2005 was an eventful year which saw the retirement on 31 March of Mel Boyd, who worked tirelessly as Chief Executive of the Commissioners of Irish Lights for nearly twenty years. Mel was held in high esteem, not only by all his colleagues in Irish Lights, but also in the wider lighthouse world, being for many years a Council Member and Treasurer of IALA-the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities. He was honoured by IALA in June this year, when he was made an Honorary Personal Member of the Association. My colleagues and I thank him for his work and his friendship throughout the years, and wish Mary and him well in his retirement.

Following the Asian tsunami disaster in December 2004, Irish Lights provided materials to the Tanzania Ports Authority to assist in the restoration of aids to navigation in Dar-es-Salaam. Assistance to the affected areas was co-ordinated through IALA and we were pleased to be able to assist.

It is a time of great change in Irish Lights. Earlier in the year An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the redevelopment of our Dun Laoghaire site. Detailed design of our new corporate headquarters and engineering works has been carried out, a contractor has been appointed, and building operations have commenced.
A business process review of Irish Lights operations has been completed by an in-house Integration Project Team guided by a consultant. A new organisation structure has been approved, and the implementation of the many recommendations from the Team has begun. Change can be an unsettling experience but the changes planned are to ensure that Irish Lights is better equipped to meet the challenges of the future.

Developing technology signals many changes in the provision of aids to navigation services. The use of the automatic identification system (AIS) as an aid to navigation is being developed. Fitted on buoys and at lighthouses, AIS can enhance those aids to navigation, complimenting the traditional aids and providing environmental and status information directly to a ship's bridge, effectively providing an aids to navigation information service. The new in-phrase is e-navigation (enhanced navigation). Satellite navigation systems such as GPS and Galileo, GNSS differential augmentations, and AIS, together with developing on-board navigation information systems and electronic charts, all form part of the e-navigation package. The role of Loran is less assured, and the European Radionavigation Plan from the EU is still awaited. The General Lighthouse Authorities' 2020 The Vision strategy document has confirmed the continuing role of buoys and lights as an essential part of the aids to navigation mix for the foreseeable future.

This is the start of a new era of e-navigation. Our responsibility is to deliver a reliable, efficient and cost effective aids to navigation service. Our challenge is to shape the future and to provide the right mix of traditional and electronic aids to navigation in Salutem Omnium-for the safety of all.
The year ahead will bring with it many interesting developments and challenges for us all.

I wish you all the best for 2006.
Stuart Ruttle
Chief Executive