 Do you remember Rapsy Nesbitt? Rapsy Nesbitt? Rapsy Nesbitt. What are you doing? You're putting up your tough button. The first time ever I've wore a t-shirt under a shirt. Well it's a Rapsy Nesbitt. It's not a t-shirt. It's a... It's just a t-shirt under a shirt. It's not a t-shirt. It's a Rapsy Nesbitt. One that shows the big hairy chest. See, the way thing I just seen the wee bit over is it's not a t-shirt. It's a Rapsy one. Yeah, well anyway. You fairly buttoned up the button. It's gone now. I know it's disappeared. Anyway, thank you for that. Oh, pleasure. I'm really complimenting you on how smart you look today. No, I know I am not smart. Same stuff on me. Do you know? Michaela, did you enjoy your time in the UAE? Yeah, I loved it. I'll take it you've had the joke. The joke? The joke. You were in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, right? Mm-hmm. You know the joke? No. What's the difference between Dubai and Abu Dhabi? I don't know. The people in Dubai don't like the Flintstones, but the people in Abu Dhabi do. Very good. That's what I have landed back to. Ah, you're good. Do you know how long I've been waiting for someone to go to Dubai and Abu Dhabi and come back? That's not bad. That's good. 20 years I've been waiting, finally. Oh, my goodness. Monday the 4th of December. You're over there broadcasting, aren't you? That's right. Those were the glory days. Yeah. Right? You can go now. I'm not forever wearing a hat. You're looking good. You're looking good. Don't wear your rapsie again. That's all right. Good luck. All right, then. Nine o'clock. A minute passed, in fact. Let's get a news update now, and it's over to Michaela Clark. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. Investigations are continuing into a house fire in letter Kenny yesterday evening. It's believed one property has been damaged as a result of the blaze. Emergency services attended the scene and brought the fire under control. Guardi have confirmed that no one was injured and that inquiries are ongoing. Donegal has been badly served in terms of the number of Guardi. That's according to Donegal Deputy Pierce Doherty, who was speaking following the latest JPC meeting, which had their currently 432 Guardi of all ranks in the county, 46 more than in 2017 and with double the support staff. However, Deputy Doherty said a snapshot over a longer period of time shows Guardi numbers are in fact down. He says the lack of Guardi is hampering investigations into alleged fraud in Donegal. Deputy Doherty says the county should be treated equally in terms of the deployment of Guardi resources. We can see of the over 250 Guardi that were deployed in different stations this year. So far, only three of them have come to Donegal. There's another 150 to be deployed statewide in the next two weeks and the Chief Super has no notification whether any of them are coming to Donegal. And what I'm making the point very clearly is Donegal has been badly served in terms of the number of Guardi. We have issues of rural crime just like anywhere else. The Malinhead Coast Guard says the rescue operation yesterday on Lockfoil highlighted the importance of having a properly registered personal locator beacon and knowing how to use it. Four fishermen were rescued after their vessel overturned on Lockfoil. The Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre in Malinhead, Belfast Coast Guard and Port Rush Life both were launched shortly after 2022 following reports of a PLB being activated when a 30-foot vessel fishing herring overturned. The casualties were located and recovered by the Greencastle Coast Guard and transferred to hospital by the rescue 118 helicopter. Malinhead Coast Guard says the PLB ultimately saved four lives. Ireland is under fire for being used to funnel 5.7 million euro to finance agribusiness and fossil fuels in the global south. That's according to a new Action Aid report revealed at COP28. It's criticising European banks for providing 281 billion euro to agricultural activities in the region. Action Aid Ireland CEO Carol Bolf says funding fossil fuels affects the least well-off countries. This leads to an increase in dependence on fossil fuels. We see deforestation, land grabs, water pollution and worsening climate change. So it just simply doesn't make sense. Unfortunately the other thing in our research that we're showing that Ireland has a role to play in this and it's a very problematic role. Whether or not ice gradually clearing this morning there will be a mix of sunshine and scattered showers today with the chance of a few of hail or sleet mainly over higher ground. Highest temperatures of 3 to 7 degrees. That's all from Highland Radio News for now. We'll be back with news again at 10 o'clock. Until then you can keep up to date with the latest local news on our website highlandradio.com. Good morning. The Department of Social Protection is working to improve disability payments in Ireland. There is currently a consultation on how these payments might work better in the future. We want to hear your views on how the system might be improved. To find out more please visit gov.ie forward slash disability payments reform. A Government of Ireland initiative brought to you by the Department of Social Protection. The county's number one talk show The Ninetal Noon Show on Highland Radio. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest The Ninetal Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Highland Radio. Hello and a very good Monday morning to you. It's six minutes or five minutes past nine on this Monday the fourth of December 2023. How are you all keeping? How was your weekend? I hope it was good. I hope you enjoyed yourself. You were able to enjoy yourself and we look forward to your company now for more details on your Ninetal Noon Show. The lines are open for you. If you want to get involved in the conversation start your own. Pass on some information, some good news. If you wish 086 6025,000 is the WhatsApp and text number from outside the Republic of course that 0035386 6025,000 and your phone calls into us on 07491 25,000. You can comment across our social media as well. If you're on YouTube Highland Radio and we're on Facebook, Facebook pages as well. So good to have you with us. We're next to pretty much the only involvement with extra kind of fancy any longer. But anyway, that's a different story altogether. Right, let's have a look at what's making the front pages. Oh, by the way, a little later on today, we are going to give you one of four chances to win a fantastic Christmas hamper from Cabri if you like your chocolate stick around because this is a cracker of a hamper. We've got one for Christmas this week. Up until Thursday and then on Friday with a 250 euro one for all voucher as well. So it's all about the giveaways this week. A little later on, Michael English will be joining us on the program as well for a chat. We'll hear a bit of his music as well. So if you're Michael English fan, stick around for that also. Right, let's look at what's making the front of the pages. This is a story we brought to you last week and elderly woman on the front of the Christmas hamper. She was wearing an attempted burglary. A neighbour of the woman told the Donagall news that the victim was shaken up following the incident. It comes as Guardi have been ramping up their winter operation in a bid to tackle the rising number of burglaries on the run up to Christmas. The woman's neighbour Karl Lieper said on Wednesday night at around 8 36 30 p.m. They heard banging but thought nothing of it. The woman next door was unconscious and thankfully she's got a very good neighbour there that she can ring and go on check and check on her. The dairy news this morning. Dairy is experiencing a mental health epidemic and a cancer epidemic according to a local health advocate Maureen Collins, project manager with Hive Cancer Support, formerly Pink Ladies Cancer Group, said the situation was due to delay diagnoses, screening and treatment. Hive unveiled the groups we discussed. Maureen said people were also delaying going for routine medical appointments because they did not want to further burden the NHS on to the nationals now and staying with health. And some private patients are paying almost 50 year old more to see their family doctor than those in other parts of the country with prices highest in Dublin. A new survey reveals how one in six are paying between 26 and 50 year old to see their GP, while over a third are paying between 51 and 75 euro with prices highest in Dublin. Some 2% are charged over 75 and Dublin is more expensive when it comes to GP fees with almost half of private patients in the capital paying more than 50 compared with 33% in the rest of the country. And I know some of you listening are saying well that's if you can see a GP because we often do get calls from certain parts of the country that say it's very difficult to get a GP's appointment let alone how much you might pay for it if you happen to get that appointment. But anyway Dublin most expensive they don't actually then give the county breakdown as far as I can see they just say Dublin is highest. I'll go through the article in a little more detail but I do not spot any further counties to be able to tell you what the average is here in Donegal. The Irish Times this morning the economic effects of personal finances would have a crucial impact on their choice in any future referendum according to the latest research and I'm kind of interested in this because there was a few rounds of meetings where the prospects for United Ireland would discuss what might it look like and the point I was trying to make in some questioning during those interviews is that I think when it comes down to it religion political beliefs and what have you might not just be quite as important as you might expect in that it's going to come down to well where will I go for cancer treatment or how much will this cost me or how might it affect my standard of living do you know when people actually come down to it and that's what the debate might surround I think and it seems this poll has backed that up. Almost half of all voters in Northern Ireland who expressed a preference 43% of the total said they would be less likely to vote for United Ireland if it meant they would be three and a half thousand pounds a year worst off. Almost as many 38% of voters in Northern Ireland said they would be more likely to vote for United Ireland if it meant they would be three and a half thousand better off. The cohort includes 23% of voters from a Protestant background and a third 33% of voters who describe themselves as neither Catholic nor Protestant. The findings in the Republic are strikingly similar when voters are asked about the impact of a potential blow to their financial circumstances when asked how it would affect their vote in a unity referendum if they would be four thousand Euro worst off as a result 44% said this would make them less likely to vote in favour of the United Ireland so when it comes down to it some of those decisions people would be making would be based off the reality of their financial situation. A really sad story but one important to bring you because it is an issue we've highlighted on this program before an Irish mother of three who travelled to Turkey for weight loss surgery last week has died. The young woman who was a nurse is understood to have died suddenly on Thursday while the cause of death has not been formally announced it has been reported she travelled to Turkey to have cataract cariatric weight loss surgery. The woman originally from the eastern part of the country had been living abroad for some years the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it is aware of the case and stands ready to provide consular assistance. At least four Irish people are now said to have died so far this year following weight loss surgery in Turkey the government is growing increasingly concerned about the surge of people going abroad for cheap cosmetic dental and weight loss treatments and I think it would be important to see what the comparison would be in terms of those undergoing surgeries here versus Turkey and the risk of that going wrong. Really if we had that information we could start making important opinions. I think it's important that maybe the Department of Health actually sort of give us that comparison so people can make informed decisions. The Irish Daily star this morning and this is something we might talk about a little later on because I know it affects many of you out there individually medicine shortages have reached a record high impacting life-saving treatment antibiotics and over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. The latest medical shortages index found shortages increased by 50% over a 12-month period now impacting 323 products and global trends now signal another winter of shortages in life-saving treatments, antibiotics and over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. It's really important now I suppose too that we don't start hoarding stuff because that would be a nightmare but we might as I say we'll talk about that a little later on but are you struggling to get important medicines 086625,000 let us know 086625,000 on to the sun this morning there will be no repeat of the spring cost-of-living bonuses package next year in February ministers announced a 1.3 billion boost aimed at helping hard-pressed families this included a 100 euro child benefit bonus and a 200 euro one-off payment for OAPs and all other social welfare payments but asked if the government will dole out another spring cost-of-living package a public expenditure minister Pasco Donna who told the Irish Sun no I don't believe we will by that point I am confident we will have inflation well on the way down then when we move into the early part of 2024 there'll be a further two energy credits of a 150 euro available to households so no further bonuses or payments from government an inflation whilst it goes down it's still up do you know what I mean if inflation goes down to 4% or 3% or 5% it still means prices are increasing by those values so it's more expensive to live but I suppose they hope that other payments like wages and what have you will absorb some of that and finally in the Irish Daily Mirror safety groups have expressed concern at reform of driving licenses being proposed by the European Union which would allow teenagers to drive heavy goods vehicles the European commission plans allow 17 year olds begin accompanied training to drive a lorry as part of a safety package of new legislation governing driving licenses in the EU the European Transport Safety Council wants the age to remain at 21 and the minimum age to drive bosses and coaches to be kept at 24 spoke what's the difference between a 22 and a 24 year old really in reality but anyway spokesperson Ellen Townsend said do not lower the minimum age for any license but pay special attention to the heaviest vehicles where crashes can be catastrophic I think sometimes I mean I don't think 17 year olds would be driving HDVs but you know if you're good enough you're old enough and that's surely what the testing system is for but anyway okay let us take a quick break I'll wait 60 25,000 if you want to message us of course or if you want to give us a call in fact it's 07491 25,000 the newspapers are courtesy of Kelly Centra mountaintop letter Kenny the 2022 seastore national off license of the year or McCullough jewelers in letter Kenny are synonymous with fine jewelry quality watches and giftware with stores at main street letter Kenny and the letter Kenny shopping center or online at or McCullough dot com you can choose from their quality product range in a relaxed atmosphere and their sales staff will be happy to help you make the right choice whatever the occasion or McCullough jewelers making moments magical for generations make Christmas for everyone at Don stores with everything you need for a Christmas party to remember like 20% off a great range of wine and champagne including Oyster Bay and Moet a chandon perfectly paired with a delicious selection of cheeses two for 8 euro plus with our 10 or 50 grocery voucher you save even more make Christmas for everyone at Don stores turn to conditions apply voucher abuse to next grocery shop of 50 euro or more voucher excludes alcohol please drink water and water in a glass glass bottle and pour the juice over your glass bottle just to be insensibly do you suffer from high cholesterol menopause symptoms digestive issues anxiety aches and pains or lack of energy that highly trained team at the natural way letter Kenny can provide advice on natural remedies for a number of individual health issues the natural way also has its own brand of herbal treatments to help your one-stop health shop. I've been looking after mum for a good few years now. It's been hard at times. It's been difficult to find time for myself. I've even had to stop work. You've worked hard caring for others. Now the state pension can work for you. If you've spent 20 years or more caring for a loved one who couldn't care for themselves, you can now use the time spent caring to qualify for a contributory state pension. Terms and conditions apply. Find out more at gov.ie forward slash pension. A government of Ireland initiative brought to you by the Department of Social Protection. Highland Radio, time checks with Expressway. Travel Route 32 from Lettac, entity Dublin when you book online and travel for less. Expressway, bringing you the time, Matt. OK, the time is 17 minutes past 9. Carol joins us on the programme. Good morning to you, thanks for your time. Good morning, Greg. Right, OK, Carol, we wanted to speak to you about a horrible instance that you experienced and that you came across when you came out from work. Tell us what happened and when it happened actually, quite importantly, because you're looking for maybe the person responsible to come forward or any witnesses to come forward. Yeah. Well, I work in the hospital there in Lettercanny and I'm usually there Monday to Thursday. So when I had come out of work, none, it would have been dark enough at the time. Well, it was just kind of getting darker. It was after four, half, four, five o'clock time. But I had noticed that the left-hand side of my car had been damaged. So it would have been as if somebody was trying to get space and that's just the damage was done. But there was no note left on the car and there was no note left. But it was just a big shock just to see the damage that was done on the car. Just after a day's work, trying to earn a living and then having to travel home, just knowing that I had other costs now on me just to get the car fixed. Yeah, and it's extensive damage too. It's going to need a new left wing by the looks of it. And also the door is damaged too. It's going to be hard to press that up as well. You're looking for whoever is responsible to come forward, I presume. Because as I say, you're in there working in the hospital, you come out after a long shift and to come across that is sickening. Yeah, and I think what probably hit me most when I was driving home, Greg, was I was just thinking about all the families that are in the hospital there, maybe some of them dealing with really, really sick children, sick family members, maybe had received bad news that day to come out to the hospital car park and to see that somebody had damaged their car and drove away. It's just terrific to think that somebody else would have to deal with that on top of other stuff that's going on in their lives. I've been told that the damage could cost anything over a thousand euro to fix, to be quite honest with you. And I have spoken, now I did ring Euro car parks at the time, but again, they took no responsibility. They put me straight on to hospital security. So although we're paying the car park and we're paying fees towards Euro car parks, they then hold their hands up and don't take any responsibility when there's damage done to cars then in the car park. Yeah, I know what you're saying. You start wondering though, well, what actually are we paying for for sort of a security guarded car park? I know, and I think, you know, if you get away with a thousand, even two thousand, you'd be doing well because it's right down the side of the car. Someone was driving inwards or reversing out. They had to have known that they did this damage to your vehicle. Yeah. Yeah. You know that as you said, I sent you the video of the car and it is, it's the front passenger side wing and it is, there's a scratch going right back. The alloy of the wheel is even scratched as well. So I don't know, I know there's a lot of work going on up there at the hospital as well. I don't know, was it just somebody had reversed in? Now security are still going through footage of the cameras. Quality isn't great on the cameras. On the cameras at the hospital. It never is. When you want access to CCTV footage, it never is, you know, we can zoom right up to the moon and see the craters and we can't bloody get cameras on the ground that can see what happens when someone scrapes your car or something. It's mental. Yeah. Yeah. And it's not the first time it's happened, Greg. I've been talking to a couple of, you know that, and actually that day that I had reported it to hospital security, he had told me that they were dealing with another case. On the same day, a consultant's car got out the back of the hospital and again, they weren't able to find the person that had damaged their car. I have spoken to numerous friends over the weekend. That same thing happened. The people that had caused the damage wouldn't, wouldn't own responsibility and they ended up having to fork the fees. Like why? Why are people getting away with this? Yeah. Because the truth of it is as well, you have a decision to make because you could claim potentially off your insurance, but that's going to lock you into the same insurance company for years. Plus you have a claim plus the increased premiums or you try and find that money and then run up to Christmas or post Christmas either or. Yeah. And I don't think any of us have one or two grand spare and it's sickening as well that someone won't take responsibility because the extent of the damage is such that it's very unlikely, no matter how stressed someone might be, it's very unlikely that they wouldn't know that they did this. It could be a high vehicle as well, given the fact that the damage is quite high up in your vehicle. But anyway, it happened on Thursday. There would have been crunching, there would have been scraping. Someone would have known they were doing this. Yeah. So it happened some time over Thursday. Yeah. Well, yeah, I would presume because that's the only place, you know, I would be a part and that's kind of an environment because I'm in work from quarter to eight until quarter past four, Tuesday to Thursday. So that's the only place. Parking can be quite tight at times, but I always park in the same spot in the same area because I'm there early. So the cameras are focused on that area of the hospital car park. So I'm just hoping I haven't heard anything back and I have been in contact with the guards. Again, I don't know if there's much they'll be able to do if it's not visible on the footage. But I was parked to the front of the car park near to the main entrance. So I would be in that front row. So it should be visible on camera is what's happened. But I'm just hoping in the meantime that if somebody knows that they did this, that, you know, it gives them a chance to come forward before they get a knock on the door from somebody else. And look at hopefully they could have been, didn't realize it or whatever. And they would have been mad looking for you to get in contact with you. And we have your details if the person responsible wants to come forward. Your car is what color would you describe your car as? Is it sort of a dark gray? Yeah, it would be the dark gray Ford Mondale. Right, OK. So listen, if you want to do the right thing, especially in the run up to Christmas, give us a call. We'll pass on Carol's details and you're going back in to do another shift. So we'll let you out at Carol and appreciate your time. And if we hear anything, I'll let you know, I'll let you know yourself, OK? Oh, that's great. Thanks very much. OK, Carol, thanks. Keep up the great work. OK, that's Carol. Working in the hospital there came out after a long shift on Thursday, her dark gray Mondale, the side of the vehicle, for any of you who are watching the show, we'll see the damage. It's really quite extensively damaged. And that's the good thing, by the way, if you can watch the show if it suits you, we can show you the videos and the information often that we're talking about. But she's upset. She's paying to park there. She's got a real advantage, seemingly, to paying to park, is there? I don't know. Councillor Michael McClafferty, good morning to you, Michael. How are you getting on? Good, Greg. Thanks, morning, listeners. Yeah, second hour for Carol there, coming out from work, car damaged, at least a grand. I would say if she gets away with 2000, she'd be doing well. You've a comment about Euro car parks who manage that car park? Yeah, I have Greg to be fair. And all some places with Carol or damaged car, they're obviously in. And hopefully, what has done, it does come forward, it hasn't really done us. But on the situation, there's Carol touched on herself there when she went to the Euro car parks about it. They pushed her back, or passed her back then to hospital security. Well, if hospitals, if it is, then that they feel as hospital security's problem to see about it. That may be one thing, Greg, but on the other side of it, I would see it as then. If that's the way going forward, Euro car parks attitude is, whenever that contract is up or to be renewed, that money that's been collected in that car park there should be going back to Lilley-Kinney Hospital. Lilley-Kinney Hospital should be managing that car park themselves. Anyway, from the word go, as all hospitals should have been. Because we have all these situations, the minute a hospital is struggling, one thing, another. And that's a really game changer there. The amount of money would be collected there over the year, would be something very substantial, no doubt. What do you think they, what do you think Euro car parks responsibility in this kind of situation should be then? They should be responsible for CCTV or what? Well, I think they should, Greg, as such. It would my understanding that's always worked up until a few moments ago, what do we heard about it there, as such, in relation to the car park, end of it anyway. You would take it as a given, if your responsibility as we've seen about the cars, ticketing and so on, will you imagine any responsibility would be then, accordingly, the security of the cars as well, Greg, to be fair. Because it's, once again, we're back in this whole situation again here in Ireland, passing the buck. I don't think it's acceptable, this time passing the buck to hospital security as such, to be fair. And as I say, going back to the game, this whole situation needs to be reviewed and this does really cause a concern for review here, as such. In my view anyway, my personal opinion, Greg, anyway. Yeah, because... And I feel there's a bit of money, yeah. No, go on, you feel the money, what? I feel the money that has been collected should go back into the running slash the security of the general hospital, because obviously, that money's been got from somewhere else anyway. So what more, what more beneficial could it be than producing your own money as such outside your door and putting it back into your own services, or at least the service of security, helping the outside, the security of it going forward. Thank you. Yeah, and I'd like to hear from anyone else who had this experience, because every now and again we get calls from people who've had these issues. And not everyone's going to contact a radio station and say it, but I think this happens far more regularly than we might realise, you know. And we heard from Carol, her speaking to her colleagues and what have you. It's happened before and of course, it will happen again. It has happened before and it's happened again. And also I know if there's some time it goes well, it's happened as well too. But it does come out of the an E one night, her car was damaged as well. Like, you're back at the same thing again. I don't know now at the time what actually steps they took at the time in relation to it or so on, etc. But the point is her car was damaged as well. Same as Carol's which come out of work. Like, there's possibly more cars getting damaged as well and they may not all make it to the to Highland. The car has quite rightly done this morning. I mean, it's not a massive money maker for the hospital, either. You know, I just wonder if, you know, I mean, obviously they make I think they make something like 55 grand a year after all the other expenses are taken out. But I think people sort of expect that there's a bit of comeback. You know, but then again, is it not, it's not familiar, isn't it? It is familiar. Sorry, Michael, that if you go into a car park, you see the sign, you know, car park used owners risk. So I suppose that there are people who are running them from sort of any claims or responsibility really. And does Greg all right, you're right. The point where I made that way, yes, it does insulate them that way. But again, it insulates them in fact, they don't pay money for the damaged cars. That's a point you would like, for example, you go with an airport or somewhere else, you go away for holiday, you leave your car in that car park you certainly expect it to be as the way you left it when you come back. So allowing any hospital is not entirely much different apart from a few open gates, draw bar and so on going on. It's not immensely difficult, you're thinking at the age of technology and CCTV and everything else to monitor the car park, monitor what's going on. There's also a situation as well, as our hospital, as the hospital, it's a very a very secret place. There's a lot of things for things to be happening, it's anything on to work going on. So it should be CCTV all over, for example, to see what's going on, if there's anything on to work going on, if there's anybody going on by the way either to break into cars, damaged cars, or what just happened, albeit, granted it's an accident as such, far as we know. But at the same time people, somebody could go in there at night team either, break into 50 cars, and we're going to say then, the whole thing should be monitored. Okay. The hospital itself, I understand it's been monitored, the hallways, and so on, so outside should be monitored as well for people's safety and peace of mind as well when they're in the hospital getting whatever done, that would be work or other ways, and not a whole fear of going out and your car damage or so on, except for them, as obviously car was and certainly more at the minute. Okay. Listen, Michael, thanks for your time this morning, live now on YouTube, Facebook, and at HighlandRadio.com If you need advice on what's best for coughs or colds, or what's best for sore throats or flu, just ask at your local Brennan's pharmacy. If you need advice on the best vitamins and tonics to put a pep in your step, just ask at your local Brennan's pharmacy. Whether it's about back aches, headaches or tummy aches, your Brennan's pharmacy team can help. If you need advice on someone you trust, we're here for you at your local Brennan's pharmacy. Wonkrana, Tlamani, and Creaselaw. It's important to take care of yourself when you're feeling unwell. And if you have symptoms of a virus, flu, or COVID-19, the best thing to do is to rest up and stay at home because you won't just be taking care of yourself. You'll be helping to protect other people too. People close to you like family and friends and people you've never even met who might be at higher risk than you. And don't forget to visit hsc.ie for advice on getting better from the HSC. There's Bingo every Monday night at Halfway House Bingo Burnford. Doors open at 7.30 with eyes down at 8.30. 2,550 Euro must go. The snowball is 2,000 Euro and 45 numbers are less. If you're not in, you can't win. That's Halfway House Bingo tonight at 8.30. It's the Christmas Cracker we've all been waiting for. Join Highland Radio for a star-studded Christmas concert on Monday the 11th of December in the Mount Erigal Hotel Letter Kimmy. Starring Michael English and his band Claudia Buckley John McNichol Ryzenstar Jack Q and myself David James. This is a Christmas night out, not to be missed. Tickets 25 Euros available from the Mount Erigal Hotel reception or online from the outlet at HighlandRadio.com. Dinner, bed and breakfast packages also available. That's the Highland Radio Christmas Concert on Monday the 11th of December. OK, you're very welcome back to the 9 till noon show. John Gibbons is an environmental journalist and joins us on the program now. Good morning, John. Good morning, Greg. Thank you so very much for your time. Now, Tshakliov Radkar said the minister for the environment does not have a choice but to make a return flight from Dubai for a confidence motion in the door this week. He came in Ryan. We'll have to interrupt his attendance at COP 28 Climate Summit in the United Arab Emirates but we'll return to the event following the vote tomorrow. Now we want to talk maybe a little bit more generally about COP 28 but this in terms of messaging and trying to bring people along and to, you know, the importance of us being responsible and all, I don't think we can underestimate how damaging it might seem to some people that we have the minister for the environment flying backwards and forwards from Dubai for a vote. Can you see why that might rub people up the wrong way? Of course, Greg. I'd compare in contrast to his behavior with say the UK Prime Minister Richie Sunak. Now Sunak took a private jet as did the King of England and as did David Cameron. So that's three private jets from the UK. Sunak spent 11 hours on the ground in COP and then flew home again, right, on his private jet by himself. Now, so he spent more time in the air great than he spent at the conference. So that was basically if you want to talk about the proverbial virtue signaling that was it. Ryan on the other hand whatever whether you like him or don't like him nobody will deny that he's deadly serious about climate and that he wants to be at COP. Aiman Ryan does not want to be flying back from COP to Dublin. He's required as a parliamentarian to do that. Now, I think it's really unfortunate that for example there isn't a paring arrangement whereby another T.D. on the other side agrees to withhold their vote in exchange. But unfortunately this hasn't happened. So if people want to blame someone, right, you've got to ask the opposition why they haven't offered Aiman Ryan a pair to allow him to stay and do his job. And I would stress this. Ryan is not out in Dubai on a junket. He's not on holidays. He's there working on behalf of the Irish State at an incredibly important climate conference. So let's be really super clear about this. This is not a jolly. This is not a jamboree. This is a climate conference that will will shape all of our futures and we need our ministers there. Yeah, and I get where you're coming from in terms of attributing some blame to the opposition. But they might say, well, if the government Minister for Justice got things right last Thursday week, then we'd never have and we could keep going on that for eternity. At the end of the day, though, they've looked at the numbers and they see it as they have to that he has to fly back. But as I say, I just don't know how like I don't know how you could calculate how damaging this is over the weekend. People just everyone's sort of going, well, I'm doing this and he's doing that not, you know, you could do as he says, you know, himself. And I don't think that can be argued or debated the way it's very damaging. Yeah, agreed. And I'll put a simple proposition to anybody listening to this is, you know, genuinely concerned about this and feels that, you know, this increased carbon footprint of Aimee and Ryan having to do this is a genuine concern. Right. All you've got to do yourself is to voluntarily forgo say if you're planning to fly long haul this year to America to Australia, right? Don't. Right. And help offset the minister because he's not there as I said in his holidays. He's not there in a jolly. He's there to represent Ireland at an incredibly important conference. We need our ministers there. And I think the problem Greg lies here not with Aimee and Ryan flying back to Ireland and back again. The problem is why what kind of political situation creates that he's forced to do that. And, you know, and I know he would rather be in Dubai on the ground talking to people getting the message across. I get what you're saying, John. And I don't want to be argumentative because I don't want to come across as if I'm anti climate climate crisis, which I'm not, but to suggest that rather than us being angry or frustrated with his actions for us actually to try and offset his carbon footprint by cancelling a trip to America. Now I'm not going to America. That's asking a lot of the general population. John, I think. Yeah. Maybe. I mean, like, I suppose we put about 30 million flights a year through Dublin Airport last year. The aim is to increase that this year. How many of those flights are necessary, right? How many of them completely frivolous, right? And I think you need to put that in context. And again, I'm not defending, like, for example, let's say that the cop process could be held over zoom, right? In other words, we didn't have this line. Would that be better? Of course it would be better, but that's not how these things work. Yeah. You have to get together, you have to meet people. And I would stress, Greg, as well, you know, it's very easy for people to be cynical about the cop process. And by the way, I'd be one of those people who at times is pretty cynical about the cop process. But I will say this, two things. Number one, it's the only show in town. It really is the only show in town when it comes to doing anything about the climate disaster. And number two, this is what politics is about. Yeah. This is how politics is done face to face. I mean, luckily, I can take a call like today. I don't have to travel to Donegal to do this interview, right? But we're not negotiating thankfully, you and I are not negotiating the future of life on Earth this morning. No, I get you. So we can manage it. Yeah. I get you. And I'm messaging and bringing people along for the ride. I think it's critically important, especially when there are other voices, such as the hosts of Cop 28, who were saying that, you know, there's nothing really wrong with fossil fuels. They're hosting it. They're one of the biggest polluters. The way they burn off gas into the atmosphere, absolutely horrific. And they are arguing that, you know, we should retain fossil fuels, which is the music to the years of climate deniers. But and at the same time, too, we're also using it Cop 28 as a as an opportunity to lobby on behalf of the industry. They're making five trillion in profit last year, I believe. We're going to be donating. And I want to talk about this because I think it's important we do. We're going to be donating 25 million over two years to the new loss and damage fund. How much of that five trillion of part profits off the back of oil and gas production are they going to contribute? Probably not much when they don't believe that fossil fuels are a problem. And again, you see, as important as Cop 28 might be, and as this is the way politics works, it's so murky and contradictory that it pees me off that I can't light my nuggets of coal if you know what I mean. They just won't burn. But I'm being a little bit facetious there, but it's what people I think kind of feel, John. Yeah, certainly I think a lot of people myself included were pretty skeptical about, first of all, hosting a petrol state hosting the conference. And second of all, having the chief executive of the state oil company as the president. This is Sultan Al-Jabbar as the president. Now, we sort of suspended our disbelief, Greg, in the line of saying, well, we need everyone inside the room. We also need the fossil fuel industry on board. However, you may have heard over the weekend a conference in which it was actually involved our own Mary Robinson and said, Sultan Al-Jabbar. And basically, he came right out and said, we're just going to keep burning fossil fuels forever and ever. And if you don't like it, we're all going to end up back in the caves, right? Which is pure climate in our language, right? Of course, there are alternatives. The problem, of course, for a state like UAE is they got rich burning oil and gas. And anyone who thinks they're voluntarily going to give that up and get poor by not burning oil and gas is deluded. So rather than accepting science and saying, we'll go along with this and we have to limit it, basically, the fossil fuel industry and I might add, the global livestock industry aren't far behind them are fighting furious rearguard actions to make sure that we continue burning fossil fuels until the bitter end. And when I say bitter end, Greg, I mean bitter end. Yeah, just and I noticed too on social media, a lot of people upset with what we're contributing to the loss and damage fund. And I'll just tell you what my way of thinking about this is, you know, there's also a big conversation at the moment about migration and immigration and what we are going to see into the future is people being displaced by climate change that they simply can't live where they are. And as it turns out, you know, where we live and across Europe are where we sit on the planet is, you know, the weather's really quite favorable. So we are likely to see more migration, more immigration and one of the key reasons behind that is going to be climate change because families are going to say, my kids are going to die if I stay here. So I'll do whatever it takes and I'll go wherever is to keep them alive. So we have this loss and damage fund that is going to help the countries that are most affected by climate change and I think that's a positive thing to contribute that to make their lives better so they can stay where they want to stay in their own countries and in their own homes. But that's how I see it. Do you see it any different than that because that's the argument I can see for in terms of our GDP it's minuscule really as big as it looks on paper. Yeah, I mean, 25 million 25 million in the scheme of Ireland's GDP is a drop in the bucket. I mean, for example, we gave the horse and greyhound industry, for no particular reason, about three and a half times that in subsidies for 2024. So anyone who's worried about how we're spending our money, well, there's lots of places that we're basically throwing money at problems, whether they're needed or not. So let me briefly explain what we mean by loss and damage, right? This means basically the parts of the world that are currently getting absolutely hammered by climate change, but a crisis that they're not causing, because as we know, it's rich countries like Ireland with high emissions. So for example, the average Irish citizen accounts for about 13 tons of carbon per annum per person. So that's over a tonne, Greg, of carbon per person per month here in Ireland, right, compared to a global average of maybe one and a half, two tons a year. So we're way over contributing. Now the purpose of this loss and damage is to help to compensate those countries for the losses they're already experiencing. The problem is, it's currently reckoned that those countries are experiencing about 400, not 400 million, but 400 billion euros worth of loss a year as a result of climate damage. So at the moment, the loss and damage fund is worth about 400 million. So it's basically, it's 1,000 times less than the damage being inflicted by our lifestyles. So those flights that we were talking about earlier, our high emissions lifestyles are massively polluting livestock sector. These are contributing to heating up the global atmosphere, which as you correctly said, in the short term is causing the most damage, for example, closer to the equator. But of course, that damage will spread out and out and out. And eventually it will reach an overwhelmed countries like Ireland. And also, Greg, you mentioned correctly the issue around migration. Now the best studies that we have at the moment indicate that on our current pathway, by between 2050 and 2070, which isn't that far out, by the way, we're looking at between one and three billion people being forced from their homes, being forced to abandon their regions because those regions have reached a point where their temperatures are lethal to humans, right? And guess who's driving that crisis? People like us in countries like Ireland, like Britain, like the US, like Europe, like Japan, we're driving this crisis. We're driving those people away from their homes, Greg. And what's our obligation to them? And John, just to go back to the beginning then, and I want to return to the messaging side of these things. This is so important. And this is such a crisis as you see it, right? This is why I believe it is so important that people like Eamon Ryan, who are held in high regard for what they are trying to do, if he were to come out of the press conference and say, I've been put in a position here, right, whereby, and they're going to win the vote by more than one vote. I've been put in a position here whereby the future of the Irish government is at stake. But this, the issue with climate change is so important people that I'm actually not going to fly back home and then fly back out to buy. And I just think, you know, that messaging would actually probably encourage people to go, you know what, actually, maybe we're turning over a new leaf, maybe they are doing what they're asking us to do. But instead, we have ammunition for people who think it's a whole load of nonsense. And even those that are someway there are going, do you know what? Why the hell should I sacrifice certain things in my life when the government won't themselves? For right or wrong, that's not pro government, anti government. That's just exactly how I see it from the messaging side of things. Yeah, again, Greg, I understand, I understand how you're framing the point. I think it's I think it's a fair framing of the point. But I come back to the thing again. Number one, Aiman Ryan doesn't want to be doing this. That that's no question. He could, as you said, he could make that start, he could take that position and do that. If however, the government, you say there's only, there might be one or two votes in it, but you, you will, we're both old enough to remember governments falling in Ireland over misunderstandings, right over guys getting literally practically missing the plane. So it does happen. And he has an obligation as a member of cabinet and senior government minister to make sure that his government doesn't fall. That that's his legal responsibility as a minister. I'm not defending it. I'm just stating that as reality. And I make the point again, there are tens of millions of flights coming and going just to Dublin Airport. That's one airport among thousands. And as I say, if you're genuinely, if this is causing you concern, then the thing you can do, the best thing you can do is to make a decision to voluntarily choose not to fly to offset the flying that is necessary for this climate conference, right? You might say, well, that's a big ass. That's on. Maybe it's a big ass. But is it really if we're serious about this? Is it that big an ask? And I suppose that's the and to be honest with you, Greg, for me, that's the bottom line here. Exactly. And if we're serious about it, and if we're not serious about it, I'm not going to lay the point that reinforces exactly why I believe Mr. Ryan perhaps should do something different. But I also accept the points that you're making. And on that note, we'll leave it. So John Gibbons has always thanks for your time. I appreciate it. John Gibbons is an environmental journalist there. What do you think 08 660 25,000 08 660 25,000 it should be noted or can be noted that all of the flights across all of the world account for less than 2% of the contribute, you know, the negative contributions to the environment is less than less than 2%. Actually, I think people might think it's higher, but or less than three. I'm not arguing with you about a percentage, but it's certainly below three. And I think it's about 1.75. But it could be 2.75. Right. Listen, gonna get some of your comments and what have you after these? Do you need help to make a health care complaint? Contact the Patient Advocacy Service. We are free, independent and confidential. We can support you through the complaints process for public acute hospitals and nursing homes across Ireland. Call us on 0818 293 003 or visit patient advocacy service.ie suffering from hearing loss at Kingsbridge Hearing Care and Bali Kelly, our expert audiologist are ready to see you. Our brand new clinic location within Kingsbridge Northwest offers a full range of hearing aid provision, including enhanced hearing assessments and earwax removal treatment. So what are you waiting for? Don't let hearing loss hold you back. Call us on 028 7707 6050 or visit kingsbridgehearingcare.co.uk to book your appointment today. Millionaire raffle from the National Lottery is back with one millionaire guaranteed and over 6.3 million euro in cash prizes to be won. It's the biggest ever. The draw is on New Year's Eve and tickets are limited to 600,000. The National Lottery, it could be them. Gift responsibly. Merry old tide one and all at TK Max. You can spoil all your loved ones with big brand gifts that are always up to 60% less than the RRP. I'm gonna need a bigger basket. Fabulous gifts. Literally everyone will love from kids toys, designer jewelry to luxury candles, big gifts, small prices in store this Christmas at TK Max. Do you need a little extra help staying in your home? At Bluebird care, we offer a wide variety of Q mark approved personalized home care services across Donegal and our fully trained and committed staff will always meet your care needs with kindness, compassion and dignity. To get your personal home care assessment plan, visit Bluebird care.ie or call our care team today on 07491 29562 and bring care home. And now the Highland forecast brought to you by ShopLK, widespread Christmas shopping this December in letter carry. See ShopLK.ie or like us on Facebook. Now the weather forecast fog frost nights will clear through the morning to leave a cold day with spells of winter sunshine, plenty of dry weather with just well scattered showers, some which may turn wintry highest temperatures of three to six degrees. Now, we were reading in the papers this morning of another person, sadly, who traveled to Turkey for weight loss surgery. And it would appear from reports that very sadly, the lady has died during the process died suddenly. Mary joins me on the program now. Hi, Mary. Hi, Greg. How are you? I'm doing OK. I'm doing OK. What have you got to say on this story? This issue? Sorry, Mary. Well, firstly condolences to the family. Well, I just wanted to point out, you know, and one and your story, the first thing was the death in Turkey and then the next thing the government's concern really the tablets and shortage of and it just kind of made me want to ring in and say, I think they're selective from what they're concerned about. I had surgery in Turkey. So I'm speaking from personal experience. I had all my teeth done in Turkey 12, 13 years ago without any issues at all. And several people have asked me for advice where to go when I've given it to them. A number of years ago, I had multiple abdominal surgeries and left me with a rather large hernia. It was four years without hernia. And because I'm a bit overweight, and I have a narrow way issue, and the risk of repair in the hernia was ruled out. So they eventually did the surgery in a 30 local hospital and I won't name it, but basically the answer to the match and to me that the match was infected from day one. I was left with four open finances and the abdomen that oozed and had to be fast every second day. And it's left like that for six years. I was discharged from the hospital. Twice I was admitted to another hospital with sepsis. And I have to say I could do nothing but praise the surgeons in that hospital, but they were only level three hospital and they couldn't do the surgery because of my airway issues. I was referred from there to Dublin, and I was panned off because of my airway risk. And again, I was a bit overweight. And I was referred to another hospital and another specialist who could do this surgery and the same thing. I was panned off again. So I was left last year and at the bottom of the ladder really, I know where else to go. So I went to Turkey and I saw a bariatric surgeon there. He is spoke perfect English. He worked in the south of England in the bariatric centre there. He also worked in France and he had perfect English. He saw me on a Thursday. He admitted me on the Tuesday at eight o'clock in the morning because of my airway problem. The anti specialist was on site. I went to theatre at 12 o'clock. I was back at four. I was discharged in the Friday evening. The wound was closed. My mesh was removed. And what I was told and shown on the CT scan was that my God that I was about to burst with infection, which had never been told here. Nobody here at a dentist like that. So I'm giving the counteract. And you know, I'm not saying like I'm going back to Turkey twice a year and I meet people at the airport constantly and they keep in touch with me. And I've met several, I would say at this stage, probably over a hundred people who've had successful surgeries in Turkey and teeth done in Turkey. And that's only me, one person. And just on that, Mary, it's rock. Well, your persistence because an awful lot of people, perhaps once they were told that, you know, because of the, the other issues that the surgery couldn't take place, a lot of people would would have given up. And you just wonder if you had, where would you be now? If you hadn't sort of gone? I would be dead and buried, Greg. I would be dead and there because the last time I was admitted with sepsis, the surgeon was with me literally 24 hours and the high dependency unit. And he told me he didn't know if he could take me back from at a third time. That is, that is fact. So I didn't have a choice but to go and search elsewhere. Now the nine wasn't an option because the cross border thing didn't apply. Because my, my case was a kind of a rare case. You want to have replacement or something there's a code that you get. And then that's kind of the prices on. Yeah, yours is complex and complicated. Yeah. Yeah, I can say that. They couldn't give me a code so cross border was out of the question. So I just felt as I was going to love and like I spent five days and I've support in 2010. Unbelievable. So life's very precious. And I was going to take the chance. Had I died on the table, I was happy to kind of take that risk. But as I say, there is bad and good and it's both in every country. Greg, there are clinics that shouldn't be operating in Turkey. The same as the hospitals and consultants and we've seen it here where maybe they shouldn't be any longer on the register. I'm not saying that there isn't mistakes made that there isn't issues. But I don't like to hear that it's all bad. Do you know what I'm saying? No, I think I said to after that article, I'd like to see some comparison data. You know what I mean, because you did and that's why I kind of wanted to ring in because I watched me and I can say and you use last night, there's 12 people died in the last year. And I'm not saying that's all I am not suggesting for a minute that it's not true. And one is one too many, but yeah. Yes. But what if we looked at the papers and the numbers here? How many people have died through neglect? You know, I mean, or A&E's are piped out. I mean, we don't have enough doctors. I think the last I hear was that there were something like 19 nurses short and later, you know, on the campus, not just in the hospital, but on the campus. So, you know, I mean, those are the concerns that I think need to be aired as well. Turkey, like every other country, there's people going to Bulgaria, Pratt, Poland, people going on. I wish I had more time, but you've had to have aftercare, though, when it is the Irish, presumably the Irish Health Service that has been providing your aftercare. I only needed aftercare. I was called back to a local clinic and I won't name that surgeon, but I was called back to him prior to having my surgery in Turkey. He'd seen me and he said, I'll call you back in six months or whatever. So I was under him anyway. But when I went back and had my surgery, when I said I had it done in Turkey, his jaw had the ground and he goes, Oh my God, he didn't, you know, and he was shocking at the expertise and the well it was done. I haven't needed to see him again. I went back to Turkey after his six months and seen my surgeon there again. No charge and I have to see all in all. It was a private hospital and I was my husband's wife to stay with me. Everything included. And I had that surgery for under 6000 euros. All right, I'm glad to hear you are persistent. I'm glad to hear you're well. I'm glad to hear you're with us, Mary, because it sounds like if you hadn't been as persistent as you are, you might not be. Thank you very much for your insight and your balance on that. I do appreciate it. Thank you. Bye bye, Mary. We'll be back after the news and a bit very notices. Stay warm for less this winter with Homeland. Will a warm eco brigettes 100% renewable 100% Irish wood by three bills get two fire logs free nationwide delivery available. Shop in store or online at homeland.ie. This December cozy up your home with the warmth of timeless furniture pieces from foreign company, letter Kenny and ballet buffet stores. If you're looking for the perfect sofa to gather around with your loved ones or maybe a dining table to host an unforgettable holiday dinner. And the best part are special offers with reductions on selected items in both stores for in company where style meets comfort, making your house a home this winter. Attention farmers alts nurseries Altauber Castle Finn our Department of Agriculture approved and can supply plant passports for your acre scheme. Born hedging tree whips shelters hedging plastic and native Irish apple trees are all available. Also stock in a large range of bear root potted hedging trees shrubs and much more for the best quality at the King's prices call gale at alts nurseries Castle Finn on 086 3067346 Get glowing skin this winter with the Clarence gift of beauty at Michael Hennies purchase two or more Clarence products want to be moisturiser or serum and receive a choice of four free beauty treats and a gorgeous beauty bag. Hurry offer available at Michael Hennies until December 10th while stocks last. This December the 22nd you could own a brand new car worth 30,000 euro. Highland radio is giving away a brand new Skoda Comeek worth over 30,000 euro. Someone and it could be you. We'll get a call from Greg Hughes on the 19 noon show on Friday December the 22nd. You've got a lucky ticket. You just want a car. Steady on. That could be you if you've got the lucky ticket. Simply go to Highland Radio dot com. Click on the car link answer an easy question and buy a ticket for 10 euros six for 50 euro or 10 for 80 euro Highland Radio's great car give away. Get your ticket now online and on the Highland Radio app. This is Highland Radio News. Good morning. I'm Achille Clark with the news at 10 o'clock. A fire in letter. Can a emergency services work to bring the blaze which broke out in the Long Lane area yesterday evening under control. No one was injured in the fire. Guardi however have confirmed that investigations are continuing. Canterbury McGonagall says the fire took hold of the property quickly. I know that the gentleman, the lady that lives there and they take great pride in their house and see it standing there watching up and flames last night was heartbreaking for them and my thoughts and heart goes out to them especially now at Christmas time there was three or four emergency service vehicles there and the fire service workers as they could but by the time they arrived the house was fairly engulfed in flames. Highland is unlikely to reach its renewable energy targets according to 95% of industry experts. It's among the findings contained in a new KPMG report commissioned by Wind Energy Ireland. The report says Ireland's current target of 80% of renewable electricity by the year 2030 has become virtually unachievable. CEO of Wind Energy Ireland Noel Kniff says Ireland has induced its time wisely and the planning process is too slow. We're just coming out of an energy price crisis driven by our reliance on imported fossil fuels and countries right across Europe use that time to try to process more renewable energy projects like Germany, France, Belgium. They've processed more wind and solar projects than any time in their history. Meanwhile in Ireland during that exact time period we went for nearly 14 months without a single launch or wind firm being consented by unbored Sonola. Donegal has been badly served in terms of the number of guardians. That's according to Donegal Deputy Pearce Doherty who was speaking following the latest JPC meeting which had there are currently 432 guardians of all ranks in the county 46 more than in 2017 and with double the support staff. However Deputy Doherty set a snapshot over a longer period of time shows guard numbers are in fact down. He says lack of guardians is hampering investigations into alleged fraud in Donegal. Deputy Doherty says the county should be treated equally in terms of the deployment of guard resources. We can see of the over 250 guardians that were deployed in different stations this year so far. Only three of them have come to Donegal. There's another 150 to be deployed statewide in the next two weeks and the Chief Super has no notification whether any of them are coming to Donegal and what I'm making the point very clearly is Donegal has been badly served in terms of the number of guardians. We have issues of rural crime just like anywhere else. At Donegal County Council believes car parking charges collected at Letter Kenny University Hospital should be returned to the hospital. It comes after over 1,000 euro worth of damage was caused to a hospital workers car. The damage was discovered as she returned to her vehicle having completed a shift. Euro car parks who operate the hospital car park took no responsibility and directed the lady to raise the matter instead with hospital security. Cancer Michael McLaughrey key hairlock of the Glendies Municipal District says the amount of funds generated by car parking charges will be a substantial boost for the hospital. If it is that they feel there's hospital security problems and on the other side of it I would see it as them. If that's the way going forward Euro car parks attitude is whenever that contact is up or to be renewed that money that's been collected and that car park there should be going back to Lily Kenny Hospital. Lily Kenny Hospital should be managed in that car park themselves. Any way from the word go as all hospitals should have been because we have all these situations of the amount of hospitals struggling one thing another and that's a really game changer there. The amount of money would be collected there over the year with something very substantial no doubt. Media rules and regulations should be strengthened to tackle disinformation and harmful clickbait content. That's according to a new report from the joint eructus committee on integration. The spread of disinformation has come into the spotlight following the recent Dublin riots which are said to have been provoked by far-right groups on social media. Tom Clonan trinity senator and security analysts says people within these groups know how to use the algorithm to promote harmful content. They know that conflict and hate speech drive a lot of traffic get a lot of traction and with that actually comes revenues of which those platforms get about 30% of the cut. So basically what the committee is recommending is that those social media companies which are headquartered in Dublin that they basically sign up to a code of practice where they more proactively curb this hate speech and disinformation. Whether or not ice gradually clearing this morning there will be a mix of sunshine and scattered shards today with the chance of a few appeal or sleet it mainly over higher ground. Highest temperature of three to seven degrees. That's all from Highland Radio news for now. We'll be back with an update again at 11 o'clock until then you can keep up to date with the latest local news on our website highlandradio.com. Good morning. The obituary notice is for this Monday morning December the 4th. The death has taken place on October the 13th of Ida McDevitt 29 Hayward's Road Hayward's Heath West Sussex and previously of Lettermore Drum Keane. A service for Ida will take place in St. Patrick's Church Drum Keane on Saturday morning at 11 o'clock. The death has taken place of Mary Maureen Sweeney Ney Freel Ladden Kindrom Kettering Northampton Shur England Removal from the Eternal Light Chapel of Rest Mountaintop Letter Kenny at 6 o'clock this evening going to St. Mary's Church Fana Volte founded for prayers at 7 o'clock. Requiem Mass at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Funeral can be viewed live on Scott Funeral Director's Fisbod page. The death has taken place of Derry Flynn Bally Heron Fannad Remains are reposing at her home. House Private Please. Removal today to the Church of Christ the Redeemer Ross Nekill arriving at 7 o'clock to repose overnight. Funeral service tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock private cremation on Wednesday in Lakeland's crematorium Cavern. Family flowers only donations if desired to the Donegal Hospice care of Patrick Sweeney Funeral Director's. The death has taken place of Shan Neal Ferry Nockfola Ghidor Remains are reposing at his late residence. Roastery tonight at 8 o'clock. Funeral Mass tomorrow morning in Chapp Pobl Kiln Nockfola at 11 o'clock in herment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. The Funeral Mass can be viewed live on Kearn Roti Funeral Director's Fisbod page. The death has taken place of Mary Boyle Neymik Devd Lystylian Letterkenny and Mahara Cloughar Bomb Bag originally of Annegree. Removal from the Eternal Light Chapel of Rest at Mount and Top Letterkenny at quarter to twelve two day going to St. Mary's Church Dairy Bag for Requiem Mass at one o'clock in herment afterwards in Mahara Gaon Cemetery. The Funeral Mass can be viewed live on the parish webcam and on Kearn Roti Funeral Director's Facebook page. The death has occurred of Paul McGuigan Carol Namadi Bert. Paul's remains are opposing at his home. Wake today from three o'clock until eight o'clock. Other times are strictly private and on the morning of the funeral. Removal to more morning at half past ten to Lakeland's crematorium cavern for two o'clock. Family flowers only please donations in lieu of desire to the Foil Hospice care of any family member or Murphy funeral directors. The death has occurred of Willie Call Hillhead St. Johnston County Dunnegall. Willie's remains are opposing at his late residence to day from eleven o'clock until ten o'clock with Rosary at nine o'clock. Funeral leaving his late residence to more morning at twenty past eleven going to St. Bethan's Church St. Johnston for twelve noon recreation mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Family flowers only please donations in medical ward patients comfort fund care of Kelly's funeral directors. The death has occurred of Kevin J. McGlin nine Meendara Park Woodlands letter Kenny County Dunnegall and formerly of Fulcara reposing at his late residence to day from two o'clock until six o'clock. Removal from there to more morning to the Church of the Irish Martyrs Bally Reign for twelve noon recreation mass fall by burial funeral mass can be viewed live on the parish webcam. Family flowers only please donations in Lee if wish to the Dunnegall Hospice care of Pascal Blake funeral director. The death has taken place of John Winnie O'Donnell Meena Creve Road Anagray originally of Collard Crick Anagray. His remains are reposing at his home. Funeral mass in St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church Anagray this morning at eleven o'clock interment afterwards in the adjoining graveyard. The funeral mass can be viewed live on the parish webcam and on Kearn Routy funeral director's Facebook page. And the death has occurred of Gerald Galleher Maness Bert reposing at his home. Removal from there this morning at quarter past ten to St. Angus's Church Bert for recreation mass at eleven o'clock while by interment in Bert Cemetery. Gerald's recreation mass can be viewed on church services dot TV. Family flowers only please chill man or private nursing home patients Comfort Fund care of any family member or Murphy funeral directors. For family information and more details regarding wakes and funerals please go to Highland radio dot com. It's not just that Sammy has had his world torn apart by the conflict. It's not just that he has lost everyone that he ever loved and it's not just that Sammy is only seven years old. Right now children are being forced to live through unimaginable horrors in Gaza and around the world. And it's not just this Christmas your help could make all the difference. Visit troquer dot org or call one eight hundred four eight four eight troquer together for a just world. And now Imrose twenty twenty three best local original news program The Voice of the Northwest The Nintle Noon Show with Greg Hughes. All right so a bit of news emerging as it relates to Aiman Ryan the Green Party leader has now said he'll not need to make a return flight from the cop twenty eight climate summit in Dubai for a conference confidence motion in the door this week Sinn Fein of course has tabled the motion of no confidence in Minister for Justice Helen Mackintee following the doublet Dublin rights I understand what they're doing I actually personally think just as an observation and as someone who follows politics that wasn't a great move to begin with but anyway Minister Ryan says he won't fly now because he's arranged a pairing with Jennifer Whitmore of the social democrat so now he will not be flying but you've been commenting on this story that has been rumbling for a couple of days none the nests none the less carbon is the building block of life be careful what they're restricting what percentage of carbon is in the air asks another if anyone was traveling economy like the rest of us he would not be hopping around the world another good morning Greg Paul countries need fossil fuels to get out of poverty and will be using fossil fuels for many decades to come these people complaining really isn't a clue good morning that I'm in Ryan and indeed the whole government are a disgrace running there for climate action and pledging millions our countries on the brink of recession and don't get me started on the HSE but who cares they certainly don't we are technically in a recession due to a downturn in pharmaceutical exports so it's a technical recession many people have been living in a recession though and I talked about this well over a year ago that we talk about it being a rich country but many people listening to this program have effectively been living in a recession pathetic the hopper hypocrisy shown by government says another listener right onto the hospital I cannot see the person responsible for that ladies car coming forward that's the mentality of people nowadays they just don't care it's scandalous the poor lady no one needs an expected bill at Christmas time another not enough security staff on well on as well Michael it's a joke Greg who told you was fifty-five grand a year was it the hospital note was figures from that I saw I'm going off the top of my head I'll dig them out it was in terms of what money the hospitals made after everything from hospital car parking charges letter Kenny University Hospital was notably low Galway Hospital for an example it's well over a million Sligo I think it's closer to a hundred grand but in letter Kenny it's fifty-five thousand euro is what the hospital ended up with as if if I if I've worked the figures out correctly the parking spaces are very tight as well the hospital should take responsibility for cars that are damaged it's time the hospital came clean on the issue where the money is going and who's getting the profits from it will it the information is out there there's whether you like it or not it's not a secret of such it's publicly available information some listeners will recall a young nurse coming off duty a few years back to find two of his car doors missing removed stolen the car park management didn't want to know either that we've had other people with windows smashed as well there was a spate of it down particularly around the ED it's an ongoing issue poor girl coming out of work to find that happened if she's a nurse she should be getting free parking another caller my friend works for your car parks every penny goes to the hospital they don't have access to the cameras they're not allowed to look at them and half of the cameras up there don't work but the argument being made is that if you have a private company providing security of the car park that maybe they should have their own security system as well rather than saying you know it's not our responsibility it's the hospitals but your car parks obviously are profit making they make money they manage the car park there's investment in the car park so they're not doing it for charity either so your car parks are really quite a successful company the hospital gets a proportion 55,000 years 55,000 in the year for the last figures that I saw re-car damage most parking spaces are too narrow no room to get the door open it's not an excuse for the damage but they're so tight something needs to be done I find car parks generally are too tight now I suppose it's a case of squeezing them in but most people seemingly now drive SUVs or really quite wide electric vehicles and the car parking spaces simply aren't wide enough and even in terms of backing out the cars in the next line of traffic are really quite close to you why have the roads between Gortahawk and letter Kenny not been gritted since Friday night scandalous why am I paying road tax Greg tell Michael McClaffery to get Donegal County Council to get out and leave grit at every turn and hill on the back roads for people in schools it's so slippery this morning around Gortahawk area and Casino Gore area where does our tax money be going is there a particular problem with black ice ice around the Gortahawk area that's a couple of unrelated textures messaging in there Hi Greg a question I'd like you to put to your listeners does anyone find putting out ashes with smokeless coal they get breathless I feel like a full blown asthmatic putting out my ashes no problem when I use turf ashes a question I want to ask for a long time they now wear a mask when putting out the ashes it's not a problem I've had I put the ashes in the bucket and then leave the bucket out for it to cool and then dispose of them then but no I've not found a particular issue personally with breathlessness after putting out the ashes with smokeless coal but it's out to our listeners let us know that's what we're here for interesting comment or perhaps 08 660 25000 do you find that you find yourself breathless when putting out the ashless ashes from smokeless coal Hi Greg never seen so many silly drivers out this weekend with their bad fog driving on their daytime running lights on and no lights on in the back of the cars thanks yes I noticed this myself and I can't understand it I think you know even especially people with more modern cars I think the daytime running lights they're not aware that in some of the vehicles there's nothing at the back they have the lights at the front but there's nothing to the rear and that's where you need them isn't it interesting point thank you for that Caroline did I leave the competition information out with you there I wonder did I bring it in with me okay it's buried in all the comments here because we have a fantastic competition running in association with our friends at Cadbury they are running their secret Santa competition with us here so what we're inviting you to do is share with us why you want to secretly send chocolate to someone special this year what makes them deserving of a Cadbury secret Santa bar tell us about a person in your life who deserves this surprise treat but be sure to keep it a secret now the good thing here is is right for nominating if you're successful you win you want to see this hamper it's up on our Instagram and our Facebook this amazing big Cadbury hamper right but also if you're if you win today the person you nominate gets a lovely secret Santa bar which will be delivered to them in secret so really you know this is one of those competitions where you do really well out of it but someone else does well too so all we want you to do we won't use any names is WhatsApp or text us on 08 660 25000 and tell us in your life who do you think deserves the delivery of our Cadbury secret Santa bar and if you're successful you win this amazing hamper we've got a hamper on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday on Friday available for you to spend this Christmas so let me just say this one more time so it's perfectly clear today I'm inviting you to text 08 660 25000 or WhatsApp that number or give us a call but preferably text and tell us who in your life is special why are they special and why do they deserve the delivery of a Cadbury Cadbury secret Santa bar and they're lovely wee bars they're not wee but they're lovely you if you're successful win a beautiful big hamper they win the bar you get the hamper alright, let us know who in your life deserves to be receiving this Christmas a Cadbury secret Santa bar 08 660 25000 WhatsApps and texts why do they deserve it from you and we'll pick a winner up before the end of the programme the road at Welchtown school there's an accident there's guards the fire brigade and an ambulance there at the moment back row between Welchtown and Stranawler is treacherous I'm being told good luck if you're playing the bingo today it's time for NCBI Bingo on Highland Radio it's Monday the 4th of December you're playing on the green sheet the reference number is S1 it's game number 49 the numbers are 66 61 51 46 25 10 68 33 52 and finally 38 phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight leave in your name contact number and the name of the shop where you purchased your book and we'll call you back the next working day get all your NCBI Bingo information at HighlandRadio.com hello you're through to Emily hello I'd like to organise my brown bin service please no problem what's your address you know sure from January 2024 every household in Ireland will be entitled to a brown bin service wherever you live you can organise yours by contacting your current waste collector visit mywaste.ie to learn more because you're never too remote to recycle brought to you by the Government of Ireland hello there gosh it's almost Christmas and we want to help you here at Harvey's Point make it extra special and what better way than with a Harvey's Point gift card available to order correct from the hotel 074 97 2208 or online at harvyspoint.com it's the gift that keeps on giving all year round a Harvey's Point gift card hi Tresomanian here with a road safety alert falling snow and freezing fog will reduce visibility do not drive on the taillights of a vehicle in front as it can give a false sense of security when you slow down use your brakes so that your brake lights warn drivers behind you from the road safety authority 9 till noon show sponsored by Evolve clothing Merry Christmas to all our customers and thanks for all your support every year in store at Letty Kenny Retail Park or online at EvolveClothing.com and a Merry Christmas to everyone at Evolve as well right the Farmers Alliance is calling for the immediate resignation of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Mr Charlie McConnelogue we're joined on the program now by Helen O'Sullivan a farmer and spokesperson for the Farmers Alliance good morning to you Helen thank you for your time good morning Greg thank you for having us on this morning why this move, why now well as you probably know with the dairy sector what's happening there at the moment is quite ridiculous Greg they will have to slaughter their cows or try and get more land before the 1st of January so I suppose for our listeners that are not familiar there's a new nitrogen degradation that came in lately so basically what that is it's after dropping the nitrates levels from 250 kgs of nitrogen per hectare to 220 kgs so what that means is you can't spread any more than 220 kgs of organic manure now on your land per hectaker I beg your pardon go ahead please Helen sorry Greg so what this will mean for farmers is that are in those particular areas they will have to comply with these new nitrates regulations they will have to either slaughter their heavily pregnant cows or obtain more land and this has to be done before the 1st of January so this will affect about maybe 7000 farmers you know in the country Greg so that will be counties Cork to Breary West Mead, West Common I don't think there's any county that will escape this cutting the derogation yeah we aren't as badly affected in Donegal for once but there are certain areas of course that do appear on that map as you've been outlining there how I mean is this a fear about the slaughter of 200,000 heavily in calf cows or is it a reality this is actually a reality Greg because you know as I've mentioned the deadline is the 1st of January these farmers in those catchment areas will have to comply with those regulations so like this is going to create a huge animal welfare issue this is actually going to put the farmers under an awful lot of pressure both physically and mentally bearing in mind that they're already under a lot of pressure because you know the price of milk has dropped back hugely in the dairy sector but their input costs have risen so they're under enormous pressure they've invested hugely in their enterprises over the years and you know that includes slurry storage and they have low emission slurry spreading year bottom as well so really and truly Greg all these farmers they've been doing what they're asked to do for the last number of years they've complied with every regulation that was sent out to them from the department or from the government by having to have extra slurry storage to keep the water quality in good condition and they've complied with everything so we feel that the farmers have been totally unfairly scapegoated for the whole water quality and climate change and this has to change and we feel that this Minister McCulloch has just sat there you know sitting on his hands doing nothing but it's not an option I wish I had the opportunity to speak to him to put his point of view across but I don't but I will say that he would argue I'm sure that he's worked very hard to try and if not maintain the derogation as it is to maintain it beyond the deadline and that is the piece of work that's ongoing now I'm sure he'd argue he made his submissions to try and see this deferred or avoided but that the EU Commission are very firm and resolute on this and that's all he can do all he can do is lobby and make the argument for Ireland but at the end of the day this is an EU decision and we are for right or wrong part of that club his hands are tied and changing the Minister won't change the situation Well we feel Greg he's aligned to speaking to a lot of other farmers throughout the country that he did not work hard enough I mean he didn't even bother going over to the EU to argue his case here for Ireland he had a Zoom meeting now I know if it was me and if I was representing the farmers of this country I would get on the plane and I would be over there in that room in Brussels fighting my case for the farmers here in this country I mean we are the most sustainable producers of milk in Europe and I would go as far as saying in the world Greg because of our grass based system because of the way we farm we invested hundreds of thousands of euros you know in their enterprise for the slurry storage Is that not why we have a derogation at all? We are one of only three European countries that have it is that not and I am plain devil's advocate here by the way Helen Saber with me Is that not the argument that you know because we do it like you say we do that's why we have this derogation and that's why we can hope to maybe keep it at a level going forward When you see this is the problem Greg it's been cut now from 250 kg of nitrogen per hectare down to 220 but what's going to come next in a year's time is it going to be down to 170 are we going to be back right back here again arguing fighting I mean these farmers are under savage amount of pressure how are they going to pay for their loans just to give an example and for people that are not familiar with the farming sector so for a farmer that has 75 cows right so during that area 250 kgs of nitrogen per they would have to reduce their herd by 15 cows Greg or increased land which is a problem or increased land but that is another problem as well by increasing land you are squeezing out the smaller dairy farmers the sheep farmers, the beef farmers the tillage and vegetable farmers because you know we can't compete with the prices that the dairy farmers will have to pay so really what's happening here they are decimating rural Ireland and to be quite honest Greg this is not going to help water quality at all and scientists have said this to me from Tagus what's going to happen here is the neighboring bigger dairy farmer will come in, rent the land off the smaller farmer and the same amount of cows are going to be on that land that's what the previous farmer had it consolidates it to the big guys really yeah you know that's what people I've spoken to have said but um sorry just Greg on that point down here in West Cork West County here in Cork with dairy cattle so to give you an idea here in Timalig they are working with Tagus and there's a program called the Tagus agricultural catchment program and what they are doing here they are monitoring the water quality here for the last 12 years and the purpose of this is to investigate the impact of agricultural water quality in this area and other areas so you know the water quality readings are taken every 10 minutes with this program whereas I think the EPA only does it once twice a year so what it has shown down here in West Cork in this river, Timalig river catchment area that the nitrogen levels have dropped to the lowest since 2010 Greg despite the rise in dairy stock numbers so this is proving that it can be done we weren't given enough time again the minister didn't fight for more time you know he didn't go over there he didn't fight his case you know we've just been very less down by him and I've heard the argument that there was no reward for those efforts so what would motivate people to make even greater effort going forward the one thing I haven't got my head around in all of this whether you argue one way or other is the time frame that farmers were given just effectively three months that's right yeah notice now that to me is pretty remarkable how did we get to a point where we got so close to the cliff edge that only three months really effectively has been given to farmers to either call the cows or acquire more land it seems an incredibly tiny little window especially given the importance of the agricultural community and how important they clearly were for everyone during the lockdowns and what have you absolutely Greg like you know farmers really are the backbone of this country no matter how people are trying to put us down the government are trying to put us down this is another problem there's so much misinformation put towards us the farmers we're blamed for everything when it comes to climate change this is wrong it needs to change and let them know that it's not all our faults we need to come together and bridge that gap you know farmers they we've over 167,000 people in employment here in this country look what the knock-on effect this will have like they got rid of our beef industry back in 2006 they got rid of our hardcourt industry they're trying to get rid of our beef industry per year now this government and now they're focusing on the dairy industry how does it make you feel as a farmer fighting these battles when I was watching with interest the news over the last week or so about the importance of airports you know expanding Shannon airport there's a massive investment into it to accommodate more traffic increased capacity at Dublin airport because the reason I mentioned this is because we've just been talking about the controversy of whether or not Ayman Ryan would fly back from Dubai and back out again he's not doing that now but anyway how does it feel as a farmer the finger being pointed at you all the time where we see another area of heavy pollutants that doesn't really create anything except you know revenue of course through tourism and what have you and we have to get about the place but does that feel like a kick in the teeth very much so Greg we are very angry I'm very angry as a farmer and I've listened to a lot of farmers over the last number of years and they're very angry and frustrated that we are being blamed for absolutely everything only the fact that it is true could be a joke I mean exactly we have our Minister for the Environment did that just flew back from Dubai from COP 28 he was going to go back over again to there after coming back here to give you know his vote on the vote of no confidence in our Minister Justice Minister that has now been changed but it's ridiculous all these people are flying around they want to increase Lior Radiker recently announced that he wants to increase our passenger capacity from 32 million to over 40 million double in the airport alone not cork or any other Shannon or any other airport alone you know this is a huge kick in the teeth so here they are trying to reduce our national herd and increase flights so it would look to me great that flights are much more important than food it's calling really and just to give you an idea to increase the flights capacity to up to 40 million or over that's a 25% increase in airport emissions so therefore you know that would be equivalent to 45 cows and 30 cows extra with that extra so it's wrong very golly the one thing here that's not being mentioned at all Greg and all of this water quality it's very wrong and again they're pointing finger at the farm the whole time raw sewage there's 7.5 million litres of raw sewage going to our water courses on a daily basis well I listen when this conversation started and all be it relatively recently though no farmers have been doing this for a long time I was just curious of a breakdown of what it actually is damaging the water in terms of you know sewage the state into our rivers and what have you other types of pollution and how much of it actually is farming pollution because to make such a big decision like this I think you'd need very clear science to say actually it's the farmers that are doing this and it's the farmers that need to I just want to give you an example and I'm no scientist Greg and you know this is the problem here again the farmers being blamed for Stoidway and we're being scapegoated and it's wrong I'm living down here in West Cork and I'm surrounded by dairy farmers we had a farm walk here in Atsalongo a dairy farm had a farm walk and we were given down to the river and they sampled the water quality below on the river that man is from Tagus a governmental body he was quite surprised he came across an insect that hasn't been found for years below on this river and the only reason that insect was there Greg is because our water conditions is pristine and I am surrounded by big dairy farmers around me here so that is telling me it is not a farmer spot come further into the towns there's lots of problems not just in our town here but in other towns there's over 40 locations where raw sewage is entering our water courses on a daily basis so that would tell me and I am no rocket scientist by no means that the problems are coming in from the raw sewage not from our culture sector and again we have to bear in mind as well you know Greg in the last year and a half there has been over 150,000 extra people coming to this country these people are also adding to the already under pressure sewage system that we have and Ireland's wastewater systems are not meeting the EU standards so this problem hasn't been addressed so that's your views thank you very much indeed Helen that's Helen O'Sullivan a farmer herself and Spokesperson 2 for the Farmers Alliance they're calling for the immediate resignation of the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine Mr Charlie McUnnelogue who's been invited on to have a chat about that or to provide us with a statement and we'll see how that goes but that's their calls anyway and the reasons outlined there from Helen on the radio dot com 9 till noon show sponsored by Evolve Clothing Merry Christmas to all our customers and thanks for all your support every year in store at Letter Kenny retail park or online at EvolveClothing.com Spoil someone with a beautiful fragrance this Christmas from McGee's Camus Letter Kenny chews by designer, budget or celebrity top names like Chanel, Longcom Christian Dior and Jimmy Chew also great prices on Yves Saint Laurent Prada and so many more the best fragrance gift sets available this year can also be found in McGee's Camus Main Street Letter Kenny and online at McGee's dot i e McGee's were the best cost less Declan loves a leisurely Sunday drive even on a Tuesday ignoring all the angry hunks of people trying to get home from work you see with done stores click and collect Declan is never in a rush he can order online and collect his groceries at a time that suits him from online grocery shopping to buy me same-day delivery there's a way to shop for everyone at done stores always better value terms and conditions apply buy me a subject to location and availability minimum spent required Donegal County Council invite the residents of Strunauer and Cavendore local areas members of the public and other interested parties to participate in this second for the n-15 car cam Ben's road scheme the aim of the consultation is to review and receive feedback on the emerging preferred route a public display of the study area constraints and emerging preferred route option will take place in Keyes Hotel Strunauer on Thursday the 7th of December between 2 and 7 p.m. County Council staff and their design consultants will be present on the day to listen to and to register your views for additional project information please contact the Donegal National Roads Office on 07 for 9724 500 or design at dnrdo.ie we've one planet and it's ours to protect from repairing to swapping to creating and recreating learn the changes you can make every Tuesday at 12 30 to live a little greener tune into ours to protect on Highland Radio with me Donna Murray hours to protect is brought to you by Highland Radio the IVI commissioner man with the television license fee check out ours to protect for more information you very welcome back to the program more of the comments coming in in their hundreds quite literally by the way so thank you so much for that a color says it's our government which is causing this mess not the ordinary people that's what they believe why is Ray why is a man Ryan scared off when the government needs him back to vote for minister and her party who cuts the guard a force says another Greg fury as cup 28 had questioned science of cutting fossil fuels plus his company made 5 trillion in profits in 2022 they are on the pigs back aren't they so we're going to blame shin fame frame and Ryan having to fly home everything is the opposition's fault the government is great and faultless this is comedy gold well I counted that argument of course I think during the full course of that conversation for the interests of balance it's our government I'll just read that one was it not suggested there recently can't remember her name that only the rich can fly everyone on the planet given credit and the poor who will likely never travel anywhere can sell them off to the rich FFS people we have to stop paying attention to what they are saying at all these events they're blaming they're having they are telling us all and nobody's listening sometimes I watch these conferences and I have to laugh at their suggestions but I realize we are serious and we are doomed good morning Greg so your argument is that we will have migration because of climate change their family will die they'll have to move if that's the case why haven't we seen most of Africa move to Europe over the centuries with all famines and wars they have handled they did not care about their families and what we have seen it's not just in Ireland you know there is much an awful lot of emigration that has happened over the years if you just have a wee look it's on the internet most of it but you have to also understand that not everyone can just up sticks and leave to a different continent either but there comes a point where it will happen and it is happening but I mean you just think about it put yourself in the position of some of the families that you've referenced there over the years how they might even dream of leaving where they are to go somewhere else complaining about airflights while the Israelis are blowing the hell out of Gaza causing huge infernals many of them giving off toxic fumes along with jets being used to deliver death the reality is these governments shook the hell out of the world over 40 years testing A-bombs and now they're blaming you and me or the cows in the field okay a lot of bombs going off in Ukraine as well still okay more on that to follow of course because we're very busy on the lines now time for sergeant Paul Wallis who's a divisional crime prevention officer and some specific advice for businesses and those shopping in businesses in the run up to Christmas we're really in the throes of it now good morning Paul thanks for joining us morning Greg right so we start with some warnings for businesses because you know they can be big targets of crime and fraud what would your key advice be to businesses in this Christmas period yeah as you say it's timely now in run up to Christmas and you know what we're basically saying to the businesses just to protect their sales and revenues by identifying the risks taking the proper steps making sure that they've discussed it with their office staff in relation to the purchase and the sale of items protecting personal data all of that sort of thing so you know like using accredited money transfer platforms such as PayPal and that is recommended as well and have the protections in place invoice frauds kind of I think what you're referencing there as well we've seen some big cases in this county and with everyone being really busy and what have you it can be quite easy to drop the ball the scammers are very sophisticated aren't they Paul well they're very sophisticated and and out abroad and the basically organized criminal gangs the more than when you mentioned organized criminal gangs you might think about the drugs trade and the illicit trade and that but they also operate in this across the platforms using the email using the web using the dark web and in 2012 for example in 2022 there was over 11 million stolen from companies in Ireland now we're looking at a 23% decreased to date with around 7 million reported stolen and as opposed to important things is if you think there's something wrong just straight away let somebody know reported to the unguarded Chicana because if we don't get the reports we don't know what's happening and there are steps that can be taken the business email comprised the BEC as they call it has decreased as well and we're probably getting more than interviews like this it's getting the awareness out there getting people to slow down when an email comes in looking for money or when they're making the purchase making sure they're using the proper platforms ensuring that the data transfers to cure you know check and sellers reviews and ratings that sort of thing just then from a consumer's perspective and I'll start on social media if you don't mind Paul because every fourth advert on platforms like X and also Instagram and Facebook is you know a drop shop outlet or some sort of a business offering it could be a gadget or a device or a service you know and just because they're hosted by a platform I could take an ad on any of those platforms and advertise absolutely anything there's no checks or balances at their end I think we really need to be careful especially with the level of social media use that we have not just this country but around the world that we're really careful of those ads that can appear in your timeline and can seem legit but you may never get a product at all and I really would not like to be given my bank details to these people well exactly and see when you look at sales that pop up across social media as you line there that you're not going to look for the product the product is actually coming looking for you because the algorithms will take people or take companies into your space and it'll target you for a better word in that you're looking for a particular item you might have been looking it up on the web or on the next thing it appears on a social media platform not from established retail not that you know and then they want you to do the money transfer they don't want you to go through the money transfer platforms they want you to do it directly and you probably will never ever see the product that you purchased but they have your information they have your name your address all your financial details and all of that so like you're leaving your identity what them are such and you look probably there's probably no website payment security on it you know and if you're if you're getting involved in a transaction you're sending your car details by email or text or some other message and method you're leaving yourself open to what they call fission and submission which is in essence social engineers obtaining of your personal details your name address your date about PPS or whatever to create false IDs or whatever you know we've talked about this repeatedly great different times but like it's basically at the end of the day your local high street retailer will probably have the product and you can go in and you can look at it and examine it and the value of your customs and I'm a big fan of shopping local but also some people might shop online there are companies the likes of you know Amazon that their reputation is incredibly important to them and they often for the most part will have you know the safety checks in place to ensure that you're hopefully dealing with a legitimate supplier and you'll get that product and there is some recourse if you don't I want to a particular mention too to people using PayPal because there are some protections in terms of buying with a credit card or PayPal but a big red flag if anyone asks you to pay by PayPal if they ask you to tick for friends and families because that really is you effectively forgoing the protection that PayPal affords you so if anyone asks you to say you're paying friends and family I'd be really cautious of that yeah you see you're right there you talked about Amazon and the different sales platforms and that they have they have safeguards built in it's no more than PayPal they have safeguards built in both to protect them and to protect you to protect the customer these other things it's like stepping out of a hallway into another room where they want to and they promise you the sun moon and the stars and we all have to shop online it's part of where we are now and the evolution of all of these things and you know after Covid or during Covid was the only way to shop at such at all and we haven't really stepped away from that either people just rather than going to the main street retailers they just look it up and do it but it's important that you use the proper platforms that are there like Amazon like PayPal that sort of thing and that they're not redirected and you see the other thing is when you're using your own device be it your phone, your tablet, your laptop or whatever it's very important to grant you various policies or updates and that you have you keep that live because that's how they exploit the whole situation and your load and then your basically your hand over your bank account to somebody that you don't know. How do we check a website's payment security because that's one of the pieces of advice but is it very obvious that there is payment security in place? Yeah well you should look around as opposed to one thing you should do as if you're buying from a supplier look at their reviews and see you know what other people are saying that's not 100% that can be false, it can be created to paint a picture of such but at different times if you look up on the address bar you'll see the little pad block there particularly when you're dealing with a financial transaction and if that's not there you have no protection of such and also to you certainly don't want to be sending your card details especially the you know the three digits but you don't have to have the three digits sometimes but you certainly don't want to be sending your card details via email text or any other platform for an example that would be bad No you shouldn't do that and you know as we've said repeatedly there the platforms are there the money transfer platforms are there such as the PayPal of this world and all of that and if you have a disputed transaction that's what I want to get to they will investigate that on your behalf in an effort to get the money back but if you haven't got that protection it's the same as if you're using for example eBay an auction on eBay and then you don't want the item or whatever and the person then contacts you remotely by using your email address or whatever details you put in your protection is then gone because you've stepped out at the auction site and it's the same with that I can't emphasize enough don't click for friends and family if you're purchasing a product or a service on PayPal because you forego that protection and you'll often say well I'll pay the extra two euro and they'll go nope just click friends and families because then you are stepping out back into the hallway even though you're shopping back into the hallway then again and it's just about thinking twice before purchasing just looking for the trusted sources you know looking for the feedback that sort of thing how are they doing and it's just the time of year that we're at and it's the same with the businesses as well it's important that they don't get caught with what they call the CEO fraud where an email comes in supposed to be from a reputed source and the ideal thing is that that one single person can't make a transaction without checking with somebody else within the company and if you look at the address bar it comes in most times you can see some discrepancy and it's easy to put that down to a spelling mistake or whatever but it's not, it's just it's false and it's there for a reason and there for a reason to dupe you cut twice, measure once, think twice all that kind of stuff Sergeant Paul Wallace, divisional crime prevention officer thank you for your tips or online at evolvecothing.com open seven days try a BMC sports gift voucher for fairies and humans alike subject to availability selected stores Hi Patty here at Shea and Connolly Cars in Donegal Town Are you looking to upgrade your car? With Shea and Connolly Cars you'll find mixing models for every budget Great finance options and we also accept trade ins Check out sheaandconnollycars.com or call into us at Shea and Connolly Cars from down her road Donegal Town And now the Highland Weather brought to you by ShopLK An accumulation of Christmas shoppers to send on lettercanny this December see ShopLK.ie or like us on Facebook I don't know where this day is going I cannot believe it's an early 11 o'clock already okay so let's have a look at the weather forecast I do have a weather forecast indeed Fog Frost and ice clearing through this morning to leave a cold day with spells of winter sunshine plenty of dry weather with just well scattered showers some of which may turn wintry, highest temperatures from 3 to 6 degrees now just a quick reminder of our competition thanks to our friends at Cadbury we are asking you to share with us why you want to secretly send chocolate to someone special this year what makes them deserving of a Cadbury Secret Santa Bar tell us about a person in your life who deserves this surprise treat but be sure to keep it a secret we will WhatsApp or text your reason but don't reveal it to who it is just let us know why they deserve it what's up voice note as well by the way if that's easier for you to 08 660 25000 now your prize for nominating is you'll be entered in our draw for a beautiful Cadbury a Cadbury hamper and the person you nominate them will receive a beautiful Cadbury Secret Santa Bar so there's something in it for you as well text the WhatsApp 08 660 25000 and if you want a voice note you can do that too on WhatsApp 08 660 25000 okay let's have a look at some more of your comments here hi Greg dairy real road very bad not a grit not a bit of grit can you please highlight this thank you and that came in in the last 20 minutes so the dairy real road still not feeling safe I have land and recently discovered that another farmer was using it without my permission he was using my land and claiming subsidies on it when I called the Department of Agriculture to ask if anyone was claiming on my land they wouldn't tell me this is an issue because as families and single farmers die these ruthless farmers are then claiming ownership of the land something needs to be done to change this what a pickle okay on smokeless coal my daughter couldn't sit in the room when burning smokeless coal she'd be coughing the minute she put out the ashes she'd be coughing and spluttering again so it's not just an earlier caller who gets breathless when emptying the smokeless coal ashes we do sort of when you have an open fire I don't think we always often consider how much of what is burnt off comes into the room as well talking about ashes the new smokeless coal have far too many ashes twice the amount of the ordinary coal we used to use Greg if you could just ask this question on the radio just wondering if you are on basic supplementary welfare are you entitled to a Christmas bonus if not how are people able to do any Christmas shopping people are really struggling and these foreign nationals come in and get everything it's so unfair that were the ones suffering if you are on basic supplementary welfare are you entitled to a Christmas bonus someone out there is bound to know a caller says I'd like to know who declares what is disinformation a ministry for truth ran by whom who decides what the truth is it follow the science it settled decided on didn't we hear that for two years when as we always knew the science is never settled never static always evolving the kind of new language keeps people from thinking for themselves and just accepting what they're told who they can listen to who they can support communism is growing strong and people don't even know is that a reference to the climate situation it is there seems to be you know in the world of scientists a broad consensus on the situation though I can understand why people may want to resist how are they going to slaughter 200,000 cows this is impossible it cannot be done this is fake news but if you are obliged to if you are obliged to by January the first reduce your hurt how do you do it what do you tie balloons to the cattle and hopefully fly off they're going to have to do something because they'll be breaking the rules if they don't what could be nicer in winter than a warm cozy fire like this well how about a warm cozy fire that's good for the environment good for the country and good for your pocket willow warm long burning briquettes are 100% carbon neutral grown and made here in Ireland hey Dermot throw on another willow warm for us on that fire sure why not willow warm the brighter cleaner greener way to a cozy home this winter see willowwarm.ie for stockists if you're doing some shopping today and fancy taking the weight off your feet or forgetting about having to cook when you get home take a seat at Kelly's award-winning diner in litterkenny and select from a menu that's packed with great value family favourite choices relax over a coffee and sandwich maybe a bite of lunch something for dinner or a treat from the dessert menu great food and great service every day at Kelly's award-winning diner mountain top litterkenny well hello there tie here cozy up there and I'll tell you a bit about myself see I'm a super efficient heat pump just landed in new digs and I'm keeping it warm using clean energy thanks to me and the home energy upgrade we now have a warmer and healthier home want to make a clean switch from fossil fuels search SEAI home energy upgrade for a significant government grant and a new world of comfort and savings supported by the government of Ireland it's the Christmas cracker we've all been waiting for join Highland Radio for a star-studded Christmas concert on Monday the 11th of December in the Mount Erigal hotel litterkenny star in Michael English and his band Claudia Buckley, John McNichol rising star Jack Q and myself David James this is a Christmas night out not to be missed tickets 25 euros available from the online or online from the outlet at highlandradio.com dinner, bed and breakfast packages also available that's the Highland Radio Christmas concert on Monday the 11th of December with all the stories that matter across the Northwest it's Greg Hughes on the 90 noon show on Highland Radio okay it is 11 o'clock time for a news update let's cross over now to Michaela Clark thanks Greg the leader of the Green Party will not travel back to Ireland for the no confidence motion and Justice Minister Helen McInty tomorrow Environment Minister Eamon Ryan who's currently attending COP 28 in Dubai was planning to make a return trip to the UAE in order to continue climate talks after casting his dull vote however the social democrats have stepped in with the party's environment spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore offering to pair with Minister Ryan allowing him to make a return trip to the UAE a family home has been destroyed by a fire in letter Kenny emergency services work to bring the blaze which broke out in the long main area of letter Kenny yesterday evening under control no one was injured in the fire but Gardi have confirmed that investigations are continuing Ireland's renewable energy targets have become virtually unachievable according to a new report the KPMG report commissioned by the public and private sector 95% of those involved in the report don't believe the current renewable electricity target of 80% by the year 2030 can be reached businesses in Donegal are being urged to protect themselves against the operation of organized crime gangs online ahead of the busy Christmas period Donegal's crime prevention officer has warned businesses to protect their sales and revenues by identifying risks such as knowing their product knowing their means of payment and using reliable delivery methods at Donegal County Council is calling for a review of the management of letter Kenny University Hospital car park it comes after over 1000 euro worth of damage was caused to hospital workers vehicle in the car park your car parks currently operate the car park with a percentage of the parking charges collected given to the hospital ever upon raising the matter with your car parks the hospital worker was instead directed to hospital and social media companies should actively curb the spread of online speech and disinformation according to security analyst a new report from the joint rock disc committee on integration is calling for media rules and regulations to be strengthened to tackle harmful content those are the latest headlines will be back with an update again at 12 noon would it be easy for you to I'm not going to put you on the spot but nominate you we can't enter this competition the cabri secret if you to nominate someone who you think is deserving of a cabri secret Santa bar yeah I'm sure do you want to give it a go no and maybe I'll nominate my sister really keep her sweet did she take you did she take you to Dubai and Abu Dhabi so maybe I'll nominate myself I know you took yourself your sister what's your sister's name Mia Mia that's beautiful okay well you can't enter but you can go buy her something all right thanks very much at Aldi we've got cracking Christmas offers throughout the store 20% of all specially selected wines and super savings every day with Aldi's super six fresh fruit and veg now from only 39 cent both from December 7th there's 40,000 euro worth of Aldi gift cards to be won with Holly Lane Christmas mini bites and fresh whole Irish turkeys for an incredible 899 on sale December 20th so what are you waiting for Aldi share the love this Christmas terms apply visit aldi.ie for details about the facts be drink aware visit drinkware.ie okay right so we do have a competition running at the moment we're inviting you to nominate someone who is very special and to tell us why and why they're deserving of a cabri secret Santa bar and if you're successful they get the bar and you get a beautiful hamper which I might try and get down to you either today or tomorrow so you can have a look at it just a couple of the entrance so far and just because I read them out by the way and put forward Dr. Blank from Laticani University Hospital he's looked after me for a good number of years I could not rate him highly enough and I'm very grateful to him thanks Marie hi I'd nominate my beautiful wee mom Blank she's 93 she had Covid twice the heart of our family we love her to the moon and back mum as a heart of gold always good to everyone and on it goes so you're a contender as well I think my wife Blank should get the secret Santa chocolate bar because she puts everybody first and leaves herself at all of the time another here I nominate my daughter who will not be home for Christmas she's nursing and on duty Christmas day thank you she's doing great work but it must be very tough for you as a parent and last for now I'd love to send a secret Santa to a beautiful lady in Dublin who really helped me through my cancer treatment in St. Luke's even though she was going through the same treatment in the past two years would love to give her something back thank you for that as I say you're all in the running the nominator will win a beautiful Cabri hamper and will send off a secret Santa bar to the person who is successfully nominated so that's thanks to our friends at Cabri okay we're joined in studio now by Amir Gamil good morning to you Amir thank you for your time good morning Greg hi how's it going good to have you with us thanks so much thank you right the Muslim community in Donegal is seeking planning permission for a new cultural centre to be located on a greenfield site at Lisnanen in letter Kenny so what is the function of this centre and how advanced are the plans Amir right well the function of the centre is really just to provide us a place that we sorely need for the community in terms of you know just a place to be for all of our activities and stuff like that and the planning application what was the question how advanced is it yeah it's the planning application well it's quite advanced in that it's been lodged so we're looking forward to see what happens next I guess we'll hear back from the council within the next 7-8 weeks I guess currently the community gather at the former offices of the Donegal news at the junction of Highroad and Ardol Donal for your workshops and meetings and I presume that serves its purpose but that's not the long term and it's good to have that place we're very happy to have it because even in this short term it was absolutely sorely needed we've been looking for a place for a while and it was really good to get it it's satisfying our needs at the moment but even even now the numbers are a bit too much for that place so we're having to split certain sessions over two sessions and things like that and then also in terms of the other activities that we want to do again it's great to have it and providing a very good use and function for the community but we have to look at the future and the needs of the community which are growing of course it's growing all the time and then in terms of just being able to have the kind of activities like recreational activities and things like library and stuff like that and a prayer hall as well obviously the prayer hall is one of the main functions of it we're using that location at the high road mainly for prayers and other activities and it's doing okay but again we'd like a bigger prayer hall how often is a member of the community likely to gather for prayer? I think people don't realize that the same with all religions there are some people who are very very devout who are a bit more passive in others who maybe don't practice a religion at all so I think there's this presumption or maybe it is the case I doubt it that every Muslim person is an incredible strong follower of the religion I presume that's not the case there's different groups within like every society like any religion of course you have many degrees as you said from the extremely devout people who don't care I guess but I think generally speaking I think the vast majority of Muslims will attend prayers on the Friday which is our holy day it's kind of like our Sunday and so we gather there for Friday prayers at lunchtime and that's where you see the greatest numbers so it's like a requirement that people attend a congregational prayer on a Friday afternoon and thankfully most people do tend to attend that and then in general Muslims we believe that we're required to pray to God five times a day and I think it's probably true to say that most Muslims would pray five times a day and then some might pray in the center those five daily prayers the five daily prayers in there each day and then some might pray it at home or at work just kind of depending where they are at the time when it's time to pray and has there been much resistance to this move not necessarily through the planning process which is there and set in stone and people have to you know people have a process to go through if they want to oppose anything and give good reasons as to why and they have to be reasons specific reasons but have you had any pushback with the current sort of I don't know the way life seems to be right across the world now where you know people are resisting this they're seeing as a I think I saw someone comments on someone's news post about a takeover or something along those lines are you getting any of that thankfully it's been very good I would say I mean of course there's the odd little bit of you know negativity here and there I don't amplify that either the minority absolute minority absolutely yeah the by and large the vast majority of people are very welcoming and friendly and reasonable and peaceful which is great because you know we just all want to live in peace and we all want to get along with each other so yeah thankfully mostly it's been good and Amir will this be a pardon magnet is this a purpose built building or is it adapting a current building so the planning for the new site at List Nenon is going to be purpose built so there's going to be hopefully two buildings so there's going to be like the main building where we'll have like all the main functions and in terms of things like you know like prayer hall and library and you know bathrooms, coffee dock offices stuff like that and then there's going to be like an ancillary building where we're going to have like you know recreational activities so you know sports and you know cultural and social together and all that kind of stuff parent and toddler group which we are already going to be running in the high road office but obviously this new location will allow us to run a parent and toddler group not just for the Muslim community but open to everybody and there's another opportunity again for everybody to kind of integrate and get to know each other yeah I mean listen depending on your background there's going to be certain things that are specific to your background and that you will you know will enjoy and do with that so that we all live in the community together and there's as much crossover and integration as is possible because history has shown what happens when we don't do that and when I say we I don't mean you I mean any of us right with different backgrounds different cultures you know different race different religions the more we do things separately while some things are always going to be separate I think sometimes the more difficult it is to to truly live together and with each other absolutely yeah and we're big believers in that we absolutely want to have that kind of integration so as I said like the parent and toddler group is one example we've also had like you know events in the past where we did like what we call the fasting challenge if you remember during Ramadan which we need to make sure that we get you in for the next one I could get on board with that at this stage my winter wait it's nothing on you well you know I hide it well with my clothes you know I need to see your tailor but go on anyway but yeah so you know and things like that as well we sort of like invite you know people from the wider community you know from the non-muslim community to come and break their fast with us so we're big believers in that because as you say the only way to really live peacefully together is to live really with each other and interact with them it's when any fears or misconceptions are dispelled because I think those who want to divide us often focus on what we might fear most about each other if I'm told that you're a big bad wolf but I don't know you you're more likely to believe it exactly 100% it's really that basic it really is that basic you put a load of different kids from all different backgrounds in first year national school I mean they might say well why you know why are you whiter than me or why are you browner than me but beyond that there is nothing planted in their heads for them to see each other is different exactly that's right I often think about that it's sort of the innocence of children and how they just interact with people and just see each other just as other kids simply don't know any difference yeah that's it so absolutely you're right when people it's natural for people to be afraid of the unknown and then as you say some people like to capitalize on that I like rationale I think rationality or rationale is really good in everything in life if you try and look at things rationally be it a fear, it could be a fear of flying or it could be a fear of whatever your fears or whatever it might be and even things that are very positive in your life because sometimes you can get over excited about things I just think if we try and employ rational it does really absolutely my emotion a rational emotion of the Muslim community is there a particular area that they're working in more so in Donegal or elsewhere like what is it I mean obviously employment is often what's a driver of where we go in our lives we know that as Irish people to build we move to London, we move to Scotland to America, to Australia we're drawn out there for nursing or teaching and it's the same with Dubai and the UAE is there a particular area of society that you're more likely to see a Muslim person working well thanks for asking that actually because that's a good point actually if you look at for example like you know you walk into the hospital here you can't turn a corner without seeing a Muslim there's so many Muslims working from all over the world hundreds of Muslims working in the hospital from all different nationalities and it has been that way for many years like it's not just recently but many many years not just the hospital here in Lederkenny but even hospitals all over the country so certainly the hospital is where you would see the Muslim population in addition there's a lot of software engineers and other types of professions dentistry absolutely there's a good few Muslim dentists here we also have a lot of Muslim business owners that are contributing to the local economy so you've got restaurants and takeaways and other businesses run by Muslims so you have so we're a big part of the community here we provide community services and contribute to the to the community and the economy and stuff like that okay well and why do you I'm sure we invited you why do you think why did you want to partake this interview about this development is it just to let people know is it to sort of say wow this is great news is it to I don't know after any concerns people might have like why do you think it was important to come in and talk about the development of this facility yeah well a little bit of all of that I mean I suppose it's important that we want the right message to get out there because I think from what I've heard I don't I took some advice you know Jason Manford the Mancurian comedian and I think he said that his uncle once gave him some advice of you know don't read the bottom half of the internet so I try not I try to follow that advice but I've heard that there's like a lot of people sort of spreading rumors and stuff like that so you want to take the opportunity to spell those rumors and just to make sure that everybody knows that this is just a natural kind of evolution of just our communities need in terms of the space we need and like I said it's going to be you know a place for everybody to you know be together and integrate together be peaceful together I you know I know like the likes of the mosque tries to sort of frame X as the town square and that everyone else of you and all that kind of stuff but I actually I actually think the way social media is evolving that it's becoming a very unattractive place to be and even people that I would perhaps feel are like-minded to me it's just the way things are expressed and the rhetoric do you know what I mean it's just I don't like I'm really finding myself backing out of it heading over to TikTok for my sins because at least it seems frivolous they might be reprogramming my brain for all I know I don't care but you know what I mean at least it feels like a little bit of fun at the same time all right Amir Gamil is that the correct pronunciation Gamil I want to get that correct Amir Gamil of the Donagall Islamic or Muslim Association Letter Kenny Islamic Association Letter Kenny Islamic Association Amir Gamil it's been very nice having you in and we wish you the best of success going forward thank you for your time The Counties Number One Talk Show The Nine Till Noon Show on Highland Radio Nine Till Noon Show sponsored by Evolved Clothing Merry Christmas to all our customers who support every year in store at Letter Kenny Retail Park or online at EvolvedClothing.com Harkins have been providing customers with quality fireplaces, doves and electric fires for over 30 years and now you can experience the elegance of luxurious worktop from Harkins their experience craftsmen can fabricate marble, quartz or granite worktops to your specification so if you're planning a new kitchen or bathroom or upgrading your existing work Harkin Fireplaces can provide a quote like this marble or granite worktop visit their showroom in Ballywogan, Lifford or call 914109 or visit them online at HarkinFireplaces.ie Stay warm for less this winter with homeland I'll cast Energy Wood Pellets 10kg buy 10 bags, get one free Kill and Drive softwood logs buy 2 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Travel Route 32 from Leta Kennedy Dublin, when you book online and travel for less. Expressway, bringing you the time, ass. 20 minutes past 11. Brendan Devaney, presenter of the DL Debate, joins us now. Brendan, good morning. Good morning Greg. As bad as that potato of a webcam that you used to have was, at least it worked, now there's nothing. I'd say it's on, I don't know, I thought you didn't want to see me. No, it's not that. We're going to have to dig up and get yourself a laptop or something, I don't know what we're going to do. But anyway, we'll battle on. Santa, I'll put it in the wish list. Well, you are on the good list. But anyway, come here, it's radio, that's all that's important. Okay, so Santa, their intermediate Ulster Hurling title victory on Saturday. What an amazing result for the club and the county. Yeah, listen, Greg, absolutely phenomenal. You know, don't go hard on it, as we say, has been on the rise in many ways, and at county level, at club level, Santa just said, make it history and don't have them won the junior last year. They've done the every game in the Ulster as underdogs, you know, start with Val and strain, then Middleton, then Carrick Moore, and all these teams have been on the round, this title, they all have designs and won this title. So, Santa were, like, by far the most unexperienced side in the group, so they come through each phase in a late Sean Ward goal, was the clincher, so phenomenal stuff brilliant for them. I mean, to get on to this level now, they're facing up the Lens, they're champions now, and they're all in a semi in a few weeks' time. But for now, great scenes in the cross, I've been texting a few of the background boys, the management in that, just to see who can come on the night, so I'd say it'll be Heisbert. Indeed, and Mickey McCann's on the show as well, it'll be interesting to get his insight as the Donegal hurling boss. Yeah, exactly, obviously he was doing some work for us at the weekend there, and listen, he's got obviously a brilliant hurling brain, and you know, give us a bit of a different take on it, in terms of the overall picture of what that means to Donegal club hurling, so always great to chat with him again, again, what a servant he's been like. So I mean, it's a brilliant news story, we've had many attempts at Ulster Glory this season, but listen, Satanta's the team that's went and done it, so I mean, absolutely, they deserve so much respect for this history-making victory. Yeah, whilst we have no Donegal involvement, still a lot of people interested in what's happening in football terms, and you'll be joined by Neil Lachlan from the Irish News, look forward to next week's final between Scotstown and Glen Mahara, which has the makings of being a cracker. Yeah, I think the Ulster Championship, you know, we're just looking to get an overview with, now that we don't have our own of our own teams in it, and the same Dave Connell coming so close against Glen in the previous game, and almost all the games there have come down to a point, or draws, or there's been very few really that haven't gone down the wire, so it's such a madly competitive competition. Ulster Club is loved, and I think even for everybody around the country, there's such an interest in it compared with other championships because things are so tight. And again, you can't imagine this game coming down to anything but a point. So it's always great to chat to Neil just about overall competition and of course leading into this final, Glen, and our Ulster Champions already, you know, what a club on the rise. You know, so in a couple of seasons ago, they won their first championship in there. Here they are, they've played in the All-Ireland Club final last season. They're going to potentially back-to-back Ulster Champions, so just shows you what can happen, Greg, with clubs when the right works put in, you know, the fruits can be bared. But listen, Scotstown, are there in Merth, and they put out, I suppose, the other main favourites, Calcu as well, and they came through a tight tussle there with Trillig as well. So now they're on there as Merth. That's a very hard game to call. It's basically, it's a 50-50, like most of the games around Ulster have gone before. Yeah, it's a show not to be missed, of course. Live just after 7pm, you can listen then to the deal debate as a podcast. Live or on demand, it's all in association with Sarah's Kitchen at Sister Sarah's letter. Kenny, and such is the way the football calendar is now. It's the last show of 2023. There's just a couple of Mondays before we are into January 2024 then, and it's starting to look forward to, again, it's hard to believe, isn't it? It's like Donegal's interest in competitive football only just really concluded, and hurling still to come, of course. But we're already then. What will your focus be in January, Brenna? We're starting to look at the second coming of the Jim McGinnis era? For me, you mentioned that. I have a special interview lined up with the man himself, Jimmy McGinnis. My first show will be myself and Jim talking about the season coming up ahead. So that'll get us off to a good start, Greg. So yeah, listen, it's going to be fascinating season next season. Obviously the lads are all turning away, and the fitness and the commitment now is going up and up, and I think with Jim coming in now, that buzz with Donegal again, particularly after the turmoil of last year. For me, again, just talking about even the likes of what we're mentioning about the turning glance fortune and how quickly things can change in the county. You know, it all seems to be gloom, and then all of a sudden they're going in this year. Who knows what can happen this year, but certainly Jim and the team he's assembled there, he's straight away of the buy-in of everybody. I mean, in terms of the county's been trawled over again, in terms of talent and who's going to join the squad. But, you know, last year we obviously were missing players, and you know that certainly is not going to be the case this year, and the teams have the tenor reef now for a bit of a training camp. Tenor reef sounds great, Greg, I think for everybody listening, but if you're running up San Juns at 6 o'clock in the morning... It's not Sandy either, it's that black, gritty stuff. It may as nice as it sounds. Well, it's not a San Jun I ever ran up at 6 o'clock in the morning, so maybe tumble down one or two. But, Brent, without spoiling the interview, and I'm sure you've done it, it is going to be a fascinating season, and maybe not even referencing the interview, but just knowing Jim McGinnis as a person, right? The expectation is huge. You know, people sort of talk about, you know, we need to manage our expectations. There's a building process. Balls for the majority of fans out there, right? We're going to, we're fascinated to see what can be delivered from the get-go. Is Jim McGinnis the type of person that... that is aware of that, that might put any pressure on it, or is he the type of person that's focused? He's got a plan, he's got a job, and that's what he's going to do, and what happens sort of external to that is almost not irrelevant like he doesn't care, but not part of the plan. What kind of a person is he? What will his approach be, heading into the league, the friendlies, the league, and the championship, I wonder? Yeah, it's an interesting question. Honestly, I don't think it would bother him at all because I think he's very confident and has been, even from the first time he took the job, that he was going to deliver what he can. Now, can you just say, listen, you can never say we're going to win also championship or we're going to win. You can never actually say that, but what you can do is get the very best out of your players and be tactically aware and your fitness and your, I suppose, your attitude and your composure and all those things that go on to making you the best team. And then after that, it's really down to the small margins. And if you look, I suppose, first of all, we're in division two, you want to at least, people won't come out of division two, but then you've got a very tough balance in that between coming into that on the right level because you're going to have a very tough all-star championship starting off with Derry straight away and then you don't get on the other end group stages. So there's a lot to, there's a lot to marry, but you've got to be careful in that division two because there's no one that's just going to roll over. And of course, the bottom couple of sides and that could end up in that tattooing cup. So first and foremost, as we should only stay up the higher side of division two, hopefully get promoted. And then you're right on then also championship game. So I think for Jim, the pressure wouldn't be on him in terms of the success because it's like the work and his application is what he needs to do. And then it's up to the players on the pitch to carry on. But Greg, no more than all-star championship there in the club, you know, you're going to come down to the finest margins. I mean, the backstory. Yeah, but that's what you want Jim McGinnis to bring, isn't it? It's that 5%. And you know, like, Donagall fans are incredibly loyal and they stick by the team and what have you, but there is, you know, there has to be a relationship between the team, the management and the fans as well. I think they're all intertwined. And I'm not saying that's not there or what have you, but I do believe that's an important part. You would, we were on this show, sort of when, you know, the fans' heads are down, games that they know would go to, they're going to stuff that can't be bothered. You know, I think there's a, hopefully that strength of relationship will be fully re-established next year. Yeah, yeah. And that's a good point because I think it's very much changed from early there. We would want to know a couple of games and then there'd be a big fall. You know, you might lose a big final in it and we wouldn't play well in it. I think the difference is now is we know what level of performance we're going to get from Donagall. Now, as you said, there might be small percentages and that are a bit of magic in a game, but the game's very much changed that everybody plays to a certain level. The top teams are all at a certain level and that's why you see even good in the last year's games, you know, the likes of the semifinals, but, you know, when Derry were there and Monahan were there, you know, there's not much in it, then against teams that are supposed to beat them because the game has got so much tactical now and teams are so well set up that no one can get that kind of hammer or the game can go against them. You rarely see it. So that's why even for Donagall going into this and if you look at it as I say, how far on Derry have come and the likes of Monahan from last year and obviously you've thrown their man improvement. There's so much, I suppose, intrigue in Ulster. So it's going to be a difficult proposition, but I think, as you're on it, but the fans think, I think they're going to be just fully behind the team. Yeah, great. And as I say, it doesn't really know where it comes down to any pressure on Jim because he's going to bring all his expertise and brilliance that he has and it would be interesting like that's, you know, 10 years ago now. So how has he evolved on is what he's seen as well. So we'll always see some different tactics from Donagall. It's all going to be fascinating to see. Exactly. And who's to say what percentage Jim being in charge adds to the opposition as well because of his status and reputation. It's going to be fascinating as always. Brendan, we look forward to tonight's show. Can't wait for 2024. Thanks for chatting to us throughout the year. I've probably chatted to you about something or other between now and the end of the year having a clue. But either way, thanks very much for coming on and chatting and stuff. And listen, Greg, thank you as well for every Monday given the show. It's content, Brendan. It's content. And I'm the king of content. You are the man. You are the man with the bastard, Brendan. That's it. All right. Take care of yourself, Peter. Thanks very much. That's Brendan, depending there. 08, 6, 60, 25,000 is the WhatsApp and text number. Congratulations to Satanta on Saturday. Not the first team to win the intermediate though. 2001 was the breakthrough. Check the archives. All right, listen, thank you very much for that. Message in on Revolute to give them a PPS number on my account. All my accounts will be shut down in January. Apparently it's for tax purposes. I'm a pensioner. What do I do? Well, I can't give you advice that I say follow, right? But Revolute are being required, particularly because they're in the loan market now. So they offer personal loans and what have you. They and mortgages, they are required now to gather their users PPS numbers. If it's through the Revolute app, you're OK because that is their secure space. And the reason they're asking you for it is not for any dodgy reasons or whatever. It's because they offer loans and mortgages and what have you now and because of credit ratings and all that kind of stuff. They need to be tracked their usage. There's money laundering rules in there as well. So that's why and they're also now have an Irish eye ban. So they're looking for your PPS number through the app. No problem. If you get any texts or emails, give Revolute a ring. But if it's through your app and it stays within the app and you feel safe and secure, I've had to do it. Many people around me have had to do it. And as I say, it's because of rules and regulations that they have to conform to as well. So my suggestion is so that you can retain it is to go ahead and well, I don't want to give you. I've said what I've said and it's up to you what you choose to do now. OK, back with more shortly. Nine Till Noon Show sponsored by Evolve Clothing. Merry Christmas to all our customers and thanks for all your support every year in store at Letty Kenny Retail Park or online at EvolveClothing.com. To help with the cost of heating your home during the winter months, the fuel allowance scheme is now available. This allowance is paid at a rate of 33 euro a week for 28 weeks. To find out more and check your eligibility, visit gov.ie forward slash fuel allowance. The quickest and easiest way to apply is online at mywelfare.ie. One payment per household. A Government of Ireland initiative brought to you by the Department of Social Protection. At Tesco, we're helping you become more Christmas. Dig into the second tray early and often with Cadbury Milk Tray 360 gram was 10 euro, now 3 euro 50. Stuff stockings to the brim with Toblerone Milk Chocolate Sleeve 360 gram was 60 euro 50, now 3 euro 50. And get into the fist of spirit with Coca-Cola Can's 20 pack was 18 euro, now 10 euro. 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Choose from a range of memorable experiences to suit all. Visit our website to view and purchase our gift fighter offers and experiences including our winter getaway offer from only 125 euro per couple. For more information see Red Castle Hotel Donegol.com Now concerns have been expressed at a major reform of driving licenses being proposed by the European Commission that would allow teenagers to drive HGVs. The European Transport Safety Council has called for the recommended age driving licence in the EU to remain at 21 and the minimum age to drive bosses and coaches to be kept at 24. The ETSC, whose members include Ireland's Road Safety Authority, is warned about the dangers of very young motorists being permitted to drive large vehicles. The European Commission has proposed allowing 17-year-olds to begin accompanied training to drive a lorry as part of a road safety package of new legislation governing driving licenses in the EU. Ellen Townsend is the European Transport Safety Council policy director and is with us now. Good morning to you, Ellen. Good morning, hi. Thank you so much for joining us. So why do you have concerns? I mean if the testing system is robust enough, surely if you're good enough, you're old enough? Well, 20,600 road deaths on European Union roads last year and more than 120,000 seriously injured. One in five of those collisions involve a lorry or a bus. So we're talking about a massive responsibility driving a large heavy vehicle. So that's our starting point trying to produce road deaths and serious injuries and then yeah, why we are very concerned about it? Well, two things. One is there are these recommended ages for truck and bus drivers. So for truck it's 21 and there are already five countries in the European Union where it is possible to already drive those at 18, but with certain attached conditions and for those countries where that is possible, we have data showing that these drivers, so the HDB drivers, in the case of Germany, being a very large country, large population 18 to 20 year olds caused a much higher number of collisions resulting in personal injury. So yeah, we're just extremely concerned if this were to be extrapolated to all the European Union. For the moment this is, this would be an option and saying yes, just as so the government would have to offer this possibility that 17 year olds even accompanied yeah. So just in relation to those statistics you used, in the countries that already allow 18 year olds to drive HDVs under certain conditions, are you saying that we have the statistics of them specifically driving HDVs that shows that more dangerous or did you throw in figures there about people in that age category driving generally, sorry, just to be clear Ellen. Yeah, no, absolutely it's a very important point. So we have specific data for the HDV driver set in Germany, but also Poland and Finland, which are real, real concern. So young drivers for the other category be the car drivers are also a big concern and it sometimes argued, oh don't worry you know these professional drivers will be within a professional setting, they'll have extra training but we can see here from this data that they're still higher risk, they're still more involved and one of the main reasons for this is that the brain development especially the part that looks at risk isn't fully developed until well between 21 and 24, so all of this points to the much better common sense, I mean it is common sense as well road safety approach to say right, 21 for trucks, 24 for buses and I get you I do get you and in terms of the brain development up to 25 and risk of origin and what have you, but we do allow them to vote, we do we allow them to go to war we allow them to go to battlefields you know if they're good enough to do all of those things is it fair to cite brain development to preclude them then from driving at a young age? Well let's go back to why this is actually on the table so for the moment there is a massive driver shortage in the European Union and the industry representing these interests are saying we need to improve well we support them on this as well now we need to improve the attractiveness of the sector and one way would be to reduce the age and this is where we say no we fully support improving the attractiveness of the sector but we think to do this we need to improve working conditions wages to retain the current workers but also then to attract a new workers and we just don't think the risk that you would bring in by allowing 17 accompanied and then as of 18 kind of comes down to finance in other words the general population could be collateral damage to fulfill a requirement because the industry doesn't want to put its hand in its pocket really and I mean you know it's a strong argument a caller says yes I get exactly what Ellen is saying but in Ireland you can have a 16 year old with a provisional tractor license or a full driving tractors at 50 kilometers per hour with two trailers on and you do see that you know that you do see very young people driving on the roads with very heavy loads almost that would match what we're talking about here well I'm sorry to say that we wouldn't we would also be very concerned about two wrongs don't make a right I'm sure you might feel yeah okay we shall see we're getting a lot of this stuff coming from Europe and then we have a wee debate about it and then it disappears but anyway I don't know who's picking it up if it's organizations like yours or the press but it we do you know there was another one can't remember what it was a week or two ago but here we are do you believe this will pass out what is the procedure for something like this coming into law in the EU actually quite interesting I'd be quite interested in this so we're right in the thick of it at the moment we have the Transport Council with the Irish Minister Ryan there this morning and so the Transport Council EU Ministers adopted their position which includes this possibility this morning and then there's a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday so with Irish members of the European Parliament represented and they'll be saying yay or nay to the different elements and this is one of the points where there is a different position and then they have to get together and negotiate and well we hope we'll get a final decision early in the spring with anything like this I always find it interesting to know who's lobbying in favour of something and who's lobbying against it I think after it can be really quite telling okay thank you for your insight I really do appreciate it Ellen Townsend the European Transport Safety Council Council Policy Director so a straight up question to you I don't know to be honest with you I'm on the fence here do you believe that the minimum age for driving HDVs should be dropped do you believe that people under the age of 24 should be allowed to drive buses and coaches or do you think it's fair enough to let younger people drive these vehicles teenagers driving HDVs what do you think currently you have to be 21 would you be okay with 18 19 20 year olds what say you your voice is the most important of all of course 0 8 6 60 25000 right last if we close the Cadbury competition for today we have okay listen we have got so many entries someone's going to be selected very shortly we'll announce the winner but there's another the hamper is like this full of chocolate right but I'm saying like this as if you can see me it's massive the the nominator is going to win that and then there's a beautiful secret Santa chocolate bar goes out to the nominee we've got one winner today we're going to have another Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and then the big one 250 euro one full voucher on Friday so the giving keeps coming 9 till noon show sponsored by Evolve clothing two floors of men's winter fashions this Christmas it has to be Evolve letter Kenny retail park or online at Evolve clothing dot com open seven days there's bingo every Monday night at halfway house bingo burn food doors open at 7 30 with eyes down at 8 30 two thousand five hundred and fifty euro must go the snowball is two thousand euro on 45 numbers or less if you're not in you can't win that's halfway house bingo tonight at 8 30 it's fun to touch a lecture cuz it looks like there's a lot of new cliches and it's new cliches electric Ireland Tom and Jean Schuchne throw a heart out the first nation plan in a major TV so I guess panel rain in our net zero hope new and do so it needs to layer Turkish nice glitch Balian East surely a good sale nice killer till I wish a good electric Ireland punk guy heading out on the town tonight doing some shopping tomorrow how do you know that the door staff or security guards are vetted trained and licensed individuals licensed by the private security authority must wear an identity badge displaying their license number and their photo on licensed door staff and security guards face prosecution and fines to report on licensed door staff or security guards visit PSA hyphen gov dot IE issued by the private security authority the security regulator discovered the ultimate experience in the spade orchids at the Hollywood Hotel Bundorn with our tranquil Japanese themed garden rejuvenated in massages and facials luxurious spa baths pampering body treatments not forgetting the outdoor hot oven sauna and their secret garden visit on a luxury spa day poppin' for some me time or buy the perfect present with a gift voucher relax and let the spade orchids transport you to another world for more see hollywoodhotel.com Bunkrana Golf Club Charity Bingo will take place in the initial gateway hotel Bunkrana this Thursday 7th of December whatever the weather this December Larry Kenny will bring a warm front to your shopping and great value for your pocket Highland weather forecast brought to you by ShopLK it'll be a bright day with some spells of winter sunshine and scattered showers with the chance of a few sunshines and a few sunshines and a few sunshines and a few sunshines and a few sunshines and a few sunshines and scattered showers with the chance of a few of hail or sleep mainly over higher ground temperatures, 3 to 7 degrees in mostly moderate North West winds a little fresher at times as you might expect in coastal parts now Chief Superintendent Adrian Glaquen said there had been just over 1600 traffic checkpoints set up so far this year compared to over 2000 during the same period last year. He was challenged but Superintendent Glaquen said efficacy because of flashing light warnings and social media saying a checkpoints only effective for 20 minutes. I'm just going to be honest with you as a motorist I would say flashing for speed vans. Often the checkpoints are located in places no matter how well you're flashed you'd have to lift that well not literally lift the handbrake but you'd have to do a UE to avoid them and also I don't really see much warning on social media anyway but listen that's the view of Superintendent Adrian Glacken. He was challenged on his views by Joe Boland who's the Donegal PPN representative on the Joint Policing Committee and Joe's accepted our invite onto the show this morning. Hi Joe. How's it going mate? I'm doing all right so what's your view? Adrian Glacken said there's a reduction in traffic checkpoints he says they're losing their efficacy because of people flashing and warnings on social media. Do you buy that? No I don't. Well one of the things that he said about flashing lights as you said to yourself that most people that do use the do flash lights as far as the go-safe fans never very rarely for a yarder car yarders checkpoint. The second thing he said about the efficacy between 15 and 20 minutes that's that's I can understand that but the problem then is it apparently when you finish the 15 minutes they go back to base or go somewhere else they don't have checkpoints anywhere else so our argument was that surely if it is only 15 minutes at one area they can go somewhere else for an hour 15 minutes and it's somewhere else for an hour 15 that and that would that would be twofold would help people want to it but might be just the traffic and some of the traffic bad behavior. Secondly it would also deter potential criminals or burglars from going to an area because the security are floating around and they don't know where they're going to Can I make a point on that Joe if you don't mind because I presume what the Guardia trying to say is you just don't know when you might see a checkpoint they could pop up anywhere for 15 or 20 minutes and then you know people will say well I better be a good driver them but the way I think they're so random and scattered you never see them people don't think they could pop anywhere people think they simply won't pop up and don't adjust their behavior or criminals feel that they can rough run rough shot over Donagall if the policy is to sort of have them where you simply don't know where they might be I don't think that's work and I think that's failing because to be honest with you I would almost be shocked to see a checkpoint not fear there might be one there. Exactly if you break it down to per day it's just over four checkpoints on the count of Donagall per day and if you take that out of that the checkpoints obviously we all see it at the Mannequinningham port and maybe Balachannon that's three out of that four every day so it means that the whole of the county is never covered I mean I live in the rural area myself and I haven't seen a Guardia car driving in my area since then three years ago and I'm just two miles off the main thoroughfares you know so they're not going out to the rural areas yes there are a few checkpoints I mean I think it's 1635 he said we're drug and alcohol related checkpoints and there's another 1049 I think it was for our only checkpoint for tax insurance and whatever else behavior but they're not been held they're not been held in the county in the county way they're held in the big towns like Lillicani and Corana Balachannon possibly somewhere else you know but the rest of county has not been covered at all and you'll find and even in my area and you fairly see you see a lot of the potential criminal drivers or whatever they call them driving the back roads to avoid the checkpoint that they know is going to be at wherever it is you know so they're not in the real Ireland and I mean if you like listen the only checkpoints I've seen on a Sunday morning or the customs checkpoints now if you want to avoid a customs checkpoint I can tell you where there's one going to be with with a level of regularity do you know what I mean it's not rocket science and as I say you know you might bump into one on a Sunday morning but that's the only time I've ever seen them and also to so what did he say in response to that I'll get to my point but I want to know what what he said in response to what you say he deferred he it doesn't actually answer it now I'm not I'm not blaming him or the guy I know there's only 24 traffic guard in the county and they're white I think that's dropped by I think that's actually dropped by two recently as well I'm not sure if the 24 is the new figure or the old figure but it's they're down to anyway so right well that's you're probably right um so we may can't be able to understand that but whenever the guard you're right on a on a on a tour or a drive around the county or wherever they're going it wouldn't be a month's of them to stop for 10 or 50 minutes in different areas to at least let people know and also Olivia's fear from older people and people who live in the rural areas that are I said yeah I think the problem is is the problem though when you see the amount of guards we have how many of them can be on duty at any one time and then take annual leave sick leave out of it there's simply not enough guards like the superintendent's hands are probably tied and maybe he can't say it and we're not speaking on his behalf and I don't know what he thinks but there probably simply isn't the resources to have people walking on the streets because people wants to see guards walking up and down Balabuffet or or Lyford or Letterkenny or wherever it might be they also want them out on the roads if you look at the numbers and you look at the spread of the county there's just simply not there no I agree I mean the numbers have reduced a lot and yes the superintendent spoke she superintendent spoke up with that on Friday and said that he so much has smashed every year for new yard new courts to come date on the but I think there's a deputy deputy Peter already said that I see that only three in the last four or five years of riding going all and that there's been a lot of transfers I call on and this one part is that I call for all our councillors under TD to lobby as well as community people at nice little levels to look at the guard and say look we need the resources yes there is a lot and doubling the amount of issues in Dublin and the guard even kept there but there are a lot issues also with the county and the country as well that have been forgotten about and not not well maybe not forgotten about but they've left to to the last leg you know because nobody's there to support them and the guard here trying their best the guardian doesn't go all or doing great job work for what they do yes but there are things that they can do both the numbers they have that'll utilize their time and also maybe make it more secure for the county okay I think we're all sort of and I would I would probably count the senior guards and this we're all kind of pulling in the same direction they would love more resources as well but you're sort of saying well can we change how we use the resources that we have Joe thanks for coming on I appreciate it well thank you everybody take care you too Joe that's Joe Boland Donegal PPN representative on the Joint Police and Committee have you a view on that let us know 08 660 25000 right we have our winner of the secret Santa competition thanks to our friends at Cabri I think that this person deserves the delivery of the secret Santa bar my beloved granny a remarkable woman who recently celebrated her 80th birthday is truly deserving of the chocolate bar from Highland Radio's competition despite reaching this incredible milestone of turning 80 she continues to embody the spirit of selflessness and community engagement every month she organizes a quiz for a different charity demonstrating her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the world her dedication to community work is awe inspiring as she remains actively involved in various initiatives with a family as vast as and loving as hers consisting of nine children 20 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren her kindness and generosity have touched the lives of many a small token of appreciation like the chocolate bar would be a sweet acknowledgement for the love and joy she spreads within our family and our broader community we've probably given it away it's supposed to be a secret but if that lady is listening I wanted to hear it from us as well so well done she's going to win the lovely wee gift but also for you nominating you are winning a very luxurious cabri hamper and you know what maybe you can bring it round to granny's and share it with everybody I think that's what most people will be doing anyway it's a lovely competition it gives us a chance to tell us tell people while they're important to us it's back with you tomorrow it's back with you tomorrow just after no it's back with you tomorrow throughout the entire show another fantastic ham another fantastic hamper to give away I wanted to mention by the way because this time next monday the stage will quite literally be set for our amazing christmas concert just one week to go it's in the manta ergal hotel a beautiful venue it's on monday 11th of December it starts at 7 30 p.m or sorry the doors open at 7 30 p.m with the show starting at 8 30 michael english will be there john mcnickle claudia buckley david james jack keo it's going to be a brilliant night tickets are flying out the door there are a few remaining with tickets only get them at the mount ergal or online at highlandradio.com in the outlet section we want to see you there it's going to be a cracking night we're back with you tomorrow morning at nine have a wonderful day please and be safe and happy if you can john bresson's coming up after 12 around the