Hospitality industry reacts to scammers attacking well-known Belfast restaurant

Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster

Restaurant, hotel and pub owners and managers have been warned to remain hyper-vigilant to potential scammers, particularly in the busy Christmas trading period.

The warning comes after a well-known Belfast restaurant was recently the target of hackers who accessed its booking system to dupe customers into paying a deposit ahead of their visit whilst claiming to be from the restaurant. Hospitality Ulster has encouraged those who have been subject to, or sense a scam, to inform the establishment they have booked with and the PSNI immediately.  

Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster commented:

“We understand that these scammers have been contacting customers, pretending to be from the various establishments and then asking for deposits and pocketing the money. We would encourage all those in the hospitality sector to be vigilant of these scams and urge customers to be aware of the nature of these cons. If something does not feel right, use common sense, hang up and contact the venue directly.”

“The impact of these scams on the hospitality sector cannot be understated. These scams are incredibly disruptive to the day to day running of businesses, at a time when the focus should be on ensuring a quality customer experience.”

“High profile scams have become familiar across all sectors in recent years and it is increasingly important that the hospitality sector remains vigilant to the threat posed by criminals who are keen to make a quick pound at the detriment of hardworking business owners and customers”.

“This is the time of the year when the hospitality sector is especially busy, but it is in everybody’s interest that we do not drop our guard against online criminals.”

Local Government Awards 2020 Northern Ireland Finalists Announced

2020 Local Government Awards Finalists Announced. The winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony hosted by Sarah Travers, taking place on 20 February 2020 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast.

NI’s 2020 Local Government Awards has now reached finalist stage! The response from all councils and partners to this year’s campaign has been fantastic with almost 60 entries across eight categories.

The Awards showcase brilliance in service provision, new initiatives and personal commitment from councils, councillors, staff and partners. They offer public and peer recognition whilst motivating those delivering and sustaining front line and other key council services.  The categories foster innovation, exceptional commitment and great work, providing opportunities for local government’s staff and members to step forward and learn from great example.  

Councillor Frances Burton, NILGA President, said “Councils across Northern Ireland continue to undertake valuable work and dedicate time and resources in order to modernise and improve their areas for local communities, businesses and visitors – as well as wider government and civic society.

“The Local Government Awards are testimony to these services for local people as well as offering benchmarks for wider government and civic society. They provide fantastic learning tools for councils, in an environment where every penny counts.

“We can do things better by learning from the best. This is something NILGA is passionate about, and it is reflected in each of our ambitious and resourceful councils”. 

APSE Chief Executive, Paul O'Brien said “Local councils are the glue that hold communities together. Whether delivering on wonderful parks or collecting bins to attracting businesses and engaging in arts, culture and leisure activities it is the efforts of these frontline service teams that make a real difference at a local level. All the finalist councils are deserving of the highest recognition”. 

The Awards cover eight categories and sponsor partners / support bodies contributing are: Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE); William Johnston Memorial Trust (WJMT); Enterprise Northern Ireland; Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE); Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA); National Association of Councillors (NAC); Sustainable NI and Tourism NI.

Nominees were judged by an independent panel and the finalist councils in each category will be invited to the Gala Awards Recognition Evening as the culmination of annual Local Government Conference, “The Future of Local Government” at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast, on Thursday 20th February 2020.

New Northern Ireland Fintech Envoy engages with business leaders

Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell, Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland, Andrew Jenkins with Angela McGowan, Director of CBI Northern Ireland

Andrew Jenkins, the Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland, has met with and briefed a cross-section of leaders from business membership organisations, banks, fintech companies and local government. 

Envoy Jenkins, Director of Arity which is part of the Allstate Corporation, who was appointed by the HM Treasury in September, outlined the worth of the fintech sector to the Northern Ireland economy and the potential which exists for further growth.

The business briefing also heard from the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell who was visiting the city as part of a series of engagements.

Fintech is one of the fastest growing sectors of the UK economy, encompassing innovation in financial services including digital banking, payment technologies and crowdfunding platforms.  40,000 people in Northern Ireland are employed across the financial and professional services with 1 in 4 of these employed in technology roles.  

Northern Ireland is regarded as a world-renowned driver of the fintech sector and has been named as one of the leading global fintech locations of the future, in the 2019/20 fDi league table alongside cities including Singapore, New York and London. Major international banks, insurers and fintech companies in the region include Allstate, Citi, Liberty IT, The CME Group, FSCOM and Datactics.

Despite this strong outlook, Envoy Jenkins injected a sense of realism and highlighted that a number of impediments needed to be addressed if the growth and potential for fintech in Northern Ireland was to be fully realised. This includes focusing on the skills and talent agenda and signposting start-ups to access of finance.

Andrew Jenkins, Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland commented:

“Since being appointed Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland in September, I have made it my priority to engage with the various business leaders to harness the incredible potential which exists to lead the region and beyond in fintech expertise. This was my first engagement with business leaders who are critical to ensuring the ambition of the fintech strategy is accomplished.”

“This strategy seeks to further solidify Northern Ireland’s place as a fintech centre of excellence and to acknowledge the huge potential which exists right across the country. Despite being streets ahead of other regions, the fintech sector here has so much more to offer and in collaborating with business leaders, I am confident that we can grow the sector even further. We have unearthed something special in Northern Ireland with fintech and still, this is only the beginning, our true potential is ahead of us.”

“Currently the fintech sector generates a revenue of £6.6 billion pounds to the UK economy but with the right workforce armed with the necessary skills, the sector’s revenue will rapidly expand. Nurturing this talent is a significant challenge but I am committed to engaging the relevant groups to build and sustain an ecosystem of talent and skills which will allow innovation in the fintech sector to flourish.”

He added:

“Another important issue is that of funding and I will be dedicating my time to signposting businesses to the funds and sources of finance which are required to start up, grow and develop.”

“My next step is to bring forward a regional strategy and to engage with the wider fintech sector and business groups to realise the economic benefits and potential associated with the industry here in Northern Ireland. I am also looking forward to hosting the Fintech National Network Symposium in Belfast, in June 2020 which will allow us to further showcase the world-leading fintech sector in Northern Ireland.”

Rt Hon Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell also said:

“It is no secret that Northern Ireland is a leading location in financial technology – something widely recognised in the City of London.”

“That’s why I’m here today with the Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland, Andrew Jenkins. My message to local firms is clear: join me on overseas delegations and join me at international events in the City. I’ll be visiting around twenty-five countries across six continents in my year, as well as hosting hundreds of global firms in the City looking to the UK for innovation, such as at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in April next year.” 

"This kind of collaboration between our two great cities means that we can better harness our fintech strengths, maximise opportunities available to us and strengthen the UK’s position as a world leader in the sector.”

HIV Charity welcomes Ards and North Down Borough Council ‘lighting up’ for World AIDS Day

Northern Ireland HIV Charity Positive Life has welcomed Ards and North Down Borough Council’s decision to light key council buildings red to commemorate World AIDS Day on 1 December.

The lighting up of the McKee Clock in Bangor and Ards Town Hall was ratified at a full council meeting last night. This follows on from councillors meeting with Chief Executive of Positive Life, Jacquie Richardson, to discuss key issues surrounding HIV in Northern Ireland and the importance of World AIDS Day in raising vital awareness.

World AIDS Day is a global opportunity for people across the world to unite against HIV and create awareness and support for those living with the lifelong condition.

Positive Life is the only charity in Northern Ireland supporting people with HIV. In Northern Ireland there are over 1,100 people currently living with HIV, and unlike the rest of the UK, numbers continue to rise.

Positive Life support services includes Counselling, Complementary Therapies, Social Events, Family Support along with Rapid HIV Testing. In many cases, Positive Life offers the only real and meaningful contact that those living with HIV have due to the overwhelming impact of the stigma around the condition here in Northern Ireland. 

Leader of the Alliance Party in the Ards and North Down Borough Council, Councillor Andrew Muir commented:

“I welcome the decision by the full Ards and North Down Borough Council to light up Ards Town Hall and McKee Clock in red to mark World AIDS Day on 1 December each year. This follows recent engagement by myself and my Alliance Party colleagues with Positive Life. Lighting up both buildings is a small but important step in raising awareness and helping to end the stigma associated with HIV”.

Cllr Andrew Muir, Alliance Party

Chief Executive of Positive Life, Jacquie Richardson said:

“We are thrilled that Ards and North Down Borough Council have ratified the decision to light up the Ards Town Hall and the McKee Clock for World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for the world to come together and support those living with HIV. These actions at a local level are so important.”

“In Northern Ireland, HIV is a highly stigmatised issue. Many, through lack of education, still believe the myths from the past and therefore HIV is treated as a taboo subject. To have council buildings lit in red is a hugely symbolic gesture that shows people living with HIV are not alone and that they have support.”  

“We would also like to extend our thanks to the Alliance Party representatives at Ards and North Down Borough Council for bringing this to the Council and for supporting Positive Life.”

Northern Ireland could be Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence

‘AI Con’, the first all-island Artificial Intelligence conference taking place in Belfast. Included (Left to Right) sponsors Lorraine Acheson, Innovate UK, Paul Moorehead, IET, ‘AI Con’ curator Fiona Browne, Datactics and, Michael McGoldrick, MRP.

More than 400 business leaders and technology experts will hear today that Northern Ireland can become a centre of excellence in Artificial Intelligence.

A report by The Alan Turing Institute, commissioned by MATRIX, says that Northern Ireland has sufficient capability, skills and experience to develop its own Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence.

‘AI Con’, the first all-island artificial intelligence conference is being held at the Europa Hotel in Belfast, bringing together business leaders with technology experts who will discuss how AI can transform the business landscape for the better and generate growth in the regional economy.

The ‘Artificial Intelligence Research in Northern Ireland Report 2019’ acknowledges high levels of commercial and academic potential and says this should be expanded in collaboration with public sector agencies and research institutions.

Rapid growth of the AI sector in Northern Ireland has led the local AI community to establish this landmark conference that aims to drive forward the ambitions outlined in the report.

The community here now has more than 1,000 active members and represents around 150 companies.

Growth in the fintech and technology sectors in Northern Ireland have led to many global organisations setting up bases in Belfast, with over 150 full time people employed in AI research at both Queen’s and Ulster University, and more than 100 companies here working in the sector.

Director of Innovation at Kainos and Lead AI Con Curator, Tom Gray said:

“The report is a promising indicator of the direction Northern Ireland is headed in terms of AI development and application. A Centre of Excellence would establish Northern Ireland as a world leader in this field and allow us to compete on a global scale and attract investment in our local companies.”

“’AI Con’ is the first practical step that the AI community is taking to build the foundations of a Centre of Excellence. The conference allows us to showcase our abilities in AI to government agencies and business leaders.

“To have this report and backing from The Alan Turing Institute validates our work and shows this ambition can become a reality given the right strategy and support from key decision and policy-makers.”

Chair of MATRIX, Dr Robert Grundy added:

“The ‘Artificial Intelligence Research in Northern Ireland Report 2019’ indicates that there is serious potential for an AI Centre of Excellence to be based in Northern Ireland.

“AI is a fast-evolving specialism in the science and technology sector and one where we see huge potential. As we become accustomed to the ever changing and rapid development of new technologies, our economy will depend on it more and more. With strong research commitments to AI in both Queen’s and Ulster Universities, we will see it become a much-needed commodity in the Northern Ireland economy.

“The report states that AI will impact upon five of Northern Ireland major industries; Fintech, Manufacturing, Public Services, Agriculture, and Life and Health Sciences. This shows that the contribution of a centre of excellence could be far reaching across the region.

“MATRIX NI welcomes the establishment of ‘AI Con’ as a key proactive step by the AI community here in Northern Ireland to take the report we have commissioned and begin to make its ambitions a reality. Engagement with key business leaders and organisations as part of this conference is an essential part of that.”

Around 35,000 people in Northern Ireland living with Alcohol Related Brain Injury – charity to bring forward new specialist service

Fiona McCabe, Director of Leonard Cheshire Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is in the midst of a spiraling public health challenge with experts highlighting that around 35,000 people (2% of population) are living with Alcohol Related Brain Injury (ARBI).

People rarely think about the harm alcohol can cause to their brain yet ARBI occurs as a result of brain damage related to chronic alcohol consumption. In contrast with the rest of the UK, there is a marked increase in the number of people regularly consuming alcohol in Northern Ireland.

The shortage of local treatment services available to patients diagnosed with ARBI has sparked alarm among health professionals. Many of these patients have been misdiagnosed and placed in dementia care homes.

Unlike dementia, with appropriate treatment and abstinence, the prognosis for brain injury caused by alcohol abuse is relatively positive and with early intervention, ARBI is a reversible condition.

Leonard Cheshire, a leading disability charity will open a specialist rehabilitation unit for patients with Alcohol Related Brain Injury in Belfast in January 2020. This will be the first of its kind across the island of Ireland.  

Fiona McCabe, Director of Leonard Cheshire Northern Ireland said:

“In opening this residential rehabilitation unit in Belfast, we recognise the urgent need for a statutory multi-disciplinary Alcohol Related Brain Injury team to be established in Northern Ireland to break the chronic cycle of inadequate care.”

“Having slipped through the net of proper care, this patient group places huge financial strain each year on local health services in a revolving door pattern of acute bed occupancy and repeat emergency hospital admissions often followed by delayed discharge. The emotional and physical  cost to individuals and their families is also substantial.”

“This unit, which will open in January 2020 will be the first of its kind across the island of Ireland and will provide the necessary treatment, in a specialist therapeutic environment. We do however, appreciate that this is only the start of addressing the existing care gap but it will be the first step towards giving these patients a chance to fully recover.”

Dr Joy Watson, Consultant Addictions Psychiatrist and co-author of the ‘Alcohol-related brain damage in Northern Ireland’ report, endorsed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, has said:

“With the right treatment patients with alcohol related brain injury can recover and transform their lives. Services in the UK with similar drinking populations to Northern Ireland have shown impressive outcomes such as reduction in hospital admissions for people with ARBI by 85% which highlights the impact of providing the correct treatment”.

Four inspirational women from Urban Villages areas chosen to speak at major TEDxStormontWomen event

(Left to right): Charlotte McAfee, Herbert Smith Freehills, Mark Browne, The Executive Office, Annette Burke, Urban Village’s TEDxStormontWomen Speaker, Sarah Travers, TEDxStormont Host and Maeve McAllister, Allstate.

Four local women have been selected from Urban Village areas in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry to speak at the prestigious TEDxStormontWomen event in Parliament Buildings on 12 December.

Annette Burke, Maire Thompson and Arlene Megaw from Belfast, and Shauna Quigley from Derry/Londonderry were chosen following The Executive Office’s Urban Villages Initiative Open Mic events.

The initiative was part of the TEDxStormontWomen Masterclass programme, which was led by Bespoke Communications Sarah Travers and Camilla Long, delivering a cross-community, intergenerational, capacity building initiative with the core aim of making girls and women more confident in public speaking.

This initiative follows on from the successful ‘Talk like TED’ programme that ran in the lead in to TEDxStormont earlier this year, when 12 young people from Urban Village areas competed for a spot on stage, at the Great Hall. 

The four women will join other high-profile speakers in the Great Hall, at Parliament Buildings Stormont to share ideas on the theme of ‘Bold and Brilliant’. Speakers already selected for TEDxStormontWomen include Britain’s Got Talent finalist Ursula Burns and former PSNI Deputy Chief Constable and child safety champion Jim Gamble.

TEDxStormontWomen 2019 is sponsored by The Executive Office Urban Villages Initiative, Allstate NI and Herbert Smith Freehills.

Mark Browne, Director of Strategic Policy, Equality and Good Relations, The Executive Office, said:

“The joint TEDxStormontWomen and Urban Villages Initiative programme has been an incredible scheme that has enriched so many of those who live in our Urban Village areas in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. The number of women who have put themselves forward to take part in the masterclasses shows the real appetite in communities for the chance to tell their own stories and share ideas.”

“The Urban Villages Initiative is a good relations programme under the Together Building a United Community Strategy (T;buc) Strategy. One of its aims is to give the community a voice and through this opportunity we have been able to offer women and girls from different backgrounds and cultures the chance to tell their stories and ideas, while pushing the boundaries of confidence and learning a lifelong skill of public speaking.”

“I would like to extend my congratulations to Maire, Annette, Arlene and Shauna for securing places in the final TEDxStormontWomen line up on 12 December.”

Speaking today curator of TEDxStormontWomen Eva Grosman said;

“The four women chosen through the Open Mic events all have truly inspiring stories and ideas to share. It is truly rewarding to give them and the communities they represent voice. This is what makes this year’s TEDxStormontWomen so exciting.”

“The success of the whole programme has been phenomenal. To be able to engage so many women and girls in helping them to develop their confidence is a key theme of this year’s TEDxStormontWomen.” 

Look Ahead to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis 2019

• The Sinn Féin Ard Fheis returns to the Millennium Forum in Derry this weekend for the second time in five years.  

• The Party will be meeting for the first time since it suffered significant losses in the Local and European Elections in the South earlier in the year.

• The party will hold an un-precedented vote for Vice President following John O’Dowd’s challenge to Michelle O’Neill. With no hustings taking place or time allocated to set out each candidate’s plans, the current leadership is likely to remain. For some, this appears to have been a choreographed move by the party to improve Michelle O’Neill’s standing.

Business from the Clár

•  Much of the focus of the 166 motions in the Clár reflects the dangers associated with Brexit, the upcoming General Election and the countdown to a General Election in the Republic of Ireland.

• Significant business includes planning for Irish reunification; an all-Ireland economy; the need to deliver a large-scale public housing programme; and a range of measures to improve the financial situation of workers and families.

• A motion has called for the Ard Chomlairle to instigate a party wide consultation and review of the current method of election to the posts of President and Vice President and to report back prior to the 2020 Ard Fheis.  

• A fringe event will take place that will discuss the economic merits of a United Ireland with Professor of Economic Research at the ESRI, Seamus McGuinness.

• Foyle Candidate, Elisha McCallion will make three keynote addresses at the Ard Fheis including introducing President Mary Lou McDonald at 8.30pm on Saturday evening.

 Electoral Challenges

•  Sinn Féin currently hold seven Westminster seats and Michelle O’Neill has said the party hopes to return eight MPs with the election of Belfast City Lord Mayor, John Finucane in North Belfast. Finucane has a strong chance of winning this seat with the SDLP and Green Party not standing.

• In Foyle, Elisha McCallion won the seat for Sinn Féin for the first time in 2017 with a majority of 169 votes. The party faces a significant battle to retain this seat with Colum Eastwood determined to win this constituency back for the SDLP. The strong support for anti-abortion, Aontú candidate, Anne McCloskey in this constituency who is also a candidate could be a deciding factor.

• Fermanagh South-Tyrone is another marginal seat held by Sinn Fein. The incumbent Michelle Gildernew will be quietly confident of retaining this seat despite a strong challenge from Tom Elliott.

• The party is likely to retain its seats in West Belfast, West Tyrone, Mid Ulster, Newry and Armagh and South Down however, the abstentionist debate, recent Abortion legislation, failure to re-establish an Assembly and Brexit could impact on the overall vote share.

• In the Republic of Ireland, the party will also contest four by-elections which will be another indication of the support which exists ahead of a likely General Election in 2020.

Brown O’Connor Communications Weekly Look Ahead - Week Commencing 18 November 2019

General Election

• The deadline to nominate candidates for the upcoming passed at 4pm yesterday. Attached is a table of confirmed candidates for all 18 of NI’s parliamentary seats.

• The Green Party have said they will step aside in North Down and South Antrim to boost the chances of returning a pro-remain MP in the constituencies. The party last week endorsed the SDLP’s Claire Hanna in South Belfast.

• Nigel Farage announced this week that the Brexit Party will not stand candidates in any of the 317 seats currently held by Conservative MPs.

• UUP leader Steve Aiken will run against the DUP’s Sammy Wilson in East Antrim while Alan Chambers has been chosen as the party’s candidate in North Down.

• The Alliance Party are launching their General Election manifesto on Tuesday 26 November at the Park Avenue Hotel, Belfast.

• Former Justice Secretary David Gauke has announced he will stand as an independent candidate in South West Hertfordshire after losing the Tory whip.

• The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday 26 November. The deadline to register for a postal or proxy vote is Thursday 21 November.

Forward Look

• The Sinn Féin Ard Fheis takes place today and tomorrow in Derry’s Millennium Forum. At the Ard Fheis, the election for the Vice President will take place with current VP Michelle O’Neill and Upper Bann MLA John O’Dowd in contention.

• Nurses in Northern Ireland will go on strike over staffing numbers and pay disputes on 18 December, the RCN has announced. The union has also released a timetable of more limited industrial action and targeted strike action running until March 2020.

• Members of Unison, Northern Ireland’s largest health workers’ union, have voted to strike. The union represents about 25,000 healthcare workers including nurses, social care staff, and support services but not doctors.

• Planning permission to restore Bank Buildings in Belfast city centre was granted by Belfast City Council this week. However, work to reconstruct the damaged Primark store may take until 2022.

• Flybe has announced a new route between Belfast and London Southend to begin at the end of March 2020. The flights, which come as Flybe prepares to rebrand under the new name Virgin Connect, will run 18 times a week.

• The Northern Ireland Local Government Association are holding a major border economy event in the new year. ‘Councils Driving the Local Economy’ will take place in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry on 23 January 2020.

• Four Dáil by-elections will take place on 29 November. The elections are to replace four TDs who left their roles to become MEPs in May after the European Parliament elections. The by-elections will take place in Cork North Central; Dublin Mid-West; Wexford; and Dublin Fingal.

• The 2020 DUP Annual Conference will take place on 23 and 24 October in Crowne Plaza Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast.

Other Stories This Week

• House prices in Northern Ireland rose at an annual rate of 4% in the third quarter of 2019. The average price of a house in Northern Ireland is now just under £140,000.

• Northern Ireland’s shopping centres reported a fall in footfall numbers of nearly 4% during October, according to the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium.

• Toomebridge-based manufacturer SDC Trailers have said they are to cut jobs. They employ over 800 people in Co Antrim and Nottinghamshire in England. The firm blamed uncertainty around Brexit and a slowdown in demand for the planned redundancies.

• The latest Ulster Bank PMI figures for October show that the private sector in NI remained in contraction. While manufacturing output expanded for the first time in six months, orders fell to an 83-month low, retail jobs were shed at the fastest rate in 7 years, and general business activity decreased.

• The Department of Finance has opened a £30,000 Innovation and Outreach Fund to encourage the use of open data. Awards of between £300 and £5000 are available to fund the development of apps and other interactive visualisations that make innovative use of data on the Open Data NI portal.

• Same-sex marriage campaigners are to take legal action against the Secretary of State to force the government to allow gay couples in Northern Ireland to convert their civil partnerships into marriage.

• The Labour Party faced two cyber-attacks this week, in what it called a “sophisticated and large-scale” attempt to disrupt its digital systems.

• Emma Dunseith has been appointed as Head of Content Production for BBC Northern Ireland.

Upcoming Key Political and Business Events

• 15 November, Belfast Telegraph Property Awards, Crowne Plaza, Belfast

• 15-16 November, Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, Millennium Forum, Derry

• 20 November, An Audience with Northern Ireland’s Political Leaders, CBI, Belfast

• 21 November, NI Chamber President’s Banquet, ICC Belfast

• 25 November, NI Chamber 5 Leaders 5 Days – Colum Eastwood MLA, Ulster Bank, Donegall Sq East, Belfast

• 26 November, NI Chamber 5 Leaders 5 Days – Michelle O’Neill MLA, BT Tower, Belfast

• 27 November, CBI Conference Series, Driving Productivity, Belfast

• 28 November, AICon 2019, Europa Hotel, Belfast

• 29 November, Belfast Chamber Festive Reception, The New Orpheus, Belfast

• 2 December, NI Chamber 5 Leaders 5 Days – Naomi Long MEP, Venue TBC

• 3 December, NI Chamber 5 Leaders 5 Days – Steve Aiken MLA, Pinsent Masons, Belfast

• 5 December, Derry Chamber AGM & Christmas Drinks, Millennium Forum, Derry

• 5 December, NI Chamber and SONI Energy Forum, Invest NI, Belfast

• 6 December, NI Chamber 5 Leaders 5 Days – Arlene Foster MLA, Allstate NI, Belfast

• 12 December, TEDxStormontWomen, Parliament Buildings, Stormont

• 12 December, UK General Election

Consultations

• Consultation on Smoke Free Prisons Department of Justice. Deadline 30 November.

• Consultation on Liquor Licensing Department for Communities. Deadline 6 December.

• Consultation on Local Development Plan 2030 Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. Deadline 11 December.

• Waste Management Plan Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. Deadline 11 December.

• A new legal framework on abortion services in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Office. Deadline 16 December.

• Consultation on Draft Social and Environmental Guidance for Water and Sewerage Services 2021-2027 Department for Infrastructure. Deadline 20 December.

• Sentencing Review Northern Ireland Department of Justice. Deadline 6 January.

• Policy Plan Consultation 2020-2025 PSNI. Deadline 6 January.

Allstate hosts Northern Ireland’s largest employee cybersecurity conference in Belfast

Over 1,900 Allstate Northern Ireland employees recently took part in the largest employee cybersecurity event ever hosted at its Belfast office.

Keith Lippert, Allstate Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer pictured during the largest employee cybersecurity conference to take place in Belfast.

CyberCon featured an address by ethical hacker Freaky Clown, who partners with businesses, banks and government facilities to ‘break into’ their networks to identify and fix weaknesses; and Pablos Holman, a renowned futurist, inventor and hacker.

The event was led by Keith Lippert, Allstate Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, to educate employees about the importance of cybersecurity and their role in keeping Allstate secure. It included panel discussions on all aspects of cybersecurity with industry experts. 

CyberCon was developed with The Allstate Corporation in the United States to further the company’s commitment to developing staff knowledge on cybersecurity and upskilling the talent pool in Northern Ireland to remain at the forefront of the global cybersecurity industry.

The flagship conference coincided with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month which aims to raise awareness of cybersecurity threats and to promote cybersecurity among citizens and organisations.

Allstate Northern Ireland is the country’s largest IT company and the largest cybersecurity employer, with over 120 professionals protecting customer data, critical systems and valuable information.

Keith Lippert, Allstate Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer said:

“CyberCon brought together some of the sharpest minds in the global cybersecurity industry who are leaders in futuristic and innovative thinking. The sharing of experiences and ideas helps us better protect the company and our customers from cybercrimes. Putting our customers security and privacy at the centre of our design, is our top priority.”

“Allstate Northern Ireland is an integral part of the research happening across Northern Ireland to improve the world’s cyber defenses. Through acquiring, retaining and training top talent, and embedding a culture of cybersecurity into the DNA of our company, we strive to be the best place to work in security.”