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Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy
and Natural Resources, Seán Power, TD has launched a new Environmental
Report developed by Ordnance Survey Ireland.
This report will, for the first time, provide users with
consolidated data currently retained by three organisations
- Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi), the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the Geological Survey
of Ireland (GSI). The report will be of interest to anyone
who owns or intends on purchasing a property and should also
prove to be of immense importance to professional users such
as planners, architects, engineers and the legal profession.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Power said - “This report
is an excellent example of what can be achieved when agencies
get involved in a collaborative initiative to meet the needs
of their customers. This type of initiative endorses what
the Taoiseach said recently in relation to the OECD Review
of the Public Service, which recommends a greater sharing
of information between public bodies. Working together in
this way leads to an improvement of services which, ultimately,
makes a very effective contribution to the infrastructural
base of business in the economy.”
Minister Power also launched the new corporate website for
the OSi (Click
Here). Highlighting a greater reliance on the Internet
by the public for sourcing products and services, Minister
Power said - “Again I think this demonstrates the acute awareness
that the organisation has of who its customers are and what
their requirements and expectations are for the future. I
was particularly impressed by the educational section of the
website which recognises the need to nurture even the most
embryonic interests in mapping and spatial information.”
Commenting also on the launch of the 7th Edition of the organisation’s
bestselling 'Dublin City and City Street Guide', the
Minister noted the significantly extended scope of this new
edition, which covers 12 new towns including - Balbriggan,
Rush and Skerries on the Northside, to Greystones and Delgany
on the Southside and as far west as Kilcock.
Minister Power concluded by saying - “It gives me great pleasure
to see that the OSi is an organisation priding itself on being
to the forefront of change and development and in passing
the benefit of that to its customers as quickly as possible
- so as to facilitate more informed decision-making, at both
public and professional user level.”
New Environmental Report
Background
Agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and Ordnance Survey
have, over a long number of years, gathered extensive information
on their respective specialist areas - resulting in the creation
of national datasets of incomparable extent and quality.
The task, however, that faced an individual - whether that
be a private user or the highest level of professional customer
- to identify, acquire and collate these various datasets
to provide a complete picture and, indeed, for them to then
interpret the final result, proved a challenge for many.
This single report - the Environmental Report developed by
Ordnance Survey Ireland - will, for the first time and for
a user selected geographic location, provide and consolidate
data currently retained by the three organisations - Ordnance
Survey Ireland (OSi), the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI).
The report will contain detailed information on -
- Land Use - e.g. mines, quarries, Gravel
Pits, etc.
- Site History - e.g. Seasonal Lakes, Rail/Tram
Lines, Historic Wells, Historic Flood Plains, etc.
- Stability - e.g. Sub soils, Landslide locations,
etc.
- Water History - e.g. Ground Water Quality,
Springs, Karst Information, reservoir locations, etc.
- Statutory Licences - e.g. Active Integrated
Pollution Control (IPC) licences, active EPA Waste Licences.
- Aerial Photography - i.e. Aerial Photography
captured by Ordnance Survey Ireland from 2004-2006.
Who will use the product?
OSi see this product being of use to both the private
and professional sector. It is considered that a significant
number of the professional sectors - including Environmental
Planners, Architects, Engineers, Construction, Auctioneer
and Solicitor/Legal - will welcome this report. Insurance
companies may also place some reliance on elements of the
data - e.g. flood plains, etc. - for risk identification/mitigation.
How will a user order the product?
The report is purchased through OSi’s online website (Click
Here) - where it is possible to purchase a number
of mapping/imagery products.
The Environmental Report will be delivered by email - as
a PDF File( )
- or by post, depending on customer requirements. It is also
possible to purchase an Irish version of the Environmental
Report.
The report can be purchased in three formats - a 400-metre,
600-metre or a 1000-metre radius search from the selected
location.
OSi have a professional report which also includes extracts
of the 1830’s 6-inch and 25-inch mapping from OSi’s historic
database, as well as the other information included in other
reports. OSi then search the various datasets for results.
The OSi SMARTMAPS website uses OSi’s own aerial imagery in
the background, with some mapping to assist users locating
their preferred site and has complete address and coordinate
search functionality.
New Corporate Website
History of existing Website
The OSi website was first launched in 1999. In its day,
it was considered to be a very modern and dynamic site, but
both technology and design - together with customer expectations
- have moved on. To-date, the website focused more on the
professional user, but the aim of the new website is to cater
for all users and all ages of users - both home and abroad.
What is different about this the new site?
This site recognises customer classification - e.g. member
of the public, business & industry, educational - and
provides information that focuses on their particular user
requirements. It is structured to ensure that relevant information
is easier to find. It now has an educational users section
which, it is hoped, will assist everyone - from primary school
children to the academic community.
Is there an e-delivery element?
The new website will have links to OSi’s existing SMARTMAPS
(Click
Here) and Ireland's Historic Mapping Archive
(Click
Here), where it is possible to order products online.
These products include Environmental Reports, Orthophotography
(geo-rectified photography) Land Registration Maps in ITM
(Irish Transverse Mercator) and wind speed maps from the OsiSmartmaps
website and Historic maps including 1st edition 6-inch and
25-inch mapping, as well from the 1830s.
There will also be links to - irishmaps.ie
- where OSi paper products can be purchased online. In addition,
OSi’s network of 15 PLACE Map Agents, strategically located
throughout the country, will be available to respond to enquiries
and to process orders from customers.
Dublin City and District Street Guide
New 7th Edition
This is the 7th Edition of the Guide to be launched and
which currently is revised approx every 12-18 months. This
edition contains a number of significant enhancements -
- There are an additional 16 map pages covering the North
County Dublin towns of Balbriggan, Donabate, Lusk, Rush
and Skerries and the Satellite towns of Ashbourne, Blessington,
Clane, Dunshaughlin, Greystones /Delgany, Kilcock and Ratoath.
- The mapping presentation has been modified to improve
the clarity and legibility of the street names.
- The city centre mapping has been enlarged by increasing
the scale. This, coupled with a new fresh cartographic presentation,
improves clarity and the additional inclusion of 900 street
names.
- The index has been updated and revised.
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