Video game developers to showcase skills at 21st All Ireland Games Fleadh on the TUS Thurles Campus during 2024 Games Fleadh.
Games Fleadh 2024 open to the public for free. Online registration is available at www.gamesfleadh.ie.
Unique insights being offered into this €165-billion euro industry; to all/any visiting second and third-level students.
Games Fleadh 2024 is sponsored by TUS, EA and FiServ.
Students with ambitions in the gaming industry will get a unique insight into the €165 billion industry and access to some of the world’s most successful gaming companies and representative bodies at this year’s All Ireland Games Fleadh in the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Thurles Campus on Wednesday March 6, 2024.
Games Fleadh Mascots pictured with Dr Liam Noonan, TUS and James Fogarty, TUS. Pic: Alan Place
In its 21st year, Games Fleadh continues to lead the way in recognising the brightest and best among the country’s university student game developers, while also bringing together the collective knowledge of some of the leading names in the gaming industry.
Up to 1,400 students have competed in the competition since its inception, according to the event organiser Dr Liam Noonan(TUS Software Development and Games Programming Lecturer).
“As well as being a hotly contested competition, Games Fleadh is a unique opportunity for third level students to demonstrate their games to industry veterans and gain valuable feedback on their creations,” said Dr Noonan, explaining that some of the country’s leading software developers and international gaming companies will be in attendance once again. Games Fleadh 2024 features competitions such as a Game Studio ‘Start with Nothing’ themed competition and Robocode. Competitors will be in with a chance to win one of the many EA title prizes available.
Every year this free event, which is open to the public, also attracts second level students from all over Ireland with an interest in studying Computer Science or a future career in this competitive industry.
“The video games market is larger than the music and movie business combined, with revenues recently surpassing 180 billion dollars (approximately €165 billion) as reported by UK-based market intelligence firm Pelham Smithers. Games Fleadh continues to be a fantastic networking opportunity for the Irish game development sector. We believe that it also offers a fantastic networking opportunity for teachers to engage with third level institutions and explore best practice in teaching coding concepts,” added Dr Noonan.
Dr. Janice O’Connell(Head of Department of Information Technology at TUS) said, “The Games Fleadh is a fantastic event which integrates multiple different aspects of IT, innovation and creativity. Through the originality and imagination of Games, this unique event brings together industry, academia, current students, and future students. Special thanks to all our industry partners for their continued support, to the participants, and the staff in Thurles for making this event possible. Sincere thanks to Dr. Liam Noonan, who champions Games Fleadh every year.”
NOTE: The TUS Thurles Co. Tipperary Campus caters for students studying for qualifications in Applied Sports Science, Agricultural Science and Environmental Science, Business, Social Care Work, and Games Design.
Recruitment campaign expected to be launched soon.
Revised Regulations provide for more efficient training and more effective deployment of Garda Reserves.
Target of at least 1,000 Garda Reserve members by 2026.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today received Cabinet approval for updated regulations on recruitment, training and deployment of the Garda Reserve. She has committed to launching a recruitment campaign as soon as possible and has set a target of 1,000 Garda Reserves by 2026, to further support Garda members nationwide.
The Garda Reserve is a voluntary body drawn from the community to assist An Garda Síochána with local patrols and crime reduction initiatives, policing major incidents and events, and providing operational support to regular Garda members on the basis of the reserve member’s skills or local knowledge.
Welcoming the approval by Cabinet, Mrs McEntee said: “Joining the Garda Reserve is an excellent way to give back to your community, to help make it safer, and to get experience of and an insight into working with An Garda Síochána if that is your longer term career ambition. The new Regulations provide for a more modern approach, particularly in relation to training. The Garda Commissioner will be in a position to recruit new members of the Garda Reserve and a recruitment campaign is planned for the very near future. It will target a broad and inclusive range of candidates, in keeping with the Reserve’s role as a visible form of community engagement. It is a priority for me to ensure An Garda Síochána has all of the support it needs to provide the world-class police service we have all come to expect. Building up the Garda Reserve to at least 1,000 members by 2026 to ensure it can meet its full potential is part of that mission”.
Notable changes in the new Regulations include:
Additional flexibility for training components that ensure new Reserves are trained efficiently and to a high standard enabling Reserve members to have the skills to take up active duty more readily.
Changes to enable more effective deployment of Garda Reserve members.
Updates to Reserve members’ hours on duty – Currently, the maximum hours a Garda Reserve member can be requested to work is 208 hours in any 12-month period. Under the new Regulations, Reserves can make themselves available for more hours, should they choose to do so.
Updated and modernised educational requirements to reflect changes that were introduced to the Leaving Certificate grading system in recent years.
The work of a Garda Reserve is varied and interesting, for example:
Working along-side the Garda Road Traffic Unit.
Ensuring public safety during State visits by foreign dignitaries.
Assisting in public order incidents and in some cases assisting in prosecutions.
Assisting with crowd control at events such as concerts, sporting events etc.
Assisting with the regular day-to-day work of An Garda Síochána.
Child benefit payments will be extended to include 18-year-olds, latter who remain in full-time education, with effect from May 1st next.
Ms Heather Humphreys (Minister for Social Protection) is expected to bring this proposal to Cabinet this morning.
This measure, which will also apply to children with a disability, was previously announced in Budget 2024, but was scheduled to begin from next September.
Ms Humphreys is expected to now inform the Cabinet today that the Department is in a position to implement this measure with effect from May 1st, next.
She will use social welfare legislation; same due before the Seanad this week, to implement this change.
The new policy change was initially designed as a cost-of-living measure.
Tomorrow, Tuesday February 6th, 2024, is ‘Safer Internet Day’.
Safer Internet Day (SID) is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people. Webwise is the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre, funded by the Department of Education and co-funded by the European Commission. They provide excellent information and support for parents on how to promote safer internet use, so do visit HERE.
Another helpful site can be viewed HERE, which provides up-to-date information on movies, apps, podcasts, games and other media aimed at kids.
Please watch the YouTube video hereunder, for a previous talk given by Avril Ronan on Gaming Safety and Kids.
For Safer Internet Day 2024, Avril Ronan, from Trend Micro (a global cybersecurity leader), is offering a free webinar for parents, teachers and other adults working with young people, on ‘Let’s Talk Kids, Teens and Screen Time Challenges’.
Her talk will explore the screen time battles and challenges faced by so many parents today and it will offer practical advice, top tips, and a question and answer session.
This event is totally free and takes place on Tuesday 7th February 2024 at 7:00pm. It will last approximately 1 hour followed by 30 minutes of question and answer time. You can register to attend this Zoom webinar from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device: https://www.trendmicro.com/internet-safety/eventsie. [Please note also that Irish Sign language interpreters will sign at this event.]
Alert Summary Dated Thursday, 01 February 2024. Allergy Alert Notification: 2024.A05 Allergen: Milk Product Identification: Oishi Corn Flips Chocolate Flavour; pack size: 40g. Batch Code Best before: 06/02/2024 & 24/07/2024 Country Of Origin: China
Message: The above batches of Oishi Corn Flips Chocolate Flavour are being recalled as they contain milk which is not declared in the list of ingredients. This may make the batches unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of milk.
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