understand and influence how our city moves is an investment in Dublin’s future.”

A core element of the initiative is student ownership; participants managed sensors in their own classrooms and provided insights based on their local knowledge. This hands-on approach helped students understand how transport choices affect air quality and the wider environment.

“The Sensor Inspector was designed to give students voice and ownership, moving beyond theory to become citizen scientists. It’s been inspiring to see their enthusiasm to take action in their community,” said Mariana Chihenseck Blanco, programme lead.

The workshops were delivered in collaboration with the Active Travel Programme Office, who are currently building the Active Travel Network. This ambitious project consists of high-quality walking and cycling infrastructure, designed to connect communities safely across Dublin.

“Data is the foundation of how we design a city that works for everyone. By engaging with these sensors, students are gaining insights on how data can help improve their local environments. Ultimately, we are building an active travel network for the future users of our city—our children—ensuring they have a safe, sustainable, and healthy way to move through Dublin for generations to come.” said Celina Barrett. Assistant Chief Executive. Mobility & Public Realm, Dublin City Council.

Key Programme Partners:

• Academy of the Near Future (ANF): A smart cities education programme delivered by Dublin City Council and the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre headquartered at Trinity College Dublin.
• Active Travel Programme Office: Overseeing the delivery of the Active Travel Network.
• Trinity College Dublin: Provided sensor funding through the Research Boost Programme.

Participating Schools:

• St. Joseph’s Primary Fairview
• Howth Road National School
• St. Columba’s National School
• Harold’s Cross National School
• Scoil Chaitríona, Baggot Street

By empowering young people with data and a platform, The Sensor Inspector highlights the vital role children play in shaping a sustainable future for Dublin.

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• Company of the Year (in association with KPMG)
• Business Person of the Year (in association with KPMG)
• Elevation Company of the Year (in association with Enterprise Ireland)
• FDI Company of the Year (in association with IDA Ireland)
• Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DE&I)
• ESG Business of the Year Award
• Innovation Award
• Brand of the Year
• Public Enterprise of the Year
• Digital Transformation Award (New)

Ubotica Technologies, a pioneer in space-based AI, has announced a partnership agreement with NOVI Space Inc. (“NOVI”), a global leader in orbit edge computing and next-generation satellite infrastructure. The partnership will  deliver decision-grade, real-time intelligence directly from the Earth’s orbit.

The collaboration integrates Ubotica’s SPACE:AI platform with NOVI’s GENIE smart-satellite constellation and platform, enabling Earth observation data to be processed directly onboard satellites, supporting faster decision-making in time-critical domains such as maritime monitoring.

Traditional Earth observation systems collect first and think later. Raw imagery is downlinked, queued for ground processing, and delivered hours or days after capture. This is far too slow for threats that move in minutes.

Onboard AI eliminates that delay. Through the partnership, Ubotica will deploy and operate AI models directly in orbit through the GENIE multi-sensor satellite platform powered by NOVI’s SP240 On-Board Computer, enabling rapid detection, classification and decision-making.

SPACE:AI generates intelligence within 90 seconds of acquisition and delivers actionable insights in near real-time, without transmitting the underlying imagery. The result is dramatically lower latency, lower bandwidth cost and higher intelligence value per pass.

Onboard processing fundamentally changes what a satellite does. Instead of acting as a passive collector of pixels, each satellite becomes an intelligent agent: capturing, analysing and delivering insights without ground processing in the loop. SPACE:AI has been proven across more than multiple models and over 100,000 in-orbit inferences. In a single observation of Singapore port, it processed hundreds of vessels and detected those operating dark in under two minutes, with insights on the ground immediately dispatched.

The economics shift accordingly. Bandwidth costs fall sharply. Latency collapses from days to minutes. A single pass returns intelligence rather than imagery, ready for operational use the moment it reaches the ground.

Dr. Aubrey Dunne, co-founder and CTO at Ubotica, said: “Our collaboration with NOVI brings more AI-enabled Earth Observation capacity into orbit. By combining SPACE:AI with GENIE’s onboard compute, we’re shifting satellites from data collectors to intelligent agents, delivering insights in minutes rather than days. That capability underpins our Live Maritime Intelligence service and unlocks new operational models for time-critical surveillance.”

Michael Bartholomeusz, CEO of NOVI Space added: “AI at the edge is not a future concept, it’s happening now. Partnering with Ubotica allows us to demonstrate the full potential of GENIE: delivering real-time intelligence from orbit, not just data. This is a fundamental shift in how space-based systems create value.”

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BidReview.ai has been named IT Project of the Year (SME) at the 2026 Tech Excellence Awards, one of Ireland’s leading technology industry awards programmes.

The award recognises BidReview.ai’s work in developing a platform designed to help businesses assess the competitiveness and quality of tender submissions before they are submitted.

Founded by procurement specialist Tony Corrigan, BidReview.ai was launched earlier this year to address growing challenges in the public procurement sector, particularly the increasing use of AI-generated tender submissions and the difficulty businesses face in understanding how bids are evaluated.

The platform has been developed using analysis from more than 750 winning tenders and over 3,500 public sector competitions. It provides businesses with an evidence-based assessment of how proposals are likely to perform against the criteria commonly used by evaluators.

Speaking following the award win, Tony Corrigan, Founder of BidReview.ai, said: “We are delighted to receive this recognition at the Tech Excellence Awards. The volume of AI-generated tender submissions has increased dramatically over the past two years, but buyers still need to distinguish between bids that sound convincing and bids that can actually deliver.

BidReview.ai was developed to help businesses improve the quality, credibility and competitiveness of their submissions before they go into the market. Winning this award is a strong endorsement of the work the team has put into building the platform.”

The Tech Excellence Awards recognise innovation and achievement across Ireland’s technology sector and are judged by an independent panel of industry experts.

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Guest post by Neil Bowden, EMEA AI Business development lead, Dell Technologies Ireland

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds immense potential to drive human progress, improve productivity, reshape industries and unlock new opportunities for economic growth across Ireland. Yet, for many businesses, the path to AI adoption is paved with economic considerations.

According to the EY European AI Barometer , more than half of organisations (56%) have already achieved cost savings or profit increases thanks to AI adoption, averaging an impact of €6.24 million per organisation. In a market where every investment is scrutinised, leaders are tasked with a critical challenge: how to harness the power of AI without compromising financial stability.

From indigenous SMEs to multinational employers, Irish organisations are increasingly focused on one key question: how can AI investments deliver measurable value without creating unnecessary financial strain?

For Irish businesses, the challenge is no longer whether AI matters, but how to adopt it responsibly, and strategically.

This conversation is now extending beyond the private sector and into national policy discussions. The recent National Economic & Social Council (NESC) report, “Artificial Intelligence in Service of Society: Navigating Our Way Forward”, highlights that Ireland is now in a “critical window of opportunity” to shape AI adoption in a way that supports economic prosperity while AI remains safe, ethical and accountable.

Navigating the AI Investment with Strategic Precision

For businesses operating in a cost-conscious environment, the initial investment in AI can seem daunting. The costs associated with talent, infrastructure, and data management require careful planning. However, the most successful enterprises are not just spending on AI; they are investing strategically.

They begin by identifying specific, high-impact business challenges that AI can solve. Instead of pursuing ambitious, large-scale projects from the outset, they start with targeted initiatives that promise quick wins and demonstrable value.

Across sectors such as manufacturing, financial services and healthcare, organisations are using AI to improve operational efficiency, automate repetitive tasks and strengthen decision-making. By starting small, these businesses build momentum and internal expertise, creating a solid foundation for more advanced AI applications in the future.

This approach of starting with practical, solvable problems is also reflected as one of the key recommendations highlighted by NESC. The report emphasises on the importance of “responsible and strategic adoption”, noting that AI should address “clearly defined public and organisational needs” and align with workforce skills, data quality and institutional capacity, allowing Irish businesses to build a compelling case for AI.

The focus shifts from the technology itself to the positive outcomes it delivers. This way, AI becomes a tool for empowerment, enabling teams to work smarter and achieve more.

Avoiding the Pitfalls: The Cost of Over-Provisioning

While excitement about AI’s promise is high, an emerging challenge across EMEA is that organisations are also becoming increasingly aware of the risks associated with over-investment and poorly optimised infrastructure. Gartner predicts that by 2030, companies that fail to optimise the underlying AI compute environment will pay over 50% more than those that do.

This issue is especially relevant in Ireland, where energy costs, sustainability targets and operational efficiency remain key boardroom concerns. Businesses are increasingly looking at modular, scalable and usage-based AI infrastructure models that align investment more closely with actual business demand.

Unlocking Efficiency and Productivity Across EMEA

One of the most compelling economic arguments for AI is its ability to unlock productivity gains across organisations. Irish businesses are already leveraging AI to streamline administrative processes, improve customer service, optimise supply chains and enhance forecasting capabilities. By automating routine tasks, AI is freeing up human talent to focus on more creative and strategic work that drives innovation from within.

The key is to view AI as a collaborator. It is a technology that augments human capabilities, allowing people to achieve goals that were previously out of reach. When implemented thoughtfully, AI empowers employees, streamlines workflows, and drives the entire organisation forward.

The Long-Term Value of Data-Driven Decisions

Beyond immediate cost savings, the true economic power of AI lies in its ability to transform an organisation into a data-driven enterprise. Irish businesses are collecting vast amounts of data, but many struggle to extract meaningful insights from it. AI provides the tools to analyse this data at scale, uncovering patterns and trends that can inform strategic decision-making.

For example, retailers in Ireland are using AI to personalise customer experiences, analysing purchasing behaviour to offer tailored recommendations. This not only boosts sales but also builds lasting customer loyalty, a crucial asset in a competitive market. By understanding customer needs on a deeper level, businesses can create more relevant products and services, securing their position in the market for the long term.

Investing in the capabilities to gather, manage, and analyse data is fundamental to unlocking the full economic potential of AI. It is an investment in intelligence – the ability to anticipate market shifts, respond to customer demands, and identify new avenues for growth. This foresight is invaluable in any economic climate, providing the confidence to navigate uncertainty and make bold, informed decisions.

A Future Built on Intelligent Investment

The journey to AI adoption in a cost-conscious market is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires a clear vision, strategic planning, and a relentless focus on creating value. For Irish business leaders, the question is not whether to invest in AI, but how to invest intelligently. By focusing on solving real-world problems, empowering people, and building a data-driven culture, organisations can harness the economics of AI to their advantage. In doing so, they are not only navigating the current economic pressures but also laying the groundwork for a more productive, resilient, and innovative future for everyone.

Students from Marist College Athlone have been crowned National Champions at the 2026 STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools) Ireland National Finals following a day of intense competition in Kinsale, Co. Cork.

Team Stellar Racing fought off competition from teams representing secondary schools from across Ireland during the prestigious national event, which challenged students to design, manufacture and race miniature Formula One-style cars while also developing skills in engineering, branding, enterprise and teamwork.

2026 STEM Racing National Champions

The podium was completed by Treoluas Racing from Loreto Secondary School Kilkenny in second place and Apex Racing from Athlone Community College in third.

This season also marked a major milestone for the competition, which officially rebranded globally from F1 in Schools to STEM Racing. The new name reflects the programme’s continued growth beyond Formula One-inspired engineering into a broader STEM-focused educational experience encompassing science, technology, engineering and mathematics, while maintaining its close links with the world of motorsport.

As the top three teams in the country, Stellar Racing, Treoluas Racing and Apex Racing will now go on to represent Ireland at the STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore later this year, competing against some of the top student teams from around the globe.

Commenting on the victory, Team Manager Ruairi Collins from Stellar Racing said:

“We’re delighted to be named National Champions. As a team, we’ve learned a huge amount throughout the competition, from engineering and design to communication and teamwork. Getting the chance to represent Ireland at the World Finals in Singapore is incredibly exciting, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

Alongside the overall competition results, a number of special awards were presented recognising excellence in areas including engineering, enterprise, verbal presentation, sponsorship and teamwork.

Speaking after the event, Donal McDermott of STEM Racing Ireland praised the commitment and creativity shown by students and teachers throughout the season:

“STEM Racing is a fantastic opportunity for second-level students to explore the worlds of business, leadership, engineering, science and technology before deciding what path they want to take after secondary school. This year’s competition has been brilliant, giving students the chance to develop new skills, work as part of a team, and meet other like-minded young people from across the country.

We’re encouraging more schools, teachers and parents to get involved next year and give students the opportunity to take part. STEM Racing opens doors for participants in so many ways, including the chance to represent Ireland at the STEM Racing World Finals and meet some of the biggest names in the world of Formula 1.”

STEM Racing Ireland is part of the world’s largest STEM competition, challenging students to design, manufacture and race miniature Formula One-style cars. The programme encourages students to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through an exciting and immersive learning experience combining engineering with branding, marketing and entrepreneurship.

Registration for the 2026/27 STEM Racing Ireland season will open in August.

For more information, visit stemracing.ie or contact info@stemracing.ie.

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€11.5 million technology system, including an IBM z17 mainframe, to a leading Irish university to support skills development in Ireland as part of its 70th anniversary celebrations in the country. The IBM z17 is installed at South East Technological University (SETU) through an educational loan agreement. This initiative, welcomed by the Irish Government and IDA Ireland, will help to continue to position Ireland at the forefront of technology education.

Supporting skills development

The IBM Z mainframe powers approximately 70% of global transactions by value[1], and, through this initiative, students across computer science, engineering, cybersecurity, data and AI will gain hands-on access to the system. In doing so, they will have the opportunity to develop skills aligned with real?world enterprise technology environments, typically only available in large commercial organisations, helping them develop skills aligned to everyday use cases.

At SETU, the z17 mainframe and software will support teaching, learning, and research across the university, with more than 60 existing research and student resource servers being consolidated onto a single mainframe system. By consolidating existing resources into a single platform, the system will enhance how students learn about systems administration, programming and AI in a practical, real-world environment – including the introduction of Level 9 Certificates in Mainframe Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, benefitting more than 1000 computing students across a broad range of modules.

In addition, researchers across the university will benefit from enhanced computing capacity to support modelling, simulation, and secure data management. The system will also provide student-led technology societies with access to dedicated learning environments, enabling hands-on experience in areas such as systems administration, programming and AI within a real-world, enterprise-class setting.

Taoiseach Mícheal Martin said: “For 70 years, IBM has contributed to Ireland’s growth by investing in technology, skills and innovation. This latest support to boost education and research will help equip the next generation with the capabilities required for the AI era, whilst strengthening Ireland’s position as a hub for advanced enterprise technology. This commitment by IBM reflects Ireland’s ambition to build long-term, sustainable leadership in digital innovation.”

The initiative builds on IBM’s continued commitment to deliver positive impact to the Irish economy through job creation and by strengthening specialist skills and expertise throughout the country. In the last two years IBM has announced over 850 high?tech roles across Dublin, Cork and Waterford. These roles cement Ireland’s position as a globally strategic location for the company and span R&D, IBM Z development, IBM Consulting operations and sales.

IBM’s 70th anniversary in Ireland reflects decades of partnership with Irish industry, academia and the public sector, with a continued focus on building skills to help enterprises compete and grow in an increasingly AI-led economy.

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke said: “Ireland’s future competitiveness will be shaped in part by how well we equip people with the skills needed for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and trusted digital infrastructure. IBM’s collaboration with South East Technological University demonstrates the value of strong industry-academic partnerships in building talent, strengthening economic resilience and preparing students and graduates for the technologies that will drive Ireland’s next phase of digital growth.”

IBM z17: enterprise infrastructure for the AI era

In the AI era, organisations are increasingly focused on how data is processed, secured and governed at scale. IBM z17 is designed to meet these demands by combining advanced AI capabilities with strong security and resilience in a platform built for high volume, high trust environments.

As AI moves from experimentation into core operations, it is increasingly being embedded directly into the transaction systems that run organisations every day, and not just standalone tools. In regulated industries, this shift places greater emphasis on where AI runs, how data is governed and how systems are secured and kept resilient at scale. Built to support these demands, IBM z17 brings AI to the point of transaction, enabling SETU students to work hands-on with the kinds of secure, resilient enterprise systems that underpin finance, healthcare and public services.

SETU President, Professor Veronica Campbell said: “The provision of the z17 mainframe from IBM to SETU will be transformative for our students and researchers. This collaboration is in line with SETU’s Strategic Plan, which positions the University as a driver of innovation and change for the region, its communities, and partners. By providing direct, hands-on access to this enterprise-grade technology, we are creating an invaluable student opportunity that bridges the gap between academic study and real-world practical skills within high-demand professional domains. This technology will help prepare the next generation of graduates to lead in an increasingly digital and AI-driven world, while strengthening the region’s capacity for research, enterprise, and technological advancement. We are grateful to IBM for this substantial investment, allowing SETU to further support innovation, education, and skills development for the future.”

Investing in Ireland’s future skills and innovation

IBM supports education and skills development in Ireland through a range of long-standing initiatives spanning schools, higher education and advanced research. This includes partnerships with universities, the P-TECH programme, and collaboration between academia and industry through IBM Research Ireland – which is co-located on the campus of Trinity College Dublin.

IBM also provides access to digital learning resources through IBM SkillsBuild, its free technology education program, which is already being used in Ireland by organisations such as Fast Track into Information Technology (FIT) to support learners in developing practical digital and workplace skills and credentials aligned to employer needs.

The provision of IBM z17 technology to SETU builds on this approach, expanding access to enterprise-class systems and helping prepare students for careers in an increasingly AI-driven economy.

Nathan Cullen, General Manager, IBM Ireland said: “For 70 years, IBM has worked alongside organisations, educators and government in Ireland as technology and skills needs have continued to evolve. Our latest collaboration with SETU builds on a wider programme of education and research engagement across the country, all of which are focused on helping people develop practical capabilities for the technologies shaping modern enterprise. Providing students access to enterprise-class systems, like the IBM z17, is an important part of preparing the next generation for the opportunities ahead.”

Michael Lohan, CEO of IDA Ireland said: “IBM’s 70-year track record in Ireland is a powerful example of how long-term partnership can deliver sustained economic and societal impact. This latest investment in advanced infrastructure at SETU directly supports IDA Ireland’s strategy to drive regional growth, deepen the talent pipeline and strengthen Ireland’s position as a global hub for digitalisation, AI and high-value FDI. We are proud to work with IBM as it continues to innovate and invest here, and we welcome the opportunities this initiative will create for students, researchers and employers across the country.”

The event was organised and hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and IDA Ireland in Iveagh House, Dublin.

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Findings of its comprehensive Q2 2026 EV Consumer Sentiment Survey. With over 1,000 respondents across every county in Ireland, the data highlights a massive “reality gap” between the lived experience of EV owners and the hesitations of those yet to make the switch.

The headline finding reveals a staggering 94% satisfaction rate among current electric vehicle drivers, who state they would choose an EV again if they had to buy a car today. This satisfaction is underpinned by reliability, with 97% of owners reporting that their EV is as reliable or more reliable than their previous combustion-engine vehicle.

Irish EV Drivers Vow Never to Return to Petrol or Diesel

“This data proves that once Irish drivers make the switch, they don’t look back,” says Derek Reilly with Nevo. “The challenge now is addressing the price and education barriers for the 60% of non-EV owners who plan to purchase an EV within the next 24 months. By providing transparency such as real-world range, we can accelerate the transition for the remaining sceptical drivers.”

Debunking the Myth of Range Anxiety

While public perception often focuses on range limitations, the survey results tell a different story. Nearly 100% of EV owners agree that their vehicle’s range meets their daily needs most of the time. Furthermore, Irish drivers are pushing boundaries; half of those surveyed have driven 400km or more in a single journey, with 7% of drivers surpassing the 700km mark.

The Economic Push

Financial pressure remains a primary driver for transition. One-third of non-EV owners cited recent fuel price spikes as a considerable influence on their consideration of electric. This transition appears to pay off, as 9 out of 10 owners report that maintenance costs are cheaper than their previous petrol or diesel cars.

Barriers to Entry

Despite the high satisfaction among owners, barriers remain for the 28.5% of respondents who do not yet own an EV. The top three concerns holding them back are:

1. Initial Purchase Price
2. Future Vehicle Depreciation
3. Waiting for Newer Technology

The pre-owned EV market shows promise, with 34% surveyed planning on a used electric vehicle with another 44% saying they will purchase a new car when they do decide to buy. The remaining 23% are yet to decide.

A Glimpse into the Future: The Car as a Power Plant

The survey also highlights an emerging interest in Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) technology. 92% of Irish EV drivers are either interested in using their vehicle to power their home or want to find out more, with only 10% citing safety concerns.

About Nevo

Nevo is an impartial website where consumers can educate themselves all about electric vehicles. From our comparison tool to journey planner, visitors can research all Electric Vehicles from every automotive brand available in Ireland. Users can enquire and book test drives with franchise retail dealers across Ireland, all in one site. Nevo also hosts Ireland’s largest motor show in November, in partnership with Bank of Ireland, which last year attracted over 30,000 attendees

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ToolsEV, created during Startup Weekend Women Dublin, beat teams from 40 cities across six continents

An Irish-based startup team has won the Techstars Startup Weekend Women Global Pitch Competition with a platform designed to help independent mechanics diagnose and repair electric vehicles.

ToolsEV, created during Startup Weekend Women Dublin earlier this year, was named the overall global winner after progressing from the Dublin event to the international final, competing against startup teams from 40 cities across six continents.

The platform was developed by Dr Lisa Ruttledge, Ciara Close, Tory Miller and Cui Can during the 54-hour entrepreneurship event held in Dublin in March.

Built during a 54-hour startup weekend

Startup Weekend Women 2026 was organised as part of International Women’s Day activities and brought together more than 240 startup teams worldwide to rapidly develop and pitch business ideas.

ToolsEV first won the Dublin event before advancing to the global competition, where it ultimately secured the top prize.

The startup focuses on a growing challenge facing the electric vehicle sector: many independent garages lack access to the diagnostic tools, technical data and repair intelligence needed to service EVs.

“We kept hearing the same thing over and over again from mechanics and EV owners across Ireland,” said Dr Lisa Ruttledge, Co-founder of ToolsEV.

“Independent garages want to work on EVs, but the information is fragmented, difficult to access, or locked behind manufacturer systems. That leaves consumers with fewer repair options and higher costs.”

Addressing gaps in EV repair access

The platform aims to become a centralised repair intelligence tool for the independent EV repair market, bringing together repair workflows, diagnostic information and technical insights across multiple vehicle brands.

According to the team, customer discovery interviews were carried out with independent garages, EV owners, charging infrastructure companies and training organisations across Ireland during the validation process.

The project also aligns with wider European discussions around Right to Repair legislation and improving access to repair information for consumers and independent repair providers.

“Ireland is moving quickly toward EV adoption, but the repair ecosystem hasn’t caught up yet,” said Ruttledge.

“If EVs are going to truly deliver on their environmental promise, we need independent repair shops to be able to participate in that future.”

Dublin event reaches global stage

Evelyn Nomayo, Lead Organiser for Startup Weekend Women Dublin, said the success of ToolsEV demonstrated the value of practical entrepreneurship programmes.

“ToolsEV is addressing a real and growing challenge in the EV sector,” she said. “Their success shows what can happen when people come together to solve practical problems.”

Following the competition win, the team plans to continue industry validation work across Ireland and Europe while exploring partnerships within the EV ecosystem and further development of the platform.

Those interested in following the project or signing up for beta updates can do so via ToolsEV.

Irish Tech News has covered Startup Weekend Women Dublin over the past three years,  including this year’s event where ToolsEV first emerged during the 54-hour entrepreneurship programme.

Billy Linehan attended this year’s Startup Weekend Women Dublin event as both a mentor, and as a journalist for Irish Tech News.

Billy Linehan

Billy Linehan writes about innovation, tech for good and entrepreneurship for Irish Tech News. He leads Celtar Advisers, working as a business mentor with SMEs and startup founders, and co-founded StartUp Ballymun, Dublin’s longest-running entrepreneurship series. In recent months he has reported from technology and innovation events in Rome, Las Vegas, Orlando and Dublin.

See more breaking stories here.

Digital entertainment has become noisier, quicker, and more crowded with every passing year. Streaming platforms compete with social feeds, short-form videos interrupt longer viewing habits, and games themselves often chase complexity through sprawling worlds, layered mechanics, and endless customisation systems.

Yet for all that movement, simple game formats continue to attract attention in corners of the internet where shrinking attention spans are discussed almost daily. Part of the explanation lies in familiarity. Casual puzzle games, endless runners, and even traditional formats like online roulette rely on rhythms people understand almost instantly, without lengthy tutorials or steep learning curves.

Repetition offers stability in overstimulated spaces

Modern online environments rarely pause for breath. Notifications flicker across screens, timelines refresh endlessly, and digital platforms compete for immediate reactions at nearly every hour of the day. Against that backdrop, repetitive game formats can feel unexpectedly steady when playing them.

There is a certain comfort in systems built around short, predictable loops. A puzzle resets. A spin ends and begins again. A level restarts without ceremony. The structure stays largely intact, and that consistency reduces some of the mental strain that comes with more demanding forms of entertainment. Not every online experience needs to feel intense to remain engaging.

Familiar mechanics lower the barrier to entry

One reason repetitive formats continue to resonate is that they ask very little of the user before interaction begins. More complex games build on cutting-edge tech and often demand concentration, memory, and long uninterrupted sessions. Simpler formats work differently from complicated ones, which in itself is an important factor.

The interaction cycle tends to be immediate and easy to read. Players quickly understand what progression looks like because the rules remain visible from the outset. In a digital culture shaped by interruptions and multitasking, accessibility carries more weight than many developers once anticipated.

Visual rhythm matters more than realism

For years, the entertainment industry treated realism as a benchmark for technological progress. Better graphics, cinematic storytelling, and highly detailed worlds became central selling points across gaming and streaming. Yet many simple games still rely on stylised visuals, looping animations, and instantly recognisable colour patterns.

Part of their staying power comes from clarity. Repetitive motion, straightforward feedback, and responsive design are easier to process than visual overload. Arcade-inspired formats understood this long before smartphones entered everyday life, and many modern entertainment platforms still lean on the same design instincts today.

Faster technology strengthened simple formats

Stronger hardware and faster internet connections were once expected to push simpler games aside in favour of increasingly complex experiences. Instead, technological improvements often made repetitive entertainment even easier to access.

Touchscreens, responsive interfaces, and reduced loading times suited games built around immediacy and short feedback loops. Rather than disappearing, simple formats adapted seamlessly to modern devices.

The result is an entertainment landscape where highly complex experiences and deliberately repetitive ones now exist comfortably side by side, each serving different moods, habits, and moments throughout the day.

Ann Cavoukian served as Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner from 1997 to 2014. The seven foundational principles of Privacy by Design were formalised under her tenure in 2009, adopted as an international standard by the global data-protection commissioners’ conference in Jerusalem in October 2010, and written into European law as Article 25 of the GDPR in 2016. The framework was Canadian. The implementation was European. In Canada it became a slogan reproduced on Treasury Board slide decks and corporate privacy pages, and almost nowhere else. The gap between what we named and what we deployed is the entire story of how surveillance settled into everyday life.

I first met Cavoukian at a privacy conference in the early 2000s; she was already impatient. The principles were not abstract; they were a direct challenge to the default assumptions she knew were being baked into product roadmaps in real time. I have since spent what my colleagues at the Privacy and Access Council of Canada charitably describe as an eternity serving as a director there; the frustration the framework was designed to solve has simply accumulated more documentation. Ontario’s current IPC, Patricia Kosseim, is now into her second term; her office has spent five years calling out deceptive design patterns, children’s data commercialisation, and AI governance gaps with the same directness Cavoukian brought to the foundational work. That continuity is not accidental. The frustration, at this point, is institutional.

Erosion Happens at Checkout

Privacy does not erode through scandal. It erodes through onboarding screens, receipt prompts, and “would you like an e-receipt?” The Tim Hortons app collected granular location data every few minutes, including when the app was closed, between May 2019 and August 2020; the joint OPC investigation made that public on 1 June 2022. The collection had no operational purpose; it was used to infer where users lived, worked, and travelled. Cadillac Fairview installed facial-analytics technology inside mall wayfinding kiosks, captured biometric data from an estimated five million Canadians, and described the practice as “anonymous video analytics”; the OPC settled that question on 28 October 2020 in PIPEDA Findings #2020-004. Neither involved a breach. Both were design decisions described in plain English by people who built them and approved by people who reviewed them.

The “consent fatigue” Defence

On 26 January 2023 the OPC released its first PIPEDA finding of the year, against Home Depot of Canada. Between 2018 and October 2022, every customer who chose an e-receipt at a Home Depot till had their hashed email address and in-store purchase details forwarded to Meta through the “Offline Conversions” program; Meta matched the hash to a Facebook account and used the resulting profile both for Home Depot ad-effectiveness reporting and for its own ad-targeting business. Home Depot’s defence to the OPC is worth quoting because it is the entire article in one sentence: the company told the regulator it had not notified customers of the data-sharing arrangement at the point of sale because doing so would have created “consent fatigue.” That is not a misstep; that is the design philosophy declared on the record. The OPC concluded that express opt-in consent had been required and that no such consent existed.

Defaults are the Design

Default collection is the design decision; the privacy notice is the alibi. A product that needs your data to monetise ships with collection on, the disable toggle three menus deep, the consent banner engineered so “accept” is bright and “reject” reads as a punishment. This is not careless UX. It is the commercial purpose of the build, written into the wireframes before legal sees a draft. The European Data Protection Board ruled in April 2024 that “consent or pay” walls breach GDPR Article 7; an entire generation of users had by then been trained that the rational response to any permissions dialog is whatever makes it disappear fastest. We engineered that reflex; then we cited it as evidence that users do not care about privacy. Convenient.

Recommendations are not Remedies

Retrofits never work, because the business model has already metabolised the data. Try removing analytics from an ad-supported app after launch and watch the revenue projections collapse; the privacy team loses that internal meeting before it begins. The OPC accepted Home Depot’s commitments. The OPC accepted Tim Hortons’ commitments. The underlying app and retail economy did not shift by a degree. Under PIPEDA, the OPC cannot impose a single dollar in administrative monetary penalty for any of it; it can recommend, publish, and hope the next executive reads the trade press. A regulator without order-making power is a press release with letterhead, and corporate counsel know it.

The Federal Vacuum

Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act 2022, would have replaced PIPEDA with the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, created a Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal, and added the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. The CPPA carried administrative monetary penalties of up to five percent of global revenue or twenty-five million dollars, whichever was greater. In October 2023 Minister Champagne tabled amendments recognising privacy as a fundamental right. The bill stalled at committee through 2024. On 6 January 2025 Parliament was prorogued; every government bill on the Order Paper died, C-27 with it. The April 2025 snap election made resuscitation impossible. The 45th Parliament has not retabled it. As of May 2026, Canada continues to run private-sector privacy through PIPEDA, a statute drafted in 2000, before the iPhone existed, before the data-broker industry existed, before any of the technologies the legislation now nominally governs existed. Quebec’s Law 25, rolled out in three stages between September 2022 and September 2024, now sets the only serious enforcement bar in the country: mandatory privacy impact assessments before any new technology project touching personal information, privacy by default written into statute, binding orders, and AMPs up to four percent of worldwide turnover. One province decided not to wait. That is not adequacy; that is a federal embarrassment.

What Parliament did manage to produce is Bill C-8, the cybersecurity bill formerly known as C-26, which passed the House on 26 March 2026 and was referred to the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs on 23 April. The Privacy and Access Council of Canada has been invited to testify before SECD on 25 May; PACC has been appearing before parliamentary committees in one form or another since before most of the current senators were appointed, which should say something about the pace of federal progress. The ask is unchanged: write the privacy protections into the statute, do not leave them to ministerial discretion and after-the-fact judicial review. Privacy Commissioner Dufresne identified the outstanding gaps on the record before SECU; the Senate has the opportunity to fix what the House did not. If those safeguards are not embedded in C-8 before Royal Assent, the surveillance architecture this bill enables will outlast every government that produced it.

Discipline at the Whiteboard

Privacy by Design starts at the whiteboard or it does not happen. Collect what the function requires; keep the data local where possible; let it expire when its purpose ends; narrow the access. None of this is exotic engineering. PIPEDA Principle 4.4 has required limited collection since 2000. The Treasury Board Directive on Privacy Practices has required Privacy Impact Assessments at design for federal institutions for over a decade. The discipline is asking, before the first commit, what minimum data set lets the product do what it claims to do, and refusing to build past that ceiling no matter how attractive the secondary use looks in a deck. Most product teams have never been asked that question because no one above them has had to answer for the answer. Cavoukian’s principles included one almost no Canadian product respects: privacy as the default setting. Not as an option. Not as a toggle. The default. Every regulatory finding that settles for “users could have opted out” concedes that principle, and sixteen years of erosion sit inside that concession.

Conclusion

The honest question for any product team in 2026 is no longer whether to add privacy controls. It is whether the data collection their roadmap depends on would survive five minutes of cross-examination at the OPC or the Commission d’accès à l’information. If the answer is no, the roadmap is the problem; the privacy policy is paperwork drafted to make the roadmap survive. Ottawa’s next privacy bill, whenever it arrives, will be tested against a single question: does it require collection to be justified at design and privacy to be the default at deployment, or does it once again ask Canadians to opt out of what was decided for them? Anything less is C-27 in new wrapping, with the same regulator drafting the same recommendations, and the same product teams writing the same alibi. Home Depot already told us the quiet part: the reason customers were not informed was that informing them would have caused consent fatigue. That sentence is the surveillance economy’s confession on the record. The next federal bill either makes that defence laughable or makes it law.

Marc-Roger Gagne MAPP

@ottlegalrebels

Longford County Council is proud to announce that 92% of primary schools participating in STEM-related activities across the county have now received ten or more laptops per school, significantly strengthening digital learning capacity and access for students.

To date, over €192,000 has been invested in laptops which have now been delivered to participating primary schools as part of Longford County Council’s continued commitment to advancing STEM and STEAM education. This investment ensures that students across the county have greater access to the digital tools required to develop essential skills in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

The positive impact of this strategic investment was clearly demonstrated at this year’s Dream Space Showcase which recorded its highest-ever attendance with over 700 students taking part. The record turnout highlights the growing enthusiasm for STEAM education among young people and reflects the success of collaborative efforts between schools, educators and Longford County Council.

This initiative is supported through funding from the Government of Ireland and the European Union, under the Just Transition Fund Programme 2021–2027, which aims to support communities as they transition towards a more sustainable, innovative and inclusive future.

Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr Garry Murtagh said, “The strong level of school participation and the exceptional attendance at this year’s Dream Space Showcase demonstrate the real impact targeted investment can have. By equipping schools with modern technology and supporting innovative learning opportunities, we are helping to inspire the next generation and ensure no student is left behind in the digital age.”

Chief Executive of Longford County Council, Paddy Mahon said, “This investment is about giving children practical tools to learn, explore and build confidence with technology. By supporting schools across the county, we are helping to ensure that access to digital learning is not shaped by location or circumstance.”

Longford County Council remains committed to building on this progress, continuing to support schools, educators and students through meaningful investment in STEAM education and digital infrastructure.

See more stories here.

Equal1 has announced a milestone in the evolution of quantum computing with the global release of Equal1 RacQ. RacQ, the next generation evolution of our Bell-1 Server, represents the world’s first deployable rack-mounted silicon-spin quantum computer designed to live within a standard 19-inch data center rack.

Hybrid Quantum-Classical Computing (HQCC) Integration

HQCC enables high-impact applications, including investment risk analysis, materials simulation and supply chain optimisation.

In these workflows, classical and quantum workloads operate as a single system. Intensive subroutines are offloaded to the RacQ quantum processor, while pre- and post-processing remain on the classical compute server.

This integration allows organisations to prioritise high-impact use cases and move hybrid systems directly into production.

Experience RacQ and HQCC In Action

Equal1 and Dell Technologies are demonstrating how HQCC could be deployed in a data centre next week at Dell Technologies World in the Modern Data Center area of the Solutions Expo. In this experimental prototype, Equal1’s RacQ integrates a silicon quantum computer with a Dell PowerEdge R770 server, a PowerSwitch networking environment and Dell’s Quantum Intelligent Orchestrator – a prototype created to manage and schedule workloads across heterogeneous compute resources – all within a standard data centre rack design.

While the demonstration is a research collaboration, it shows how HQCC is indeed possible in HPC environments and sets a practical benchmark for low-disruption QPU integration.

RacQ highlights

Standard Power: It plugs into a standard single-phase electrical socket, consuming only 1600 W – comparable to a high-end classical server.

Advanced Cooling: It features an integrated, self-contained, closed-cycle cryocooler that maintains an internal temperature of 0.3 Kelvin without external infrastructure.

Compact Footprint: Weighing 400 kg, the hybrid quantum classical compute device fits perfectly into a standard Dell 42U frame.

For too long, quantum computing has remained isolated in specialist environments, custom-built and disconnected from standard infrastructure. Equal1 is changing this by delivering quantum compute in a familiar footprint, accessible to every data center operator.

Building on the foundation of the Bell-1, the new Equal1 RacQ translates that same quantum power into a deployable, rack-mounted form factor. The Equal1 RacQ is designed to integrate seamlessly with any classical compute hardware, enabling hybrid quantum classical compute all within the same data centre rack form factor.

Whether an organisation utilises existing server stacks or specialised high-performance computing (HPC) nodes, RacQ functions as a peer-level resource within the rack.

“For nearly every organisation, quantum computing remains out of reach, confined to labs,” says Jason Lynch, CEO of Equal1. “We’re changing that. We are putting quantum inside the rack so customers can roll it in, plug it in and begin running hybrid quantum–classical workloads in days, using the infrastructure they already own.”

Powered by UnityQ: Silicon-Scale Innovation

The Equal1 RacQ is powered by UnityQ, a breakthrough quantum system-on-chip that will integrate the complete quantum system onto a single silicon package.

Standard CMOS: Built using standard semiconductor processes, allowing it to scale on the cadence of global chip progress.

Efficient Power: Runs at approximately 1.6kW from a single-phase electrical socket.

Self-Contained Cooling: An integrated, closed-cycle cryocooler maintains an internal temperature of 0.3 Kelvin without requiring external cryogenic infrastructure.

Data Centre Ready: The full system weighs 400 kg and fits within a standard rack footprint.

See more stories here.

The #PlantHealth4Life campaign, led by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission (EC), and supported in Ireland by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, has launched today (12 May), warning the public that everyday actions — from bringing plants home from holidays to buying online — could put plant health, food supply and biodiversity at risk.

Now in its fourth and final year, the campaign continues to raise awareness of plant health risks and their direct link to the economy, local communities and food safety across Europe.

Launching on International Day of Plant Health (12 May), garden designer and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Goodwill Ambassador for Ireland, Diarmuid Gavin, said: “We often think of plant health as something distant, but it starts in our own gardens and green spaces. The choices we make, what we plant, where we buy from, how we care for our gardens, all have a real impact. This campaign is a reminder that small, informed actions by many people can make a big difference for plant health, biodiversity and climate resilience.”

Be aware of plant health risks

Holidaymakers are urged not to bring plants, cuttings, fruit or vegetables home when travelling outside the EU, as these may harbour harmful pests or diseases. Gardeners are encouraged to choose local plant species, reduce reliance on pesticides and check the “plant passport” on new plants, confirming they are free from harmful pests and disease. Parents and teachers are also encouraged to raise awareness of plant health among children. Full details are available at efsa.europa.eu/en/plh4l, with resources including social media posts, top tips and videos.

Ireland’s Chief Plant Health Officer, Ms Louise Byrne, emphasised the importance of public awareness and simple actions: “Protecting plant health is something everyone can contribute to. Simple steps like sourcing plants responsibly, avoiding bringing plants and seeds home from abroad, and staying alert to signs of pests and diseases, can have a significant impact. By working together and staying informed, we can help protect Ireland’s environment, food systems and biodiversity.”

This final year builds on growing awareness across Europe, with 33 countries now involved, and a renewed focus on turning knowledge into action — empowering individuals, families, gardeners and travellers to play their part.

Sylvain Giraud, Head of the Plant Health Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, said: “Plant Health 4 Life is built on a key principle: awareness empowers action. In this final year, the campaign reinforces how protecting plant health means safeguarding our food, our environment and our future. By engaging citizens across Europe, the campaign has laid strong foundations that will continue to support efforts to protect plants well beyond the campaign itself.”

Tobin Robinson, Head of the Environment, Plants and Ecotoxicology Unit at EFSA, added: “Science helps us understand the risks to plant health, but that’s not enough: we need Europeans to connect that knowledge to their daily lives. Plant Health 4 Life makes plant health accessible and relevant. By travelling responsibly, shopping responsibly, and educating the next generation, we can all be part of the solution.”

As Cyprus holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Anthemis Melifronidou, Chief Officer for Plant Health of Cyprus, said: “Hosting the launch of the campaign during the Cyprus Presidency, together with Chief Officers for Plant Health from across Europe, highlights how plant health is a shared European responsibility. Simple actions by citizens, supported by strong cooperation across countries, help protect our plants and our future.”

Visit www.efsa.europa.eu/en/plh4l to discover how to safeguard plant health.

About the campaign

#PlantHealth4Life is a multi-year campaign developed at the request of the European Commission. It is based on an in-depth analysis of citizen perceptions and behaviour with respect to plant health across the EU.

The campaign continues to extend its scope and reach, covering 33 countries:

EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden
Pre-accession countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, and Türkiye, and
Switzerland.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

How does plant health affect our lives?

Plants make up 80% of the food we eat, feed the animals we raise for food, and clean the air we breathe. But that’s not all: healthy plants mean good agricultural yield, which impacts food availability and food prices for consumers. See more information on the role of plants.

Climate change and human activities, such as trade and travel put plants under heavy pressure. The spread of plant pests and diseases can have devastating economic and environmental consequences. For example, the pine wood nematode is a microscopic worm that can quickly kill pine trees and devastate forests. Until 1999, it was never detected in the EU. First introduced in Portugal, it is now present also in parts of Spain and has recently been detected in France. To stop it spreading, EU rules require all at-risk trees (mainly pines) within a 500 metres radius of an outbreak to be cut down and destroyed, with major economic and environmental impact, especially in regions with large pine forests.

About EFSA

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is an agency of the European Union set up in 2002 to serve as an impartial source of scientific advice to risk managers and to communicate on risks associated with the food chain. It cooperates with interested parties to promote the coherence of EU scientific advice and provides the scientific basis for laws and regulations to protect European consumers from food-related risks – from farm to fork.

About the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The international standards on plant health to facilitate trade in plants and plant products are based on the provisions laid down in the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. Each of the 181 member countries of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) have a National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) to implement the standards agreed.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) fulfils the role of Ireland’s NPPO, implementing the annual plant health programme under EU and national legislation with the aim of protecting the health of plants in Ireland.

DAFM will launch its new Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy 2026-2030. The Strategy will set out the vision to protect Ireland’s agriculture, horticulture and forestry sectors and the wider environment from plant pests and diseases thereby safeguarding food security, facilitating safe trade and protecting the environment.

The Strategy will focus on (i) risk anticipation, (ii) risk surveillance and management and, (iii) risk awareness and communication relating to plant health and biosecurity.

At the EU level, DAFM represents Ireland’s interests and provides input into the development of phytosanitary legislation. Ireland is also a member of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO), which is a Regional Plant Protection Organization under the IPPC that promotes the exchange of information between its member countries.

See www.gov.ie/planthealth

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Equinix, Inc., the world’s digital infrastructure company®, has announced the global expansion of Equinix Fabric Geo Zones, the first network-level, sovereignty enforcement layer that operates across interconnected clouds and providers. Enterprises face growing compliance risks from network rerouting events that can inadvertently move sovereign data across borders they are legally required to respect. Built natively into Equinix Fabric®, Geo Zones eliminates that risk by keeping data within defined geographic boundaries.

“Businesses are facing one of the most complex global regulatory environments in history while at the same time facing huge pressure to deploy new technologies,” said Courtney Munroe, Founder, Apex Research. “A global enterprise operating under GDPR in Europe, LGPD in Brazil, and APRA in Australia simultaneously needs different data routing rules for each jurisdiction, with every outage, failover, or congestion event a potential compliance violation. With Fabric Geo Zones, Equinix is delivering a foundational solution that is truly built from the ground up with native sovereignty controls at its core, giving enterprises confidence to operate in a globally fragmented regulated environment.”

Most networks prioritise availability and performance over geographic or regulatory boundaries, often leaving customers with limited visibility or control over where their data travels. Fabric Geo Zones ensures that rerouted data remains within defined jurisdictions. This capability is especially critical for organisations operating in regulated industries.

Unlike solutions built within a single cloud or delivered as software overlays, Fabric Geo Zones enforces sovereignty at the network layer. Because it is enforced directly within the interconnection fabric itself, it delivers a level of control difficult for a single cloud or software overlay provider to match.

“Sovereignty can’t be a setting you configure inside a single cloud. Global enterprises must enforce sovereignty at the network layer, across every cloud, provider and path simultaneously,” said Arun Dev, Vice President of Digital Interconnection at Equinix. “Equinix Fabric Geo Zones is the only solution that enforces geographic boundaries as a property of the network itself. Traffic either flows along compliant paths or it’s blocked. That’s why enterprises across industries trust Equinix to move data across clouds without compromising sovereignty.”

The expansion of Fabric Geo Zones is part of Equinix’s ongoing investment in reimagining networking for the AI era, following the launch of Fabric Intelligence and the Distributed AI Hub. Together, these capabilities provide customers with an adaptive, secure foundation for distributed AI and multicloud environments. Fabric Geo Zones is built on the Equinix Fabric industry-leading software-defined network spanning 77 metros worldwide, enabling customer-controlled data sovereignty at global scale. Reflecting the advanced compliance and control it delivers, Geo Zones is available at a premium tier—included in Unlimited Ports and Unlimited Ports Plus packages and priced at a premium to standard virtual circuits.

Fabric Geo Zones is built for workloads where compliance can’t be an afterthought. A European financial institution can run real-time transactions across multiple clouds while ensuring customer data never leaves the EU, even when an outage triggers automatic rerouting across clouds. A healthcare organisation can keep patient and AI inference data within defined jurisdictions across hybrid environments. A government agency can deploy sovereign AI with data confined to national or regional boundaries. A global company can automatically apply jurisdiction-specific routing rules to meet GDPR, LGPD, APRA and other regional requirements across its operations.

Fabric Geo Zones enables customers to:

Keep sensitive data within approved jurisdictions

Reduce regulatory and jurisdictional risk from unintended cross-border routing

Accelerate deployments using Fabric Super Agent

Eliminate uncertainty during failover where outages reroute sensitive traffic

Fabric Geo Zones is available today in preview across Equinix’s global footprint, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S., with European Union availability to come in June. Equinix will be speaking about this at the International Telecoms Week conference panels on May 19: “The quest for sovereign AI meets the edge-cloud infrastructure battle” and “Unleashing the 3 pillars of AI.”

See more stories here.

The InvizCrypt platform, developed at Trinity, is designed so users can collaborate on sensitive documents without the platform provider being able to read the content.

The global cloud productivity market exceeds $50 billion annually, for healthcare, legal, financial, and public-sector organisations, underlining the potential significance of this innovation. Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new cloud collaboration platform (InvizCrypt) that offers true privacy, giving users much stronger control over who can access their sensitive data and documents

Better privacy for cloud collaboration developed

The InvizCrypt platform, developed by Professor Hitesh Tewari and colleagues from Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics and ADAPT at Trinity College Dublin, is designed to allow users to collaborate on sensitive documents while preventing the platform provider from reading the content.

The project comes amid growing European concern about data privacy, security, digital sovereignty and foreign legal access to sensitive information held by large technology providers.  In April 2026, the European Commission advanced a sovereign cloud procurement framework that will allow EU institutions, bodies and agencies to procure up to €180 million in sovereign cloud services over six years. France has also moved to replace Microsoft Teams and Zoom with its own sovereign video conferencing platform, Visio, across government departments by 2027.

Speaking about InvizCrypt, Professor Hitesh Tewari, said: “Users place huge trust in cloud platforms to store and process their data, but many people do not realise that, in conventional systems, the provider can technically still access document content. That creates risks around privacy, security and legal disclosure, regardless of where data is hosted. InvizCrypt is designed to offer a fully private model that can not only support real-time collaboration but also ensure the security of the data within the documents.”

What are the potential impacts of this research?

Most cloud collaboration platforms are built on a model where the provider can technically access the contents of a document as part of delivering the service. The InvizCrypt system is designed differently. Before a document leaves the user’s own device, it is encrypted into unreadable data. The cloud platform can still store the file, allow collaboration between users, and keep the document in sync, but it cannot see what the document says. Only approved collaborators hold the keys needed to read it.

This fundamental difference means that documents, attached files and real-time edits are protected before they reach the platform. For users, InvizCrypt feels like ordinary cloud collaboration but with the added layer of security.

Prof. Tewari said: “The first users of InvizCrypt will be researchers because research teams often work on highly sensitive material before publication and collaborations often require close contact despite individuals being situated around the globe.”

“This information can be valuable to competitors, cyber criminals, or even foreign state-backed actors. Universities are increasingly being warned that research data and intellectual property are attractive targets, and even retaining total privacy from the eyes of governments — foreign and domestic — is something many researchers highly value in today’s world.”

The team has started with LaTeX, a writing system used by many researchers, scientists, engineers and mathematicians to prepare complex academic papers and technical documents.  Following this first phase, the technology will then be extended into secure document editing and spreadsheet workflows for organisations that need to collaborate without exposing sensitive content to platform providers.

By beginning with an encrypted collaborative LaTeX editor, InvizCrypt targets a community that already depends on cloud-based collaboration but has limited options for keeping sensitive work private from the platform provider. This initial phase will allow the team to validate the system in real research workflows, build trust with universities and research institutions, and establish the institutional relationships needed for wider adoption.

The team will then extend the same server-blind architecture beyond LaTeX into secure document editing and spreadsheet workflows, creating a broader privacy-first platform for a range of users and domains later in 2026.

About ADAPT

ADAPT is the world-leading Research Ireland Centre for AI Driven Digital Content Technology hosted by Trinity College Dublin. ADAPT’s partner institutions include Dublin City University, University College Dublin, Technological University Dublin, Maynooth University, Munster Technological University, Technological University of the Shannon, and University of Galway. ADAPT’s research vision is to pioneer new forms of proactive, scalable, and integrated AI-driven Digital Content Technology that empower individuals and society to engage in digital experiences with control, inclusion, and accountability with the long term goal of a balanced digital society by 2030. ADAPT is pioneering new Human Centric AI techniques and technologies including personalisation, natural language processing, data analytics, intelligent machine and translation human-computer interaction, as well as setting the standards for data governance, privacy and ethics for digital content. www.adaptcentre.ie

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The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is inviting entries from individuals and organisations to the SEAI Energy Awards 2026.  For over two decades, the Awards have highlighted the exemplar businesses, communities, and organisations that are driving Ireland’s transition to a cleaner, more energy?efficient future.

Open to organisations across the island of Ireland, the awards reflect the wide range of sectors and project types contributing to national energy and climate ambitions. Each year, entries demonstrate how practical action, innovation, and collaboration can generate meaningful energy savings and accelerate our clean energy transition.

SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards

Calling for entries to the Awards, Fergus Sharkey, Head of Business Supports in SEAI said: “Ireland’s most inspiring sustainable energy initiatives will once again take centre stage at the SEAI Energy Awards 2026. We’re offering those leading such initiatives an opportunity to showcase their inspiring work.  The Awards give SEAI an opportunity to acknowledge excellence, innovation and ambition across the country’s clean energy community.  We want to celebrate these achievements, showing others what’s possible.”

Diverse award categories reflecting Ireland’s energy landscape

The array of categories in the SEAI Energy Awards captures the breadth of energy innovation in Ireland. This year entrants can choose from 11 categories that are suited to multiple sectors and company sizes.  There are also two new categories to choose from:

• Hotels and Tourism Accommodation (in partnership with Fáilte Ireland)
• Design and Construction

The new categories reflect the importance of the tourism and built environment sectors in delivering Ireland’s climate and energy ambitions.

See all categories

Why enter the SEAI Energy Awards?

1. The SEAI Energy Awards offer participants a unique opportunity to showcase their sustainable energy achievements on a national stage.

2. For many organisations, being shortlisted or winning an award provides powerful recognition for the dedication, creativity and leadership behind their projects.

3. Entrants gain visibility among peers, customers, policymakers and energy experts, while winners are celebrated for delivering ambitious, smart energy solutions that go beyond business?as?usual.

4. The awards highlight not only successful outcomes, but also ideas and approaches with strong potential to be replicated elsewhere.

A rigorous and independent judging process

The SEAI Energy Awards are underpinned by a robust, independent judging process, led by a distinguished panel of energy experts and stakeholders. Entries are assessed against clear criteria, with a strong emphasis on innovation, measurable impact and the ability for solutions to be replicated.  The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place in  November.

Apply today and get the recognition you deserve!

Whether you are delivering energy innovation at a local, regional or national level, the 2026 awards will provide a platform to showcase your work, gain recognition and be part of a growing community of energy leaders. Entries are open until 29th May 2026.

Apply now at www.seai.ie/energyawards

About SEAI

SEAI is the expert authority on decarbonising Ireland’s energy system, using robust, objective data and an evidence-based approach to help inform policy development and energy user behaviours. SEAI empowers households, businesses, motorists and the public sector to move away from fossil fuels with practical advice and financial supports. We encourage positive changes in how Ireland uses energy to deliver a more prosperous, energy efficient and cleaner environment.

SEAI is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of  Climate, Energy and the Environment

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Africa Tech Summit London, the leading African tech conference in Europe, today announced 13 investor-ready ventures selected to showcase their solutions at the London Stock Exchange on May 29, 2026.

The landmark 10th edition brings together 350+ African and International ventures, investors, corporates, and regulators, including Shekel Mobility, London Stock Exchange, Goodwin, Tola, Verto, Loobv, HubSpot, and more.

Africa Tech Summit returns

The 13 ventures include:

Aktivate (Nigeria) is a Creator Operating System that helps African creators collaborate with brands, manage campaigns, sell digital products, and receive cross-border payments in one platform.

Bunce (Nigeria) is helping businesses turn customer data into personalised engagement that drives retention, revenue, and growth.

10mg Health (United Kingdom) is an embedded credit platform that enables clinics and pharmacies to buy medicines now and pay later, using AI underwriting to help lenders finance healthcare supply purchases instantly.

Mowoki (Togo) is building travel infrastructure across Africa, enabling seamless travel through curated experiences, cross-border mobility, and local networks.

Koolboks (France) is making solar-powered refrigeration accessible through flexible Pay-As-You-Go financing, helping small businesses reduce food spoilage and grow sustainably.

Orbit Electric (Nigeria) assembles IoT-enabled electric motorcycles in Lagos and provides PAYGO financing for last-mile delivery riders.

ProDevs (Nigeria) is helping companies find, assess, and hire top engineers faster, without the inefficiencies of traditional recruitment.

Reisty (Nigeria) is a guest management software that helps African restaurants improve customer experience and boost profitability.

Redbiller Technologies Inc. (Nigeria) is building a complete financial suite that neobanks, fintechs, and crypto exchanges can leverage to scale globally.

Scandium Systems (Nigeria) is a suite of AI-powered test automation and management tools that removes the quality assurance bottleneck by enabling teams to test as fast as they build.

UltraPay (Nigeria) is a multi-asset spending platform that lets users hold and spend crypto, stocks, and fiat globally via one card.

Workspace Global Ltd (Ghana) is a subscription platform that provides reliable, scalable, and high-quality creative production for growing businesses.

Zynta (Africa) is a B2B regulated stablecoin last-mile infrastructure for Africa that enables local and global businesses to make payments via compliant stablecoin rails.

Over the past decade, Africa Tech Summit London has showcased more than 100 high-growth African tech ventures to global investors and industry experts in Europe, creating opportunities for investment and collaborations across the ecosystem.

Marc Mugenwa, Business Development Manager, Africa Tech Summit, commented

“Ten years ago, Africa’s startup ecosystem was still finding its feet, with only a handful of investor-ready ventures getting global attention. The ecosystem is far more mature now, and the quality of ventures applying for the Investment Showcase continues to rise. For this edition, we received more than 200 applications to showcase, and we look forward to connecting the founders with investors and the wider ecosystem at London Stock Exchange for our 10th edition on May 29th.”

Register for final passes here

About Africa Tech Summit London

Africa Tech Summit London, the leading African tech conference in Europe, connects tech leaders from the African ecosystem and international players under one roof at the London Stock Exchange. Network and do business with tech corporates, investors, leading ventures, and industry stakeholders, driving business and investment forward.

For more information:

Email: register@africatechsummit.com

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Interview with Yifan He, Founder and CEO of Red Date Technology by Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA who is an international digital asset legal  expert  and author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally.  Her  writings are translated into 45 languages and republished in over 200 global publications.  She is recognized as an expert media/TV commentator on global digital asset regulation, tax and technology matters.

Yifan He interviewed

Yifan He is the founder and CEO of Red Date Technology, a Hong Kong-based technology firm known primarily as the technical architect behind China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) and the UDPN (Universal Digital Payments Network) in the global financial industry

Founded in 2014, Red Date Technology initially focused on “smart city” technology before pivoting to blockchain in 2018. The company is the driving force behind several major global infrastructure projects:

Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN): A state-sanctioned initiative in China aimed at providing a low-cost, unified infrastructure for deploying and managing blockchain applications.

BSN Spartan Network: An international, non-cryptocurrency public chain infrastructure designed for global enterprises to use blockchain technology without regulatory or financial volatility.

Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN): A messaging layer intended to connect different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), commercial bank tokenized deposits, and stablecoins, similar to a “SWIFT for digital money”.

China RealDID: A national-level blockchain-based identity verification system launched in China to manage digital IDs.

Tell us about your educational and professional journey that led you to founding Red Date Technology

My background combines technology, finance, and long-term infrastructure thinking. I studied computer science at SUNY Stony Brook and later completed an MBA at MIT Sloan. I started my first internet company while still in college in the United States, and then spent many years in China working across finance, private equity, and large-scale technology projects.

When I founded Red Date in 2014, the company initially focused on smart city and large-scale digital infrastructure. In 2018, China elevated blockchain to a national strategic priority. Around the same time, I had become convinced that distributed systems would be part of the next generation of public digital infrastructure and the internet, much as cloud computing had become essential to the last generation. That was the moment we moved decisively into blockchain.

Red Date Technology from the beginning has been focused on implementing blockchain infrastructure globally as opposed to selling tokens.  Tell us why.

On top of today’s internet stack, a new layer will be added specifically to support distributed systems. This new layer will enable multiple-system communications and applications, unlike the traditional layer, which only handles system-to-system bilateral communications.

That is where blockchain has enormous long-term value. The new multi-party IT architecture should apply to all industries, all nations, and all applications. It should not, and will not, be limited to cryptocurrencies. There is a much greater good that this technology can bring to the world.

We identified that the early adoption of the decentralized technologies would come from two main non-cryptocurrency industries: banking/payments and government identities. The value propositions are clear and immediate. That’s why five years ago, we began moving into these two industries from just building blockchain infrastructures.

That same logic also explains why Red Date’s business is increasingly concentrated around two areas: digital currency infrastructure and identity infrastructure.

Tell us about Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN)

BSN was created to make blockchain deployment more practical and more accessible. The basic idea was simple: blockchain infrastructure should become easier to deploy, cheaper to operate, and more standardized, much like cloud infrastructure did for traditional IT. BSN was designed as a multi-chain infrastructure network that enables public and private distributed systems to be deployed in cloud or on-premises environments for various types of distributed applications. BSN is not a blockchain. It is a system designed to standardize the deployment of all blockchains and DLT-based applications across cloud infrastructure in an easy, affordable, and efficient way.

Tell us about the BSN Spartan Network

BSN Spartan Network is Red Date’s answer to a very practical market problem: public chains are useful, but many enterprises do not want the volatility of cryptocurrency, the unpredictability of gas fees, or the operational burden of handling crypto directly. Spartan keeps the programmability and openness of public-chain architecture while removing the need for transferable crypto gas tokens in day-to-day enterprise use — a kind of “decentralized AWS” for public-chain infrastructure.

Tell us about Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN)

UDPN has two main products: UDPN Token-based Core Banking System and the UDPN Kissen Network

The UDPN Core Banking system was built to serve as a token sub-ledger in a bank. We believe that all commercial banks over the next 10 years will implement some form of token system within their core banking systems, such as tokenized deposits, stablecoins, or CBDCs.  Today, any technically capable team can deploy a token contract. But the real challenge is everything around regulated money and compliance: wallet and account lifecycle management, enterprise integration, bank controls, governance, FX coordination, settlement logic, auditability, accounting, reconciliations, AML, KYC, compliance across jurisdictions, and the upcoming agent-initiated payments.

That is why the UDPN Core Banking System is not about “building a stablecoin or token.” It is about building the operating infrastructure around regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits, so that banks and enterprises can issue, manage, connect, settle, and interoperate in a controlled and compliant way. We see the real value not at the token layer, but at the bank-grade operating layer.

The UDPN Kissen network is built to connect all such token-based core banking systems globally, just like the SWIFT system connecting all fiat-based core banking ledgers today.

Over the past five years, we have developed UDPN together with a range of global partners. Our focus has always been practical: giving financial institutions and enterprises the infrastructure they need to bring digital currencies into real-world operations.

Tell us about RealIDID

The RealDID technology represents Red Date’s second major strategic pillar: identity infrastructure. This technology fundamentally transforms the entire verification process for government IDs and related digital business credentials beyond traditional document-centric human-read verification.

Public reporting describes China RealDID as the world’s first national-level decentralized identity system, launched through cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security’s First Research Institute, to allow people to prove identity in a privacy-preserving way while still meeting real-name compliance requirements in China.

With this technology, real-world identities can be bound to decentralized identifiers and used across different systems without forcing users to repeatedly hand over raw personal data. That creates a very different future for KYC, access control, digital business credentials, and cross-border verification. This is much bigger than simply “logging in with blockchain.” It is about building identity infrastructure for digital finance, digital services, and eventually AI-driven transactions with accountability.

Until now, Red Date has remained the only technology provider in this sector with a proven track record of delivering government-backed decentralized identity and credential solutions.

Tokenization of the global financial markets, Hollywood, Sports & Prediction Markets Betting, Social Media Accounts are in focus with Hong Kong as a financial center and Red Date Technology playing a pivotal role in architecting the new global tokenization framework aimed at facilitating digital payments/stablecoins, regulated digital currencies, NFTs and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).  Tell us why.

In the early days of the internet, email and the web were the two foundational applications that showed people the real power of the internet technologies. Once those two core use cases were established, many other internet products and services could grow on top of them.

We believe the same logic applies to the broader tokenization market today. Payment and identity are the two foundational applications. With the broader adoption of token-based digital currencies and digital identities, the acceleration of distributed technologies can drive, over time, the formation of a true global public ecosystem for tokenization and decentralized applications.

In this context, Hong Kong is central to the story because it is one of the few places actively trying to build a regulated bridge between traditional finance and digital asset infrastructure. Red Date is actively working with institutions and businesses in Hong Kong to help realize that vision.

Which parts of tokenization which covers a very wide spectrum in the USA as detailed in question 7 allowed in Hong Kong.  For example, is sports betting and prediction market tokenization, or paying digital currencies to people who watch movies allowed in Hong Kong?

The clean answer is that Hong Kong is clearly opening up regulated digital asset and tokenization activity, but not all “tokenization” use cases are treated equally.

In my view, token-based core banking and tokenized finance will be one of the biggest long-term trends. Hong Kong has already moved beyond discussion and into implementation. On April 10, 2026, the HKMA granted the first stablecoin issuer licenses under its new regime, marking the beginning of a regulated stablecoin market in Hong Kong. That is an important signal.

Prediction markets are very different. Just days ago, Hong Kong’s Investor and Financial Education Council warned that trading activities in prediction markets may constitute illegal gambling in Hong Kong. So I would be very cautious about putting prediction-market tokenization or sports-betting tokenization in the same category as regulated financial tokenization. There are many legal activities in the U.S. that are considered criminal around the world. Prediction markets have nothing to do with tokenization. They are just adopting cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as anonymous payment methods.

You are an advocate of Web3 and decentralized web initiatives often associated with proponents of the fifth industrial revolution.  Tell us where you see the developments in this area.

I see this as an irreversible technology trend, especially now that AI agents are maturing and the limitations of current infrastructure are becoming more obvious. Blockchain has already moved far beyond the narrow cryptocurrency narrative. But Web3 only becomes meaningful when it leaves the crypto-native bubble and becomes part of mainstream IT infrastructures and applications serving real-world use cases.

The next stage is not simply more tokens or more chains. It is the fusion of programmable money, programmable identity, and programmable authorization inside institutions and enterprise systems. In the earlier internet, identity was largely platform-controlled. In the next wave, identity needs to become portable, verifiable, and selectively disclosable. That is why DID and VC matter so much. The winning models will be those that enable institutions to adopt decentralized capabilities without sacrificing compliance, governance, performance, or legal accountability.

Red Date Technology’s focus has expanded significantly into the intersection of blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically addressing the infrastructure needs for AI agents to interact with financial systems and verifiable data.  Tell us more about this.

AI agents are not useful in finance unless three questions are answered very clearly: who is the agent, who authorized it, and what exactly is it allowed to do. Payments and financial actions cannot be safely delegated to AI without identity, authorization, auditability, and revocation. In our view, this is fundamentally a DID/VC problem sitting on top of a payment infrastructure problem.

From Red Date’s point of view, this is not really about “AI on the blockchain.” It is about making AI operable inside regulated systems. A human or an enterprise should be able to bind an AI agent to a verifiable identity framework, issue credentials that define scope and permissions, and let that agent interact with token-based financial infrastructure under policy control.

We are in the process of setting up a comprehensive AI Agent identity and accountability infrastructure in China and Hong Kong with support from various government agencies.

Red Date Technology rather than owning physical data centers, provides software infrastructure that integrates into existing physical data centers to manage blockchain , AI and Web3 applications.  With orbital data centers becoming a reality will your company develop the needed software infrastructure that integrates into existing orbital data centers to manage blockchain, AI  and Web3 applications?

Orbital data centers are an extension of a broader trend we have been watching: the separation of where infrastructure is physically located from the software layers that operate digital systems on top of it. At Red Date, we build the operating layer that sits above infrastructure, whether that infrastructure is on-premise, in conventional cloud environments, in sovereign data centers, or in the future, potentially in orbital environments.

So from our perspective, orbital data centers would simply be another execution environment. If they become commercially viable, we would not need to reinvent our stack — we simply extend it.

For a country or a company or an organization what  are the advantages of developing an AI infused CBCD,  stablecoin, token, NFT, digital asset infrastructure?

In the coming years, AI agents will increasingly handle operational tasks that are still initiated manually today — such as making payments, managing treasury workflows, conducting settlement instructions, triggering asset transfers, or interacting with service providers and counterparties. For that to happen safely in financial environments, the infrastructure must be designed to support non-human actors in a controlled and accountable way.

That said, the key requirement is trust. An AI agent cannot simply act like an anonymous software tool. The system must be able to verify who the agent represents, what it is authorized to do, under what conditions it can act, and who is ultimately accountable for its actions. This is why digital asset infrastructure must evolve together with DID and VC technologies.

These are still very new areas in terms of commercialization and adoption. But the trends are indisputable. Whoever works in these fields will take some risks and also gain huge benefits as first movers.

What are your thoughts on  China’s potential legalization of cryptocurrency, stablecoin, token trading in the future?

I think it is important to separate different categories. China has long shown support for blockchain infrastructure and for highly regulated digital systems, while remaining cautious about speculative retail cryptocurrency trading. So the more important question is not whether China will simply “legalize crypto trading” in the broadest sense. The more important question is how far China may go in supporting regulated stablecoins and tokenized financial systems.

Hong Kong’s progress is highly relevant here. Historically, Hong Kong has often served as a practical testing ground and policy window for new financial initiatives in the broader Chinese context. As Hong Kong continues to develop regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and digital assets, its experience could become an important reference point for how related policy discussions evolve more broadly in the future.

How can people reach you?

Red Date Technology Official Site: https://www.reddatetech.com/

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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, has announced funding of €20million for 22 high-risk, high-reward research projects through the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme.

Minister Lawless said: “The 22 projects announced today under Research Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future Programme are ambitious in both scope and scale, spanning areas from pioneering cancer therapies to advancing a more sustainable and circular economy, and much more besides. The breadth of research being funded reflects the exceptional depth and diversity of talent across our research and innovation ecosystem. I congratulate all the awardees and wish them every success as they push the boundaries of knowledge and deliver meaningful innovation.”

Welcoming the announcement, Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland, commented: “Curiosity-driven research funding is an essential part of a healthy, purposeful and forward-looking research ecosystem. Through the Frontiers for the Future Programme, Research Ireland supports researchers to take intellectual risks, and to pursue ideas that might not yet have a clear pathway, but could fundamentally reshape our understanding of the world around us. Supports like these are central to sustaining a vibrant and internationally competitive research environment, which is a core element of our recently launched strategy, ‘Curiosity. Capability. Competitiveness – Charting Ireland’s Research and Innovation Future.”

Frontiers for the Future is a legacy programme inherited from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), and has played an important role in supporting ambitious, curiosity-driven scientific research with the potential to deliver transformative societal and economic impact. As a new agency, Research Ireland is reimagining and redeveloping the legacy programmes inherited from both SFI and the Irish Research Council (IRC) to reflect its broadened remit and the full diversity of disciplines now supported, as set out in our recently published Programme Plan.

Research initiatives funded under the Frontiers for the Future programme enable independent investigators to pursue bold ideas and innovative research over a four- to five-year period. Research areas funded today range from advanced materials and road safety to antimicrobial resistance and cancer treatment, with this funding round supporting 16 medium-scale ‘projects’ and six larger scale ‘awards’.

The funding announced today represents the final Frontiers for the Future outcome for the ‘Projects’ stream of this programme. Future investigator-led funding of this scale is now being delivered through the Research Ireland Investigators programme, which combines aspects of the former Frontiers for the Future ‘projects’ funding and IRC Laureate programme. The Investigators Programme will run annually, and is open to independent researchers across all disciplines.

Some highlights of funded Projects are:

GlycoMetalGuard: Glycoconjugate metal complexes as targeted bacterial therapeutics and protective coatings suitable for medical devices (Dr Joseph Byrne, University College Dublin):

• Dr Byrne and his team are developing innovative antimicrobial coatings and therapies to prevent hospital-acquired infections stemming from medical devices. The research aims to target harmful bacteria with novel sugar-based metal compounds, supporting efforts to addressing antimicrobial resistance and improving patient safety and quality of life.

SHIELD: Intelligent Reflecting Surface for Enhanced Integrated Sensing and Communication to Protect Vulnerable Road Users (Dr Md Noor-A-Rahim, University College Cork):

• Dr Noor-A-Rahim and his team are developing new ways to improve the safety of vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians in busy urban environments. The research aims to overcome the limitations of existing sensor-based systems and generate new knowledge and practical solutions that support safer, smarter, and more inclusive urban mobility.

Valorising sustainable marine bioresources: exploration of the chemical diversity of Irish microalgae with antimicrobial, anticancer and antineurodegenerative properties [CHIMERA] (Dr Nicolas Touzet, Atlantic Technological University and Prof. Olivier Thomas, University of Galway):

• Dr Touzet, Prof Thomas and their teams will focus on using aquatic microscopic plant-like organisms to conduct frontier research on new marine natural compounds that could contribute to future health and wellbeing solutions. This work will support the development of sustainable, marine-derived natural ingredients for applications across cosmetics, health and medicine.

Research Ireland is also reimagining the ‘Awards’ stream of the Frontiers for the Future programme. While this stream remains open in its current form at present, this is in the process of being redeveloped in line with our Programme Plan. In 2026, it is set to be replaced with a new, integrated offering open to all disciplines, supporting excellent research across the entire research ecosystem.

Some highlights of funded Awards are:

Spatio-temporal regulation of osteocyte mechanobiology to treat cancer-associated osteolysis (STROMCO) (Prof. Laoise McNamara, University of Galway):

• Prof. McNamara and her team are investigating why cancers that spread to bone, including metastatic disease and multiple myeloma, trigger such aggressive and damaging bone loss. This work seeks to generate crucial new knowledge to guide the development of future therapies for people living with cancer-related bone disease.

LIGHT4CARB: Leveraging Visible Light Photocatalysis for Stereoselective Access to Unexplored Carbohydrate Chemical Space (Dr Chuanjie Loh, University College Dublin):

• Dr Loh will harness visible light to drive cleaner, more sustainable chemical reactions for building complex sugars that are vital for medicine and biotechnology. This award supports Dr Loh’s relocation from Germany to join the UCD, strengthening Ireland’s capacity in cutting-edge chemical research.

Investigating whole brain blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption in gliomas (Prof. Matthew Campbell, Trinity College Dublin):

• Prof. Campbell will use advanced imaging and genetic tools to investigate how the small blood vessels in the brain respond to Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) growth. Primary brain tumours termed GBM are amongst the most aggressive cancers described. The team will also use pre-clinical models of the disease in an effort to develop new forms of therapy for this devastating cancer.

The 25 awardees will be based in eight research bodies nationwide: Atlantic Technological University (1), Dublin City University (3), Trinity College Dublin (4), Tyndall National Institute (3), University College Cork (3), University College Dublin (8), University of Galway (2), University of Limerick (1).

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Vodafone Ireland has been named Ireland’s Best Fixed Broadband by independent benchmarking organisation umlaut, based on its latest assessment of fixed broadband performance nationwide.

The fixed broadband award builds on Vodafone’s tenth consecutive year being named Best in Test for mobile by umlaut in Ireland, reaffirmed most recently in June 2025, reinforcing the consistency of Vodafone’s network performance across both fixed and mobile.

Unlike lab tests or advertised speeds, umlaut’s assessment looks at how broadband actually performs in homes and businesses across Ireland. Using real-world data gathered from customers over a six-month period, the findings reflect the everyday experience people have with their broadband, from streaming and video calls to online gaming, remote working and business critical applications.

Vodafone’s performance reflects a broadband network designed around everyday customer use, delivering a strong and consistent balance across speed, availability, latency and stability.

Across Ireland, fibre now accounts for 78% of Vodafone’s broadband customer base, underlining the rapid move away from legacy technologies. This is supported by a fibre first delivery model using leading wholesale networks such as SIRO and the National Broadband Plan, with SIRO backed by more than €1 billion in long term investment, alongside Vodafone’s end to end responsibility for service design, management and customer support.

Vodafone Ireland achieved the highest overall score, with 962 out of a possible 1,000 points, outperforming all other providers assessed. The benchmarking measures customer perceived experience across five key categories: geo availability, download speed, upload speed, latency and stability.

The results are particularly significant for Vodafone Business customers. Vodafone Business connects six in ten Irish businesses, supporting organisations of all sizes with reliable fixed and mobile connectivity that underpins day to day operations, remote working and digital services.

The results show Vodafone Ireland delivered the most consistent all-round performance, highlighting the reliability of its fixed broadband experience for customers in everyday use.

Commenting on the award, Sheila Kavanagh, Network Director at Vodafone Ireland, said:

“Being named Ireland’s Best Fixed Broadband by umlaut is a powerful endorsement of the experience customers rely on in their homes every day, whether that is working from home, streaming, gaming, or staying connected with family and colleagues. Combined with our ten consecutive Best in Test mobile awards, it shows the consistency of Vodafone’s network performance across both fixed and mobile. This recognition reflects sustained investment and a clear focus on delivering dependable, high quality connectivity where it matters most.”

Vodafone Ireland continues to invest heavily across its fixed and mobile networks, supporting growing demand for data intensive services such as streaming, gaming, remote working and cloud based applications. With 25 years’ operating in Ireland, Vodafone’s ongoing investment reflects a long term commitment to national connectivity. Last month, the company announced a further €200 million investment programme, bringing total planned investment to €700 million across Ireland by 2030.

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KINTO Join Ltd, the leading sustainable mobility solutions company, has announced that it has saved almost 2 million kilometres (1.9 million) worth of transport emissions across Europe since 2024, reflecting a growing demand for greener mobility solutions.

Specifically, this equates to emissions savings of over 275,100kg of CO2. KINTO Join Ltd.  has also facilitated over 126,000 verified sustainable commuting journeys, removing 137,800 single occupancy journeys from European roads since 2024.

Closer to home, KINTO Join Ltd. has saved 32,600km worth of carbon emissions in Ireland over the last two years, equating to total emissions savings of 3,000kg of CO2. The company has also replaced a significant number of single occupancy journeys with shared alternatives, helping to reduce traffic congestion and ease pressure on busy commuter routes.

In the last six months alone, KINTO Join Ltd. has trebled its CO2 savings in Ireland, driven by a rapidly expanding customer base. The company recently welcomed several new clients to its portfolio including county councils, hospitals and universities such as Munster Technological University (MTU). KINTO Join Ltd. plans to further accelerate its Irish growth, doubling its customer base by year-end.

The company continues to grow rapidly following the 2025 launch of ZERO by KINTO, an end-to-end solution, combining expert consultancy with a comprehensive ESG reporting platform and the KINTO Join app. It aims to assist organisations in lowering their scope three transport emissions through shared mobility programmes, empowering businesses to take meaningful action towards their emissions targets.

Patrizia Niehaus, CEO, KINTO Join Ltd., said: “Organisations are constantly looking for ways to reduce their emissions, and yet, the daily commute remains one of the most overlooked opportunities. The fact is that companies don’t have to wait for large-scale infrastructure changes or flexible working mandates to make a difference. There are simple, practical solutions available today, from shared carpooling to shuttle buses, delivering real, measurable results.

“The numbers speak for themselves – people want to make a difference and small steps add up. As KINTO Join Ltd. continues to expand its presence in Ireland, we are committed to helping organisations of all sizes take meaningful action.”

See more stories here.

FutureRange, one of Ireland’s leading IT managed service providers, has completed its second acquisition of the year with the purchase of Echo IT, a Nenagh-based IT services provider, strengthening its presence in Munster as it continues to scale across the island of Ireland.

The move builds on FutureRange’s previously announced growth strategy, including plans to create up to 50 roles over the next 24 months, as organisations place increasing importance on cyber security, cloud and managed IT services.

Echo IT supports clients across multiple sectors including veterinary, distribution, medical and agri-foods, and will be integrated into FutureRange’s Limerick operations, enhancing regional delivery while maintaining continuity for clients.

FutureRange operates as a security-first managed services partner, helping organisations manage increasingly complex technology environments. Its capabilities include cyber security, cloud and infrastructure services, and the structured adoption of data and AI.

The two businesses have an established working relationship, particularly in cyber security, with strong alignment across technology platforms and service approach, supporting a straightforward integration.

Danny McEntee, Managing Director of FutureRange, said the acquisition reflects continued execution of the company’s growth plans.

“This is another step in delivering our all-island growth strategy. Echo IT is a strong regional business with deep client relationships, and there is a natural fit in how we approach service delivery and technology,” he said.

“We are seeing consistent demand from organisations for partners who can provide clarity, security and long-term support as their environments become more complex. This strengthens our ability to deliver that across the country, and we will continue to invest where it supports our clients and our long-term strategy.”

FutureRange continues to assess further growth opportunities as part of its expansion plans.

Donal Bray, Managing Director of Echo IT, said the move is a positive step for clients and staff.

“We have built Echo IT around strong relationships and a practical, client-first approach. Joining FutureRange allows us to continue that while giving our clients access to broader expertise and a more resilient service platform,” he said.

The acquisition represents a further step in FutureRange’s all-island growth strategy as the business continues to expand its footprint and invest in capability in line with evolving client needs.

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Following the success of previous inaugural Call for Pilots, Smart Docklands is proud to announce the winners of its second Call for Pilots 2025/2026 — a new cohort of innovators tackling some of the Docklands’ urban challenges.

Four projects have been selected out of 53 applications to receive seed funding, with €12,500 allocated to each project. This year’s winning pilots span an impressive range of disciplines — from radar-based biodiversity monitoring and augmented reality heritage trails, to inclusive wayfinding for neurodiverse visitors and tangible tools for community participation in urban planning.

Smart Docklands grants For Biodiversity, Accessibility, Community Innovation

The four pilot winners are:

WingSense, Trinity College Dublin – Biodiversity/Urban Greening: Low-power mmWave radar sensors detect insect and pollinator activity continuously, day or night and in all weather conditions, without capturing images or audio. Machine learning transforms this data into actionable, privacy-safe biodiversity insights for cities.
ScannAR, Solasine – Digital Tools/Tech Access: A web-based AR experience delivered via QR codes — no app needed. Scanning unlocks 3D experiences with audio narration and local storytelling, fully accessible to blind, visually impaired, deaf, and hard-of-hearing users.

ARROW, The Convention Centre Dublin – Accessibility/Inclusive Design: An inclusive wayfinding layer co-designed with neurodiverse users, combining ‘what to expect’ guides, typical and real time sensory environment indicators into one coherent, place-based service.

Raytown Roundtable, Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency – Accessibility/Inclusive Design & Digital Tools/Tech Access: A touch-based interactive table piloted at the Raytown Energy Dock in Ringsend/Irishtown, giving residents a hands-on way to explore their neighbourhood and shape local decisions — no digital skills needed.
Smart Docklands is one of Dublin’s flagship smart districts – a unique collaboration across academia, industry and local government to advocate for and pilot community centred technology innovations.

The programme that supports the adoption of new and emerging technologies in cities is delivered in partnership between Dublin City Council and the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks headquartered at Trinity College Dublin.

This second round of pilots reflects the breadth and ambition of what community-led innovation can look like. Building on the learnings from our first Call for Pilots, these projects were again shaped by a community survey’s outcomes and wider engagement. Smart Docklands is committed to ensuring that smart technology is deployed with purpose — addressing real needs, identified by real people.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam said:

“Dublin’s Docklands area has long been a hub of innovation and creativity, placing the city in a strong position to enhance public services through technology-enabled solutions. The Smart Docklands Pilot Programme helps to ensure that innovation is community-led, focused on real needs, and delivering measurable impact. The four selected pilot projects demonstrate Dublin’s ambitions to be more inclusive and forward-thinking, and will make our city work better for everyone. I’m proud to see it happening right here in the Docklands.”

Nicola Graham, Smart Cities Programme Manager, Dublin City Council said:
“Pilots like these are how we deliver meaningful change within the council. They let us trial new approaches in real-world settings, learn fast, and build the evidence needed to scale what works. The strong number of applications this year reflects a clear commitment to developing solutions to the challenges identified by the Docklands community.”

Professor Dan Kilper, Director CONNECT Centre, Trinity College Dublin said:

“These pilots are not just proof-of-concept experiments — they are live research environments that generate insights no laboratory can replicate. Bridging that gap between academic innovation and lived experience is precisely what the CONNECT Centre exists to do, and Smart Docklands gives us the ideal platform to make it happen.”

Dr Karolina Anielska, Smart Docklands Programme Manager said:

“I am incredibly proud of what this second round represents. When we launched the first Call for Pilots, we set out to put the community at the heart of smart city innovation — and the response has been overwhelming. To see that grow into 53 applications and four outstanding winners spanning biodiversity, accessibility, and digital inclusion is a moment to truly celebrate. This is exactly what Smart Docklands was built to do.”

About Smart Docklands

The Smart Docklands programme, established in 2017, has built a strong track record of bringing academia, local government, industry, and residents together to address urban challenges through the deployment of new and emerging technologies. Each Call for Pilots strengthens that legacy, demonstrating that the most effective smart city solutions grow from the ground up.

After the success of the first Call for Pilots, this second edition reinforces Smart Docklands’ role in creating a connected, innovative, and engaged urban environment. The diversity of this year’s cohort — spanning ecology, heritage, inclusion, and civic participation — is proof that smart technology, in the right hands, can address the full spectrum of a community’s needs.

Smart Docklands extends its thanks to multiple DCC departments, IFAC, An Post, IPB Insurance, UTS  Technologies and National College Ireland for their continued support in evaluating applications. Their expertise and collaboration have been crucial to ensuring a fair and thorough process, and their commitment to this programme is a powerful example of what collective effort can achieve.
For more information about Smart Docklands and its initiatives, visit https://smartdocklands.ie/

About Smart Docklands

Smart Docklands is an award-winning programme that supports the adoption of new and emerging technologies in cities. The programme fast tracks innovation that addresses local and global challenges through collaboration, testing, learning, and education. It was established in 2017 as a test-bed for innovation and has delivered the following projects, including, but not limited to: connectivity experimentation – Dublin’s first 5G test-bed, Internet of Things in the city – Big Belly Bins, Ring Buoy Sensors and Gully Monitoring Sensors, engagement programmes including Academy of the Near Future for Youth and Local Authority Staff, and Innovation Tours including Smart Cities Urban Quest to over 1000 people.

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Photo: This year’s Computing Expo at South East Technological University (SETU) promises to be bigger and better than ever. Photo George Goulding, SETU.

The much-anticipated annual Computing Expo at South East Technological University (SETU) is set to take place on Friday, 22 May at SETU’s Cork Road Campus in Waterford.

This year’s event, at the Tourism and Leisure (T&L) Building, promises to be bigger and better than ever, combining innovative student computing projects, an engaging industry showcase, and a prestigious student awards ceremony all under one roof.

SETU’s Computing Expo 22 May

The expo, sponsored by Kargo, a leader in digital ad solutions, offers over 100 undergraduate and postgraduate final-year students a unique platform to showcase their innovative projects. It will also provide attendees the chance to network with future talent and engage with cutting-edge developments in the world of technology.

Amanda Freeman-Gater, Assistant Head of Computing and Mathematics Department at SETU said, “In addition to the student-led project demonstrations, the event will feature an industry showcase with leading ICT companies from the South East.

“These companies will have the opportunity to connect directly with students, promote their enterprises, and explore potential collaborations with SETU. This is an invaluable occasion for students to gain insights from industry professionals and for companies to discover the next generation of tech innovators.”

Ms Freeman-Gater added, “This event is not only a celebration of academic achievement, but also an opportunity for students and industry professionals to forge meaningful connections. SETU continues to lead the way in connecting education with industry, creating a bridge that ensures students have the skills and opportunities they need to thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.”

Join us for an exciting day of innovation, learning, and collaboration at SETU’s Tourism and Leisure Building on Friday, 22 May. If you would like to reserve an exhibitor stand, register as soon as possible using this link: The Computing Expo 2026 – Industry Registration Form

Event details:

Date: Friday, 22 May 2026
Time: 9.30am
Location: Tourism and Leisure (T&L) Building, SETU Cork Road Campus, Waterford

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Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) report highlights major implications for labour supply, skills planning and lifelong learning.

Summary

• Population projected to increase by close to one-fifth over the next two to three decades—around +1 million people.
• Population ageing will intensify pressure on the labour force, increasing the need for measures that expand labour supply.
• Long-term skills planning will be required to support enterprise growth, productivity and public services.
• This report underscores the importance of lifelong learning and initiatives to help more people participate in the labour market.

Ageing in Ireland, trends to watch

The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) has published a new report, ‘Skills Needs for Ireland in the Long-term’, setting out how demographic change is likely to shape Ireland’s labour market and skills requirements in the decades ahead. The analysis indicates that Ireland’s population is expected to grow significantly while also ageing—creating both opportunities for economic growth and challenges for labour supply, skills availability and workforce participation.

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, welcomed the report and noted its relevance as Ireland plans for long-term competitiveness and workforce resilience.

“This report on skills needs for Ireland in the long-term is timely, and I congratulate the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs for this work. The findings are clear: demographic change is already happening at pace across our economy and that is why we need to continue to invest in our economy, in our workforce and in our enterprise sector.

“While the labour market remains robust, we need to focus on investing in education, training and helping people to enter and re-enter the labour force. We must continue to be proactive in preparing for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as Ireland’s population evolves over the coming decades.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Employment, Small Business and Retail, Alan Dillon also welcomed the publication as a timely input into Ireland’s evolving demographic and labour market needs.

“I would like to thank the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) for their work in producing this new report examining ‘Skills Needs for Ireland in the Long-term.’
It is clear that our labour market has performed very well of late with record numbers of people at work. This analysis however clearly shows us that we cannot and will not stand still. Our economy will continue to grow but we must be increasingly cognisant of demographic pressures. That is why we will continue to pursue policies that support growth and generate jobs.”

• Skills Needs for Ireland in the Long-term was produced by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN).
• The paper was authored by Diarmaid Smyth and issued by the Chair of the EGFSN, Colm Kelly.

Report link:
Publications – Skills Needs for Ireland in the Long-term

The EGFSN advises Government on future skills requirements and labour market issues that affect Ireland’s potential for enterprise development and employment growth.

For further information please contact Press Office, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, press.office@enterprise.gov.ie

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As procurement leaders prepare to gather at the World Procurement Congress 2026, one thing feels markedly different from previous years: the conversation has moved beyond digital transformation theory and into practical implementation.

For much of the last decade, procurement has been described as “on the verge” of reinvention.

Automation was coming. Data driven sourcing was imminent. Artificial intelligence would eventually reshape how teams worked… that future has now arrived.

At WPC 2026, the central question is no longer whether AI belongs in procurement, it is how quickly organisations can deploy it to unlock measurable value.

Across industries, procurement teams are facing a familiar set of pressures: rising cost volatility, increased supplier complexity, tougher compliance requirements, and growing demands to deliver strategic value beyond simple cost savings. Traditional workflows, built around spreadsheets, email chains, and fragmented systems…. are increasingly unable to keep pace.

That reality is why this year’s Congress matters.

From digitisation to intelligent procurement

The first wave of procurement technology focused on digitising existing processes: e-sourcing platforms, contract repositories, spend dashboards, supplier portals.

Useful? Absolutely.

Transformational? Not always.

Create additional layers of complexity and therefore friction? Mostly.

The emerging wave is different. AI-native procurement tools are not simply recording activity; they are actively participating in it, surfacing risks, analysing supplier behaviour, drafting responses, identifying savings opportunities, and helping teams make faster, more informed decisions.

In other words, procurement software is beginning to behave less like a system of record and more like a strategic team member.

That shift is likely to dominate conversations in London this year.

Why procurement leaders are paying attention

The organisations leading procurement transformation in 2026 are not necessarily the ones with the largest budgets. They are the ones asking better operational questions:

• Where are manual bottlenecks slowing decision making?
• Which processes still rely too heavily on institutional knowledge?
• How much value is being lost through delayed action?
• Can AI reduce administrative work without sacrificing governance?

The answers increasingly point toward augmentation, not replacement.

Procurement professionals are not being replaced by AI; they are being equipped by it.

That distinction matters.

The most successful deployments so far have focused on removing repetitive, low-value tasks so teams can spend more time on supplier relationships, negotiation strategy, risk mitigation, and innovation.

A company to watch at Booth 49

Among the companies exhibiting at World Procurement Congress this year, one of the more closely watched names is Penny, appearing at Booth 49.

The company has built its reputation around a simple but increasingly urgent idea: procurement teams should not have to fight their tools to do strategic work.

Its platform uses AI to streamline Source-to-pay procurement workflows, reduce administrative friction, and help teams move faster without losing control or visibility, a balance many organisations continue to struggle with.

Penny have partnered with globally renowned mid market and enterprise companies all over the world, including the likes of McKinsey, KPMG, Votalia and MSC.

What makes companies like Penny particularly interesting in 2026 is timing.

A few years ago, AI in procurement was often discussed as a future concept. Today, buyers are less interested in ambitious roadmaps and more interested in practical outcomes: faster cycle times, better supplier decisions, improved compliance, and measurable ROI.

That is where the market is moving and why visitors to Booth 49 are likely to find plenty of traffic, with the worlds most senior procurement leaders from the worlds most auspicious companies knowing they can leverage partnerships with companies like Penny to optimise processes, ensure optimal efficiency, unlock game changing business intelligence and of course ensure meaningful savings for their procurement function.

What to expect from WPC 2026

If previous Congresses focused on digital ambition, this year’s event looks set to focus on execution.

Expect the biggest discussions to centre around:

• AI governance in procurement
• Autonomous sourcing workflows
• Supplier risk intelligence
• ESG data reliability
• Procurement’s evolving role in enterprise strategy

The winners in this next era may not be the organisations that adopt the most technology—but those that adopt it with the clearest purpose.

For procurement leaders attending World Procurement Congress 2026, that makes the event more than a networking opportunity. It is a glimpse into what the next operating model of procurement will look like.

And if that future is being built on the exhibition floor, Booth 49 may be one of the more interesting places to start.

Latest guest post by Declan Goodman is a digital transformation consultant, speaker and creator of the Digital Mythology.

After nearly 30 years working in digital transformation across different cultures, I have learned that the success of any digital journey comes down to the people, not technology.

Recently, I found myself in a room full of Enterprise Architects at the Chief Architect Network in London. The atmosphere was energised, and the topics were AI, architecture and strategy. However, at a more human level, this felt more than a professional gathering; it was a community of shared values and interests. It was a tribe.

Tips for Digital Transformation

The word tribe comes from the Latin tribus, referring to the original groupings of people in ancient Rome. In the high-pressure world of digital delivery, we often focus on the “what” and the “how,” but we forget that a tribe is bound by shared purpose, identity and a sense of belonging. Without this tribal alignment, even the best digital strategy remains a collection of technical initiatives rather than a shared journey.

This is where mythology offers a practical lens. Myths are deeply human narratives that help us make sense of uncertainty in a human way. By using the mythology of the “Tribe,” we can move past technical jargon and align our teams around a common story.

Here are three examples of how you can use myth to build the tribe your digital transformation needs.

Example 1: Mythology can help us ensure alignment before we begin

In Greek mythology, Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece did not begin with the voyage itself, but with the gathering of the Argonauts. He sought out a group of individuals, each bringing unique strengths, perspectives, and capabilities to the journey. Together, they formed something greater than the sum of their parts.

The lesson we can draw on for digital transformation is that you must find your tribe before you embark on the journey. Success is shaped by having the right people with the right mindset in the boat before the roadmap is even finalised.

Practical ways to implement this myth include:

• Identify your Argonauts early: Look for the “hidden” talent and trusted SMEs in your organisation who are motivated to contribute meaningfully beyond their job title.
• Select partners with shared vision: Ensure your supplier partners are not just providing skills but are aligned with your organisation’s mindset and purpose.
• Build the capability first: Before high-speed delivery begins, invest time in creating a way of working that can be sustained over time.

Example 2: Mythology can help give people a part to play in the journey

One of mythology’s strongest themes is identity. In Irish myth, a hero named Lugh approaches the Tuatha Dé Danann to join their tribe. He explains that he has many talents, from craftsmanship to wisdom, and after being tested, he is accepted and eventually becomes a hero. This myth reminds us that when people are invited to participate in change, they often excel in their own way.

In digital transformation, when you invite stakeholders to play an active role, you help them shape their identity in the new digital story. Instead of feeling transformation is happening to them, they feel part of it.

Practical ways to implement this myth include:

• Avoid the “finished” roadmap: Instead of presenting an immovable plan, invite teams to shape how their specific part of the journey unfolds.
• Ask the “Catalyst” question: Ask your stakeholders, “How does this change improve your world, and what role do you want to play in making it real?”.
• Foster shared responsibility: Help your teams discover how their evolving roles strengthen the organisation’s digital future.

Example 3: Mythology can help leaders walk in the shoes of their team

In Greek myth, Apollo often observed humanity from high above, judging their behaviour without fully understanding the struggles they faced. It was only when he came down to live among humans that he truly grasped their reality. This myth serves as a warning for leaders who architect transformation roadmaps from an “ivory tower,” overlooking the lived experience of the tribe on the ground.

To lead a tribe effectively, you must experience the transformation as your stakeholders do. Alignment is built when leaders step out of the strategy documents and into the daily reality of their people.

Practical ways to implement this myth include:

• Connect with the “lived experience”: Spend time “shadowing” teams to understand their daily workflows and the friction points they face.
• Conduct “day in the life” workshops: Move beyond logical boxes and see how technical change actually affects the team’s ability to deliver.
• Make transformation grounded: Use these insights to ensure your digital story is real and relatable, rather than abstract and distant.

Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece began not with the voyage itself, but with the gathering of the Argonauts. Similarly, Lugh became a hero of the Tuatha Dé Danann after he found his own footing.  Apollo, the god in the sky, took the time to walk in the shoes of his people, thus strengthening his understanding of humanity.

These tribal myths teach us that success is shaped by finding the right people and ensuring they have the right mindset before your journey begins. When people align early and move forward as one, transformation is no longer a cold technical programme; it becomes a shared journey and a “map of becoming”. Treating your digital transformation team as a tribe breaks down siloes, creates a bond and helps your team move forward united, with clarity and confidence.

Find your people. Build your tribe. Transform your organisation.

Declan Goodman

Helping leaders make sense of digital transformation through story, myth and meaning | Gartner Symposium Speaker | Founder, Digital Mythology®

Declan Goodman is a digital transformation consultant, speaker and creator of the Digital Mythology® framework, which uses mythic storytelling to help leaders explain complex change in a more human way. With nearly 30 years’ experience across digital strategy, transformation and enterprise architecture in Ireland, Europe and Australia, he hosts the Digital Mythology® podcast and delivers masterclasses on storytelling, leadership and digital transformation.

www.declangoodman.com | Socials | Digital Mythology® | declan@declangoodman.com

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SD Worx Ireland, a leading payroll and HR solutions provider, has announced the results of new research which found that 39% of employees in Ireland are currently looking for a new job.

Independent research from SD Worx, carried out by iVOX, surveyed 1,000 employees and 301 employers in Ireland on their attitudes and approaches to skills and development in the workplace. Highlighting a lack of emphasis by employers on employees’ development needs, it found that 22% of employees believe their talents are not being fully utilised at work, while 44% do not receive any training or learning opportunities.

While many workers say they are not being afforded sufficient growth opportunities, it is not for a lack of interest. Nearly three-quarters (73%) say they are eager to learn and grow at work. Many believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will help, with 29% saying that it will make their work more meaningful. Already, some 31% say that AI has improved their ability to perform their job effectively. Additionally, 55% say they receive regular feedback from their employer that helps them to improve their performance.

The research also suggests that employee time isn’t being well-spent and that valuable working hours are being lost due to poor planning, limited workload visibility, and inefficient allocation of time. When it comes to managing daily workloads, nearly half (47%) say their teams are understaffed, and 28% admit that too much of their working time is spent in meetings. The findings point to a growing disconnect between how work is planned, resourced, and measured, and the true employee experience.

As employees seek new opportunities, Irish employers cite employee retention and turnover (24%), employee wellbeing (23%), and skill gaps, upskilling, and reskilling (23%) among their top workforce challenges for 2026. It seems that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to navigate changing skills requirements in a rapidly evolving business landscape, and more than one-in-10 (13%) do not know which skills their organisation will need in the next two to three years.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of employers are shifting the focus from job titles to skills and capabilities when it comes to planning of their workforces. Half are investing in reskilling and upskilling employees to prepare for the AI-driven workplace.

Eimear Byrne, Managing Director, SD Worx Ireland, said: “It’s clear to see that employees in Ireland know their worth and are actively seeking out opportunities that will enable them to grow and develop their professional skillsets. However, the onus for this should be on employers. Businesses must prioritise employee training and development in order to support their teams in achieving their full potential. This will not only benefit workers but will positively impact the entire organisation and, in turn, ensure that people stay for the long term.

“Our research suggests that many employers may not know what they should be training their employees in. Now is the time to examine the skills that are already in place within the business to assess where the gaps are and understand what’s needed to continue to propel the business forward. With the right workforce management strategy, organisations can create transparency around time, capacity, and skills, allowing them to better plan resources and support employee wellbeing.

“When it comes to AI, it’s all about adapting and evolving. Roles and skills requirements will change but they will not disappear completely – human oversight will and should remain vital. An engaged workforce which can provide the in-demand skills that are needed by organisations will be key to remaining competitive.”

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Employees are enthusiastic, but are calling for more training and clarity

Adoption is rising quickly and the opportunity for business is significant

Early returns are visible; however, budgets and readiness are under pressure

The Noledge Group, the Irish cloud ERP solution specialist, has announced that its team laced up their runners to raise vital funds and awareness for the Irish Heart Foundation as part of the charity’s recent RUN 100 workplace challenge.

Noledge employees joined hundreds of participants nationwide to each run or walk 100 kilometres over the course of one month. In total, 11 Noledge team members covered more than 1,100 kilometres, boosting awareness for heart disease and stroke prevention and raising more than €2,500 for the Irish Heart Foundation in the process.

For 60 years, the Irish Heart Foundation’s mission has been to eliminate preventable death and disability from heart disease and stroke, and to support and care for those living with these life-changing conditions. RUN 100 aimed to get employees moving for their heart health, raise crucial funds to support prevention, advocacy, and patient support programmes, and ultimately create healthier workplaces.

The Noledge team fully committed to the challenge, supporting life-saving services and research and far surpassing the original fundraising target. Employees tackled all types of terrain to complete the challenge, including mountain tracks, woodland paths, and park trails.

Ray Ryan, CEO, The Noledge Group, said: “We are immensely proud of our team for getting behind such an important charity. Covering over 1,000km between 11 people in just one month is a remarkable achievement and reflects the dedication that everyone brought to this initiative. A healthy, engaged workforce is at the heart of everything we do, and initiatives like this bring that to life.

“It’s a brilliant example of what can be achieved when people come together to champion a meaningful cause. Just as the Irish Heart Foundation is committed to being there for every heartbeat and fighting to protect the cardiovascular health of everyone in Ireland, Noledge too is committed to delivering the best outcomes for our customers.”

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We look at this new book by Katherine Wilkinson. See more about the book Climate Wayfinding Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home here.

Climate Wayfinding Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home, reviewed

The author is passionate about the environment, and has interviewed a lot of positive, interesting eco-thought leaders for her podcast too. At the beginning of each chapter there are some interesting playlist suggestions to get you into the right mood, mentality, headset, to try and achieve positive ecological change. There are a lot of good elements to this book, and it aims to be a useful and positive book. However at times I wondered if there was a more practical series of actions that could be suggested. Visioning how you might move into more environmentally friendly sectors almost made the goals seem aspirational rather than offering a more direct road map of steps that you could take. Maybe this is an over simplistic point, but tree planting for example is never mentioned once, nor is it listed in the index – surely this is one of the simplest, most direct actions that someone could take?

With the journaling prompts, and discussion points, elements of this book started to remind me, make me think of the latest Alison Bechdel book, Spent, because that book, a graphic novel, seemed to be populated by the sort of people you might imagine would also be readers of this book too. All and every book in this sector is important, as we face deeply challenging, and existential times in terms of the health and fate of the only planet we have to live on. However, as someone, after living in many many cities, for many years, but who now lives in a rural area, this book felt like it was aimed at trapped feeling city dwellers. There have actually been so many positive urban eco initiatives, in Europe, across the world, that it felt that perhaps this book could have had more tangible and direct actions and options for people to take. Maybe this book however provides a starting point for someone people on their journey, trouble is, with global warming already a fact, despite what fossil fuel lobbyists / climate change deniers may say, things just might need to move a whole lot faster if we are all to avoid extinction.

Hopefully it is not too little, too late, and if this book can help to nudge the needle then it will have been a useful contribution.

More about the book

When maps come up short and the path ahead is uncertain, how do we find our way? Visionary climate leader Katharine K. Wilkinson offers a compassionate and empowering guide to navigating from ache to action, doubt to possibility.

Through transformational programs and books, including the national bestseller All We Can Save, Wilkinson has inspired hundreds of thousands of climate journeys. In Climate Wayfinding, she shares a proven process for looking inward with care, outward with curiosity, and forward with courage. Ultimately, readers chart a course toward playing their unique part in our collective healing.

With her singular blend of warmth and rigor, Wilkinson lights the way through stirring personal essays, interwoven with the wisdom of other climate leaders and the beauty of poetry, art, and song. A book to sit with and savor, Climate Wayfinding also invites engagement with journaling prompts, practical exercises, and guides for conversation.

Whether steeped in climate or newly curious, readers will discover something grounding and generative in these pages. The terrain ahead is calling—and we have everything we need to find our way.

More about the author

Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson is a human on Earth. As a writer, teacher, and creator, she has inspired hundreds of thousands of climate journeys through transformational projects that shift our cultural narratives about what’s possible and nurture engagement in renewing our world. Her publications include the bestselling anthology All We Can Save, the podcast A Matter of Degrees, and the New York Times bestseller Drawdown. Dr. Wilkinson co-founded and leads The All We Can Save Project, where she shaped the much-beloved programs All We Can Save Circles and Climate Wayfinding. She holds a DPhil in geography and environment from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and a BA in religion from Sewanee: The University of the South. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of fifteen “Women Who Will Save the World.” She lives with her loves in Atlanta, Georgia, and finds her deepest joy on a mountain or a horse.

See more book reviews here.

Developing a highly effective malaria vaccine: Irish-British researcher selected as a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2026

• Sir Adrian Hill and his team developed a malaria vaccine that achieved around 75–80% protection in trials, exceeding the WHO efficacy target
• The vaccine is designed for large-scale, low-cost use in countries most affected by malaria
• The Irish-British researcher is a finalist in the ‘Research’ category. The winners will be announced during the Award ceremony on 2 July 2026 in Berlin
• Public voting for the Popular Prize opens today and will be running until the ceremony on 2 July 2026

Malaria vaccine shortlisted for European Inventor Award

Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610 000 deaths were recorded globally in 2024, with children under five accounting for around three-quarters of all deaths in the WHO Africa Region. After decades of limited progress in vaccine development, Sir Adrian Hill and his team developed a highly effective malaria vaccine that has now been recommended by the WHO for widespread use. For this work, Hill has been selected as a finalist in the ‘Research’ category of the European Inventor Award 2026 by an independent jury.

Improving protection against a complex parasite

Developing a malaria vaccine has long been considered one of the toughest challenges in medicine. The malaria parasite is genetically complex and passes through multiple life-cycle stages in the human body, making it difficult for the immune system to recognise and block infection. Earlier vaccine candidates, including the first licensed malaria vaccine, achieved only modest and short-lived protection in young children.

Sir Adrian and his team addressed a key design limitation by increasing the amount and density of malaria-specific protein presented to the immune system, while removing components that could weaken the immune response. The resulting vaccine, known as R21/Matrix-M, forms tiny nanoparticles that closely resemble the size of common viruses, a scale to which the human immune system responds particularly strongly. When combined with the Matrix-M adjuvant, the vaccine generates substantially higher antibody levels than earlier approaches.

“When I was working in The Gambia in the late 1980s, I saw children dying from malaria right in front of me. That experience stayed with me and convinced me that we needed something better than what was available…For most of the last two decades, half a million children were dying every year from malaria, almost all in Africa. Once you’ve seen that, it’s impossible not to want to do something about it,” said Sir Adrian.

From long-term research to real-world deployment

The R21 vaccine is the result of more than thirty years of sustained research at the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford. Sir Adrian’s work was shaped early on by clinical experience in malaria-endemic regions and supported by long-term public and charitable funding, allowing repeated iteration in an academic setting before large-scale manufacturing partnerships were established.

A decisive breakthrough came when Phase 2b trials reported up to 77% efficacy in 2021, exceeding the WHO’s target for malaria vaccines. The vaccine was subsequently co-developed with the Serum Institute of India to enable production at scale and at low cost, making it suitable for routine immunisation programmes in low-income settings.

“I realised the world didn’t need more descriptions of how complicated the malaria parasite is and how cleverly it has evaded our immune system for millions of years. What we really needed was a way to prevent it, and a vaccine seemed the obvious route. That’s what pushed me toward research. The opportunity to create something that could have a real impact on huge numbers of people has always driven me,” said Sir Adrian.

Following regulatory approvals in African countries, the WHO formally recommended R21/Matrix-M for widespread use in October 2023. The vaccine is designed to remain stable under real-world conditions and is priced at under €3 per dose, supporting broad access in high-burden regions.

Sir Adrian Hill is one of three finalists in the ‘Research’ category of the European Inventor Award 2026. The other ‘Research’ finalists are Portuguese researcher Paula Videira and team for an antibody that distinguishes cancer cells from healthy tissue and Finnish physicist Mikko Möttönen for an ultrasensitive cryogenic microwave sensor to improve quantum computing hardware. The European Patent Office will announce the winners during a livestreamed ceremony from Berlin on 2 July 2026. In addition to the four award categories, the Popular Prize will be decided through a combined vote by the public and the independent jury. Public voting opens on 12 May 2026 and will be running until the ceremony on 2 July 2026.

Find more information about the technology, its impact and the inventors here.

See more breaking stories here.

Guest post by Owen Power, CEO, Greenvolt Next Ireland

Recent tensions in the Middle East have once again brought uncertainty to energy markets and unease to the real economy, particularly for businesses. But this is not an isolated episode, it is part of a pattern that has defined the past decade, marked by geopolitical instability and supply chain disruptions, with impacts that are increasingly difficult for companies to anticipate and control.

More than a series of isolated events, this points to a deeper shift: volatility is no longer cyclical, it has become structural. Repeated shocks no longer simply generate uncertainty; they have made it predictable. And the predictability of uncertainty should serve as a clear signal for how companies approach their energy strategy.

Rather than simply reacting to market fluctuations, companies must structure decisions that anticipate and mitigate this exposure, ensuring operational predictability and, ultimately, competitiveness. We are witnessing a fundamental shift: energy is no longer just an operational variable, but a core component of strategic management.

Energy, of course, extends beyond electricity. For many businesses, it includes mobility, industrial heat and other critical aspects of operations. Yet it is in electricity that some of the most immediate and scalable solutions are emerging, particularly through decentralised models of on-site solar generation for self-consumption.

The ability to produce energy at the point of use, such as leveraging rooftops, parking areas/carports, or adjacent land, represents a meaningful shift in how companies manage their energy consumption. Beyond reducing costs and improving the efficiency of existing infrastructure, it introduces critical advantages in today’s context: greater autonomy, enhanced security, and, above all, increased predictability.

In many cases, these systems can be complemented by battery storage, enabling more efficient energy management. Whether by shifting excess solar generation to periods of lower output or by storing energy when grid prices are lower and using it when prices rise, storage adds an additional layer of flexibility to self-consumption.

Technological advances and sustained cost reductions have made these solutions increasingly accessible. Financial and contractual models such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) further accelerate adoption, allowing companies to implement self-consumption without upfront investment, with specialised providers financing, installing and operating the systems. In return, companies purchase the energy produced at a fixed and predictable price, typically over periods ranging from five to twenty years.

By integrating a portion of energy at a lower and fixed price, companies can rebalance their exposure to market volatility, reduce both risk and dependence on external factors and introduce stability into what has become an inherently volatile variable. The result is a hybrid model where part of consumption is effectively hedged, with direct impact on financial stability and planning capacity.

Looking to mainland Europe, Spain in particular offers an energy model worth emulating. As a nation, they have been making steady progress in their energy transition, a trajectory that has helped stabilise electricity prices in the region, highlighting the role of renewables in mitigating market volatility. Here in Ireland, the same principle can be replicated at the company level. By introducing renewable energy generation, organisations add a layer of protection, reduce exposure and strengthen control over a critical variable that impacts the operational effectiveness of any business.

In an energy landscape where uncertainty has become the norm, the key differentiator lies in how that uncertainty is managed. Price remains central, but in a volatile environment, the ability to stabilise energy costs and exert greater control is what ultimately makes the difference.

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Online gambling in Ireland is becoming more closely tied to analytics, UX design and real-time monitoring tools. The biggest changes are no longer happening only around games or bonuses. They are taking place quietly in the background, inside the technology itself.

A smartphone is now enough to open an account, verify an identity, deposit funds and place a live bet in under five minutes. That convenience has forced gambling operators, regulators and software teams into a more complicated conversation about responsibility, friction and digital oversight.

Ireland’s regulatory environment is also entering a new phase. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 established the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, with licence applications opening earlier this year as operators prepare for tighter oversight around player protection, monitoring systems and digital compliance.

The timing is significant. Research published by the ESRI earlier this year estimated that roughly one in 30 adults in Ireland experiences problem gambling. Discussions around spending notifications, account alerts and monitoring tools no longer sound like optional extras built for compliance departments. They now look more like core infrastructure.

Gambling platforms are tracking far more than payments

Modern gambling products process enormous amounts of live user data. What has changed is the speed and sophistication with which that information is interpreted.

Instead of relying entirely on users to recognise problematic habits themselves, operators can now flag unusually long sessions, abrupt spikes in spending or repeated failed deposits within seconds. Some systems also monitor overnight activity and rapid changes in playing intensity.

The same analytical thinking already exists elsewhere online. Banks identify suspicious transactions almost instantly, while streaming services track viewing habits with remarkable accuracy.

Connected platforms in other sectors are also processing huge volumes of live information. One recent Irish example examined more than 100 million kilometres of driving data to understand how risk, fatigue and decision-making fluctuate over time in connected environments, a reminder of how heavily modern digital services now rely on live analytics and predictive modelling.

Why digital friction is making a comeback

For years, technology companies competed to make digital experiences feel frictionless. Fewer clicks meant stronger conversion rates. Faster payments meant better engagement. Interruptions were treated as weaknesses.

Responsible gaming tools challenge that thinking slightly.

Deposit limits, timeout reminders, cooling-off periods and affordability prompts all introduce deliberate pauses into the user experience. Some users may find those interruptions frustrating, but regulators increasingly view them as safeguards rather than obstacles.

Microsoft recently explored this idea through its secure-by-design UX research, arguing that protective friction can sometimes prevent harmful decisions online. One line from the company’s work captures the idea neatly: “Friction is a protection.”

That principle now applies well beyond cybersecurity.

A user attempting to raise spending limits late at night after a string of losses may benefit more from a forced pause than another seamless payment flow. The technical challenge lies in introducing those interruptions without making platforms unstable, intrusive or difficult to navigate.

Reliability and platform stability now carry more weight

Responsible gaming discussions often drift towards regulation and spending controls, but technical reliability matters too.

If account safeguards fail to load correctly, verification systems crash or spending alerts arrive too late, confidence in the platform begins to erode quickly. Mobile stability now carries more weight because gambling increasingly happens during commutes, football matches or short bursts of downtime throughout the day.

This is one reason technical testing has become more valuable within gambling reviews. Gambling expert Ian Zerafa at Casino.org evaluates online casino platforms by tracking gameplay stability, loading performance, mobile responsiveness and potential crashes during real-world use. His testing process focuses heavily on verification systems, withdrawals, gameplay stability and the reliability of responsible gaming tools under real-world conditions. The site says its reviews involve a 25-step process, while Zerafa himself notes that he spends more than 10 hours each week testing Irish-facing platforms.

That level of scrutiny reflects how gambling products are starting to resemble financial technology services as much as entertainment websites.

Browser security and gambling now overlap in unexpected ways

A growing amount of gambling activity now takes place entirely inside browser-based environments. That has created fresh concerns around session security, impersonation scams and account vulnerability.

Cybersecurity researchers have become more interested in what happens inside ordinary browser sessions, particularly when users move rapidly between payment systems, live services and linked accounts. Trust, familiarity and interface design are now seen as major vulnerability points across large parts of the digital economy.

The wider lesson feels difficult to ignore. Good security design depends just as much on human decision-making as technical architecture.

Ireland’s regulatory framework is becoming more technically demanding

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland is expected to place greater emphasis on player protections, national exclusion systems and monitoring standards as its framework develops further.

GRAI’s player safety guidance now includes spending controls and self-exclusion tools. Operators are also expected to provide account notifications tracking losses, winnings and time spent gambling.

That kind of reporting changes the relationship between users and platforms. Instead of gambling systems operating silently in the background, activity becomes more visible and measurable.

Public guidance around the law on gambling in Ireland also points towards a far more structured regulatory environment than the country operated under previously.

The broader direction now feels unmistakable. Responsible gaming is no longer sitting at the edge of the technology conversation. It is becoming part of the architecture itself.

The Ireland Esports Collegiate Series (IECS) has announced that its 2025/26 National Finals will take place live at GamerFest in the RDS Main Hall across May 23rd and 24th.

Supported by Red Bull and delivered in collaboration with GamerFest, the event will bring together the top collegiate teams in Ireland across VALORANT, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Counter-Strike 2. Finalists will compete live on stage for national titles and the title of top-performing university esports programme at Ireland’s biggest gaming festival.

The National Finals conclude the first full year of the IECS Premier Division structure, which introduced continuous competition across both Winter and Spring semesters in a format designed to more closely mirror traditional university sport.

Now entering its eighth consecutive season, the Ireland Esports Collegiate Series has grown into Ireland’s largest collegiate esports competition, featuring more than 1,070 students from 15 universities and colleges competing across Open and Premier Divisions during the 2025/26 season.

The Finals arrive during a period of continued growth for collegiate esports in Ireland, with universities increasing investment in gaming and esports infrastructure across campus communities.

Recent developments across the sector include dedicated gaming hubs at SETU and Queen’s University Belfast, esports hardware investment at Dublin City University and the approval of standalone esports societies at Maynooth University and Trinity College Dublin.

Kurt Pittman, CEO of Ireland Esports Leagues, said: “Bringing the Collegiate Series National Finals to the GamerFest Red Bull Live Stage is a major milestone for collegiate esports in Ireland.

“Over the past eight seasons we’ve seen university esports communities evolve from small student-led societies into structured competitive programmes supported by campuses, national communities and industry partners.

“The level of competition, production and participation across this year’s series reflects how quickly the ecosystem is maturing, and we’re excited to showcase Ireland’s top collegiate talent live at GamerFest this May.”

GamerFest Director of Partnerships Colm Roche goes on to say: “We are delighted to welcome back the Ireland Esports Collegiate Series, bringing the National Finals to life at Ireland’s largest Gaming Festival.

“Having Red Bull partner with both rights holders is a true testament to their commitment in bringing real world experience and pathways to the Irish gaming community.”

Collegiate esports in Ireland is no longer experimental. It’s organised, growing and increasingly supported by institutions.

GamerFest ticket prices start from €25 for a single-day and €43 for the weekend, under 10s go free. Secure your tickets now from www.gamerfest.ie.

Further event information and broadcast updates will be announced through Ireland Esports Collegiate Series channels in the lead-up to the National Finals.

Event Information

IECS Semi Finals Schedule

Valorant — Monday, May 11th (8PM): UCD v TCD & DCU v MU

Rocket League — Tuesday, May 12th (8PM): SETU v MU & TCD v TUD

Counter-Strike 2 — Wednesday, May 13th (8PM): TCD v UCC & UCD v SETU

League of Legends — Thursday, May 14th (8PM): UCD v MU & QUB v DCU

Broadcast live on twitch.tv/irelandcollegiate and twitch.tv/nativzgg, full details will be available at collegiate.irelandesportsleagues.com

National Finals Weekend

Saturday, May 23rd: VALORANT National Final & League of Legends National Final

Sunday, May 24th: Rocket League National Final & Counter-Strike 2 National Final

All finals will be played live on the GamerFest Main Stage in front of a live audience. Valorant, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike 2 finals will be contested as Best-of-Three series, while the Rocket League National Final will be played as a Best-of-Seven.

GamerFest ticket prices start from €25 for a single-day and €43 for the weekend, under 10s go free. Secure your tickets now from www.gamerfest.ie.

The National Finals will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/irelandcollegiate and youtube.com/@IELeagues.

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Ahead of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union beginning in July, the third European Climate Pact National Conference aims to build on Ireland’s commitment to a climate-neutral future while inspiring more grassroots action to tackle the climate crisis. It brings together individuals, communities, organisations, policymakers, experts and European Climate Pact Ambassadors, all united in their efforts to address climate change.

This year’s conference will feature keynotes and presentations from a wide range of speakers including Eamon Ryan, former Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Roderic O’Gorman, leader of the Green Party, and Paddy Phelan, CEO, South East Energy Agency.

The event will also feature contributions from several Climate Pact Ambassadors, each bringing valuable insights into different aspects of climate action. Cllr. Maria Dollard, Deputy Mayor of Kilkenny, will outline how local community climate initiatives can have a broad impact on people’s lives, while Lorna McCormack, Director of the educational initiative Wool in School, will lead a workshop, Nature’s Carol – Past, Present, and Future, reflecting on personal connection to Climate and Nature while creating a sense of collective impact and responsibility.

“This European Climate Pact National conference could not be better timed,” said Eamon Ryan, former Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. “Our Union is threatened by what is happening around the Strait of Hormoz and it is increasingly clear that ridding ourselves of dependency on fossil fuels is the only way not just of protecting our common home but also providing for the security and future livelihoods of all our people.”

The conference takes place as Ireland deals with the effects of ever-worsening climate change and extreme weather, and as the country prepares to take on the Presidency of the Council of the EU in July. Bringing together newcomers and those already engaged in sustainability efforts, it will provide a platform to network, share ideas, and collaborate.

Cllr Maria Dollard, Climate Pact Ambassador commented: “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it. Everyone has a responsibility to  do what they can to make the world a better place”

The European Climate Pact, which is part of the European Green Deal, is a grassroots initiative aimed at uniting individuals and groups across Europe in the fight against climate change. This conference is a vital step in furthering this movement and encouraging more sustainable practices across Ireland.

The Climate Pact is an opportunity to:

Learn about climate change

Develop and implement solutions

Connect with others and maximise the impact of these solutions

The Climate Pact provides a fertile ground for initiatives, networks and movements that have already begun to revolutionise the approach to climate action in Europe. It aims to empower the countless Europeans who are ready to contribute in whatever way they can. Find out more here

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