 Don't delay, get your loan today. Visit bnscu.ie or free phone 1800 290 390. BNS Credit Union Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Greg, I'm late today. I'd love to talk to you about gadgets and cooking rice and stuff, but we'll just have to do it. Cooking rice? Yeah, because I thought of you this morning. I'm not gonna cookin'. Do you do it in the bag? She does it in the bag, Don and Ray. Oh, no, no. There's a very simple cup system you can do. What is it? Well, I don't have time. I know, all right, that means you don't really know then. Yeah, well, you can get the sort of the stuff that you can microwave for like 69 cents. No, where do you buy it for 69 cents? It's nearly two euros, Lidl or Alden, boys, nearly two. No, the way you microwave will be 69 cents. No, where do you buy that? I can't really say, can I? No, you can't really say no. One of the German brothers? No, you can't buy it for 69 cents. I don't for a fact. I am so tightly. I'm tighter than you. No, well, I know it's 69 cents. Because I think there's a cheaper option of doing that. Because it's only a plastic white... Tub, white tub. With a clear plastic tub that you can't get off. And you pierce it and you put it in the microwave for two minutes. 69 cents. No. Well, that's how much I paid for it the last time. Take a picture of the next time, prove it to me. I can only talk about what I paid for it the last time. I don't have a time machine. But do you know during that time where they locked in that all because of the weight and all of that stuff? The price of that rice went up. Yeah, well, anyway. But it's easy to make, rice is easy. But I want to chat to you about gadgets another day, but I didn't use them. Right, well, let you go. All right, coming up the 9th Loon Show after the news headlines at a minute past nine, it's over to Donna Marie Doherty. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. Donegal County Council has been told that they can have all the plans in the world to tackle homelessness. But until those plans are backed up with proper government support, they will not succeed. After a presentation to members by Linda McCann, the council's new homeless prevention coordinator, councillor Jerry McMonagall said the Northwest Regional Homeless Plan is a very positive one. And council officials have good intentions, but without more resources, they cannot succeed. He says the bottom line is, unless the council has accommodation in which to place people, the plans are doomed to fail. The houses that we have there are very much welcome in the pipeline, but it'll be the end of next year before a lot of them are ready. And what we need to do now is to ensure that we can do what we can to meet the rise in homelessness, but also the rise in people who are on the housing and waiting list, looking for housing. And with the rising rents, that can only lead to further homelessness in the short time ahead. So I hope that we can build and acquire houses as soon as possible. Amidlands Northwest MEP says he will be voting against the proposed EU nature restoration regulation as it is a disservice to farmers and society as a whole. MEP Lukming Flanagan says the current proposal is inadequate and that more funding needs to be provided for farmers to tackle climate change. A vote will take place this Tuesday on the nature restoration regulation in Strasbourg, and MEP Flanagan says the policy as it stands will pit farmers against each other. For a start, it sets one type of farmer against the other. It means farmers in Donegal will have to do a massive amount up to 2030. People down south will not have to do anything. What they're asked to do is vague. It's unclear exactly what restoration will mean, but there's one thing very clear. There is no money to do this. And the government announced a climate and nature fund of 3.15 billion last October, but having meshed with Minister Malcolm Noonan, it's quite clear that none of this money will come to farmers. A group representing police officers in Northern Ireland says the security threat is always at the forefront of their minds. Today marks one year since the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell in Oma. In the wake of the gun attack for which the new IRA claimed responsibility, Northern Ireland's terror threat level was raised to severe where it remains today. Police Federation Chair Liam Kelly says police aren't complacent. I mean, one of the impacts after the attack on John Caldwell was our officers were looking at their off-güty activities, particularly their social activities. So again, our officers are certainly now more mindful about certain patterns. Looking now to weather, sunny spells and scattered showers. Some heavy and there's a chance of hail and isolated thunderstorms sleep possible on high ground. That's with highest temperatures of five to seven degrees. That's all for now from Highland Radio News back again at 10 o'clock. The 100% electric new Nissan area is now on Irish roads, which means you'll discover the game-changing silhouette that sets it apart, as well as its luxurious interior inspired through Japanese design. Then you'll discover the smooth acceleration, quiet operation and advanced technology that makes every driver pleasure. The new Nissan area for €43,500 test drive it today and discover outstanding Nissan innovation that excites. Dealer delivery and related charges apply. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest, the Ninth & Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Highland Radio. Hello and a very good morning to you. It is five minutes past nine on this Thursday, the 22nd of February, 2024, and you're very welcome along to another edition of the Ninth & Noon Show. All right, you're all keeping today. I hope you're doing very well indeed. And we look forward to your company for the next three hours. Lots coming up, as you can imagine, including, scheduled at least, T-Shark, Leo Faradkar. He's going to be joining us to, I presume, campaign for a yes-yes vote in the forthcoming referendum's referendum. He's coming up a little later on the show. And so much more besides. So stay tuned for all of that. Get involved in the conversation as always and start your own two. WhatsApps are taxed to 08, 660, 25,000. Feel free to send you WhatsApp voice notes if you want to that number, that WhatsApp number, or give us a call at 07, 491, 25,000, where Caroline is taking your calls. And if you want to email, it's comments at highlandradio.com. And you can join us on our social media as well. Watch us on your big screen or your fire stick, your smart big screen, that would be. Of course, most TVs being sold now are YouTube. Type in Highland Radio Ireland. You'll see we're live and you can watch us there. Take us on your mobile devices on that app or on Facebook, Highland Hub, Highland News and Sport. And we're also on X, formerly Twitter. Right, let's look at a busy morning, as always, for the newspapers, the Chicano Tribune first, in an ongoing issue of the supply of concrete blocks and products to developments where Donegal County Council is involved. Councillor Michael McBride has sought clarification from Lifford. He has contacted the chief executive of the council to establish why the indigenous quarries in the county are excluded from the process. He said that the council has plans to have 1,200 homes constructed in the coming years and Donegal quarries face serious issues if they are excluded from the tendering process. Councillor McBride has been in contact with the council as a result of quarry companies who've told him they're now excluded from providing concrete to the council and that only one international company is the preferred option. I would have thought that would have been an open process in terms of those types of materials. I would have thought it had to be under law because we often hear about that. I would be interested to see if they're being excluded on what grounds, what is the exemption that's probably applying. Well, the issue was raised during a housing meeting in Lifford on Wednesday and a senior official said they have no clear policy on the issue, but will issue the response next week, so I thought it will have to be open tendering and all that kind of stuff to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer. The Donegal's lead this morning, the Donegal rape crisis centre is now offering counselling services to children as young as 12 years old and staff say the demand for help from young children is on the rise. Up until recently, the centre offered its services for adults and children aged 14 years and older. However, in order to meet a growing demand for help from children, the age limit has now been reduced to 12. The dairy news this morning, tributes paid to veteran Republican Tony Hassan. Tributes have flooded in following the death of former long-serving dairy counsellor Tony Hassan. The veteran Republican died on Monday following a lung illness. He served as a Sinn Féin counsellor for over 20 years. In the last few days, many warm tributes were paid to Tony who championed the building of much needed social housing across the city, but especially in the Greater Shantalo area. On to the nationals now. And we'll start with the Irish Independent. A Labour senator confronted executives from social media site X with harrowing details of violent and sexually abusive posts she had received on the platform. At a private briefing yesterday, Annie Hoey read out posts about her on the site, formerly known as Twitter, during a private committee hearing with two executives from the Elon Musk-owned social media giant Ms. Hoey, who previously disclosed she was raped in her 20s, referred to posts saying she deserved to be raped and that made disparaging references about her weight and sexuality ex-sort and got agreement from the committee to brief members in private on its safety, disinformation, and media literacy policies. Yesterday at Lenster House, the company defended these policies at a detailed opening statement in the committee. However, speaking afterwards, several members publicly criticized the response they received at the meeting with the accusations that X was not taking the concerns about the platform seriously. And really the situation with X is this, that people can say anything they want about you. X doesn't really do anything about it. The onus then is on the person who might be the victim of such comments to lobby X to get them removed through an email or whatever it might be. And also quite interesting in that exchange is that X says that it will implement the new hate speech laws as they are defined in the Irish constitution and through the courts that it will fully implement them. So obviously you would have Elon Musk saying one thing using his Twitter X handle, but they are saying that they will implement and abide by the hate laws that you updated hate laws when they are introduced. The Irish Times this morning talks of tensions rising between RTEs or OCTAS committees. A turf war has emerged between two OCTAS committees examining the RTE controversy. And that's our earlier this month, Finaful TD, Neve Smith, the chair of the OCTAS media committee, warned that there had been considerable overlap between it and the public accounts committee. She wrote that this had resulted in duplication of witnesses attending with the same witnesses being invited to attend at two separate committee hearings on the same topic in some cases on the same day. In the letters to the committee on parliamentary privilege and oversight, which is considering whether to extend a special dispensation given to PAC to investigate RTE, she said that two committees concurrently covering the same topic had resulted in negative public commentary. So obviously, you know, I'm sure the people are well, I'm sure the people are well-meaning in asking their questions, but listen, there is a bit of publicity in it too. It's good publicity too. The clips get taken off and be put up in social media. So the politicians are sort of jockeying, I suppose, that they are the ones being seen to ask these questions. National debt is high per person. What would you say the national debt is? It's 42,000 euros. So every man, woman and child in this country, we owe 42,000 euro. And it is kind of interesting that we're supposedly a wealthy country with an economy doing great. There's many things that seem to contradict that in everyday life, but I think one of the biggest contradictors is the national debt. Ireland's national debt has fallen slightly to 42,000 per person in what is one of the highest gross public debt levels in the world. The figures published yesterday indicate the public debt represented 76% of the modified gross national income last year. Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said that Ireland's debt of 223 billion was very significant debt for a small open economy. Ireland's chief economist John McCarthy said there are only a handful of countries in the world that have a higher level of per capita debt. That's per person debt. These include Japan, Belgium and Italy. Mr. McCarthy said the decrease in public debt per person is both because the number of people in Ireland has increased and the amount of debt overall has fallen, but it still stands. I remember this. It was at 37, 38,000 per person a few years ago, and it was like, oh my God, we're in bother here, but it's actually gone up since quite considerably, albeit there has been a slight dip recently. The Farmer's Journal, the number of TB outbreaks in Irish cattle herds has hit a 10-year high. Herd incidents, the number of herds that experienced a new TB breakout breakdown in a 12-month period increased to 4.89% last year from 3.64% in 2014. TB reactor numbers also continued to increase with reactor numbers up 5,500 head to reach almost 29,000 in the last year. This was a 24% jump between 2022 and 2023. We've discussed this extensively on this program over many, many years, and this is proposals for an opt-out system, which is supposedly going to transform organ donations. New laws that will herald an opt-out organ donation system are to be introduced after a landmark moment in the Eroctor's. The legislation yesterday reached the Shannon and means everyone automatically becomes an organ donor unless they opt-out. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced plans last summer for the country to move from an opt-in system for organ donation to an opt-out system. The Human Tissue Bill 2022 allows for organ donation after a person dies unless the deceased has previously opted out. Now, I don't know how that works in terms of the reality of that situation where there is someone maybe on life support, on award, and the family is there. Maybe the issue hasn't been discussed with the family, and they say, well, this person has not opted out, so we're taking the organs. What happens in that situation? Like, has it really changed significantly? Because I think that is and remains one of the barriers as to why some organs aren't donated. So what happens in that situation? But also, are you happy about this from now on? Legally, your organs are up for grabs unless you opt-out. Minister Donnelly, whose department has pledged an extra $1.6 million to boost transplants this year, expressed his belief yesterday that the new system will result in an increase in organ donation. He said it's a really important step. It's been a long time coming. Now, it's well rehearsed the debate, the conversation. Will you be opting out? Are you happy now that you are automatically being opt-did-in? Let us know. 08, 660, 25,000. The crackdown on so-called dodgy boxes continues. Irish dogs who box sellers were targeted by a UK copyright watchdog in a major crackdown, spanning 10 counties. In fact, issued 22 legal warnings to pirates, flogging, modified Amazon Fire 6 or other fully-loaded smart TV devices. So this is not necessarily your hosts, which are often based outside Ireland. These are often individuals that will buy, say, 50 slots from whoever hosts these streams and then they'll go on Facebook, which is really quite foolish. They'll go on Facebook and offer these products fully-loaded. But they're sort of subcontractors, if you know what I mean. This isn't really targeting, I don't think, the big boys who are actually hosting the streams. This is people that buy slots off them and then resell them. They're resellers, effectively. The organization said their cease and desist letters warned sellers to stop all illegal streaming activity. They said if they didn't stop, they risked facing criminal prosecution. A dodgy box allows users to access illegally-streamed content such as movies, sport, and pay-per-view events along with regular TV channels. Now, I'm sure it was actually fully illegal to stream, but certainly illegal to download, but anyway, be that as it may. It's only a matter of time. I would imagine before the telecommunication companies, if they haven't already, start throttling, they can tell which ports the information comes down on through your internet and router. And there's an awful lot of throttling of those ports in Britain and elsewhere. And it's only a matter of time before that starts here. If it hasn't started already, I wouldn't know. And finally in the sun, maybe you're bored of EastEnders, Coronation Street, Fair City, and the rest. Well, apparently they won't lead actors anymore because AI will be able to create soaps, TV soaps in the next five years. So I was looking at some of the video. For those of you who aren't aware of what AI is, it's artificial intelligence and it is incredible how far advanced it has got. Just to give you an example, there are programs now where you could type poppies playing in snow with green trees in the background. And the artificial intelligence will create that. It doesn't take an image of a dog and Photoshop it into snow. The artificial intelligence now can literally write it, create it so that very lifelike dogs are playing in snow with the snow flying around the place and their individual hairs moving around. As I say, this is not sort of ripping images from the internet and creating a picture. From scratch can create this scene. It's really quite remarkable if you've never seen it and that's where we're at now. That's the stuff the public can access. So what can actually be done beyond that is unbelievable. Well, this is a side note TV soaps. There's far better uses for it or worse uses. TV soaps could be made by chat bots within five years, a director warned. In worrying news for the cast and crew of Kari Emmerdale and EastEnders, James Haves yesterday said artificial intelligence was well on the way to replacing humans, adding the genies out of the bottle. TV veteran Haves, best known for Doctor Who and fellow sci-fi series Black Mirror, told UKMPs he was swayed by the launch of tech called Sora, made by free-to-use AI system chat GPT. And listen, at the end of the day, to even platforms like this, like radio, it is not, it's capable now. It's capable now whereby you can have artificial intelligence, present music, choose music, read from newspapers. So who's to say how it affects soaps, radio, TV, whatever. But it is really remarkable, even stuff that we can access now, what it's capable of doing even last year or the year before. This might not interest lots of you, but anyway, AI struggled with hands and fingers and digits. You know, so you'd get really good videos created, but you could see it was AI now this year already, as I mentioned that at one example. It's improved, because it self-learns. It literally self-learns. It's crazy stuff all together. The newspapers are courtesy of Kelly Centra, Mountaintop Letter Kenny, the C Store National Large Four Court of the Year for 2022. The Ninetyl Noon Show with Letter Kenny Credit Union, now offering mortgages from 40,000 to 600,000 euro with no hidden fees or transaction charges. Letter Kenny Credit Union, 9102127. TV Outbreaks hit 10 year high. For more in your Irish Farmers Journal, here's Paul Mooney. We examined the latest department figures showing TB hotspots and reactor numbers. ICBF moves to address calf blue card delays. Find out how you can get up to 30,000 euros to renovate traditional farm buildings. What's driving some Western farmers away from sucklers? Top tips for maintaining a farm quad? Key farm payment schemes open for applications? Plus, your TAM's questions answered. Paul, inside the Irish Farmers Journal, you can't afford to miss it. Apply online for learner permit and driving license services, including renewals, updates, exchanges, and replacements. It's easy and hassle-free. Visit NDLS online today at ndls.rsa.ie. Verified myGov ID required. A message from the Road Safety Authority. Shannon Airport knows precisely what suits a suitcase nicely. So find out concisely at ShannonAirport.ie. Affordable parking, easy access, seamless security, and dream holiday destinations, like Lanzarote, Paris, and New York. For a hassle-free airport experience for you and your suitcase, start your dream holiday at ShannonAirport.ie. Creative landscaping works are the donning-all distributors of millboard, cladding, and decking. Thanks to its unique polymer resin construction, this decking and cladding doesn't deteriorate like natural wood and won't be beaten for durability. It also has superb slip resistance, even when wet, and every board is produced using recycled materials. Live life outside with Millboard at Creative Landscaping Works, listen in and letter, Kenny. See creativelandscapingworks.com. Looking for a career change? Home instead have full and part-time positions for caregivers. You'll be trained and supported. You'll have ongoing opportunities for career development. Apply now at careers.homeinstead.ie. Home instead to Aussie's personnel. Ireland and Britain find winners with data insights from expert analysts Simon Rowlands, Matt Tombs and Andy Bate. The Irish Field, Chetnam magazine in stores now, or get free home delivery on theirishfield.ie. No. Living in the North West, we face many challenges, not least that sometimes, you know, our healthcare is provided from Galway or Dublin, and that is a challenge to get up and down if you have your own vehicle. But many people have to use public transport and become incredibly reliant on it. That just seems to be a health tax if you want to describe it like that of living in the North West. It's tough enough if it goes well, but it's particularly nasty if it goes wrong. John joins us on the programme. Now, John, thanks for your time today. I do appreciate it. Hi, Greg. How are you? Not too bad at all, and just an apology, John. I was forwarded on your original post on this, but I didn't get... I was so busy yesterday evening, I didn't get access to it to share it. So my apologies on the first instance. There was a resolution, though, thanks to being shared on social media, but what did your mum go through yesterday? My mother, she goes to Dublin every six weeks for treatment, and she travels with boss Aaron every six weeks. Most of the time, everything is OK, but this is the second time now my mother's been put in a situation. She got the bus yesterday to quarter to three to come to Lifford. The bus stops in Monaghan bus station. It's supposed to stop for 15 minutes if you look at the timetable. My mother got out of the bus. She went to the toilet. When she came back out of the toilet, the bus was gone. Right, and what about her stuff she was travelling with? Like, did she presume she was just to take a bike with her down there? Yeah, her bag was still in the bus, and my father had to drive to Lifford to get her bag off the bus, and the bus driver had very little to say. He just didn't really care. Was it put to him at that stage, John? Was it put to him that he left after three minutes and not the 10 or 15 minutes that he's supposed to wait? Yes, my father had said to him, you know, you left my wife behind. I'm here to get her bag, you know, you're supposed to stay a certain amount of time in Monaghan, but he just had nothing to say to my father. And it's just not on. And to say this, the second time it happened, the first time my mother was on with you, about six months ago, it happened in Bus Arras, where the bus driver wouldn't take her on because she hadn't booked her ticket online, and refused to take her on, even though there was seats on the bus. So she had to, she ran home and one of us booked a ticket online for her, and she had to wait two hours, two and a half hours, and bus hours to get the next bus home. And when I was talking to you, Mum, was she not talking to you about, all those were being led away in front of her and stuff like that as well? Yeah, that's right, yeah. I was insulting for her, remember that, yeah, indeed. So, like, I wouldn't like to be stranded in Monaghan, you know, my bag's away. Hopefully, thankfully, she's a mobile phone and a way of getting in contact, but like, it's not a, it's a very unpleasant experience and it's a very unpleasant call to get that your Mum is stuck in Monaghan. Yeah. Well, my mother's 79 years of age, you know, any woman at that age should not be treated in that respect, it's just not on. I ran complaints department in Dublin, and it's like talking to a machine, oh, we're very sorry for the inconvenience, you know, there's another bus coming at 1840, she can get that bus, she can pay to get on that, and I says, you having a laugh, my mother paid to get on another bus. I demanded that a taxi come and take her to Lifford, but that wasn't happening. And I says, I want to speak to your senior. And she was holding on the line, I was waiting 10 minutes, and then at that stage, my mother had rang me to say that she had got another bus, a private bus had pulled up, corn buses in Donegal, a lovely man, my mother says, and happily took her to Lifford, just couldn't do enough for, you know, so. But that was just a stroke of luck. Now, I mean, did all of these buses are monitored in their movements all of the time, their speed and all that type of stuff. Like, did anyone at Bus Air and say, we're going to look to see how long the bus was there for? You know what I mean? Was there any sort of customer care to say, right, we're going to look into this and we'll get back to you. We're going to find out what went wrong here and we'll contact you or we'll contact your mother. I rang, as I say, I rang customer care, and they says, I told them the situation. She wanted me email address and she says, somebody will email you. I says, I don't want email. I says, I want to speak to somebody. It's just not on. You know, got an email with an apology the first time and apologies is easy done. Just, I'm sorry, you know, it won't happen again, but it does happen again. My mother went into the bus station and there's a guy and behind the desk. And my mother says, where's the bus gone? Oh, it's gone. And, you know, the bus is supposed to say 10 to 15 minutes. Oh, I don't work for Expressway. You know, it's nothing to do with me. But my mother says, you know, you're working for Boss Air and you're on the station here. This is what you do. But he didn't want to know. He just passed the book on all ring complaints, but on a complaint. See, another thing to, another thing to, and it reminds me of the first time when I talked to your mom was that the responses don't feel human at all in that they're not seeing a 79, 80 year old woman stranded an awful long way from home. They're seeing, they're just seeing a lump of flesh and bones. I mean that with no disrespect at all. It's not like that fella should go, oh my God, right, okay. So you're 80 year old mother stranded here or well, right, let's see what we can do. It's, the just doesn't seem to be any personal care. And I also remember from the last conversation six months ago when your mother was affected last that what happened was is then, well, we're going to engage directly with the customer. And that kind of meant we were out of it then. Do you know what I mean? Once we got that response from both sides, it was like, okay, well, hopefully some good will come from this, but yet here we are. Here we are again. The engagement from the customer was send an email, oh, we're sorry for the inconvenience. We'll speak to the driver and won't, you know, see that it doesn't happen again. You know, it's easy to write up an email and send it off. And then that's just good luck to you, you know? And at the end of the day too, like who's going to get off to go to the bathroom in Monaghan anymore? You know what I mean? You couldn't risk it. So you get what you're going to sit in it till, till you get to don't go. I'm not talking about your mom. I wouldn't be that disrespectful. But I mean, if you can't guarantee that the bosses go is it's a 10 minute stop, you know, you, you, then toilet breaks or grabbing a bottle of water are no longer an option then. Yeah. That's it. Well, if you look at the timetable, you know, from Dublin to Leonard County, it says on the timetable that the bus gets in at a certain time and it goes in 15 minutes later. And that's not happening. And as I say, my two sons, they travel down regularly to Dublin and they refuse to go bussering. They always go John McGinley. And it's just the service, the difference in the service is just second to none with John McGinley. And as I say, there's corn transport or corn buses. Thanks to them for taking my mother home yesterday even. My father sat in Lyford. He waited another hour and a half before. It was an hour and a half before my mother got back to Lyford. So he had a sitting Lyford waiting on my mother. And it's just not on. And I'll say apologies. No, it's just not good enough at this stage. See, another thing too, John, we need to be clear on. And the reason we need to be clear on this is so that people know, or if it needs to change. Do the drivers use that 15 minute window to pick up time? In other words, if they roll into Monaghan five or 10 minutes late, do they depart at the scheduled time? Or, you know, do they make up time so that they don't arrive in Lyford late night? I think it needs to be clear. Is that a 15 minute stop? Or can they go after two or three minutes just as I say to make up those 10 or 12 minutes? I think that it'd be important to know that too. Because that needs to change if it's not clear. I know Dublin is hard to get out of any day. And I'm sure they do lose time. But, you know, they would need to look at their timetables if that's happening on a regular occurrence. But, you know, people do need to go to the bathroom. And it's too bad that, you know, three minutes, three, four minutes max, and the bus is gone. You know, they can't wait for you. It's just, it's not on. And it has to, things have to end. You know, I say that my guys get, John McGinley, they stop in Monon as well. They stop for 10 to 15 minutes and they make sure everybody's back on the bus. Well, at the least, John, if I saw someone, maybe you can't do it for everyone. I don't know, but to say just as people were exiting, if you're getting back on the bus, we're leaving in three minutes. Or is this your final destination? A little bit of conversation. I'm not sure how quick on your feet your mother is, but it must have been clear that she was an older lady who's on her own. Would it have hurt to say, oh, by the way, Mrs. or however someone wants to, I'm making up time here. So I'm going to have to pull off in three minutes. Even that little bit of personal interaction perhaps would have avoided any of this. Yeah, as my mother said, you know, as she gets with every six weeks, there's some lovely drivers, you know, I'm not going to turn this them all to the same brush, but you know, there are some drivers out there and they're just not so nice people. And she's experienced them all, so she has. And they need to be educated a bit more in customer service and the way they treat their customers. But even ringing customer service, just like talking to the wall is just like talking to a machine. It's, oh, I'm very sorry for the trouble and the inconvenience, but sorry is not good enough. You know, action needs to be taken. And you know, telling me how she's going to have to wait for the next bus, which comes on at 1840 and your mother can pay to get on that. I just said, do you have an alarm? No. The thing too is, look, you know, I'm sure bus drivers have to put up with a fair bit of abuse, you know what I mean? But we can't lose our, at the very least in all of this, we can't lose our respect for an older person. You know, or you know what I mean? Because when you lose that, that's it. And that bus driver wouldn't be sitting in the seat if it wasn't for his mom and dad and hopefully they're alive and older people too. You know, so of course, yes, there's going to be young ones that might talk crap or spit or whatever it might be. But I think you can't lose, you can't lose the fact that maybe older people deserve a little bit more respect and consideration in this whole world. All right, John, we have made our inquiries to boss Aaron. I know you're doing so too. And I'm sorry, your mom's having to go through something like this again. Right, okay. You don't want to go back on it. What gives you just a dog? You'll be saying, no, that's that crying woman on again, but I just, I'm just taking it very, I'm just annoyed and upset about it. And I was very upset yesterday, even when she rang, whenever she rang me, I just said something wrong the way she just called me name and he was upset so she wasn't really stressed and just can't happen again, you know. Okay, thanks, John. I appreciate your time this morning, Mary, good morning to you. How are you, Greg? I'm okay, Mary, right. So you have a little bit more to add to this story. I was, I was on the bus, I was just sitting behind the driver actually on that bus. And when we got to Mona and he said two to three minutes only and a few people got off. Now I didn't notice his mother getting off, mind you or whoever, the woman that didn't know and didn't know it was two fellas getting off, but they got off and I remember them getting on very quick. And he said, I'll beat the horn before I leave. And he did do all those things. Now, would you hear it? I don't know, but he did beat the horn and everything like that. Like it was tight under two to three minutes. And I remember another girl coming up and asking, could she get off? And he said, no, because it's two to three minutes at that stage, she was coming up, say after the three minutes, Greg, you know the way on the thing. But I think maybe you have the point there that maybe that's where they're making up their time because, you know, normally they wouldn't stop for 10 or 15 minutes the other way. But as I said, I was booked on a later bus and he very kindly let me on in Dublin. So to me, he was brilliant and that's been honest and it's very, yeah, Mary, it's very important that all sides of this are discussed. And that's why it's great to have you on. And as well too, with pre-booking of tickets, they probably have a fair idea if there's any seats are availability for people to get on in Monaghan, you know what I mean? So now when it was stated and in fairness to the driver, you say he did state it and obviously John's mom didn't hear. Like, is that just shouted? Like does he just say, right folks, two or three minutes here, there's no speaker or anything, is it? So if you're about to keep this to me, why not hear it? No, and I think she was only, with us when her bag was picked up, I think she was only the third seat back or whatever it looked to be. Cause I saw the man getting into pick up her bag, he didn't go too far down. Well, maybe she just didn't hear him. That could be it right enough. It maybe you'd be better doing it on a mic or something that you could hear it through the whole bus maybe or whatever. But that was the thing. And I feel maybe he was making up time because that's what happened there. But in saying that, we had another driver going up in the morning, he was lovely too, very helpful. And they do know how many spooked on, they know how many spaces they have, they know all that because they have it all on this computer. The fellow was telling us the other way. And this is not to take away from John's mother's experience, but Mary, your experience is actually that this driver was accommodating to you and actually let you on, which meant you didn't have to wait on in Dublin. Isn't it crazy how people can have different experiences? I would have had to wait for the quarter five bus and he let me on that one there and was absolutely brilliant. No two hours sitting in both hours and two hours. Yeah, would you stop? So to be fair to him as well. I just said to be fair to him. OK, but then maybe. No, and Mary and I think maybe we agree, maybe assist. But then again, you see the amount of people sitting on buses with headphones on. I'm not saying John's mom was, but you know, even if there was a weaker system, how do you avoid it? OK, listen, it's going to get the balance. I appreciate it, Mary. Thank you very much indeed. No problem. All right, bye bye. OK, so that's Mary's experience on the same bus. Boss Aaron are dreadful for the time keeping. I went to Lyford to catch the express in Dublin. The scheduled time in Lyford was 3.45 p.m. I was there five minutes early, but the bus was gone. All suppose drivers on the other hand keep to the exact minute on the express routes. It's a toughie. Like even coming to work here. I don't travel the distance. I don't travel the distance that the buses that we're talking of travel. But my arrival time here or the time it takes to get here can vary greatly. So it could be 10 minutes in a different. So if I come out of, if I come out of, say, for instance, as an example, Stronauler, and there's a tractor as there was this morning between Stronauler and the Kilgross Junction, that's an extra five or six minutes onto the journey. If I'm behind someone doing 70 between Kilgross Junction and Drum Keen, that's another four or five minutes later you are. So I suppose there are challenges in using the roads that bus drivers have to deal with in time they have to make up. Okay, we kind of got to the bottom of that. I don't know where that leaves us in that story. It'll be interesting what Bossarin asked to say in fairness to the driver married a good experience. In fairness to John, his mom didn't hear him saying, this will be a two to three minute stop. Apparently he said he'd bit the horn as well. So I don't know where that leaves us. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook, and at highlandradio.com. The 9 till noon show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union, offering low-rate car loans with fast approval. Apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today. Hello, Jadward speaking. Sorry, Edward speaking. Hey, bro, I'm glad you picked up. Who is this? It's me, John. I'm literally outside in the landing. I don't know any, Sean. Lose my number. Hello? Edward, don't hang up. I'm sorry for saying a handyman could fix the gas boiler. Please forgive me. Always use a registered gas installer or you could risk everything. Find one at orgi.ie. With everything from pedal and electric ride-ons to go-karts and scooters, there's loads of fun guaranteed all year round at Tinney's Toys in Etter Kenny. If you have a kid's birthday coming up, see the great choice at Tinney's Toys to make it extra special. Visit Tinney's Toys on Leg Road Letter Kenny or shop online for express delivery at tinneystoys.com. Tinney's Toys, with so much more than just farm toys. If you're on the lookout for your next van, SUV or car, look no further than iMotors. Your destination for the largest selection of used vehicles in the Northwest. With quality vehicles just after arriving into stock. Don't settle for just any car. Choose the one that suits your style and budget. Visit iMotors.ie to explore our extensive range to find your next car today. I was on the bus yesterday. The driver stopped in Munchen for five minutes. Barely enough time to go to the bathroom. Another bus-eran is a disgrace. If McGinley's boss is on her route, they're far more professional company to deal with. Hope that lady is okay. A lot of people actually talking about Munchen. McGinley's always checked to make sure they have the same number back on the bus that got on before he leaves. Monaghan could expressway not do the same. Hi Greg, travel with Jay McGinley. If McGinley says, well, his drivers are helpful and friendly. Can't do enough for us or enough for you. The 32 bus coming from Dublin at times will not stop in Lifford, says another listener. 08-6-60-25,000. Keep them coming in to us. Some of your comments already this morning. This lady's case against X is an example of hard cases. Make tough laws. Obviously, no one should say such things. But also, all speech should not be stifled because of the few bad apples. Someone being offended should not result in the loss of freedom for the whole country. Yeah, I get where you're coming from. It's a tough whole space now that we're in because, you know, you can say someone, a politician, is, oh, well, you're this and you're that as it relates to their political life or what have you. But a lot of these comments, a lot of comments that are received are personal and insulting. And I think there are people sort of get it off on feeling they've upset someone. Is it true, Ireland? An 8.5 million is Israel on military equipment. Then the government should be dragged out and dealt with. What's the church's opinion on the government if the above headline is true? That comes in from Liam. Liam, I saw that in the papers this morning. Didn't get a chance to read it, but I will and bring that to you. A few more comments before we take a break. Greg, I've a medical condition where I need to go to the toilet regularly. The same happened to me with a driver not waiting for me in Monaghan. They should not be allowed to limit reduced break times. That is unreasonable. This is where it moves on to this point and this is where maybe the drivers don't have a say. If you're stopping for 10 or 15 minutes, then maybe you should stop for 10 or 15 minutes. Getting on a bus earlier, in my view, is not comparable with needing to toilet in a four-hour journey. Drivers should do a head count before they leave. The same thing happened to my 85-year-old late uncle a number of years ago on his return to letter. Kenny from hospital in Dublin wouldn't happen on a John McGinley bus, they say. And it goes, OK, I have to take a quick break. Our next guest will be joining us very shortly. The 9-Town In Show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from Letter Kenny Credit Union. Call us on 074 910 2126 or apply online via our app or in office today. And serve with mango salsa. Pick up a 180-gram pack of beautiful king prawns. Only 349 or 3 for 10 euro. Cooked with your favourite spices or dressing. Plus, you can save at the till with a 5 of 25 grocery voucher. Done stores, always better value. Terms and conditions apply if you're confused on extents or grocery shop of 25 euro or more. We all love to get the most out of things, like a sunny day while it lasts. In Ireland, it can be hard to get enough vitamin D from the sun. But did you know that 90% of us also don't get enough vitamin D from the food we eat? The great news is, Avonmore Super Milk is fortified with vitamin D, helping us to absorb calcium for healthy bones and supporting the immune system too. Avonmore Super Milk. The most super our milk can be. Figures based on FSAI 2023 Vitamin D study. Something really fun. Choose Fundamenia. Coming to the Brunswick Movie Bowl from March 1st. Choose regular, junior or family wristbands and enjoy some of Europe's top thrill rides. Choose fun for all ages. A legendary Fundamenia event, first to the 17th of March. For details, see Fundamenia.co.uk. Are you ready for massive savings with AEG at Irwin Expert Electrical? Purchase from now until the 14th of April and claim your cash back at AEG-offers.com. Experience top-notch appliances and enjoy the added perk of cash back delivered straight to your account within 28 days of approval. Elevate your home with AEG excellence and savings today. Don't miss out. AEG Cash Back at Irwin Expert Electrical Letter Kenny and Bon Kranagh. Highland Radio Weather Updates brought to you by Grant. Building a new home? Choose Grant's. A triple-plus rated air-owner, air-to-water heat pump and new flex under-floor heating. Visit grant.ie. So today there will be a mix of sunny spells and well-scattered showers. Some of the showers will be heavy and there is a chance of hail and isolated thunderstorms. Sleet is possible to and high ground. It is sleeting actually on the mountain top here in Letter Kenny. And I was sent a video earlier on today from some guys out fishing at 5.30 in the morning. And they were being battered by off the Donegal coast. They were being battered by hail stones that looked to be the size of marbles. What a way to make a living as the late, not the late, sorry, the great Dolly Parton said. But anyway, money has to be made. Greg, I travelled to Letter Kenny with McGonagall's from Bon Kranagh and mentioned to the driver that the theatre team were waiting on me to operate as soon as I arrived and was already 30 minutes late. So the driver drove me up to the front door of the hospital. I often travelled to Dublin Hospital with McGinley boss and they always count the passengers on and off. The 64 boss stops in Sligo on the way to Galway for a break. You have to run to the toilet and run back out again or the boss is gone. Almost missed the boss myself one day. It was starting to drive off when I got outside again. The breaks that the boss air and give seem to all be dependent on their timetable which isn't acceptable. So is a break a break? You know what I mean? Are you stopping for 10 minutes or you're not? I think that's really where we're getting into the nitty-gritty of this. If a boss is carrying 30 or 40 passengers and even half want to use the toilet would a 15-minute stop be adequate? I don't think half of them want to get off. I think like if it's going to be 10 minutes, it's 10 minutes. It's reasonable. Some people may and may not. Like we're all different. That's the thing you see as humans. We're all different. Some people actually medically have to go to the toilet. Others can hold on. You know, we're all different. It seems to be like, sorry, I was going to say something else, but I won't. It seems to be a given the boss there and bosses are always late and not according to the timetable. I made inquiries recently at the boss station in Sturban about the Dublin to Leicester, Kenny boss and the lady at reception told me those bosses are always late. In fact, the boss was a full half hour late that particular day and maybe that is where they're trying to make up the time there. Alton has emailed us and says I would just like to comment on the first single played by Greg on the show yesterday. What a creative and innovative way to highlight this crisis which impacts directly and indirectly on so many people in Donegal and beyond. Hopefully this single will spread the message even further and help spur on all of those who have been fighting this unfair fight for far too long. Well done and a huge thanks to those involved in creating this song. That's from Alton Coyne from Karen Dunham. Hi Greg, the Irish Times is reporting that the Irish government has spent 8.5 million Euro on Israeli surveillance drones and military equipment which is currently being used in the genocide in Gaza against the Palestinians. Why is this happening at all? Is the government preparing for war perhaps against its very own citizens? Raymond says that. I'm not sure that's the situation but anyway, an update on the situation at St Joseph's Hospital yesterday we revealed to you that primary care physiotherapy services were no longer available. The information was delivered quite late to those who give the care and receive from the care and it's not great news and I'll come back to that in a moment because we're joined on the programme now by T. Shock, Leo Radcock. Good morning to you T. Shock, thank you very much for your time today. Good morning Greg, thanks for having me. It's great to have you on. Now March 8th is a big day to referenders. I just noticed a lot of the discourse about voting for our advocating yes vote. That's enough for me to vote no. Is that always the case? Is that something of a particular concern that maybe people aren't reading up on this and just maybe advocating for a no vote because of those that are sort of advocating for a yes? I suppose there's always a bit of that in a referendum and I remember that with marriage equality and the referendum on the 8th that people would say all or most of the political parties are for it and there must be something fishy or there must be something up but what I would say back to that is it's actually not about us it's not about the politicians or the political parties the constitution belongs to the people we can't change it only the people can in a referendum so it's not about us it's about the million people including tens of thousands of people in Donegal who are in a one parent family or cohabiting or guardians and they're not recognised as a family that's not right and that's one thing we want to change and then also particularly on the care amendment to remove the outdated sexist language that talks about the woman's life within the home and mothers neglecting their duties in the home in favour of something much more positive which is the care amendment recognising the value of family care whether it's inside the home or not inside the home and putting a new application to future governments to strive to support that so that's what it's about on that first example you gave I think people are concerned that what they're voting on is not necessarily what might happen so you give the example of a single parent family so that's a family so say that that parent meets another person who has two children does the person they meet are they in two families which is the family how is all that determined yes, so initially it can be determined in law, in bills legislation passed by the Iraqis and if there's a hard case or a dispute that would be adjudicated in the courts that's already the case, that's how our system works but if you look at the term durable relationship what does it mean if it's not a word we pulled out of the dictionary it's already there in European law and in our own national laws and it means a relationship that is long term and it's caring and I think it's very clear that in my mind that a one parent family a mother or perhaps even a single father bringing up kids that they're a family to me and we already recognise that to a certain extent in social welfare law and tax law for example but the constitution doesn't and this to me is mainly constitutional catch up it's updating a document that was written in the 1930s by people born in the 1800s and it just doesn't reflect the values of our time and how will we find out what a durable relationship is because there are concerns that this could have knock on effects for migration law pensions family law which is already very difficult at the moment how will all that be resolved and sorted out so we get a clarity as to what a durable relationship is and then we find out what implications on some of those areas that I mentioned it might actually have Yes, so a durable relationship is something that's long term it's committed, it's there to last it's caring we already know what it is for example in a one parent family I don't think people need to be explained what that is or a family led by a grandparent or a guardian all that's in the law already and when it comes to cohabities in 2010 we passed legislation to say that people that are cohabiting have responsibilities to each other if they're together for more than five years or two years if there are children involved and essentially we want the constitution to be updated to reflect that. Okay now we can't go through it all but just one question we kind of touched on it a little earlier I think two points of clarification that might be important the constitution does and will continue to protect the institution of marriage so it's not saying that durable relationships are the same as marriage it will still be possible for the government to discriminate in favour of married people when it comes to things like you know inheritance for example or tax or social welfare and then the other area that's really important to say is every durable relationship doesn't become a family you know lots of people have business relationships for example and they're durable but that's not a family in order to be a family being a durable relationship isn't enough it also needs to be a cultural unit in society has to be open acknowledged you know can't be some sort of you can't accidentally find yourself in a durable relationship if that makes any sense Yeah I get that and as I say the courts might end up deciding this but just one theoretical theoretical question like how would work in terms of could you be a member of two families for an example if I left my partner and took up with someone else and we were established as a family and there were a court case of what have you when what might the first family end and the second family begin if that makes sense I suppose it would read depend what the court case was about you know you wouldn't just go to court to be declared a family that's not how it works there'd have to be some sort of dispute over something you know whether it's a dispute over child maintenance or child protection you know but these things happen already you know there are lots of people in Ireland who are in a second relationship and child maintenance or there might be a dispute over a house or property and at the moment those issues are determined in the courts and they should be because circumstances are individual and you put all the information and the case in front of the judge and the judge decides The second referendum proposes to the I don't know the constitutional change itself we'll change that fundamentally The second referendum proposes to delete an existing part of the constitution and insert new text providing recognition for care provided by family members part of the phrase theology is I'll just read the last bit and shall strive to support such provision why strive, why not commit you know surely we should be making a commitment in these areas not just sort of leaving it open-ended and open to interpretation yeah well look there will always be different views on the wording I know some wording that some people prefer was the term reasonable measures and that was the wording proposed by the citizens assembly but I think if we'd chosen that we'd probably be having the same debate you know what's reasonable, what the measures mean so any wording you have will be open to interpretation, open to debate strive means to work vigorously so it will require future governments and this government to work vigorously to improve things for family carers and the family carers alliance who represent tens of thousands of carers around the country are supporting this and also crucially in the Irish language and as you know Irish is the first official language and I'm conscious that don't need to go out to the county and people will know the terms which is to climb to go up the ladder if you like so it puts an obligation on future governments to keep improving things for family carers it's not an absolute obligation because we do need to give the Iraqis, the TDs, the people you elect some discretion here and if you put in language that was really really strong let's say around carers but you'd know language around cancer treatment that would put the Iraqis in an invidious position where you know they wouldn't be able to make a fair judgement call A caller wants to know why is it only family members being included when there are lots of people who are non-family members who take care of people Yeah that's a good point I suppose generally speaking when care is provided outside of the family context it's done on a commercial basis so it might be a company that runs a nursing home or it might be a company that runs a home care service or it might be somebody who's employed as a care professional or a care worker and we think there is a difference between care that's provided by families each to each other and something that's done on a commercial basis or a professional basis and we would be reluctant about different professions stages in the constitution that we don't give to others or certain companies for example stages in protection in the constitution that we wouldn't give to other companies I think that would open up lots of difficult questions Why was the word mother removed that seems to have been a problem for an awful lot of people mother is no longer in the constitution and it's not that people didn't want to see this change but rather language could have been added Yeah so mother is only in the constitution in the context of mothers not having to neglect their duties in the home and that's where it's being removed in favor of care which is can be mothers or fathers, can be men or women as you say could be other family members and that's the change that we're making the word woman of course will remain in the constitution it'll still be there on three occasions the only place where we're taking mother out when it talks about our mother out is when a woman out is when it talks about a woman's life within the home the term parent will remain in the constitution seven times and of course parents can be mothers or fathers Once you view other people like Elon Musk using his ex-platform to have his say on this internal vote, advocating a no-no vote Well look anyone's excited to have their opinion I'm not sure to what extent a billionaire living in California will be affected by our constitution I know it's very much about it but it's a free world and people are entitled to offer their opinions There's an awful lot of conversation and it is related to this and I won't keep you any longer I know you're busy whereby there was a press conference earlier this week and mid-question you and the fellow government leaders walked off stage Is it because you didn't like who was asking the question or was it because time had run out because we also heard from a news talk journalist who I think you've had a tete harte with or however one might describe it claiming they had their hand up and were ignored Firstly, why did you walk off mid-question and are you or your government colleagues being selective as to who the answer question is from? Yeah, that's not what happened the press conference was over I had to go and prepare for leaders questions and it all and it's never the case that the press conference or any meeting gets to ask their question and in that case the person wasn't called to put their question but shouted out anyway but the press conference had ended at that stage but that particular news outlet I'm afraid I do answer their questions pretty regularly is quite disingenuous on these kind of issues we don't know how it's funded and also was very much trying to drag these issues into the referendum So to some extent you did make a conscious decision as to who was asking the question as you walked off you've kind of referenced that No, well I don't make the decision the way it works is there's a press officer who chairs the meeting or chairs the press conference that lasts for a certain period of time and ends a certain period of time and everyone doesn't get to get their question in we just wouldn't have three hours to do that but what they'll do sometimes is to shout their question out anyway But you're saying just generally going forward you don't make choices you don't make decisions based on whether you'd like an editorial policy or however anyone might be funded you don't factor that in when answering questions No, what we would generally do is go to the main news outlets for the obvious reasons because they have the biggest coverage and if we're in a particular county obviously we'd prioritise and make sure the local media based in that county would get priority if time is limited but you know I do need to be frank with you about this there are one or two news organisations in the country now at the moment they're based online they're not acting in good faith it's not about informing their subscribers if they even have any there's a political agenda there and they're pretty upfront about that Right, okay, thank you very much for your time this morning T-Shop League of RideCon I'm sure those outlets are doing things differently but that's the T-Shop's views on the record there okay, news is going to be late it would already be late now but we're going to take a quick break and we'll be back with more in the 9 till noon show in just a couple of minutes The 9 till noon show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union digital loans now available apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account customers will be welcomed with a discount of 24% of electricity plans so switch today at ElectricGarland.ai making your bills smaller and your world brighter EAB 1394 euro electricity based on discounted unit rates PSO, Levy and Val decrease in EAB from 1st of March 2024 subject to change Terms and conditions apply at ElectricGarland.ai All you need to make your house a home garden furniture to kitchens sofas and dining sets all under one roof need a new mattress why not visit our sleep center on the first floor with a large range of quality beds and mattresses in stock and ready for collection or delivery relax in our coffee shop serving hot lunches daily open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 30 p.m. Patterson's kitchens and interiors the hall effort at Hickey Clark and Langan insurance brokers they compare quotes from all the leading insurers so you get a great price home, motor and van, farm quality home, travel and liability insurance they quote them all so if the worst happens you're covered for a competitive insurance quote today called Hickey Clark and Langan on 9-1-2-6-8 or pop into their office at Bally McCool Letter Kenny Hickey Clark and Langan general insurance is limited trading as Hickey Clark and Langan is regulated by the central bank of Ireland Shrek the musical the west end and Broadway smash hit is back and is bigger, brighter and more beautiful than ever join Strictly Come Dancing's Joanne Clifton as Princess Fiona alongside DreamWorks iconic duo Shrek and Donkey this five-star triumphant musical spectacular comes to Millenium Forum Derry from the 16th to the 21st of April ticket selling fast book now at MilleniumForum.co.uk If you're tired and struggling to put a spring in your step discover the power of Revive Active at your local Brennan's Pharmacy Revive Active is an award winning super supplement containing 26 active ingredients including Vitamin C, D and Zinc which support your immune system all in one handy daily sashay made for busy stressful lives it's the convenient way to put back what life takes out enrich your life with the Revive Active in store or online click and collect from Brennan's Pharmacy.com for you Live on air online and on the Highland Radio app this is Highland Radio News Good morning it's 10 o'clock Donald Kavanaugh at the news desk police say no criminal offenses have been detected in their investigation into alleged threats made against the DUP leader shortly before the party announced it was going back into Stormont Geoffrey Donaldson told the UK Parliament during an impassioned speech that he'd been subjected to threats. The PSNI says Donald Kavanaugh's investigation has now concluded. When approached for comment the DUP leader thanked the police for their service and said he won't be intimidated. Donego County Council has been told they can have all the plans in the world to tackle homelessness but until those plans are backed up with proper government support they won't succeed. After a presentation to members by Linda McCann the council's new homeless prevention coordinator councillor Jerry McMonagall said the northwest regional homeless plan is a very important one. He said with out more resources they cannot succeed. He says the bottom line is Donego needs more social housing. The houses that we have there are very much welcome in the pipeline but it will be ended next year before a lot of them are ready and what we need to do now is to ensure that we can do what we can to meet the rising homelessness but also the rising people who are on the housing waiting list looking for housing and with the rising rents that can only lead to further homelessness in the short time I had so I hope that we can build and acquire houses as soon as possible. Amidlands northwest MEP says he will be voting against the proposed EU nature restoration regulation as it's a disservice to farmers and society as a whole. MEP Luke Ming-Planigan says the current proposal is inadequate and more funding needs to be provided for farmers to tackle climate change. Vote will take place on this coming Tuesday in Strasbourg. Mr Panigan says the policy as it stands will pit farmers against each other and those in Donegal he believes will be at a disadvantage. For a start it sets one type of farmer against the other it means farmers in Donegal will have to do a massive amount up to 2030. People down south will not have to do anything. What they're asked to do is vague it's unclear exactly what restoration will mean but there's one thing very clear there is no money to do this and the government announced a climate and nature fund of 3.15 billion last October but having met with Minister Malcolm Noonan it's quite clear that none of this money will come to farmers. Borders should not come into play in the provision of health care services that's according to a FOIL MLA who's calling on the Irish and British governments to provide adequate addiction services for the northwest. MLA raised the issue with storm he says it's been four years since commitments were made in the new decade new approach document. Really your postcode shouldn't decide which side of the border you live on shouldn't determine your access to addiction services in our region because you look at things like the northwest cancer service and the centre that's been set up there it's changing the lives of people right across this region and we have the opportunity to do that by working collectively and replicating this model of best treatment that's what I intend to do that's what my party intended to do and we want to work with others to deliver that. The government is considering bringing RTE within the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General this would mean all of the broadcasters spending being scrutinized by the Dulles Spending Watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee. Didgeridoo Grave Radker told the Finnaguel Parliamentary Party last night it's being considered by the government in the wake of the ongoing scandal at the National Broadcaster. What is your trust in RTE? I think that's a good idea. I think it could help and support RTE in their work. It could help more importantly to instill confidence in the public who are watching on and I think it would help that piece of work that has to be done to bring confidence back to the public and to give the government and the minister also the confidence in funding future funding for RTE. I think it's a good idea. With a forecast a mix of sunny spells and well-scattered showers this morning some of those showers heavy with a chance of hail or isolated thunderstorms sleep possible on higher ground like to moderate west to southwest winds at first becoming breezy later as winds increase moderate to fresh and gusty top temperatures today 5 to 7 degrees celsius and that's Highland Radio news we're back with news again at 11 o'clock check all of today's news of course on our website highlandvideo.com but for now from the news team good morning. The obituary notices this in february 22nd the death has taken place of bernadette bernie porter knee ewing 478 the current crossroads killy gordon remains reposing at her late residents from six o'clock this evening funeral leaving her late residents on saturday at half past 10 for rakeway and mass in st patrick's church crossroads killy gordon at 11 a.m and term it afterwards in the adjoining church yard the rakeway and mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam family time from 10 p.m. until 11 a.m. and on the morning of the funeral the death has occurred of Maureen Maisie O'Brien knee Mortimer minrea and formerly of glenalla wrath mullen donnie gall her remains will be received into st joseph's church wrath mullen on sunday at 6 o'clock to repose until rakeway and mass on monday at 11 a.m. followed by interment in the adjacent cemetery funeral mass will be streamed on mcn.live the death has occurred of david lavery don drain burn foot davids remains will be reposing at his home from 11 a.m. this morning removal from there on saturday morning at 10 15 a.m. to st angus church burt for rakeway and mass at 11 a.m. followed by interment in burt cemetery rakeway and mass can be viewed live on churchservices.tv family time please from 10 p.m. to 11 a.m. and on the morning of the funeral family flowers only please the death has taken place of bernard francis doherty sleeve-bon malon head bernards remains are reposing at his home where you're welcome to pay your respects family time please from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. funeral mass for bernard will take place tomorrow at 12 noon from 11 a.m. to 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. funeral mass can be viewed live on malon head community facebook page family flowers only donations if desired to diabetes are linked to care of any family member the death has taken place of nail trainer nine patrick street striban leaving quigley's funeral home this evening at half past six to the church of the immaculate conception striban for rakeway and mass tomorrow at 10 o'clock interment afterwards in striban cemetery the rakeway and mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam the death has taken place of chris toy lower mount marion milford reposing at the residence of his mother kate toy 11 greyrock milford house private to family and close friends funeral mass tomorrow at 12 noon in sim peter's church milford burial afterwards in milford cemetery funeral mass can be viewed on malonhead services dot tv the death has taken place of edwin patten knock belly buffet remains reposing at his late residence funeral leaving their tomorrow morning at quarter past 10 for rakeway and mass in saint mary's church session needle at 11 a.m. interment afterwards in the adjoining church yard the rakeway and mass will be streamed live via the parish youtube channel family time from 10 p.m. tonight and before the funeral tomorrow the death has taken place of leon casady selbridge kildare and formerly of kill mccrennan reposing at his residence today from 3 o'clock to 7 p.m. removal tomorrow morning to saint patrick's church selbridge arriving for funeral mass at 11 a.m. followed by burial in barntown cemetery county wexford the death has taken place of margaret greta coal galdona manor conningham remains reposing at her late residence funeral leaving from there this afternoon at 1.15 for 2 o'clock funeral service in newton conningham presbyterian church followed by burial in the family plot in the adjoining graveyard family time please before the funeral today family flowers only donations in the loo to saint eudon's nursing home comfort fund care of any family member or terence mclintock funeral director the death has occurred of caroline dixon fawn donnie gall and dairy city removal to saint mary's church of ireland fawn this afternoon arriving at half past 2 the death has taken place of charlie mcginley eight ion a road letter kenny formally from ranna first funeral from his late residence this morning going to saint eudon's cathedral for 11 a.m. reek wean mass which can be viewed live at church services dot tv followed by burial in conwall cemetery family time please before the funeral this morning we will be giving you an update on the funeral today all of our members only please donations if wished to the friends of letter kenney university hospital care of pasco Blake funeral director for family information and more details regarding wakes and funerals please go to highland radio dot com this staff a day march 20 winners the donors the bakers makers and bookin shakers will be giving their all the irish cancer society to support all in and get involved today at Cancel.ie. And now, ImRose 2023 best local original news program, the voice of the Northwest, the 9 till noon show with Greg Hughes. Some of your comments coming in following our conversation with Leo for our car. I just want to clear on something by the way and stuff the back of the comments someone sent in, but I think most people get it. Here it is. It reads like this. It's not always going to be a yes and then a no or a no and then a yes to give people a right to express their point of view in relation to this. So have I challenged Leo for a car particularly difficult on that and then I interviewed someone from Aintu for an example tomorrow, as we will to talk about the different parts of people to try and strive balance and then sort of gave them an easy interview or or what have you. Well, then you see that's not seen to be fair or balance. There are media organizations, particularly ones that aren't guided by necessarily the same rules that radio stations are that they can sort of an adopt in a position. It can be a no, no or a yes. Yes, we can't really do that. We have to give fair and fair and fair and fair and fair and fair and fair and fair and we can't really do that. We have to give fair hearing to all whether people want to hear Leo for a car or not. Ask some of the key questions I only asked some of the key questions that I'm seeing the public ask as it relates to the vagueness of it. Where carers go, sorry what's just defined as a carrier inside or outside the home whether or not about the removal of the word mother rather maybe adding something in but I can't sit here and sort of go debates, no more so when someone says to vote no because of such and such reason that I can't sit there and argue with them. I can sort of ask questions and what have you. It sounds lame. I know that. There's lots of questions and stuff I'd like to drill down in. But you know, it's not always possible. And there are obvious questions to this. And many of the questions are unanswerable. And if you listen to those behind the referendum, those charged with just informing the public as to what what what this actually means, a lot of the time the answer is, well, that will be determined by the courts. So I then can't start with a yes, yes, start talking about how this might be interpreted by the courts down the line. Okay, because there's no real way then to sort of probe in the same direction with a no, no, if that makes sense. Anyway, when you're talking, you're losing this say, I respect what this listener says, I appreciate them texting in. That's why it's read out. And that's why I tried to address it. Leo says the laws about family children was written in the 30s by people born in the 1800s. Don't we have lots of laws written then? Ask him about the vague, vague wording of the hate speech law that 70% poll don't want but they're pushing through anyway. It was about the referendum. We vote no because our ruling parties want us to vote yes. It's a terrible state of affairs that we can't and don't trust our politicians. You would have no dealings with someone you didn't trust yet we are governed by them. Ask Leo about dual relations as Minister Byrne couldn't answer that when when it's not Padraig Tobin for for main two. My word is first names. Padraig Tobin. Okay, this is Padraig. It's Padraig, of course. As for the carers, it means all nursing homes could be closed families be responsible for their own removing women is to accommodate the Muslims believes are cooler. Women's not being removed the word mother is that women still referred to in the constitution. Like nursing homes are big business now are they going to force them closed? I don't know how much care is provided privately. I can't see happening. But anyway, that's your view. And also I did also ask the question about dual relations. That was one of the questions that I did ask. It's very sad to see mothers are of no relevance as far as this government is concerned that comes in from Mary Daherty. Will you ask Leo for Radcars is able to define what a woman actually is. I don't understand much about it. But is this referendum a bit woke? Well, some would say it's the language is trying to be more inclusive. And some people see things as more inclusive as going woke. So I presume that could be argued one way or other as well. Leon must be worried about Donegal returning a no vote when he made time to come on the local radio. I say they're doing doing the rounds and we were offered him and we accepted the invite just to ask him about that necessary just to be sure that we seem to be as fair as is possible. So I'm sure all the party leaders are doing the rounds and local radio stations. But it's listen Donegal like it's probably likely that Donegal will return a no no. You know, we do buck the trend often. And as I say, it's probable. I would suggest. OK, just before the break. I want to reference the St. Joseph's story that I cut off just as we were going to Leo for Radcar. Because obviously, as we know, we learned at short notice and brought it to you just as soon as we learned that primary care physiotherapy is being moved out of St. Joseph's Hospital. When will it return to St. Joseph's Hospital? Well, according to this press release from from the HSE never, they're looking for an alternative location. When will that location alternative location be found and primary care physiotherapy to be provided in the locality? There's no answer to that. It's an ongoing process. So they say, following a recent Hicca inspection in St. Joseph's Hospital Stronauler and an identified need for central fire upgrade works to be undertaken, primary care physiotherapy will relocate to alternative accommodation with immediate effect. From Monday, the 26th, primary care physiotherapy services will be delivered from Donegal Town Community Hospital for patients in out the past Clung Capri, Golland, Nock and Stronauler ED areas, Lifford Community Hospital for patients in Convoy, Glenilly, Kille Gordon and Drum Keane ED areas. From Tuesday, the 27th of February, you're asked to contact 9740623 to speak to a physiotherapist. Occupational therapy services are a home based service and will not be affected by this move. Now, the services are communicating, the services are communicating with affected service users, advising on which centre to attend for appointment and notifying all other stakeholders of the relocation. They haven't done it. They're doing it. They say work is ongoing to secure suitable appropriate accommodation in the Finn Valley area to enable services to be restored as soon as possible. So there's no reference to these services ever returning to St Joseph's Hospital. The only reference the HSC has made is that they are seeking appropriate accommodation in the Finn Valley area. There is no time frame on that. So that is the official response from the HSC in that regard. It's time for Vision Ireland Bingo on Highland Radio. It's Thursday the 22nd of February, jackpot day. You're playing for the jackpot prize of 8600 euro on the paint sheet. The reference number is S19. It's game number eight. The jackpot number is 84. This number can come out in any position from the next 10 numbers drawn and now here are your daily numbers. 87. 30. 10. 18. 40. 24. 3. 32. 62. And finally 48. Phone your claim tonight, 10483 before eight tonight, leaving 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 Vision Ireland Bingo information at highlandridio.com. With a high digital online skills course, you'll feel a real difference. I can listen to all the music I like. The boss app that's coming out and it's brilliant. Anything you want and all is to have their fingertips. They're small tints, but they mean something. Learn essential online skills with simple, accessible lessons at highdigital.ie or free phone, 1-800-20-30-30. Brought to you by Vodafone Foundation and alone. Vodafone Together We Can. It's the Clannery Country weekend this Friday and Saturday. Friday from nine is Kieran Rosney followed by Jimmy Buckley. Saturday from nine, don't miss Jericho three followed by Robert Mazzell. Music afterwards, both nights in McGilligan's bar too late. Don't miss a fantastic weekend of country music and dancing this Friday and Saturday at the Clannery Hotel, Lederkenny. Right price tiles and wood flooring are 26 years old. And to celebrate, we're offering up to 70% off everything in store. That's right, a massive birthday sale with up to 70% off all tiles, wood flooring and bathware. Everything's in stock. Right price tiles and wood flooring up to 70% off birthday sale now on. The 90 noon show is brought to you by Lederkenny Credit Union with monster loans available up to 60,000 euro for all occasions. Visit LederkennyCU.ie. Now, Professor Oliver Fitzgerald is a consultant rheumatologist at UCD and co-lead of the HPOS study, which we're about to discuss now. Good morning, Professor. Thank you for your time. Good morning, Greg. Thanks for having me on your show. Right, the study is hoping to understand links between psoriasis and psoriotic arthritis. So from from your learned position, describe the two conditions and and and why there seems to be enough of a connection or a link to to justify such a study. Sure. OK, psoriasis people may well be familiar with it's a common skin rash that affects two to three percent of the population. So that translates into three thousand four hundred approximately in Dany Gaul. The the rash is a scaly itchy red rash commonly found on the areas like the scalp, the backs of the elbows, the fronts of the knees can affect the nails and can affect the whole skin in severe cases. The skin, it you know, you can see it and you know what's going on. But what people don't realise is that psoriasis can be associated with a number of underlying problems. So these include things like depression and anxiety is not uncommon in people with psoriasis. But it also includes arthritis. So about one in three people with psoriasis will develop a form of arthritis, which we call psoriatic arthritis. And this form of arthritis is unusual in the sense that it can affect the joints, but it can also affect other parts of the musculoskeletal system. So it can affect, for example, the sites of attachment of ligaments to bone. So places like the Achilles tendon, where it's attached to the back of your heel, can become inflamed. It can it can cause sausage like swelling of the digits. So this is known as dactylitis, and that occurs in about 30 percent. And it can also be associated with spinal inflammation. So people can wake up feeling stiff and sore in the morning in their back and that can be associated with psoriatic arthritis as well. So it's pretty much accepted. I take it then that there is a link between these two conditions. Is it and this is the aim of the study. It's not necessarily fully understood as to why some people may go on to develop this type of arthritis and others may not. What are the sort of common factors? And if we learn that, maybe we can try and prevent this type of arthritis developing. Yes, that's exactly what this study is trying to address. We don't know which one of the three people with psoriasis is going to develop psoriatic arthritis. We know it occurs more commonly in people who have, say, nail changes. We know that it occurs in people who are overweight. It may be associated with excess alcohol intake. And it certainly runs in families. So there is a genetic component to it as well. But none of these factors are specific enough to enable us to identify which of the three people is going to get psoriatic arthritis. So what we're doing with this study is where this is a European study. It's run from UCD and University of Oxford. It's a study of 25,000 people with psoriasis across Europe. And Ireland is being asked to recruit 2000 people with psoriasis. So it's easy enough to sign up to the study. If you have psoriasis, if you don't have psoriatic arthritis, and if you're over the age of 18, you're eligible to sign up to the study. And taking part in the study will involve filling in some questionnaires at baseline and every six months for a three year period. Is three years long enough? Quite possibly not. So some patients may have the psoriasis for up to 10 years before they develop the psoriatic arthritis. And our intention would be if we can obtain the additional funding required to continue the study. And I'm confident that we will get the additional funding to allow us to continue, because I think it's a very important study and will, I think, allow us to identify both clinical factors associated with the development of psoriatic arthritis, but we're also looking at blood base factors, so proteins or metabolites in the blood that seem to predict the development of psoriatic arthritis. So I think it'll be important studying, and I'm confident that we will identify risk factors that will be sensitive and specific enough to allow us to potentially, as you say, conduct a clinical trial to prevent the disease, which would be the holy grail in lots of ways. And it is an opportunity for some to take part in something really quite important, something that will potentially make the lives of others in this generation, next generation and great generations that follow better. It's often sometimes last something in these conversations, what what people, if they can spare the time and the relatively small commitment, the impact they can have on other people's lives. Yeah, that's precisely it. I think certainly if we if we do succeed, and I think we will in identifying risk factors for the development, it will certainly help others. But it will also help people participating because this isn't the information isn't being isn't one way if you like, we will be feeding back information to the participants. If it looks from analyzing their questionnaires, if it looks like they're developing features that suggest the development of psoriatic arthritis, we will advise them of this and advise them to seek a medical assessment. And just in terms of who takes part, would it be beneficial for it to be countrywide like climate, you know, geographical location? Are they potentially factors? I know it certainly is in certain arthritis. I'm not sure if it's in this form of arthritis, but I presume the broader the broader the sample from around the country, the better the broader the sample, the better. And we will, as you know, as I mentioned, we will have other countries participating to other climates and so on will be will be participating in the study. So we will gather information on that as well. And it's possible that other factors like diet and exercise and those kind of factors may be important in the development of the disease. Yes, I think you have to be open and transparent if sometimes some of the information is a little uncomfortable. That's how these things work. Finally, Professor, just to if people are interested, maybe want a little bit more information before signing up to the study. How do they go about doing so? Well, it's very simple. All they need to do is to go into www.hpos.study. They will get all the information they need. When they go online there, they can register there. They can provide their consent to participate there online. And that will open up into the questionnaires that they can then fill out. So it doesn't take long, but it does take a commitment to provide the baseline and six monthly questionnaires. Okay, thank you for your time. That is Professor Oliver Fitzgerald Consultant Rheumatologist at UCD and Co-lead of the Hip-Pos study there. If you're interested, you heard the details and how you can get involved. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at HighlandRadio.com. The Ninetal Noon Show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Now offering mortgages from 40,000 to 600,000 Euro with no hidden fees or transaction charges. Letter Kenny Credit Union 9102127 TV outbreaks hit 10 year high. For more in your Irish Farmers Journal is Paul Mooney. We examined the latest department figures showing TB hotspots and reactor numbers. ICBF moves to address calf blue card delays. Find out how you can get up to 30,000 euros to renovate traditional farm buildings. What's driving some Western farmers away from sucklers? Top tips for maintaining a farm quad. Key farm payment schemes open for applications. Plus your TAM's questions answered. All inside the Irish Farmers Journal, you can't afford to miss it. Save on calving and lambing essentials at Homeland. Calve Stomach Tube now 1499. Save five Euro. Newt race calf jackets buy two for 50 Euro. Moocall calving sensor now 299 Euro. Save 30 Euro and save 10% on the flexi thin classic waterproof jacket and trousers. All this and much more. Save in store and online at homeland.ie with nationwide delivery available. Offers available until March 31st. Charlie McLean for the funeral directors serving letter Kenny and the surrounding areas for over 100 years. Charlie McLean for the funeral directors and our family take care of your family and guide you through a difficult time. Connor here from Erwin X for electrical home to Ireland's largest LG TV display. Now with the further 10% of all models with the huge selection of top household electronics featuring energy efficient posh appliances, premium brands such as Sage Electrolux, quicker taps and more interest free layaway service available Erwin X for electrical letter Kenny and Bunkralla. If you're into makeup, then you'll want to know that long coms elite makeup artist Lorraine Burn will hold a makeup and skincare masterclass at McGee's Camus Thursday, 7th of March at 7 p.m. With refreshments, giveaways and prizes on the night, it promises to be a really enjoyable experience. Tickets just 25 Euro redeemable against any long com purchase on the night. Place is limited, booking essential. Call McGee's Camus on 07491 21409 or call in store to guarantee your VIP place. An Irish win at Twickenham would be sweet, but an Irish win at Cheltenham is even better. Get ready for horse racing's biggest festival with the Irish Fields Cheltenham Magazine in association with Goffs. There's interviews with lots of leading trainers and jockies plus invaluable commentary from some of the top racing riders in Ireland and Britain. Find winners with data insights from expert analyst Simon Rowland's Matt Toomes and Andy Bate, the Irish Field Cheltenham Magazine in stores now or get free home delivery on the Irishfield.ie. Now delighted to welcome into studio David Regan, Concern CEO. Good morning, David. Thank you for your time today. Good morning, Greg. Thank you for having us. No, it's all pleasure and Eta Ward from the Twin Towns group, Eta. Correct. Am I not right? Am I not good? Good to have you with us. Lovely to have you with us and I'll come to you in a moment, Eta. David, just to give us an idea of the work that Concern does and I suppose, you know, it's astonishing, I think in the small part of the northwest of Ireland that, you know, so much effort is put in and most of it spearheaded by Eta here in contributing to the, you know, the fund racing drive of Concern and the work that it does. It really is quite remarkable. Isn't what humans do for others? It is remarkable. It really is and this group here is an inspiration to us all. I mean, it's a very small community of five or 6,000 people and they have raised over a million euro, 1.1 million euro in the 40 years of sticking with it. 40 years goes back a long time and as it happens, purely coincidentally, myself and Eta first met in Ethiopia in 1985, which is almost 40 years ago when there was a famine there. Hold on, your second. 1985. 1985, we met in Ethiopia, we were both here. It was just coincidental. So we were. So there was a famine there then and people were raising funds in, uh, in, in, in Struneller in, in, in, in Baliborfe for, uh, for, for concern. And that has continued and it's, it's, it's amazing. As you say, people have reached out all through all these years to all these different communities, whether it's an earthquake in Haiti, whether it's a war in Ukraine, whether it's an earthquake in Turkey, whether it's a conflict in, in Ethiopia or a drought in Somalia. They've reached out and for concern for us, what we do essentially is we, is we support those people in need. We support them in terms of food, in terms of water and, and in terms of health in, in terms of the mother and child care and, and, and basic provision of health. And then we try to support the communities to grow their livelihoods. And that's what we do. How important is it when, when the public are, are denoting that they see it? You know, you referenced Ethiopia there and it was, you know, people were aware of it. And it's sometimes some, some it worked that concerned us. It's easier to articulate and people have a better understanding it. But when you start then talking about maybe a war in Ethiopia or what have you, you know, when we don't necessarily see it as such, it's not on the new cycle. Does that become a challenge in terms of fundraising? It's easier for us as givers to sort of make a connection between what we know? Yeah, it's, it's, it's a huge challenge at the moment because unfortunately the world has declined, has descended into a lot of conflict. So there's a lot of coverage right now on Gaza, which is a shocking situation. For us in concern, we're also looking at other conflicts. Sudan is probably the biggest on our horizon there's 7 million people displaced as a result of the civil war that broke out in April. There's 24 million people who will need a humanitarian help. In other words, they haven't got shelter or food or water in Sudan in 2020 2024. It gets no coverage. It's not anywhere on the news. It's a massive crisis. We're heading towards a catastrophic situation in terms of hunger. It's a challenge for us in terms of giving to I just think the world's a different place to what have been in the mid 80s. You know, people may be a more cynical as to the cause of war, who benefits from war, you know, maybe cynicism of world leaders, sort of the selective outrage that we see. Is it difficult for you to sort of say, right, okay, you can have those views. That's fine. Maybe some of them are based in truth or not. But fundamentally what does happen when men do bad things is we have victims and we have to help those victims. So sometimes maybe you have to part park, sorry, the criticism or cynicism you have as to what led to these situations and focus on the victims of that and there could be double treble victims if what people believe is true. They still need assistance and they still need help. But is that a challenge? It is a challenge. I mean, the groups like the group and value if I are an instance of people thinking about the human to human connection. So for us as concerned, we're not trying to resolve the broader political tensions that emerge. We're dealing with the product of those conflicts or of the impact of climate change. And it truly is a human to human response. So when somebody in Bali Buffet is giving money to us, what that means in terms of the end product is giving somebody something as simple as a water can when they've just been displaced from Sudan. They've carried their clothes and their children on their back. They've arrived somewhere and they have nothing are giving them some shelter are giving them some cash to enable them go and buy some food. It's literally that human to human contact that you're creating. But it's difficult for people to understand that it's difficult to understand the scale and the level of need that exists. I want to come back to you on that, but I want to bring it in here too because I mean, there's a couple of things first and foremost, I'll speak to you about, you know, why you got involved in this, but just to give that number again 1.22 million you're raised for concern over the last four decades. From such a small community, it's a massive amount of money. I mean, we are a dot on the head of a pin in Ireland, let alone globally. It must be well, firstly, talk to the people's generosity. Well, exactly. It's the word generosity. Like it started very simply, a public health nurse form. The Twin Towns was going to work with concern for six months. Beth Lane, she was in Cambodia and Yemen previous to that. And her fiance at the time was very upset. John Jackson that she was leaving for six months. So his friend said, we'll keep you busy. We'll do something. And they thought, we'll fundraise for concern for the six months that Beth was away. So Beth came back and they thought, you know, we'll continue because the problems were still great in Ethiopia and other places. So it started developed then into four main events per year. And those four main events are still going on. It is people every year turning up for those events. It is young people coming to help us with the bizarre and the car singing. It is people from the community. It is and people do talk about the person to person contact, but it's also the community to community. You know, they're very curious about what is happening in different parts of the world in communities about the size of Balabuff Aston or five or six thousand or whatever. So we have spring sale coming up now as we do every year after Easter on the Saturday after Easter. And people will without with very with just a gentle reminder in the local papers or the local media, they will bring stuff to a local parish hall on the Friday evening and we will sell them on the Saturday morning and make a few thousand for concern. And then local churches, we do the church gate collection on the Sunday in September that concern has the license for. And then the big event is the bizarre on the first Sunday in December. And again, we get the venue free from a local hotel. We had a great bizarre this year. We get support from businesses. Every business in the town gives us something. It might be a voucher from a hairdresser's for 20 or 40 Euro. It might be something very big, a very big item that we can use as a first prize. And we have 20 rounds of ticket selling. And we start and finish within three hours. And I'm not sure if the figure I think it was around 12,000 or 14,000. And also in terms of giving or helping it does. You know, we are in a cost of living crisis. Things are tied. But people can help in different ways and do help in different ways. It could be donating items. I'm on about sort of private citizen. It could be helping in terms of selling tickets or what have you. So even if people aren't very well resourced and many aren't here, there are ways too that you can help. And I'm sure it's very rewarding. You would get that feedback from those that help you. Yes, there are under 20 in our group in the Twin Towns Concerns Support Group. But we would have dozens of other people that turn up for each of those events. They spring sale, the same people go to sell the books or the bric-a-brac or the household items or the new clothes. The same people turn up every year to do that. People turn up to help people bring stuff home to clean up after the event. Again, for the bizarre, there is a lot of work in the bizarre. We get a premises with a window free of charge and the stuff has to be moved then in the Sunday morning from there to the hotel. We have the same people turning up every year with vans and helping us to move the stuff. And then ticket sellers, we have young people. We had, I think there was 22 this year from the schools in the Twin Towns and one or two from a school in the college in Latter-Kinney. Have you got your head around the fact that this is a 40th year anniversary? That trip to Ethiopia in the mid-80s, here we are, 40 years. I mean to celebrate anything, a 40 year anniversary of anything is really quite remarkable. Of course to have David here as Concerns CEO. But it's remarked, you have to pinch yourself as a saying that it's 40 years ago. I move back to Donegal 24 years ago. So there are many others who are there 40 years ago, many of them. And it is a long time and they have great stories to tell. It's a great social, there are great social events as well as fundraising events. So we get a lot out of it ourselves. Yeah, of course, as do the people around the world. And David that's it too. Like every country has its challenges. We have our challenges here, of course. But sometimes we can be and maybe we're getting a little bit more national and it's not just here right across the country. We don't really, I think, or can't get our heads around or choose not to get our heads around the difference that people have in different parts of the world, how many people can't feed themselves, even something as simple as access to the internet, how few people actually globally have access to the internet, the life that people are leading, leading the impact climate changes, whatever is causing it when I haven't had to pay trade. But the difference that the climate is having in terms of driving more people into the can't farm the land. They can't live where they are. And what have you, it's huge. Can you give us any idea of the scale of of those that live like we do with all the faults and those that have very little on nothing? Yeah, the numbers are really quite frightening. You know, they're kind of hard to get your head around as you as you say. I mean, they're reckoned this year about 750 people will suffer from food insecurity. But that fundamentally means 150 million 750 million, which that means that some stage through the year they will be hungry. Some of them are in a very acute stage where there's a picture again, 750 million people in the world. So this year, this fight billion in the people, people in the world, 750 million will be food insecure at some stage in the year. And then within that, there are various levels of malnutrition. I suppose the most worrying is children. If children don't get adequate nutrition, they they become what the medical term is stunted. In other words, their growth in terms of both mentally and physically is reduced. And that's a huge problem for the whole world. And the number has grown. It's it's a little, as I said, myself and Iita met in Ethiopia 40 years ago. As it happened, they went back to the same town that we lived in for for two years. It was very remote at the time. It was very, very, a very difficult famine situation. I went back in 2017. It was tremendous. The progress that had been made in that little town was huge. Presumably then part of that, though, is you enable people. You know, and a lot of conversation is about migration, too. There are great organizations that actually to people to live where they want to live often, where their country is, but to equip them to farm the land, to feed themselves, to grow crops, whatever it might be, improve education, which improves outcomes and what have you. And you've seen that. You've seen that first tons from 85 to 2017. We have seen that. And sadly, it's it's going the wrong way because of conflict and climate in the last six, seven years. It is very worrying. And the climate one is not one that is going to seem seemingly stop soon. I mean, if you if you talk to countries in the Horn of Africa, they will tell you that the livelihood of their pastoralists is going to disappear. And we're not talking about where we see a wet summer here and say, oh, well, sure, that's climate crisis. And then someone says, well, should there always been wet summers? When we talk about climate change in these parts of the world, it's it's it's it's it's completely different. It's dramatic. It's dramatic. So if I mean, last year I was in Somalia in Northern Kenya, they had missed five rainy seasons. So that's five seasons where there should have been rain. There was no rain. So what effectively meant two and a half years of no rain so that the ground was completely dry. This year there was some rain, but it was floods and the ground was completely flooded. So you're very extreme circumstances have ever risen. There have always been instances of drought in that part of the world, but not the level of extremity that we talked about that figure of 750 million over the course of the year that will suffer from food insecurity, i.e. no access to food at some point over the year. Then there's access to basic medicines. Again, all the stuff that we possibly take for granted, people shouldn't feel guilty. I'm not trying to say there's a, you know, a hierarchy of feelings here. But the truth is that, you know, there's an awful lot of stuff that we complain that we can't get quite as quickly as we like that many, many people around the world simply will never see. Will never see. No, it's true. And I mean, when we, I think it's important we don't feel overwhelmed because it is overwhelmed. I mean, at the end of the day, if we take the Twin Towns group, they have raised an enormous sum of money. It's made an enormous difference for a very large group of people. That's a success. Has it solved everything? No. Of course not. But it's made a huge difference. Humans have reached out to humans and the people, I mean, I have the privilege of meeting those, those who we work with. It really does make a difference that they're not forgotten, that they're not abandoned, that people have come to help. It makes a huge difference. And you speak to people that have made the trips that you have. They change forever. Even maybe they're a bit cynical, skeptical or hard as nails or whatever their background is, is they change forever after seeing it for themselves first hand. What's coming up then? Sorry, you've mentioned that you've plugged away because you're a professional and you use the opportunity not to talk to yourself but to plug every bloody thing that's coming up. But just to recap, Eita, so what's the next thing? The spring sale will be coming up on the 6th of April in Stern-Orlor. So we're looking forward to that. But as David says, the scale is huge. It is challenging. It is daunting. But David sent me photographs of that little town that we worked in called Badesa. And to see the change, a town about five or 6,000 of a population. Same as yours? Same as ours. And like it wasn't our money that directly went there. But it's a concerns work there that resulted in huge development of a community. And I don't think concern are working in that position now. It's not necessary there anymore. We've moved to other parts. OK. Both of you, thank you very much indeed. Are you doing anything to celebrate the 40th anniversary? We will be. We just haven't made those plans just yet, but we will later in the year. It was later in the year that Beth went. All right. Concern are also celebrating 40 years of the debates and the local schools here contribute to that as well. School debates. Yep, St. Columbus College. Finn Valley College. Or Finn Valley College. Finn College. All helping with the stuff that you talked about. Bazaars and carol singings and what have you in other schools as well. Yeah. David Regan, a concern CEO. Thank you so much for joining us. He's award from the Twin Towns Concerns Group. Remarkable. 100. 1.22 million raised for concerns raised for concern and incredible achievement from a community of a little over 5,000 over the last four decades and long may continue. Both of you, thank you very much indeed for your time. Thank you, Greg. The Ninetal Noon Show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union. Offering low-rate car loans with fast approval. Apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today. In Southern Malawi, communities are facing extreme floods followed by extreme dry spells. Malita is a single mother who farms to support her four children. In 2023, a record cyclone ripped across her farm with rain waters destroying crops and damaging her home. When her farm faced a withering dry spell, later in the year, Malita was left wondering how she would access safe water or feed her family again. Trocra is working with Malita and thousands more like her to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change. You can help them build a more secure future. Visit trocra.org or call 1-800-408-408. Together, we can make a lasting difference. This extreme weather report on Highland Radio was brought to you by Trocra. I know it's easy with bottles and cans. Simply! Return is Arland's deposit return scheme. Bring back empty, undamaged bottles and cans with the return logo to a shop or supermarket. You'll get your deposit back and they'll get recycled better. For more, visit return.ie. Bring it back! 18 Hours That's how long O'Hara's takes to craft the distinctive flavour and texture of our 18-hour fermented sourdough bread. You see, at O'Hara's of Foxford, we've been baking bread since 1951, so we know you can't hurry perfection. One bite and you'll agree that true taste takes time. Crawford Tiles and Castlefin extends their famous bathroom refits to the entire hospitality sector, transforming ten bathrooms in just ten days. Their services include full-gotting, replumbing and retailing, unbelievable prices with hotel recommendations available on request. To inquire, call Crawford Tiles on 07491-43942. The weather update is brought to you by Grant. Building a new home, choose Grant's a triple-plus-rated air-owner, air-to-water heat pump and new flex under-floor heating. Visit grant.ie. Rightio. Today there'll be a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. Some of the showers will be heavy and there is a chance of hail and isolated thunderstorms. Sleet is possible to on high ground. Temperatures 5 to 7 degrees. OK, now, we had some contact to suggest that some people were being laid off or paid off from Randox, a huge employer in Donegal. We didn't want to say anything until such time as we got a formal response. So we said we understand you're announcing payoffs or layoffs in your Donegal branch this morning. So this is hot off the press for you here. In fairness to Randox, they came back quite quickly with a response and it reads as follows. A Randox spokesperson said, Randox have reviewed the structure of the manufacturing engineering department located at our Donegal facility. The review was necessary to ensure efficiency of production and has resulted in seven positions within the manufacturing engineering department provisionally identified for redundancy. A consultation process is currently underway. The affected staff may apply for positions elsewhere within Randox for which they are still recruiting. Randox, they say, remains committed to its facility in Donegal and the engineering manufacturing and R&D projects are undertaken. Randox, Donegal remains a core element of the Randox infrastructure. So two things there, acknowledging that seven positions are being made redundant but also committing to the facilities in Donegal because some might say, right, well, is this the start of it? And they have used that last paragraph, I think, perhaps to allay any of those fears. Question for the Taoiseach, read the referendum in the provision of care. Why is it only family members being included here when there are lots of people who are non-family members who take care of people and put that to the Taoiseach? And he said, fair point, why does the family have to be asked about all of the constitution? Why does the public, I presume, is what you mean there? Could you ask Leo Veradko why himself and his party are putting so much effort into this referendum and how they're keeping so quiet about Israel murdering 8,000 children, 20,000 Palestinians? I don't want to get people to vote in something that is no importance over the killing of so many people and still doing it. And some might say the Irish government is not doing enough, but it is doing more than other governments around the world. That's what I'm just saying some people might say, but your point is that you believe they're not doing enough and focusing too much on referendum that aren't important, that's your view and I respect it. Quick break to catch up on the 9 till noon show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from Letter Kenny Credit Union. Call us on 074 910 2126 or apply online via our app or in office today. On March 8th we'll be asked to vote in two referendums. The first referendum is about how our constitution recognizes families and the second proposes to replace existing wording with new text to provide recognition and care within families. A booklet explaining the two amendments will be delivered to homes across Ireland or see electoralcommission.ie forward slash referendums. Your vote is your voice, so be a voter on March 8th. From on Commission Thauakon, Ireland's independent electoral commission. Hello, Jedward speaking. Sorry, Edward speaking. Hey bro, I'm glad you picked up. Who is this? It's me, John. I'm literally outside in the landing. I don't know any, Sean. Lose my number. Hello? Edward, don't hang up. I'm sorry for saying a handyman could fix the gas boiler. Please forgive. Always use a registered gas installer. Or you could risk everything. Find one at orgie.ie. It's all kicked off at Brian McCormick Sports with new football boots in FG or SG. Try the new Adidas Predator in classic black, red, white. Puma King boots in many options from only $49.99 in adult sizes. Match it up with shorts and socks, gloves and gum shields. Click on BMC Sports.ie. Local Enterprise Week is back and 2024 is all about inspiring you to be brave when starting, growing or scaling a business. Running from Monday the 4th to Friday the 8th of March. Local Enterprise Week is organised by Local Enterprise Office, Donny Gall in association with their enterprise partners. During the week, over 20 events are taking place across Donny Gall. Booking is essential. To see the lineup of events and speakers and to book, visit localenterprise.ie or call 9-1-6-0-7-3-5. The county's number one talk show, the 9 till noon show on Highland Radio. Get tuned to the 9 till noon show live here from the Northwest of Ireland on air and across the world online. It is 11 o'clock. Let's get a news update and we cross over now to Donna Marie Daherty. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. Seven positions at the Randogs Dunlose site have been provisionally identified for redundancy. These are within the manufacturing engineering department. In a statement, the healthcare company says the affected staff may apply for positions elsewhere within the factory, which they are still recruiting. Redundancies are part of a structural review within the company. Police say no criminal offences have been detected in their investigation into alleged threats made against the DUP leader. Shortly before the party announced it was going back into Stormont, Jeffrey Donaldson told the UK Parliament that he'd been subject to threats. The PSNIC inquiries were made and the investigation has now concluded. Donegal County Council has been told that without government support, plans to tackle homelessness in the region are doomed to fail. Councillor Jerry McMunnigal said the Northwest Regional Homeless Plan is very positive and while council officials have had good intentions without more resources, they can't succeed. In Midlands Northwest, MEP says he will be voting against the proposed EU nature restoration regulation, calling it a disservice to farmers and society as a whole. MEP Luke McClannigan says the policy as it stands will pit farmers against each other with those in Donegal at a particular disadvantage. Borders shouldn't come into play in the provision of healthcare services. That's according to a foil MLA who is calling on both governments to provide adequate addiction services for the Northwest. Patrick DeLargi says healthcare should be about serving the people of the region rather than postcodes. Finally, the use of an exclamation mark has taken centre stage at the DAL committee with the FAAI. The CEO of the Football Association of Ireland has been trying to explain how he received money in lieu of unused holidays. Jonathan Hillet received a large payment in breach of its own brils. He told TD Paul McAuliffe that he made a throwaway comment about holidays in an email and that was taken as a request. That's all for now from Highland Radio News back again at 12. Donna Marie, thank you very much indeed. Thank you for joining us very shortly. From the HSE. Right, yo. Keely Travernar. Travernar, our psychotherapist, author and coach is going to be joining us very shortly to answer your relationship questions so often in terms of relationships it can be quite difficult to maybe bring it up with your partner or family member or a friend, you know. Maybe you've got something that's bothering you in your relationship. Keely is going to be joining us shortly. So getting quick, sending your questions about any element of a relationship, not just romantic, personal, family, all that kind of stuff as well. So if you want to get a question to Keely you better get on to us right about now because she's going to be joining me very, very shortly indeed. McAuliffe says, hi Greg, is it true that some Ukrainian people went home for Christmas and that we've paid $800,000 to bring their pets over here if you could get some answers it could be great. Yes, of course, some people did choose to go home for Christmas for right or wrong and yes indeed, over the course of the response 800,000 year old has been spent bringing patients or patients, animals, what do you call them pets? Great job, Greg, on asking about Gripped, he's walking out on the question he doesn't want to address. As I say, you might not be satisfied with the answer but the question and the answer there is on the record. Keely Taverna is a psychotherapist, author and coach she's with us now. Keely, how are you getting on? I don't think I've spoken to you in 2024 Happy New Year, how are you keeping you looking great? I'm doing really well can't complain well I could complain but, you know, life does what life does. It was a rhetorical question not many joking it was not no I always ask that question in earnest. New Year, New Me do people make big changes about themselves in the New Year do they hope to and then nothing comes to pass or I think I think naturally with the way that we have downtime between Christmas and New Year not all of us but some of us do it's a place for reflection and thinking about what we want we're reflecting on what's gone on for 2023 and what we would like so I think it's only natural that it naturally spins into 2024 I think the challenge with whatever vision or goals that we have for the New Year is the challenge really around accountability so often if there is no accountability and you just left to your own devices it can often mean that we might drop off so what do you need to put in place if every year you're going to go to the gym and you're going to lose three stone but by the end of January or February it's dropped off what might we need to be doing doing differently is something that I'm always curious about because there is you often see people make big changes in the life post breakup you know be it going to the gym be it changing a hairstyle or be it whatever that sounds you know men or women I'm not making any judgements in that regard so often we can actually maybe see a proper chapter in a new me you know post a big event in life maybe it could even actually be a bereavement or something what is the psychology there what is empowering us to make the changes that ordinarily we can't post traumatic experience I think a crisis situation or a rock bottom situation is actually a beautiful place to begin to reflect it's often the time when people often call me when things are incredibly difficult and actually it's an opportunity to reflect especially after a relationship breakdown I think we need to be frank that actually relationships take a lot of energy even good relationships even good relationships yeah yeah relationships take energy you know and that's not a bad thing it's neither good nor bad it just is but for example at the end of a relationship obviously people have time on their hands their schedules have changed life may well be you know changing depending if you live with someone and sometimes there's people want to distract themselves so they might get hyper busy doing something else but also actually the reclaiming of the energy means that actually what might I actually want to put my energy into what have I been distracted by not focused off put off because like I said relationships take a lot of energy and it is it can give you that opportunity to begin to think actually this is one thing I really want to do for myself so that kind of crisis rock bottom can bring us into a stark awareness that without that and that is the beauty of adversity yeah and there's a protection mechanism there a human response or there's something in your DNA something that goes back to thousands of years you know because we're all very different but an awful lot of us are the same as well in how we react and what triggers us and all that you know what are as unique sometimes as we might think we are exactly and let's be frank and that's not for everybody some people don't come up from rock bottom it becomes you know they don't love us and I think that's also something that's really important to also acknowledge that not everybody does and sometimes we need a low you know we live in this culture which is like perpetually promoting be happy be happy and unique I believe we need those valley experiences to to get clarity and then potentially make a choice about okay so what might I need to do now and not everybody has that yeah and it's so true to what you say because you know and obviously we primarily talk about relationships and what have you but often and on a program like this I would interview people who have gone through alcohol addiction drug addiction gambling addiction and very often there is there is a moment there is a rock bottom that changes the course of the life and they're heard but I think you make a really good point there is a number of people as well that hit that rock bottom and don't come back up and their voices don't get heard in the media or what have you and they should never be forgotten either some questions for you my boyfriend has suddenly switched off notifications on his phone which I thought was odd then he removed his Apple watch it's made me very suspicious am I being paranoid well have you asked no all of these questions are going to be based from the perspective that they haven't asked that's why they're asking you Keely yeah so it's okay to be curious you know and then we notice how somebody responds I've noticed you're not wearing your watch I noticed that you're not there's no more notifications and I'm just curious about what this changes what changes are going on for you it's okay to be curious not judgmental so you might have an assumption that maybe something untoward is happening maybe there's another relationship potentially it could be potentially they could be in a toxic whatsapp group with their family and actually it's just not healthy for them and they've had a digital detox so I'd be also curious to understand if there are other behaviors that are also like you're starting to draw dots together on a Friday night you're never available yeah and you might be less present less attentive even intimacy may have been compromised all of a sudden you're wanting intimacy in a very different rough and rugged way like there are other nuances to pay attention to and then to notice what assumptions you may have catch that my assumption is that there's somebody else where I'm being treated on notice that and then when you're in a calmer state rather than coming from the lunatic state we can become curious and ask and also to I think there should be space in a relationship where you should be able to ask that outright say listen we're in your apple watch and I couldn't help notifications I've been silent as well what's going on if you were sitting there and that were bothering you and you didn't feel you could bring that up maybe you'd be afraid of the person's reaction are you saying that to me for why are you accusing me of that and then the person is sort of like double victimised because they're made to feel as if they're going a wee bit mad and also questioning the fidelity of their partner you know so I would ask myself if you felt you couldn't ask that outright in a way that isn't sort of accusing someone of something that would I'll say it's a red flag but it's certainly something that you'd need to take note of well for example if someone's going to become there's two things firstly if you're someone who tends to sweep things under the rug and pretend you're okay when you're not that means that that part of you is going to be activated so then you're going to be holding it and people who tend to hold on to things I often find in therapy tend to also have IBS in the long run they end up with physical health symptom so I'd be curious whether they are someone who tends to avoid having uncomfortable conversations that would be my first premise also when we become curious we're also going to pay attention to how someone responds to what reacts to us and if you notice there's a defensiveness or your what's often called gas lit where they flip it back and they put it all on you it's an interesting point because that in itself would suggest this is why I never ask because I get a hostile reaction and that's the benefit of coming to that curiosity from a place of calmness coming from a place of calmness I've noticed and I just wondered what's going on for you that way should someone gas like you and try to suggest that you're this that the other fair enough I've noticed these changes and rather than not say I'd rather say because I don't want to get in my head about it I'd rather ask I think too many people get a got feeling and they know that God's probably often right and that may be a barrier to sort of going down that route it's a similar question my phone my boyfriend always has his phone facing down should I be worried now I always place my phone most of the time facing down on the couch because it's cloth don't want to spill tea on it sometimes I don't want notifications just the phone to be lightened up to tell me what the weather's going to be like tomorrow it could be something might not be something it may well be and it may well not be and let's be frank we do complain when somebody isn't present and they are perpetually on their devices that is actually particularly annoying I'd be wanting to think about that in the context of there's other things like do they have working emails on their phone because a lot of people are also in these work WhatsApp groups which also is a struggle of our time and our energy so I'd be curious about other aspects of their behaviour and if I I'd want to if I I mean there's also paranoia you know are you someone who tends to be quite paranoid are you someone who's also quite self insecure what is this activating with me it's funny because with me mostly it is because I shut close the phone with my thumb and it's part of the return it over and close it with your thumb do you know what I mean so it literally could be something as simple as that but then again if you see the phone light up and they get up and take the phone with them for no obvious reason you know I mean obviously then it's worth inquiring about this is a biggie can Keely please tell me how to date a man these days I've done the dating apps and it just is a disaster you put all the time into talking you meet and all goes well for if you're lucky three months and then it's back to the start all over again may men say they're in it for love and marriage it's like they are bored and off they go again or they behave in a manner that has red flags all over it at 32 I feel like giving up on finding the love my parents had help me please now this is based on dating apps and you know so you know a part of me really is starting to think more and more as I learn more about these issues with dating apps is that we've become commodities mm-hmm and so there's you know like you know you're still shopping as if you're shopping on Amazon and obviously we're basing it on often there's the you know depending on your learning style you're going to see the visual you may well read I'm not a reader so I might go with the visuals right so actually you know getting to know someone and obviously if they keep dropping off after three months it may be and I think this is something for us to really consider that actually maybe it's not for you with your with her way of being it may not be for you personally I'm much more of a fan of getting up maybe going to things going to activities hobbies things that interest me where like I'm not sure how popular it is now but they used to be meet-up groups which is international mm-hmm event bright you might put in a topic something that you're interested in and then you go you might do a class was something that interests you what's the hobby that you have and you're likely to meet someone that's like minded because I would imagine there are some who there's a formula to it they know what to say to get the first date they like the little balls of meeting someone new and they know that they can before there's a huge emotional attachment they know they can just start it over again and have that perpetual excitement of a fresh start in a relationship or what have you I mean if you are in that space I'm sure lots of people are and have great success with it you kind of have to know there are going to be people in there with that mindset and I think I think and I don't know this is too controversial it's probably most likely to be more likely sorry to be men than it might be women absolutely and let's not forget you know some people are deliberately on there to hoodwink and pray upon vulnerable people to exploit them I've worked with enough clients who have had money you know they've been stuck on a rig in Russia and all of a sudden need ten thousand pounds to be shipped over to them so it's it's something I know that doesn't mean that that won't happen face to face if it you know you also have to consider does this platform work for me what might be other ways that I can meet people be it to pursue an interest to get myself out because one of the challenges is we want our relationships to fulfill us and often so often so much of the things that we might like we never explore but like what we said when crisis happens we may decide that actually actually I'm going to start doing tap dancing lessons is something I've always wanted to do and I've never done it so our identities can get lost and we can have super high expectations that relationships can fulfill us what are other things that you might want to do so that you're putting yourself out there so that the so that you're not putting all your eggs in one basket I'm not expecting it just to come from dating apps actually like one of the things I want to do is like a national geographic holiday expedition and you go with 14 strangers like that's a beautiful way to meet new friends I'm a massive advocate especially as we get up in age right I want to be friends first I want to get to know someone rather than coming from this kind of often not always not for everybody and people don't like this one this desperate place of meeting the one yeah yeah again that's a human condition and you have to sort of counteract that your brain works against you and for you at times last question if you don't mind Kili I have a relationship question please a new relationship since last summer we are both older adults we have both experienced breakups and what have you so we're seeing how things go now his previous partner has been in contact and would like him back I do appreciate his honesty by telling me but it's now like a cloud at the moment and inside I'm feeling so upset I very much enjoy his company and see potential for a long lasting relationship but a partner has re-entered his life as I mentioned Kili and says that she would like to get back with him hmm well I'd be curious about I'd notice my own reaction it might be natural you feel jealous you might feel insecure and uncomfortable I'd be curious about where that leaves that individual what might they want to do about the fact that an old flame has got in touch it's wonderful that he's transparent we pay attention to that the part of me that is cautious might be wonder if he's starting to bread crumb seeds that we're not they may not want to that might be my own insecurity that they may not want to continue with the relationship however I think it's important to notice what your reactions are but come back to the individual where does that I appreciate you telling me what where does that leave you does that leave you wanting to be curious do you want to meet up with that individual because they may well do and if they're going to be transparent about that I have respect for transparency I have respect for I may not like it but at least that person's not lying and so that also gives you a space to be clear about well actually I'm not comfortable with that and that is not a controlling or you have to know what is tolerable in yourself don't you and if you do if she says look I thought this was going someplace but I'm just going to be completely honest with you I'm not comfortable with this ex in the background especially when it's quite clear that she's interested in getting back to you I can't sort of enjoy this relationship or this experience with that I've described a cloud hangover I mean that's okay I don't think that's any strange behaviour or demanding or you know yet you can't park what you feel and how you feel to try and please someone else because it's always going to be based on a false premise isn't it acknowledge the reaction that you have in you the key is you're not telling them what to do I'm going to acknowledge what happens to me the thing is every relationship is optional you know romantic relationship anyone can opt out at any point that they want and that's why when we love we risk because if we don't we just let never come out of our safe comfort zone again when we love we risk he has free will he is able to do whatever he wants to do this is what it evokes in me and I'm curious about what would you what do you want to do about the fact that the old flame has reemerged we must remind ourselves that relationships are optional and we cannot control people okay keely taverner is a psychotherapist author and coach a lot of the work's done also remotely so whilst keely is UK based she's still available for services how do people find out more information keyforchange.com bada bing thank you very much indeed keely taverner there back with more after a break the county's number one talk show the 9 till noon show on highland radio the 9 till noon show is brought to you by letter Kenny credit union digital loans now available apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account tb outbreaks hit 10 year high for more in your Irish farmers journal is paul mooney we examine the latest department figures showing tb hotspots and reactor numbers icbf moves to address calf blue card delays find out how you can get up to 30 euros to renovate traditional farm buildings what's driving some western farmers away from sucklers top tips for maintaining your farm quad key farm payment schemes open for applications plus your town's questions answered all inside the Irish farmers journal you can't afford to miss it have you discovered the dunigol boardwalk resort restaurant yet open every Wednesday to Sunday take leisurely strolls along the boardwalk and treat yourself to light bites hearty launches for comforting dinners complete your stay in your cozy lodges explore more at dunigol boardwalk resort dot i a on wind down and savor the moment at dunigol boardwalk resort carry guard despite low temperatures and high energy costs it's important everyone stays warm and well through the cooler months it's also important to understand that saving energy where possible saves money and helps reduce the impact on our climate simple steps can make a big difference like turning down the thermostat by one degree limiting the use of high energy appliances like tumble dryers or ensuring we don't heat rooms that aren't in use government is playing its part to making a range of supports available to help ease the burden on families across the country for support and advice visit gov.ie forward slash reduce your use brought to you by the government of Ireland the 19th of March in the Mount Eregal Hotel joined by the one and only Margo myself David James plus special guest Brendan Quinn Declan Ernie and Patrick Feeney this is a night not to be missed tickets now on sale for more information visit the outlet at highlandradio.com or give us a call on 07491 at 25 thousand we'll see you at the Highland Radio birthday bash alright Sarah is on the line with me now hi Sarah hello good morning great you discouraged would that be fair to say with the the current political I don't know how you describe it make up of politics in this country what's your what's your view of it well I just think that more and more people are kind of being disengaged from politics you know so I think there are a few suggestions I'd like to make as regards how to improve our democratic system you believe the politicians before we get to your examples you believe politicians take us for granted they take us for granted because they're sitting in many politicians are sitting in the same seat for 10 20 30 odd years and they nearly look upon it as they've achieved something by staying so long whereas I would take the view that you know you should be able to set yourself goals and achieve certain things and would possibly say two terms should be wrong enough for anybody because what that's probably about 8 or 10 years and I'd like to think that most people can achieve the goals in that time and if they can't either they're not able to or let's give somebody else a try somebody fresh ideas and fresh energy yeah so your first suggestion then is that terms to all political offices presidential council TD Senate maximum of two terms and two terms and you're out so if you can't achieve what you want to achieve in two terms then it's time to jack it in let someone else have a go Hi because currently it's very difficult for new people new blood to get into politics you know it's nearly a closed shop because if you're a new candidate you're up against certain politicians that have you know been doing work for the constituents and you know been doing favours you're up against maybe 5, 10, 15 years of favours being done for people and I don't even like using the word favours because it's nearly like oh well I'm doing that for you and you don't do it as ever but I'm doing you a good turn which actually ties in with the knowledge suggestion don't move so quickly because I'm interested in what you're saying here do you think too it's possible that then politicians sort of get institutionalised they just become part of the system and that could extend to smaller parties, independence do you think after a period of time they just become part of the political system even though they go in promising change in the sun and the moon and the stars that eventually they have to conform it's probably a bit of human nature and possibly a bit of surviving within the system that you're in and I suppose it applies to more workplaces than just political office that a person does kind of nearly conform to what they're ready even though they might have gone in thinking well I would like to change this or that for the better you know a person can I suppose get more around maybe but you see if you've got old hands you know certain they might be a bit kind of you know because in the private in the private area you know lots of people working in companies maybe higher up will have key performance indicators you know what I mean whereby they're hired to do a job and they're set targets or what they must deliver and they're judged on that if they do it they get a promotion or they get retained if they fail there's the option then to sack them so that's what happens in in private life now another suggestion you have this is as it relates to the actual voting process Sarah hi hi I was thinking that you know and I'm not only one thinking that I'm sure is that on the ballot paper all ballot papers that there should be an option where you have the candidates and if you don't think any of those candidates are suitable for the job that you don't feel that you can give your valuable vote to them then you should be able to take a boss that says none of the above because people sometimes get exasperated and write none of the above on their on their paper but all you're doing there is actually spoiling your voice and therefore you're not counted whereas if there was a none of the above then that figure would be counted in the tally and it would give feedback to the politicians about the satisfaction or other ways of the candidates being put forward and I mean let fresh candidates then get a chance to go in the ballot paper you know if I run for election and none of the above you know rose me out well don't let me run again you know let somebody else go on the ballot paper I just wonder Sarah though I mean obviously maybe we can count that at the moment there's been spoilt votes but particularly apathy i.e. people not voting in the first place but you say I think when you're suggesting this would give us an idea of that but also like I mean there's an awful lot of people not awful lot but not the majority but there's a lot of people that don't think anyone can change they're disengaged with politics because they actually don't believe whoever it is can actually work against the system you know what they described as often Sarah the permanent government the civil servants the politician decided to remove services from St. Joseph's hospital that was no one elected probably not even anyone based in this county do you know what I mean so people go well what's the point what change can these people there's no point in them just getting angry with us you know what difference do they make I think a lot of those people I think they're all right none of the above because I speak to people that don't think anyone can change what they see as a broken political and civil servant system and I'm not talking about the civil servants by the way working hard in buildings around Donegal you know what I mean about the higher ups they feel that they feel that there's no point who you elect none of the above because it doesn't matter I think underestimate how much you know that politicians can influence you know I do think they have more influence than maybe we think generally speaking you know I'm giving now I'm almost giving them a pass in that commentary I think especially in these kind of select committees that you know you would see on TV especially the finance one we've seen recently the the way they bring in our tea over the coals you know with regards bringing them to account you see accountability is at the bottom of it doesn't it but like that if you're an elected politician that has been in there for 10, 20, 30 years you're part of the system and you don't really want change because you have your kind of job for life and you get comfortable human nature not blaming folks but it's kind of not good enough it's not good enough for a healthy democracy so I think we need to freshen it up a bit you know and I think politicians all need to have a job description as well you know because what can we expect from them and what we can manage our expectations with them what they can do for us and if I might make one final point this idea of a nominee you know for example in the European elections last time round I forget his first name Mr McCarthy ran he ran for two he ran for the very long time didn't he well I don't really remember the dove one but what he must have because I think that's where he is now but I think this idea that he run and get elected or in his case Europe and then that he can just put somebody else in his place I just think that's so wrong you know anybody that voted for him well this other man didn't apply for the job you know if I remember correctly and there are examples and you're right I'm not contradicting you but if I remember correctly it was said in advance that it was almost as if people were voting for two people if I am successful in Europe and subsequently successful in the doll then such and such will take my EU seat now that's not how it works that's not how election works but I seem to recall that's the way it was at the time but in terms of co-opting leaving and nominating someone else you believe if a seat becomes vacant it's different it's different in the doll but in the council in EU you believe then that that should trigger another election no I think you know you go back to the people that applied for the first place you look to see where the count was so you know you go A, B, C, D and FD wants to give up or A or B wants to give up their seat then you go to who was the next person who was highest in the poll they applied for the job they canvassed the people you know that's democracy in my view whereas the existing system is not OK callers just before we let you go I agree with Sarah far too many turn the seat into a family seat if one retires a family member takes it over and hence continues the cycle these seats need new blood and new ways of doing things I agree with Sarah there are many politicians who haven't delivered for the county these politicians gave 800 million euro to Northern Ireland what about the dual carriageway from Lifford to Mannequin and one other Sarah totally right the HSE delivered a massive blow to the community of Strangoli yesterday and that's it no reversals and that's it but nothing changes another never heard anyone talk so much sense great points and finally what about the politicians who achieve their goals should they also be made to go the election is the biggest job interview they will do and we the public complain but we continue to vote the politicians we know I mean so the system does allow for a deselection you know this is the public that are making these decisions Sarah so say for instance you talked of a politician that is you know the dual on multiple occasions it is by the public that is democracy and they can be deselected if the public judge they don't do their work over the term so you don't do you trust the public then no you see the public are elected who's putting front of them and my idea is that you know you shouldn't yet run in time and time and time again if I say if I'm elected and I get me two terms I don't think I should be allowed to then run again I think you know they say the council there's approximately 30 members I think well let a third of them you know resign is it where you know but after your two terms don't let the same person be put forward again you know because the public are only able to vote on the people that are put on front of them and that's why you keep getting the same people and the same things happen keeping the same thing all the time you don't get any change you know and as regards somebody said job interview one of my things is a job description I remember asking it was actually I even used to remember he had a stolen radio and I sent a text and I said what is what is something like the job description the objective of a politician job description of a politician or something and he came and laughed on the radio and he said well he said it's to get re-elected you know well that's not good enough you know he drank from the trough long enough as well but I do I do I mean I like him and all that is a radio person and so on but no I agree and like that probably started out with great intentions too but like that human nature has to be built in and yep I used to work in the charity and the board of trustees or whatever a third of them had to resign every year you know it's like a stagnant pool of water you know what happens to a stagnant pool of water would you be better with fresh water kind of running through it's also to I mean what you also see and maybe this is sort of a symptom of the system you talk of you know that when whatever we vote for we don't vote for ministers as such ministers are appointed and you often see a minister in charge of a department and they've got no real experience or background in that be it housing or educational or whatever it might be and I'm not picking them out I'm just saying as an example surely ministers should have strong experience or indeed qualifications before they can take over such a portfolio you wouldn't put me in charge of you wouldn't put me in charge of running a farm if I've got no agricultural background would you well if you were keen and enthusiastic and yet certain goals that you have to achieve and then you would look for the right person to train you and you would be probably more than capable of doing it if you had some ideas and objectives that you wanted to achieve you know if you've got the wrong materials I think you can train most people up to do a job A caller says a caller says should look at how difficult parties are finding it to get candidates to run if they need replaced every two terms there'd be some crisis but your proposition would change politics in that people wouldn't have to make such a long term commitment more people who feel they could make a change might come forward people won't come up as candidates because they don't really want to step into the system as is so like I think for us to presume what you suggest we'd also have to presume that politics would change fundamentally as well so in other words I don't think that a morning Greg fully agree with Sarah well done to her thank you interested in what Sarah is saying she's given me more food for thought it's just a pity people do not stop to think for themselves is that anything you have an opinion on Sarah I feel I kind of feel lucky in that I could have an opinion and I could talk to you and you could convince me otherwise where I could go you know what that makes an awful lot of sense I don't mind reversing or changing my position and I have an awful lot of things in life do you worry that we as a as a public though have been too hive minded be it to the left be it centrist be it to the right do we as a public have to take any criticism do you think in how politics runs in this country I think at the end of the day we are citizens of we should take responsibility and putting an idea forward like this is maybe one one we part of might take responsibility but we we we elect people and then I do think we then don't hold our politicians local or national to account you know we wait until they knock on the door looking for a vote and then we say ah they only came you know once and they're only looking for me vote but in the four or five years in between times what did I do or anyone else do as a citizen to say well now councillor now TD what have you done on this particular issue you know I don't think we participate enough ourselves you know and as regards the previous person that said about you know they have troubles getting people into politics well part of that is because a lot of people just you know know that it is a closed shop you know even if you belong to a party there's nothing to say you'll ever get a chance to run for your party or if you're an independent candidate it's very very difficult to get in because like I say you're up against certain candidates who have awarded in a five ten years of favour that is a process of wearing people down and dissuading people from entering politics all right Sarah and I suppose too actually you know we could have another 15 minutes conversation about the whip system as well which is exactly Sarah thanks for your time a lot of people are really interested in what you have to say including myself thank you appreciate it great stuff all right bye bye that's Sarah there who texted into the show and was good enough to come on and expand on her views the 90 noon show is brought to you by letter Kenny credit union with monster loans available up to 60,000 euro for all occasions visit letterkennycu.ie an Irish win at Twickenham would be sweet but an Irish win at Cheltenham is even better get ready for horse racing's biggest festival with the Irish Fields Cheltenham magazine in association with Goffs there's interviews with lots of leading trainers and jockeys plus invaluable commentary from some of the top racing riders in Ireland and Britain find winners with data insights from expert analyst Simon Rowland's Matt Tombs and Andy Bate the Irish field Cheltenham magazine in stores now or get free home delivery on thearishfield.ie every week on the app pop in store online for real savings at Supervalue on this week's business matters I'll be talking with Vinny McGrory and Lorraine Murray of Dunigal ETB about the changing nature of apprenticeships and the opportunities that exist so join me Chris Ashmore after the six o'clock news on Sunday business matters in association with the faculty of business at ATU Dunigal for a career in financial governance consider the level 9 MA in governance and IT in financial services call 9186206 or email donaldunhanigan at atu.ie today if you weren't quite ready to drive a fully V you'll be going in the right direction with the Mazda CX-5 this SUV comes with fuel saving Mazda M hyper technology and a six year warranty you'll find across the entire Mazda range test drive the 241 Mazda range of McGinley Motor's Mazda letter Kenny Mazda crafted in Japan FBD doesn't stand for 50 bees droning fabulous Brazilian dancers or flat battery doctors FBD stands for support we support van drivers in Ireland with up to 75% off new van policies visit your local branch to talk to your FBD insurance team FBD insurance support it's what we do 75% off based on five years no claims discount terms and conditions apply underwritten by FBD insurance PLC FBD insurance group limited trading as FBD insurance is regulated by the central bank of Ireland the 90 noon show with letter Kenny credit union now offering mortgages from 40,000 to 600,000 euro with no hidden fees or transaction charges letter Kenny credit union 9102127 on March 8th we'll be asked to vote in two referendums the first referendum is about how our constitution recognizes families and the second proposes to replace existing wording with new text to provide recognition for care within families a booklet explaining the two amendments will be delivered to homes across Ireland or see electoralcommission.ie forward slash referendums your vote is your voice so be a voter on March 8th from on commission power con Ireland's independent electoral commission choose life choose fun choose not sitting at home getting bored choose something better something really fun choose Fundamenia coming to the Brunswick movie bowl from March 1st choose regular junior or family wristbands and enjoy some of Europe's top thrill rides choose fun for all ages a legendary Fundamenia event first to the 17th of March for details see an Irish win at Twickenham would be sweet but an Irish win at Cheltenham is even better get ready for horse racing's biggest festival with the Irish Fields Cheltenham magazine in association with Goffs there's interviews with lots of leading trainers and jockeys plus invaluable commentary from some of the top racing riders in Ireland and Britain. Find winners with data insights from expert analyst Simon Rowland Matt Tombs and Andy Bate the Irish Fields Cheltenham magazine in stores now or get free home delivery on theirishfield.ie Despite low temperatures and high energy costs it's important everyone stays warm and well through the colder months it's also important to understand that saving energy where possible saves money and helps reduce the impact on our climate simple steps can make a big difference like turning down the thermostat by one degree limiting the use of high energy appliances like tumble dryers or ensuring we don't eat rooms that aren't in use Government is playing its part too making a range of supports available to help ease the burden on families across the country For support and advice visit Goff.ie forward slash reduce your use brought to you by the Government of Ireland Highland Radio Weather Updates brought to you by Grant Building a new home choose Grant's a triple plus rated air owner air to water heat pump and you flex under floor heating Visit grant.ie Living in today's weather so I'll tell you what's going to happen tonight cold and frost possibly ice as temperatures fall to between minus 2 and plus 2 degrees there'll be clear spells and scattered showers some will be heavy with hail and sleet as possible on high ground Light to moderate west to southwest winds occasionally increasing fresh and gusty Now Irish people will be deemed to be Auckland donors unless they've registered their wish not to donate as a long awaited build past the eructous this week details of the human tissue anatomical examination and public display bill 2022 were originally published by then health minister Simon Harrison 2019 and followed on from a 2008 private members bill on the issue which was introduced by the late senator Fergal Quinn right the bill provides a legislative framework for the retention and disposal of organs used in post mortem examinations so it is it's significant John Hagerty is a kidney transplant patient and was part of the shared transplant scheme in Britain which allowed a donation of one organ to be given in return for another which has been very useful John your reaction to this latest hurdle this legislation has jumped are you pleased Hello Greg yes it's great news I'm very pleased basically the bill introduces a soft opt out register and that's a big change in the fact that before you know it was down to like the families to decide where is it now it's kind of you know it just changes things in a lot in a way that you know people's wishes are more going to be well how should I say likely to be perceived like you know so basically families will be consulted when the loved one is not opted out and it ensures with families that the I'm completely lost here yeah go ahead take it can I ask you a question I'm so excited about the news basically so let's talk about the current system at the minute so the currently basically when you're an organ when you're needing when you pass away basically at that time your families are approached for consent at the minute so that's the current system okay so moving forward it's assumed that you automatically consent unless you opt out okay so to opt out it's a soft opt out basically you'd have to complete a form to say that you're looking to opt out of organ donation so basically if you passed away your families at that time now would be asked is there any reason why your family would not want to donate instead of you know would you like to donate your organs it's a big step forward you know hopefully it will increase the amount of organs available to people in need you know at the minute there's only one percent basically let me get the exact stats here there's only one percent of people dying in circumstances where organ donation is possible so that's a very little amount of organs available to people in need like myself so the main thing is to increase that obviously there's more available for people that's waiting in the long term you don't need to sell John just at the moment okay I'll use me as an example say for instance I want to donate my organs I am more likely probably to tell those closest to me look if something were to happen to me my wish is that my donations can be used to give other people life or to improve life and what that means is is that on the ward on that day when the decision is made that I won't survive those closest to me may well be aware of my wishes what are we going to do John when a situation arises that we're all presumed to be donors and the specialist on the ward comes up to the family and goes as you know everyone now is a donor I'm probably less likely to know my wishes and to object do you know what I mean is it proven that this will actually lead to more organs being available if that makes sense I hope it does yes I know where you're calling from well I mean in recent years it's been adopted and Wales a similar scheme and I think there's an increase there obviously at this point it's only it's getting put into legislation like obviously we'll have to go through what the blogs have to be to become active it's to be signed off by the President hopefully within the next week or two and hopefully I mean it is a massive step forward Greg like I can't see why it won't you know I think it will become a lot more organs like and I think families will realise the question has been asked a different way now basically you know and I think it's definitely going to increase organs the most important thing Greg and the most important message to get out there is no matter what always have the conversation with your family obviously no one wants to be in a position where obviously there's a tragedy or you know sad times but the important thing and it's always been this way and it always should be this way it's about having the conversation with your family I mean currently we can have a driver's license with the code on it and we can carry a donor card you know I mean or your next they can that's the most important thing so no matter what I think it's important to emphasise that you make your relatives aware and I mean even this today now is the perfect opportunity and this bill being passed in the Dall yesterday I mean that's the perfect chance for families all around Ireland to have this conversation now you know and if there is a reason why you wouldn't like to be a donor that's okay too that's I mean that's fine I mean knows the time to you know to make it known like okay listen great to speak to you thank you very much indeed John I really do appreciate your time John Hager to their kidney transplant patient reacting to that news now I want to let you know that John Breson is around the north west out and about this morning he's broadcasting live from the Central Library letter Kenny for the launch of the Read DL it's the annual one book one community programme and his show as always is from noon to 2.30pm it's everything you expect as normal he's got the the new normal features newsy bits and plenty of great music but also information on Read DL 2024 for Read DL 2024 this year's title is the summer I robbed a bank it's a chaotic robbery plenty of sheep and a summer of discoveries come together in the hilarious and heartwarming novel it's from comedian actor and author David O'Doherty who was actually really quite a funny guy ok so stay tuned for that that's coming up voting is by tradition in families believes a listener that's what needs to change another caller says it's a good start however it's also the people that are always working there like the civil servants who make certain decisions or to tell politicians what can and can't be done so for moving all the politicians we're going to have to move all the civil servants as well or make a fundamental change there the last election when Rishi Sunak took over there was a top civil servant job and I think it was changed because they felt they might be banging their head against a brick wall that person was changed but look that's Sarah's suggestion and it's got people talking and isn't that what it's all about morning I've voted for Sinn Fein in the past I'm bewildered by them now backing the hate speech legislation tell the public we don't have an open border everyone can see we have and backing free yes yes in the referendum I firmly believe they are the new former fee in the fall I owe my family would not be voting for them they've turned their backs on their grassroots supporters and maybe views like that are being reflected in the recent polls which show a support for Sinn Fein slipping some people are going to change their minds of course a caller says great job on asking about I've read that already Viralcar really let it show there another reason the hate show will be a disaster he just criticized a journalist and media outlet because it's not state media and is actively questioning the government on its activities how dare he question who finds it or who subscribes or funds it or who subscribes as I don't hear him questioning who owns all the other media and what an agenda they are pushing it's laughable I'm interested a listener picked up on that because I thought an interesting response to that question Greg why do you have the folk that people really want to ask questions to one Sean at 10 to 10 this is a very good question actually by the way Sean Murphy Leo Darrell Bryan you have a set number of questions you have to ask but they are kind of bland and take and talking points I'm disappointed well there's different things I would argue a lot of the questions I've put to Darrell Bryan he won't come back on the show and Sean Murphy as well would tell you my question of him is very very robust why do they come on at 10 to 10 very very interesting very interesting maybe people feel that they know that there is a deadline that we have to go off air for the news and obituary notices so trust me me and Karen I'm not saying right if we put it on at 10 to 10 we can get a couple of bland questions out they can do the PR we can go for coffee while the news is on it ain't like that but it's very interesting that you should pick that up let me just put it to you like that hey have a wonderful day we're back tomorrow morning from 9 we kick off with the Friday panel and loads of other stuff is not legal questions tomorrow Caroline is it not tomorrow okay so listen have a great day stay tuned for John