 Neuro-worth of commercial rates deemed a collectible. Donna Marie Doherty has more. At the beginning of 2022, 14.6 million euro of commercial rates arrears were carried over from the previous year. The total value of rates bills issued during 2022 was 37,293,000 euro. However, 4.7 million euro in commercial rates were written off owing to vacant properties. Almost 2 million euro was written off as COVID waivers and 2.1 million euro for other reasons. The closing arrears at the end of 2022 was 14.3 million euro. The commercial rates collection rate for 2022 was 78% up from previous years. In his report presented to councillors this week, head of finance Richard Gibson said businesses were presented with significant financial challenges in 2022. This includes high energy costs, inflation, the impact of the Ukraine war, as well as the cost of living crisis. A government minister says the company providing NCT tests is not fulfilling its contract to the state. Over 425,000 vehicles are currently overdue for the test with the waiting list growing by 50,000 in the past two months alone. Junior Transport Minister Jack Chambers is advising people to apply to the priority waiting list if their NCT is overdue. He says the waiting time should only be 12 days. We're absolutely focused on sorting this and the delays are completely unacceptable. A plus who provide this on behalf of the state aren't fulfilling the contract to the 12-day average waiting time. Whether nice sunny spells and scattered showers today, some heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms, highest temperatures off 13 to 15 degrees. That's all from Highland Radio. News for now. We'll be back with news again at 10 o'clock. Until then, good morning. SuperValue makes saving money as easy as one, two, three. One, we match Aldi and the products you love. Two, great special offers like Lore Coffee Pods 20-pack and Pepsi 9-pack cans 5 euro, exclusive to real rewards members only. And three, money off vouchers every week on the app. So, follow the one, two, three and save money at SuperValue. Decency's apply. The county's number one talk show, The Nine Till Noon Show on Highland Radio. Good morning to you. You're welcome along to The Nine Till Noon Show for a Thursday. It is the 30th of March. Hard to believe we're almost into April, the first three months of the year, practically gone. And it's a Thursday. We're coming close to the weekend, which is good news, at least for those of us who have the weekend off, and I'm glad to say I do. We always, as we say, have a packed show lined up. But first and foremost, the show is about your views. It's about your perspectives. It's about your take on the issues of the day, both local, regional and national. If you want to advise us of your views and get in touch with the show, text us or WhatsApp us on 086-60-25000. You can call us on 07491-25000 on you. And Donna Marie, both taking your calls. Donna Marie producing the show this morning as well. And you can use social media. We're at Highland Radio on Twitter. We're Highland Hub on Facebook. You can watch the show, of course, on our Facebook pages. You can also watch the show live on YouTube on our Highland Radio Ireland page. And remember, you can also go back and re-watch the show at any point during the day on both Facebook and YouTube. And previous shows also available on the YouTube channel there as well. And that's a very good resource, if ever you want to go back and listen to something that was on at some point earlier in the week or even further back all those videos available on our YouTube channel. You can email us, of course, comments at highlandradio.com. And if you so choose, you can write to Highland Radio, Minds of Noon Show Mountain Top Letter Kenny. I mean, Highland Radio Letter Kenny is gonna get us, let's be honest about it, but Pine Hill Mountain Top Letter Kenny is the full address if you're a stickler for that sort of thing. Now, we begin with a look at the papers. And it's a Thursday, so we have quite a few papers to get through this morning. The Dirty People Dirty People Dirty People News Thursday edition, over half of tourist beds are unavailable. A leading tourism body is warning that towns in Donegal could see very little activity this summer due to a shortage of hotel beds. So we heard that story nationally yesterday as well. And indeed, the head of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, Onomaro Walsh, will be in Letter Kenny. In fact, is in Letter Kenny for a conference that's getting underway in the next 30 minutes at the Mount Arigula Hotel. You may well have heard about that on the news last evening, the Donegal County Council Annual Tourism Conference taking place this morning. We have the ITIC represented. Also a senior executive from TripAdvisor will be taking a look through the microscope at Donegal from a TripAdvisor perspective. That will be very, very interesting actually to see what comes out of that particular discussion. But that's the warning that's coming from Onomaro Walsh at that conference that's taking place, as we said, in the Mount Arigula Hotel this morning. Donegal Democrats, you'll have heard this story on the news already with Michela. Kilibeck's business under investigation, Garthi confirm operation ongoing in Donegal. The Donegal business is the subject of a Garthi National Economic Crime Bureau investigation. Garthi entered the premises this week. It's understood that staff were asked not to leave nor to use their laptops or phones. The Garthi spokesperson said they couldn't comment on a specified entity, but did confirm, as they did indeed confirm to us as well, that an operation was underway. Council urged to act ahead of end of eviction. Daniel have heard that on the program this week and on news as well. That's a throwback again to the County Council meeting that took place on Monday of this week. And South Donegal Fire Station saga at pivotal point. You'll have heard some of that on the news with Michela this morning. And indeed, there's a lot more on that on our website actually, because we have a longer interview with the Councillor Barry Sweeney. About seven minutes of input from Councillor Sweeney. That's all available on our website at the moment. Also on the website we have some excerpts from the very comprehensive answer that was given to him by officials. And we have some of their perspectives as well. All that is available on the website. And it's a rule of thumb actually very often when we do a story on news here on Highland Radio, there'll be a lot more material on the website. So it isn't that the website is absolutely the same as the news story. Very often as we say the website is augmented and has more available. So always go to the website as a resource for further information when it comes to news stories you hear here and elsewhere. Chirconal Tribune this morning. Chrysler to honour Kay McNulty legacy. Great story this. On next Monday evening, a newly created monument will be unveiled in Chrysler to honour the pioneering work of the late Kay McNulty, one of the world's first computer programmers. And I think it's one of the great injustices and tragedies of history that we have allowed a situation develop where history has been written so much from the point of view of men who did things. And to my shame, I will be honest, I would have known the name of Tim Berners-Lee. I would have known the name of Steve Jobs, but I had never heard of Kay McNulty before reading up about Kay McNulty in local papers like the Chirconal Tribune. And the fact is she, a native of Chrysler was an absolute key part of the development of the computer industry. And I am sitting at this moment in time with a computer, literally, I have a keyboard and a screen to the left of me. I have a keyboard and a screen to the right of me and I have a screen in the middle. There are three screens, two keyboards and a mixing desk, all of which are hooked into a number of computers. This whole station is linked to a network of computers. Everything that happens now on Highland Video happens via computer and happens digitally. And it was people like Kay McNulty made that happen. So great to see that Kay McNulty will finally get the recognition she deserves and how fitting it is that the people of Chrysler, the area from whence she came are leading that particular campaign. Also, a very interesting picture, a plan submitted for Fannett Visitor Center, an ambitious new project to develop and extend facilities with a new visitor center at Fannett Lighthouse has been submitted in a planning application to cancel this week. It's an absolutely wonderful part of the county. And if you can get yourself up around Fannett Lighthouse on a really sunny day, it is just stunning. That whole Fannett area is one of the jewels in the tourism crown of Donegal. It's absolutely wonderful. Let's look at the Derry News this morning. Irish America's supportive of unity referendum. Catherine McGinty writes that Martin Galvin, the former Norway director of publicity has been visiting Derry in his capacity as chairperson of the U.S. Freedom for All Ireland ancient order of hibernians. Mr. Galvin presented grant checks to the Martin McGinnis Foundation, the Bloody Sunday Trust, the Bugside Artists and 16 other groups across the North on behalf of the AOH and did say that there is very much support in Irish America for a unity referendum. Moving on to the national papers this morning, the Irish independent today, Army Chiefs had insisted to minister... ...be prepared for training and match day with Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure with a variety of mouth guards, shorts, socks and boots. Right, and apologies for that, my fault. Let's go back to that. Army Chiefs had insisted to minister as abuse was in the past, cabinet memo reveals assurances, but report says failings continue to this day and there'll be more on the program, I think, on that whole story from the abuse and we'll be speaking to women of honour, I hope, on the program at some point today in terms of that particular report that was published earlier this week. A cabinet memo reveals the assurances were made, but that report that's been presented this week has said the failings have continued right up to the present day. Irish Times this morning, the main story, Garthí, to deal with military claims, sex assault claims in the Defence Forces will no longer be investigated by military police, new statutory inquiry likely to be led by a judge and may be held in public. Another reference to that particular story. Great picture on the front of the Irish Times this morning, you'll have heard, on sports news with Ocean through the course of the day yesterday, that six-time Paralympics champion, Jason Smith, announced his retirement at the age of 35. The Derryman is stepping away from competitive running unbeaten in the 100 and 200 metres in a career that reaches back to 2005. And Jason is just standing there, head up, arms outstretched, eyes closed, with all his medals draped around his neck and along his arms, and it makes for an absolutely stunning picture. Really, really good picture. Harry Murphy, take a bow, that is a great pick. All Dish pupils to get free hot meals from September. The coalition plans to extend that scheme to other primary schools from 2024. And Kitty Holland writes that every child in the Dish primary school will get a free hot meal from September social protection minister, Heather Humphries will confirm today. She's also pledging to strongly support a target of a free hot school meal for every child by 2030. And that's the front of the Irish Times. Looking now at the front of the Irish Daily Mail, a disgraceful day in the Dahl chaotic and fractious scenes in Dahl-Aaron were branded a disgrace by current Coral O'Shaughn O'Farrell as the government survived a confidence motion to stave off a general election TDs from across the political spectrum, shouted, jeered, heckled and interrupted each other in ill-tempered early morning exchanges in the Dahl Chamber. The coalition survived two crunch votes to avoid an election and the extension of the eviction ban. A disgraceful day in the Dahl is the headline there, Karen Corle, exasperated. So, I mean, let's be honest to me, shouting and jeering and cat-calling across the sides of the Dahl is absolutely nothing new. But I suppose it was on steroids as it were yesterday. Let's look at the tabloids, Irish Daily Star this morning. Don't rash to conclusions a Manchester United story. Yep, it is a Manchester United story. Now that's on the back page. Paul had hearts set on Ireland. O'Grady dead at 67. We'll return to that in a moment. Monk Neview caged. Savage is the main one-word headline on the Irish Daily Star. Judge Slams Ross Hutch over knife and punch attacks. He's jailed for 10 years. The nephew of Jerry the Monk Hutch has been jailed over two violent attacks in the space of 48 hours. Also, killer hunted as a US attack victim dies. Police are hunting for a thug who killed an Irish man in one punch attack on St Patrick's Day in the US. Carpenter Barry Whelan from Dublin was attacked as he enjoyed a night out in the city of Boston. Front of the Irish Daily Mirror this morning murdered family inquest. We lost three gems. No one can replace them. Heartbroken relatives of murdered Seema Bhanu and her two children have spoken of their anguish at the deaths. Seema's nephew, Cassif Ahmed, traveled from India to visit their graves. He wept as he said, nothing will ever replace these gems. Seema, Asfira and six-year-old Faizan were strangled by husband, Samir Saeed, who took his own life in prison. That's the Assad story on the front of the Irish Daily Mirror. Front of the Irish Sun this morning. Tarah Lili, Tarah Paul. Rod McPhee writes the beloved entertainer, Paulo Grady, who has died age 67, prompting a huge outpouring of grief from fans, celebrity and even royalty. Comic Paul was a star twice over, first as his drag persona, Lily Savage, and then as himself. Also, his love of dogs has been widely remarked upon and he was very involved in rescuing and saving dogs. And a loss indeed, a great entertainer over many, many decades. Family pain at verdict delay murdered Bobby Mr. Moonlight Ryan's family have told of their agony as killer Patrick Quirk's appeal was delayed. Daughter Michelle said, we've had to cope with mental anguish for the next two months. Also hutch jailed 10 years for two attacks. That was the story we covered a little earlier. Now, today is the Thursday, which means it's also the day for the Irish Farmers Journal. Don't forget, by the way, as we review the journal that just at the end of the half five news at the five o'clock news this evening, in and around about the 20 past five mark there, thereabouts, just after the sport, we have farming news and views with Chris Ashmore. That takes place every Thursday. It's also the day the Irish Farmers Journal comes out so very often the issues that are being covered on the journal will be referred to by Chris and sometimes followed up in more detail. And Chris has a very good program. The Irish Farmers Journal this morning, the main headline, calves set to be flown to Europe, Declan O'Brien writes that up to 1600 dairy calves will be flown to the continent in the coming weeks in a novel move aimed at testing the viability of air transport. The dairy calves will be flown from the Southwest, both Shannon Airport and Kerry Airport in Far and Four are being considered. And sticking with Kerry, lovely photograph, great excitement in Kilgarve and when quadruplet lambs were born on March 24th, a picture of the Healy siblings holding the lambs in the shed, the first quadruplets born on the farm in many years, we are told. That's the Irish Farmers, I have to say the Irish Farmers Journal too, it's a good big paper. There's plenty, plenty of content in it, absolutely plenty of content indeed. So that's the way it's looking on the newspapers this morning. As we say, lots to happen on the program this morning but if you want your views and your perspectives, you can, as we say, text us 08 660 25,000, that number will go from WhatsApp messages as well. You can also ring us on 0749 25,000, 0035 3749 125,000 if you're outside of the dialing area and it's at Highland Video on Twitter, Highland Hub on Facebook, comments at HighlandVideo.com if you want to get in touch with us via email. Take a short break back in a moment. The newspapers are courtesy of Kelly Centra, Mountaintop Letter Kenny, the C-Store National Large Four Court of the Year for 2022. We all love Irish Music Month and the artists that make it. We're taking part in Irish Music Month in partnership with HubPress Magazine to promote the amazing work of Irish artists in every music genre. Across the country, we're putting Irish music first. We're playing more Irish music than ever before and we're going to pay Irish artists 100,000 euro to play and perform for us on independent radio stations across the country. We're committed to promoting Irish music. Are you? This is Irish Music Month, supported by HubPress, IBI, and the BAI Sound and Vision Fund. Wheezing or sneezing, when you're feeling under the weather, your local Brennan's pharmacy can help. Rest, fluids, and simple pain relief are the most effective remedies for a common cold. But if you find that you're coughing so hard that your chest hurts or if it's disrupting your sleep, just ask our pharmacist to recommend the best solution for a speedy recovery. For all your pharmacy needs and advice you can trust, we're here for you at Brennan's Pharmacy, Moncranah, Glomani and Creaselaw. At Shannon Airport, we know what makes a dream holiday. It's not just a huge choice of destinations like Chicago, Paris, Newcastle, Naples, Barcelona and Porto. It's the hassle-free experience that makes getting through our airport a dream. So whatever dream holiday you're packing for, head for ShannonAirport.au. Shannon Airport, making it easy. Highland Radio, time checks with Expressway. Travel Route 32 from Lettikenny to Dublin. Expressway, bringing you the time at? Time on Highland Radio, 19 minutes past nine o'clock. You'll have seen and you're shown independent this week or heard the story on Highland Radio News yesterday about the semi-detached house that's been knocked because of defective blocks, but the adjoining building, which it's understood, is also affected by defective blocks left standing. Councillor Jack Murray, you commented on social media this week that it was an incredible photo that needs to be seen, both locally and nationally. Yeah, I'm glad in a way that this photo has made the front page of the paper and I hope that it is now seen, particularly in the corridors of power in Dublin, to see the madness of the situation being faced by people in Donegal as this scheme now starts to roll out further. We've seen the one house of the Benson family in Heather Park in Montcran, is getting demolished, has been completely demolished to be rebuilt while the next door neighbor, which can't access the scheme at the minute, has to remain there. And there's additional cost to that. Approximately 10,000 euro to have a party wall. Obviously the house had to be taken down by hand. If the two houses were to come down together, they could have been demolished much, much quicker and rebuilt, much, much quicker, much more like in a cost-effective manner. So it just highlights the force that the system is at the minute. Now, it's an extremely difficult time for both homeowners and I suppose it's difficult for them for the house to be seen around the country, I think, by this stage. But nonetheless, it needs to be seen and it needs to be a wake-up call for those decision-makers that can bring a common-sense approach to this entire fiasco. One of the points that's been made over the past number of months is that in the case of the defective blocks redress scheme that's covering Donegal, Mayo, and the other affected counties in this instance, what the government's effectively done is it said, we have a scheme. Now, Donegal County Council, you administer it, householders, you must get all the information and engineers' reports together and then you can apply for it. And we're gonna give you some money and basically sit back and wash our hands of it. Every other scheme we're taught, the Pyrite scheme, the other scheme links to apartments that's going through the system at the moment. They're all schemes being led from Dublin by government through a national agency. And your argument is, we need that sort of national coverage here in order to make sure that we don't get daft occurrences like this. Absolutely. The House of Agency needs to come in and take a helicopter view, methodically go through it and in a far more sensible manner than what we're seeing right now. I'm aware that even back in, as far as the 70s, when the Craig and the state was rebuilt in Derry, something similar had to happen. Thousands of people had to be re-housed. At that point, what they did was they prefabricated houses, they had storage containers for people's belongings and they went street by street. People moved into those houses when the houses were rebuilt. Street by street, they just went through it and tidally and it worked well. So if we could do that, they could go to 40 or 50 years ago. I can't see why it can't be done now. And this is a scheme that's been in the making for well over 10 years. And to see it now, this is something we've all flagged, posters and TDs from across the political spectrum. I'm not sure what the fact that this was going to happen, but now we see it coming to fruition. And just the madness and such a stark photograph, I think now really it should be the wake-up call that we need, that helicopter view, we need to do it and common sense needs to be applied. Has there been any indication from Daryl O'Brien's department that they're in any way going to be flexible on this because it seems every time they speak to Doney Gold County Council, what comes back is, effectively, our hands are tied. It's up to you to solve it. That'll be untrue. This isn't within the council's gift at all. That's what the department seemed to be saying to the council. Effectively, the department are pushing it back on the council all the time, even though, as you said, the council is very limited in what it can do, but the department does still appear to be saying, look to the council as far as it's concerned, it's your job. Yeah, and I think the departments are quite happy to make the council be the fall guy and all this, but this is the regulations of the scheme that's making this happen. The council have no way of solving this without the council or without the department changing the guidelines. Now, I do know that in the new scheme, rental property should be included. So that, I suppose they would say, we'll fix it in the new scheme, but there's still going to be more anomalies. The likes of the new street in Moncrana, which we know is affected, all the bottom floor or most of the bottom floor buildings there are commercial properties, which aren't going to be included. So if anybody above those commercial properties owns, own or occupy an apartment, that's going to be impossible for themselves. How could you possibly take an apartment above a commercial property and do it? So we're going to see more and more of these photographs. We're going to see more and more of these problems until there is a total 100% redress scheme for everybody affected with the properly, sort of helicopter view management, the holistic management from the housing agency, because this is just going to be another 10, 20 years of these photographs that are going to shock people, but despite the warnings from across the community in Donegal. It begs the question though, how come given all the warnings they had from MAG and from people like Michael Doherty, who sat on meetings with countless meetings with countless department officials and issued updates every weekend on social media and outlined the frustration they were getting where they were saying it seemed every week, the message coming back from the Micah Action Group and others was look, we're telling the department this, we're telling the department that, we're telling the department the other thing, but the department didn't appear to be taking it in, the department didn't appear to be listening. I mean, are we now seeing effectively a flock of chickens coming home to roost? Absolutely, and it smacks a real desktop exercise in Dublin and penny pinching that didn't make any sense despite the likes of the Micah Action Group flagging that this would happen. As I said, they've tried to penny pinch by delaying some houses from getting repaired and that's where the likes of the rental property next door to this house couldn't be repaired yet, they're rebuilt. But in doing that, they've crossed the extra, at least 10,000 euro in the construction costs of that one block. In Heller Park, I think there's 33 blocks, so yeah, that'll put an extra 300,000 euro just in that one park that could be saved to the Exchequer and to the homeowners and to the stress being put on those people. Just from that, from refusing to listen to all those calls from the Micah Action Group from political representatives, not just recently, but over the last 10 years. It's crazy, and as you said, it's the chickens coming over very soon. In terms of the response that it's getting, it's getting a local response, you have said that your hope now is that this photograph will be seen, this photograph will be understood. Have you any hope that this will be a turning point? Because we've had so many instances like this in the past where people have said, look, this has got to be a turning point. This has got to drive the situation home. But time and time again, it hasn't. Yeah, and this isn't a turning point. I will really despair because you can't, when you see it so stark, when people open, you can make calls, you can make written reports and people can ignore them. When you see that photograph, like how could anybody with any common sense not see that this, this is madness? Like I would hope that finally they will take this on board. And I spoke to my colleague, Potter McLaughlin. He's going to raise this with the minister directly with the minister. He's going to raise it in the floor of the doll. And I'd hope that at last, at long last, common sense will prevail. But unfortunately there's been a lot of hope through the last 10 years in this and there's been a lot of disappointment. But so you can't just expect that it definitely will. But we're going to just hope against hope that they will listen this time. As well as householders, of course, Donegal County Council itself does have houses that are affected by defective blocks. And a question we've just had in, can you answer why is the council not replying to correspondence from council house tenants, your own tenants who are affected by defective blocks? Well, I don't know those specific incidents. I would say to anybody that's had any problem in contacting the council to contact myself directly and they can make contact with the relevant staff member in the council and I'll try and get a response as quickly as possible. But I'm not sure exactly what that query is about. No, I know that there is ongoing discussion in the chamber and I'm sure with government and the department as to how the council is going to be able to remediate its own homes that are affected. And I suppose you have several situations where there are tenants, council tenants, in-houses that are affected and they'll be wondering what the future holds for them. Yeah, and again, we still don't have a response from the department to give the hundreds of millions that the council will need to rebuild its own housing stock. We've, in Moncranah, we've rehoused people into new houses in the Rocky Town estate temporarily while we're waiting for Fondant to rebuild houses in Moncranah that are damaged. This again has a knock on the fence to affect our own housing list or in the middle of a housing crisis. And we're trying to rehouse people to homes that could be used to reduce the housing list. It's an absolutely mad situation. And again, a similar situation to rising in Moncranah. I'm aware of a housing block where an upstairs apartment has bought out so it's not now owner occupied while the four apartments around in it are council owned. So again, moving on normally, like if that person plays the scheme they're going to take out the top corner of a four apartment block and replace it on the rest of the building that's going to crumble. Like this is again more of the madness of the scheme as it currently stands. I think from the council point of view, perhaps some people are looking at the experiences, for instance, in the burnt foot area after the flooding when some council tenants left their homes. And to this day, they're not back in those homes yet. And I think there's perhaps some worry out there that sort of issues like that are going to get replicated as a result of effective blocks. And hopefully I'm sure you'd love to see that avoided because we know sort of that the heartache that's been felt in burnt foot after the floods. And you don't want to see that experience replicated in Bunkhrana or elsewhere. Yeah, and the people of burnt foot are rightly very, very angry that this was the promises that they've been given haven't come into reality. And again, they're scattered throughout and they're still waiting to come home. And again, this is the same. We're waiting from funding on a national level. Burnt foot flood defence scheme still hasn't been implemented or constructed. Now it is in train, but it hasn't reached this point. But again, all those council houses are council tenants who are waiting on it and frustrated and be worried about that. Again, at the legislative department, the council needs hundreds of millions to get in to rebuild its own housing stock. But priority, understandably, has been given to the private homeowners, but it should be running in tandem. Both should be running together and we can get this nightmare for so many thousands of people across Donegal, just brought to an end at last. And the phrase, perfect storm was used at this week's meeting of Donegal County Council. We have the situation where, as you say, the council is awaiting hundreds of thousands to rebuild stock affected by the effective blocks. It's waiting for money to rebuild stock, even affected by floods of 2017. And at the same time, the council is also facing the prospect of having to find multiple new social homes for people who potentially are facing eviction, people on the council's housing list. So as well as replacing old stock, you're going to be looking for substantial resources to get some new stock in as well. That's it. And the councils in Donegal, the added difficulty has not been able to buy new housing stock from the time the market. The minister, Darryl Brown, would often quite flippantly say that the eviction ban could be the local authorities buying houses. But we know that Donegal County Council can't buy anything that's been built in the last 20 or 30 years for fear of it having the effect of concrete blocks. So even in the likes of the counties in the south that aren't affected, it can take a year for a local authority to buy a house and bring it into the public ownership. Donegal County Council don't even have that option available because of the fact of block crisis. So I'm very, very fearful of what lies ahead in the coming days as the eviction ban takes hold and more people are evicted across Donegal because there is just nothing out there. There's very, very little in terms of private rental. Houses for sale and even houses for sale, you obviously are very fearful that they have the effect of concrete blocks. So it was rightly described as a perfect storm. I am quite fearful for what lies ahead. I do recall at January's meeting, the council did adopt a protocol whereby it could start to buy stock or it published a list of options that were available to it with regards to buying houses, be they turnkey or be the existing houses. Are you saying that as of yet, that hasn't been implemented and the council still can't buy? No, they've adapted it in that they could be more, they can buy them if they can be guaranteed that they don't have the effect of blocks. But the point I'm making is that so much of the market is full of houses that have the effect of blocks. So they can be bought neither by the council nor by a private person who's going to buy for their own. It's a problem across the county, regardless of any policy. Councillor Jack Murray, thank you very much indeed for speaking to us this morning. Thank you, Donald. Thank you. Jack, you take care. Bye-bye now. That's Councillor Jack Murray there. Comments has just come in. Well, it's not a comment, actually. It is, yeah. I mean, yesterday Barry Cowan, I feel a fall TD, caller says Barry Cowan, with a hint of a snigger from the FFFG party, as they call us, has compared the eviction ban to continually feeding children sweets, because at some stage you have to take them away. I've never heard a more grotesque analogy in my life. They really don't care, so says a caller. And, yeah, that analogy, let's be honest, at best, it was very, very clumsy. It said 28 minutes to 10. Time for a short break. This Saturday, 1st of April, at the all-new Pulse Venue Letter Kenny. In the live venue, it's Jim Devine and his full band. In the Mean Club International DJ, Shane Card. Pay the door this Saturday night at the all-new Pulse Venue Letter Kenny. At very, we deliver everything you need and more with over 70,000 products and free home delivery. Freshen up your family's wardrobe at prices you love. Get the very latest inspiration for your great outdoors. Level up your sports gear with the very biggest brands. 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At Oakfield Park, the perfect place to have a magical day out. See oakfieldpark.com. Welcome back to the 9 to noon show on Highland Radio with Donal Kavanaugh. Message in, Donal, I want to congratulate LMS Derry for their production of 9 to 5 that were on the show a while back. They were indeed, it's fantastic from chorus friends and family in Straban. And I will echo that. I am looking forward, I'm actually going to the Millennium Forum myself tomorrow night to see the show. I know quite a few of the people in it and was actually involved in a production of 9 to 5 here in letter Kenny and myself a couple of years ago. It's a great show and I know a few of the people involved in the Derry production and I cannot wait for tomorrow night to get my bum on to a seat in the Millennium Forum and enjoy what's going to be an absolutely fantastic show. Caller asking, are the pubs open on Good Friday? My belief is yes, they indeed they are. The Balan closing pubs on Good Friday ended some time ago so I certainly would expect the pubs to be open tomorrow week. Good morning Donald, I have CCTV cameras around my home for a number of years. The wrong time began showing on the TV pictures at the weekend. I got a technician to look at it. He said it was showing Beijing time, not Irish time. He couldn't explain why this had happened. Has this happened to any of your listeners or can anyone offer any explanation? Thank you. It's an interesting one. Now all I will say from the top of my own head, my own part of immediate reaction to that is could it be that the cameras for whatever reason have defaulted to factory setting and presumably factory setting would have the cameras on Beijing time if they were made in China. Now it could be that there was a power cut and something had happened and that had knocked the cameras back and you know sometimes these things, when they restored to factory settings, the times all changed and they go back to 00. That off the top of my head, I wonder could that possibly could be, but I mean I have absolutely no knowledge of the situation. Now I want to go to Paddy Diver. We spoke about the defective blocks crisis with Councillor Jack Murray and few people know more about the frustration of campaigning on this issue than Paddy Diver does and it's fair to say Paddy was absolutely pivotal in getting the renewed focus on defective blocks that we saw in 2020 and 2021 and without Paddy Diver there wouldn't have been the major marches on Dublin and arguably without Paddy Diver we'd still be awaiting the, well what's supposed to be a new improved team. Paddy, good morning. Good morning Donald. Paddy, you're saying that you're looking at Fina4 doing press calls about the defective block crisis, but you believe this is more a vote catching exercise than it is a genuine attempt to resolve this crisis? Yeah, I'm really frustrated watching them going out there and putting their heads up. There's everything's great. The frustration is brought into a different level. I really do believe that Dara Breen as a Minister of Housing has the gift to give because it's been proven that he's went against the ex-chequers and the civil servants people and he's got 100% for the apartments in Dublin. When I seen that I really I always thought it was the civil servants that was pushing the buttons here and some of the TDs hadn't got the power and the Minister of Housing mightn't have had the power, but when I seen this I completely and utterly proved that Dara Breen as a Minister of Housing has the gift to give and when I see this I look in it Fina4 around our county and Charlie McHungle putting a pressure on him. Dara Breen doesn't care about the people done it all. That's acceptable fair enough, but the Fina4 people that we've voted on to repel isn't us and done it all. They're the ones we expect to do it, but they're not doing it and like we've seen Charlie going against us in the PLS and the amendments, but that's not good enough the people are suffering for too long and when we've seen that there is a gift to give and the Fina4 are not putting on the pressures like when we watch Fina4 one Fina4 man went to Dublin to represent the people and then I've been talking to the Mayo ones they're another big county affected no Fina4 went to Mayo now is it the case that Fina4 are just not representing the people they're just taking the party over the people if this is a case and that's what's going to happen then if they get any more votes than done it all it's going to get to the stage that the people is the problem, not Fina4 because we shouldn't be voting them if they can't get us across the line and a lot of stuff Charlie McConn-Luke may very well argue and I'm sure Charlie McConn-Luke has argued this to your face and to others as well Charlie will say that he is in Dublin day in, day out arguing with Thadda O'Brien arguing with civil servants arguing with the Department of Housing pushing, pushing, pushing from improvements and the more he pushes the more chance he's going to get it that if he were to leave or if he were to make some big statement and walk out then there's going to be nobody from Donegal at the Cabinet table pushing for this so he's going to argue however frustrating it may be to watch from outside he's got a better chance inside the tent than he has standing outside it looking at well he might try and tell us that there but at the same time I would rather that there was no TD in Donegal to take a step back and two steps forward because if we're standing back here and we think that Charlie McConn-Luke is helping us in Donegal that's not looking like it is like Charlie McConn-Luke told us that the foundation was on the scheme, live on Highland Radio and it wasn't on the scheme I asked him out and of all in that last community service I asked him that Thadda O'Brien has never been to Donegal and I might get our defect of home he says he has, he has I says he hasn't, who has he been up to he wouldn't tell me who he's up to he was only up visiting, Blaine that's the only house of mine he has never come up to Donegal and met a homeowner and that's totally unacceptable how has Charlie allowed it to get to a stage that the minister of housing has not come up to Donegal seen the tragedies were fair enough you can see it on the newspapers and you can see it online but when you come and actually witness it how a minister of housing hasn't been to Donegal and witness and met home owners is that's not right and Charlie tried to stand up for him and say he has been in one home, he wasn't he was up visiting Blaine's home and that's the bottom line and there's another problem that I asked him I asked him on the regs and that's just going by what I'm hearing Charlie's wrong and I'll say again so when he's wrong wrong wrong as far as I'm concerned he doesn't really care that's his party over people all day long so that's a big problem and the problem I asked him was the word exact is on the regs now that's word exact is a big issue on the regs that means there's going to be no such thing as penalty free downsizing you can't downsize your house and you can't even put on extension of your house exact as exact and that'll be on a legislation so that can't be changed so he's trying to tell me then on front of the people that no this is okay you can build a smaller or bigger house from what I'm hearing this is just completely not really lies that's not the case so where does that stand that means he doesn't care he hasn't he'll dump the regs he doesn't know them enough and if that happens that means we can't get a penalty free downsizing and that's one of the gifts to give because there's a penalty free downsizing and it shouldn't I know there's people out there who'll be thinking shouldn't they mention that but the problem is there's a lot of people out there for their mental health that they will lost two rooms if they can get their house built built and cost them no money because there's no been toxic banks and the penalty free downsizing is massive kill a lot of people fair enough a lot of people wouldn't want to do it but that's a gift to give from Dara Breen that's costing the exchequer no extra money so why it's not there that's just not acceptable that's the bottom line and then moving on to things that should be gimme that's not costing the exchequer any more money we've got a penalty free downsizing and a penalty free downsizing there really and truly would be looking at the vulnerable that haven't got the headspace to deal with us because they're turning them into contractors and like I'm going by a woman Mary O'Regan letter Kenny the poor woman has been a big massive campaigner in us here she's had a fall on her house she now has she now can't even get up her stairs she's she had changed all her downstairs to get a weapon and all downstairs and there's so somebody that got there they cannot be allowed to be thrown to the wolves and that's what's happening in us here scheme because we're not getting enough fighting from Finafall councillors and Charlie McConglock as a pill the transfer of eligibility the poor woman that's that's not right did Mary speak at the letter Kenny event when the two events took place in Moncran and letter Kenny about two years ago did Mary speak at that letter Kenny event I think she may have done that she did I recall I was there the very first very first protest American she spoke outside the community centre I was there I heard her actually she spoke very well I just wanted to ask that because people that were at that protest will remember that just to put a face on just to put a name and to put a face on the person we're talking about this is this is the lady that spoke and spoke very fervently at that meeting for anyone that was there just just to put it out there so people know that it's a real person we're talking about as such yeah but the the problem there now is don't and I hope Mary doesn't make me say this Mary's not the same moment she was two years ago because this government has chipped and chipped and chipped away there like it's coming up to springtime now Mary Mary's garden would be in pristine condition there wouldn't be a weed along I care but I mean it would be just beautiful but now she's lost it she's she's lost in that wall she doesn't care because she's got nothing all that woman wants is to get her life back transfer a village ability give the house to some energetic young person their third days or give it to a contractor fair enough she'll probably stick 50,000 less do you know what I mean in the scheme but I'm sure she'd be quite happy by a little house on down the road and on the last roll out of her life she'd be happy but this has been taken away from the homeowners as well and this is something there's a gift to give and how Charlie and our Finafall councillors aren't fighting it well that's that's why I'm kind of going against that's why I'm going against them there's so much other stuff out there like this is not a 300% read this and you know what I mean there's nobody in talks to the banks so where's the shortfall coming up and I actually is turning them to a farce of a scheme like I know there's a lot of people out there and say all those schemes that's going to expect in the last we get her 15,000 accommodation 5000 storage and that's bigger that's alright for kind of middle age but people that's not fit for this mental health side of stuff a poor woman in the facilitator's office will not be fit for this and I may have to head over and in my eyes and if the council don't if the government don't get things done fast and it's not like looking likely because they're just they're a million mile away from common sense here no foundations there's like they know no amendments they rush through the PLS I and the finger blame is starting to really point towards our fena fall councillors because if they put enough pressure in their minister housing and their party well we would have a better scheme I just think it's cut and dry like we've another big massive problem that happened yesterday don't know and this is to do with the Donegal County council a lot of fena fall ones is on there too but the Donegal County council in general two homeowners got on to me yesterday that the council have rejected valid engineers reports now this woman had got my priority confirmed in her house she had low strength blocks she had high make up 14% she's got these rejected and sent to a housing agency in Dublin now you probably hear me calling out for a housing agency when I was calling out for a housing agency it was what they done down in Dublin and they went end to end they helped a homeowner so that's why I'd be calling out a housing agency but that's how is an agency must be dealing with engineers reports and doubting them well should these engineers or engineers Ireland there's some of the best engineers out there and somebody on the council that is not putting their name to paper as rejecting these now this is going to set these this is a massive major worry of how that they can discredit these engineers like this isn't a case of defamination they should be go all these engineers should be legal advice whoever in this council is just getting these reports and it's there's been houses that has been better off that have been passed for demolition and now for some strange apparent reason they're rejecting these that's another massive issue needs to be addressed but the bottom line is Afina fall don't stand up for us we're in serious bother serious bother well the housing agency you called for there actually doesn't seem seems to me to be exactly what councillor Jack Murray called for just I heard any of Jack Murray before you were on with us but Jack was on and he pretty much said the same thing we need a national agency to come in and actually coordinate all this to make sure that there is consistency across the board and that all these outstanding issues are actually addressed a question has come in and I'm going to put this to you you may have some perspective on it a caller says I live in a semi-detached estate in a state of home owners some homes have defective blocks I don't have 6000 euro to pay for a test with both I and my semi-detached neighbour have to pay separately for separate tests to get on the scheme yeah they do yeah this is this is the whole thing about no plan no no no common sense that's that case Sherlock do you see that house up in Montana that house one house taken down that's what we were talking about with councillor Murray yeah yeah this is the whole thing of the whole like a planning like a care and only go do you know what I mean true like but this is where Charlie Mcong look in the Fina fall you step on and say right let's get about a common sense I first was down in Dublin this is the biggest scheme in the house they allowed and there's no project plan like there's no rule out all these things would come on to that rule out about a common sense that's the issue here and that's just both no planning everything turns on Tay you're running around chasing your tail nobody knows what's going on it's a free-frol every man for himself but that's just completely wrong it's completely wrong Paddy Deverett thanks indeed for being good to hear Paddy speaking the truth and you've always shot from the hip Paddy and we're all the better for it Paddy Deverett thank you very much indeed for speaking to us this morning no bother don't thank you cheers that's Paddy Deverett speaking to us and as we say Paddy absolute instrumental in getting those protests organized in in 2021 and that new impetus that got into this whole thing I mean Paddy was absolutely at the centre of it it's the 9th of noon to one island Radio time for a short break weather is next in all sports fans O'Neill sportswear have an amazing clearance sale happening in their Straban warehouse for four days only from Thursday through till Sunday you'll find everything you need to look and feel the best on the field from jerseys to shorts, tees to hoodies they've got it all we'll see you there O'Neill's live for it I chose Irish supplement clean marine menemen why? because menemen contains Amiga 3, Vitamin D and also Vitamin B6 which contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity and helps reduce tiredness all in just two capsules a day ask for menemen at health stores and pharmacies or learn more at cleanmarine.ie I'm glad I did On Sunday 9th of April with doors open at 8pm get ready for a non-forgettable evening of comedy and entertainment tickets 15 euro available online from abbeyhoteldonegal.com or from the hotel reception Highland Radio weather updates with Ireland West Airport fancy a European city break this summer discover the beautiful cities of Barcelona Cologne and Milan with Ryanair 6 flights a week for summer 2023 Ireland West Airport don't just take off take it easy with the wind and the weather and scattered showers the cloud will thicken top temperatures 13 to 15 degrees celsius with moderate south westerly winds they'll back south east later as the day goes on the weather situation quick comments time change at the weekend could have triggered the cctv to go to factory settings instead of our time that's a possibility as well caller says I'm not old and I use cash for almost everything apart from direct debits for certain utilities cash gives you freedom to spend as you please without banks corporations knowing your spending habits total control I think people should hear the possibility of what a cashless society will involve that is a very interesting point there are yeah a lot of discussion about the cashless society a lot of people not very happy about the fact that they're using phones and watches and God knows what to pay bills with allowing people to track I have zero Irish and we send our children to a girls' school do not let that be a barrier to children your child to a girls' school view the school and see if the environment feels right based your decision on that that would be my advice for what it's worth that's a response to a comment yesterday where someone asked Greg if they should send their children to a girls' school I know people who have sent their children to girls' schools and they haven't got much Irish themselves and they have all uniformly and universally reported it as a very beneficial decision and a decision they believed was absolutely correct now as a member of the press I attend meetings of Donegal County Council and municipal districts on a regular basis and as a member of the press I am objective and I sit there and I listen to debates and I do not form an opinion sometimes an issue is debated and I absolutely sit back put my pen down not in agreement and say 100% yes I agree fully with that I had the pleasure of that this week at a meeting of Donegal County Council when councillor Michal Kolem-Galaspak proposed that Donegal County Council give the freedom of the county to planet and I think every one of us objective or not say I Michal Majinjwa Majinjwa this will be a Tuesday I've been a laxation for me for next year after that introduction oh no no no I'm supporting planet not you I know that I don't often I don't often get that when I'm being interviewed for something that I don't everybody agrees with well it's probably the most popular motion you've ever brought before that councillor I suspect probably it is and one of the most important ones as well not dismissing on the of my past motions this is a motion that is very personal to me I think it's very important to the west of Ireland or the west of Donegal it's very important to the Irish language community and also very important to the music community throughout the whole country and for their fields planet have been on the music scene since 1970 when they first won and came to public attention when the first one left the canal or Liddie County Folk Festival at the time they were called Clann Asdor where they're from and then my Uncle Huey changed it around then to Clannad with the last initials and D for the work so they've been travelling the world ever since I had a relation a close relation of the family had watched my father travel with them to countries far and wide through Europe and at the time I suppose Germany and North Ireland countries were like going to the moon for me as a young child and waiting desperately for my father to return with the great stories that he had along with Clannad playing at venues right across different countries in Europe and how well they were received and how the Irish language played a central part in their music and were never ashamed to put the Gaelic to the forefront and didn't bow to anybody's pressure in relation to the language I had the pleasure of being in Lennium Forum in Derry in May of last year when they played and it was supposed to be their final North West Concert and it was an absolutely amazing concert I thoroughly enjoyed it sadly since then we lost Noel Dugan who passed away in October of last year a great loss and I'm sure in honouring Clannad, Donegal County Council we're remembering Noel and also obviously remembering others associated with the family Leo Bauer and so on and so forth and I think Clannad is what they are Yeah, look it was a butter sweet day for me putting this motion forward I would have been, not just a relation but a very close friend of Noel's he was my father or my sister's godfather and remembering Noel and Pedric and also Ljoln who played a very central part with Clannad through the years and a fantastic, fantastic character especially Ljoln, you would never go into a pub and come out with a doll face when you were in the company of Ljoln and they were very much to the forefront from my thoughts at the council meeting during the week and look at Clannad they're a very gifted family that we in the west of the county are extremely proud of and no doubt the whole county and if not the whole country are very proud of a very close family we all know the hard work that they've put into their music travelling and writing and performing and recording and then have other members of the family who played a very central part and maybe not to the forefront or to the media's attention but you know it's not just Maya and Enya in that you know you have Derra and Olive in Australia and if she's listening to this she's listening to all of this she's sweet and then you have Brigine and then you have I hope I'm not leaving anybody out and then Paul obviously in Ciaran and then Ljoln who unfortunately passed away but then you have Barley and Barley's a great character in our part of the world he's the one that was left behind in some sense wasn't gifted with the music brush but that said it's great to make a trip to Leo's tavern to listen to him singing the bog down by the valley and it's great to see as well and anyone that was at the Millenium Forum concerts or any concerts on the most recent tour up to the final show in Dublin just a few short weeks ago Ashling Maya's daughter Ashling Jarvis not only did she do an absolutely phenomenal job on In a Lifetime bettering Bono in my humble opinion but also I've had the pleasure of seeing Ashling perform herself in the cottage bar in Latter-Canadian elsewhere on a couple of occasions she's a great performer so that legacy very much lives on Look, yeah I'd be of the opinion it wouldn't be too hard to perform Bono that would be my own personal opinion but Ashling and also Maya's other son Paul are extremely gifted but the family themselves because there are other members of the families you know I don't want to name them but they're extremely gifted and you know they're not mind me mentioning Barley's young Pula Mathew who does perform publicly and has only a young Pula and it's just so full of talent as other siblings and cousins are as well and they're just they're just a family that we're lucky that we have who are just so gifted and they'll take the opportunity to do a number of thank yous first and foremost to Kordler Noreen McGarvey who's second at the motion I'd like to take the opportunity as well to thank all the members of the council but especially our Cahillah Liam Blaney who allowed the motion to go forward because in fairness to the Cahillah it's really it can attend to fall to the Cahillah to give this a great honour because it's not everybody that gets it Bihal I really I really apologise I have to talk over time has caught up with us we have to cut this off for news and isn't it very well put an excellent motion and we look forward to seeing the day that Klanath is honoured by their native county in a way that they fully deserve Mihaal, go to Magath times opens with sweeping changes for farmers for more in your Farmers Journal find out details and grants for animal housing, slurry storage handling equipment and fencing border counties at risk as TB in Northern Ireland hits record levels and places this year cheap prices up as Easter Buying begins Farmers questions answered on the new Suppler Scheme plus in Irish Country Living don't miss our 32 page Easter food magazine Inside this week's Irish Farmers Journal you cannot afford to miss it Do you have a favourite business in Donegal that you absolutely love? If there you go to for exceptional service it's time to give them the recognition they deserve by nominating them for the Highland Radio Customer Service Awards in association with Pijam Ireland Our customer service awards celebrate the businesses that go above and beyond to provide exceptional service This award is a great way to show your appreciation for the businesses that make a difference in your life To nominate your favourite business simply visit HighlandVideo.com and fill out the nomination form and tell us why you love this business The winning business will receive recognition at our special awards ceremony on the 28th of May plus they will have the satisfaction of knowing that they have made a positive impact on their customers So don't wait any longer nominate your favourite business today it only takes a few minutes by going to HighlandRadio.com nominations close on Friday the 7th of April Bluebird Care are looking for you Bluebird Care are currently seeking carers and nurses to join their ever-expanding team The immediate starts for carers in all parts of the county Bluebird Care are also looking for registered general nurses for day and night time 12 hour shifts Contact Bluebird Care on 0749129562 or bluebirdcare.ie and bring care home Live on air, online and on the Highland Radio app This is Highland Radio News Good morning I'm Akilah Clark with the news at 10 o'clock Defective concrete block campaigner Patti Diverse says frustration is boiling to a different level as homeowners await the implementation of a revised redress scheme He claims representations being made on behalf of affected homeowners is simply a vote catching exercise Patti has repeated his call for a national housing agency to be put in place to assist with the scheme Speaking on today's 9 till noon show a short time ago, he said the revised scheme as it stands lacks common sense There's a shortfall coming up and actually it's turning them to a farce of a scheme I know there's a lot of people out there and say oh this scheme's better than the last we'll get our 15,000 accommodation 5,000 storage and the cap's bigger that's alright for kind of middle age but people that's not fit for this mental health side of stuff if the government don't get things down fast and it's not looking likely because they're a million mile away from common sense here The Guard and National Economic Crime Bureau-led investigation is currently ongoing in Donegal Inquiries are believed to be centered in the Kili Beg's area Guardies saying no further information is available at this time State and public sector pension parts are in danger unless action is taken nigh That's according to the state's budgetary watchdog The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council says the number of people reaching it's suggesting higher PRSI contributions and saving excess corporation tax will help shore up future pension rates Chairperson of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council is Sebastian Barnes We know we can't really spend that money because it's not sustainable but if we were to put that into the pension fund that would mean that in later years taxes might not have to rise as much because we could use that money to fund pension so we do have a real opportunity but we need to take it because if we wait for a few years the baby boomers will start leaving the workforce and then it will be too late Over 28 million Euro in commercial rates were collected by Donegal County Council last year That's below the 43 million Euro worth of commercial rates deemed collectible Donna Marie Doherty has more At the beginning of 2022 14.6 million Euro of commercial rates arrears were carried over from the previous year The total value of rates bills issued in 2022 was 37,293,000 Euro However 4.7 million Euro in commercial rates were written off owing to vacant properties Almost 2 million Euro was written off as Covid waivers and 2.1 million Euro for other reasons The closing arrears at the end of 2022 was 14.3 million Euro The commercial rates collection rate for 2022 was 78% up from previous years In his report presented to councillors this week Head of Finance Richard Gibson said businesses were presented with significant financial challenges in 2022 This includes high energy costs inflation the impact of the Ukraine war as well as the cost of living crisis Thines in the primary school children are said to benefit from the Government's free hot school meals program The scheme will be expanded to all remaining jazz schools this September with plans to introduce hot meals to all primary schools next year It currently costs the state around 106.5 million Euro a year Paddy Lavelle, General Secretary of Education and Training says it's a really important initiative I think that the research says that when school meals are provided that students are well looked after in school and they come on time and they're not distracted and they're able to concentrate on their schoolwork So it's a very important initiative in our DASH schools Weather nice sunny spells and scattered showers today some heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms highest temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees That's all from Highland Radio News for now, we'll be back with an update again at 11 o'clock Until then, good morning VBT re notices for this Thursday morning March 30th The death has taken place of Patrick McLaughlin for a hate mullin' head Remains a reposing at his home Funeral leaving there on Saturday morning at half past 10 Going to St Mary's Church like mullin' for recreation mass at 11 o'clock with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery And the death has occurred of Seamus McGuire, Bin Ban Inver Reposing at his home today from 2 o'clock until 10 o'clock Funeral mass tomorrow morning in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11 o'clock with burial afterwards in the Cranny Roads Cemetery Family flowers only please Donations in lieu of Solace Cancer Centre Dunigaltine, care of any family member or John McGuire Funeral Director The funeral mass will be streamed live on MCNMedia.tv For more details including any family health guidelines for wigs and funerals please go to highlandradio.com And from 23rd of March save 20% only 99 cent while stocks last Medium Easter eggs including Cadbury Mini Eggs and Buttons save 33% only 99 cent And from 23rd of March save up to 57% on this week's Super 6 Fresh Fruit & Veg Office Turnips and Munch to only 49 cent which saves even more of your Easter bunny money Nah, I don't like it like that I love it Aldi, every day amazing YouTube, Facebook and at highlandradio.com This is the second hour of the New Show on a Thursday morning standing in for Greg He and the team are travelling back today from Brussels after what was a very successful show I think from the European Parliament building yesterday congratulations to Greg and the team Caroline did all the producing and Kevin did some of the engineering on the side and getting everything out of you as well and Donemary of course held the fort together back here great team work and a great show as a result Greg back as we said tomorrow morning with the Friday panel and the entertainment slot and all the usual Friday goodies that we look forward to on the Nine Tail Noon Show. If you want to get in touch it's 086625000 for your text or whatsapp messages you can call us 07491 25000 Anya and Donemary taking your calls Donemary producing the show today or you can use comments at Highland Radio via email or use at Highland Radio on Twitter Highland Hub on Facebook and other social media platforms as well. Caroline says every school should be a girl's school not just the odd girl's school we are in part destroying the next generation's future because if you do not care about the language itself you will want to do so for your health reasons for your children because speaking two or more languages delays the onset of Alzheimer's and medical studies have shown that to be the case and we are as well I think a caller is saying that we are as well knocking all of the houses and sending the bill we are as well doing all of the houses I think a caller is saying and then sending the bill to government that's a reference to the defective block situation. I have been trying to get into my local GB for two days now the answering machine has been saying they're closed rather than they are at full capacity I don't know what to do. I'll end up having to go to the emergency department the other option caller is to try the now out of our service as well that might be another way to go if you were to try that in the evening it might be a better alternative to the emergency department because we know how under pressure that emergency department is a caller is asking about the ongoing pavement upgrade in Fintown expressing some concerns about the length of time it's taking for the work to be done no one should be against any improvement the caller says in terms of safety for residents or drivers but the length this project is taking is a stretch it would be very interesting to see the costs involved in what appears to be a relatively small roads project I hope it turns out to make the road safer than before but I would question whether what's happening in Fintown at the moment represents value for money that's what a caller is saying there caller saying I was listening to one of your programs recently and heard that some landlords in Donegal are receiving 35 euros per night per refugee that they rent a home to when I inquired about this with the council they said there was only one payment of 800 euro per house can you tell me what the actual situation is off the top of my head honestly no I can't here's what I think maybe and I think we may be speaking about two slightly different things here I think the 35 euro per night maybe and I stress maybe the rate that is paid for refugees who are staying in hotels or other buildings which have been given over we hear much about the holiday accommodation that's been given over for the housing of refugees a number of hotel rooms have been used for that purpose as well I think it may be the situation and I stress it may be the situation that that's what the 35 euro per night refers to whereas the 800 euro payment refers to homes where individuals take refugees into their homes you know there's been a lot of discussion about that the people that may have a spare room in their house give that room over in a private house and that may be so they're not landlords they're effectively taking in a refugee into their own home which is being treated in a different way so my perception is it could well be that the first one is the payment given to landlords in hotels and other institutions like that the second is the payment given per house to people who are taking refugees into their home now I may be wrong on that I could be as an old mate of mine you say I could be further out than fan and lighthouse but that's my initial and we'll try and get an actual answer to that for you but that's my perception repairs to a burst water main were told by Ishka Eirin may cause supply disruptions to Kregen, Strenorla and other surrounding areas in Donegola traffic management will be in place for the duration of the works they're expected to take place until four o'clock this afternoon we recommend you allow two to three hours after the estimated restoration time for your supply to fully return you can go to the Ishka Eirin Irish Water Website for updates on that particular issue and there's been a lot of attention this week to emergency departments and the overcrowding therein we've just received the IMO's 20 Watch figures for today, Thursday March 30th and let's look at the figure we know there's been fairly high figures all this week and the national figure this week I can tell you is 562 the figure for letter Kenny University hospital this morning 41 patients awaiting beds at letter Kenny University hospital this morning that is 41 people who have been admitted to the hospital via the emergency department they're awaiting beds and of those 13 are still on trolleys in the emergency department that was the situation as of 8 o'clock this morning figures collated by the Irish nurses and midwives organization so you know that's again an indication of depression that the ED is under so what I would say to the caller is look if you can avoid the emergency department please do is there anyone else finding broadband is getting harder to pay my package started at 53 euro now it's gone to 83 euro a month and I'm charged 6 euro for receiving bills in the post and I'm noticing that more and more we're getting to situations where there are people who get into these contracts and then you know they say oh yeah I will have a paper bill because a lot of people do like paper bills so they can keep a record of them we're being charged for it wishing all the staff and students of PCC fell car the very best of luck with their four night sell out musical thank you for the music which is starting tonight at our clan in Guador it'll be a fantastic show we're all very proud of them and we add our congratulations and our best wishes to that and the caller says Paddy Diver is the real voice of the people in Donegal in terms of the defective block crisis our elected representatives only come about their own pockets and the now they seem to have no insight into the crisis that's unfolding in front of us thousands upon thousands of homeowners are affected it affects mental and physical health people are swamped in debt over the head of it we have no houses available for rental so says a caller it is 14 minutes past 10 time to play hot and radio NCBI radio bingo so grab your books grab your pens and we will hand you over to class the county's number one talk show the nine till noon show on Highland radio it's time for NCBI bingo on Highland radio it's Thursday the 30th of March jackpot day you're playing for the jackpot prize of 15,800 euro on the pink sheet the reference number is s4 it's game number 13 the jackpot number is 74 this number can come out in any position from the next 10 numbers drawn and now here are your daily numbers 76 47 65 54 70 46 57 45 6 and finally 23 phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight leaving your name contact number and the name of the shop where you purchase your book and we'll call you back the next working day get all your NCBI bingo information at highlandradio.com are you still struggling with slow and unreliable broadband imagine is connecting thousands of homes to high speed broadband in your area right now so why wait with imagine rated excellent by trust pilot you'll soon be working from home with ease streaming your favorite shows and sports uninterrupted join the thousands of connected homes and businesses today at imagine.ie service subject to availability terms and conditions apply join me Marty free this and every Friday night from it for rockin hits on highland radio in association with arena 7 letter candy if you're celebrating a birthday or a work night out arena 7 entertainment complex has it all check out arena 7.ie highland radio time checks with expressway travel route 32 from letter candy to Dublin expressway bringing you the time at it is 16 minutes past 10 o'clock one of the sadder parts about working in a local radio newsroom in a county like Donnie Gull is that periodically we have to report on tragedies on the water and report on the loss of fishers and other people who are out on boats and that was the case in 2018 in North and it's shown when there were losses and I'm joined on the line by Donna Marie Keenan and Donna Marie you have more reason than most to remember what happened of Malinhead in 2018 we do we do yeah well in July the 17th of July 2018 my dad my husband and my little cousin Thomas went out for a day's fishing as they had done many many times before and unfortunately on that day the engine was given a little bit of trouble and the boys anchored up just it was just a minor thing while they pumped the fuel back to the engine and unfortunately they were hit by a freak wave which flooded the boat at that point my dad told my husband Dezi to call for the Coast Guard which he'd done Dezi's 999 call lasted for 78 seconds and he managed to get out all the information he said where there's three of us we're on a boat we're off Malinhead we're taking on water the boat's going down but the call was never responded to this happened at 1016 in the morning and in the afternoon I believe about maybe 20 past four or so some holiday makers in Malinhead seen what they thought was a kayaker in distress and they called out the Coast Guard but unfortunately by that stage dad had been lost Thomas had been lost and Dezi had survived to the life boy that was what they thought was the kayak but he was actually rescued by Philip Doherty Malinhead man coming home from fishing he took he brought Dezi in out of the water you obviously at that point for the next couple of days you were grieving your dad you were grieving your cousin the family was coming together to try to come to terms with the enormity of this horrible thing that happened to you obviously at that point in time you weren't thinking about things like marine safety and timetables and what happened and who responded to what as time unfolded and the whole process of an inquiry came out you were very dissatisfied with the way things panned out definitely definitely well this report we all hung our hats on they would do a report into the accident they would investigate everything fully and the guards explained to us over and over that the MCIB investigation would not blame anyone that they were not allowed to blame or in fair blame it was simply a minute by minute account of the day of everything that actually happened but that wasn't the way that this report came out at all as I mentioned one thing on the day was that the 999 call was not responded to but what the MCIB wanted to focus on was the fact that dad didn't have a VHI radio on board now a VHI radio is not law on a pleasure craft it is on a commercial craft now we know after all this that it's a very good idea to have a VHI radio but at the time it wasn't law we thought that the mobile phone was fine and it was the mobile phone got a 78 second long 999 call out with all the information but MCIB decided to focus on the fact that dad didn't have a VHI radio because if he had other boats in the area would have gotten the media call and they wouldn't have been solely reliant on answering the call which to me now after the fact I know and I would advise anyone going near the water to have a VHI radio with them because you can't rely as sadly we know on your 999 call to be responded to they also they said that he failed to prepare and this again was covering the the VHI radio aspect they didn't mention you know that he had spare fuel that he had a spare engine with him a spare battery two sets of jump plates anything you know he was so safety conscious and they just based their whole report on how he didn't have this VHI radio effectively and let's put it out there effectively do you believe that what the MCIB the marine casualty investigation board was effectively doing was subtly blaming your dad yes victim blaming yes and through the process of through the whole process as you say as it went on and it went on a marine lawyer from Europe a man by the name of Michael Kingston got in contact with us and Michael has been working on this for years with many other families and it's 23 years of existence I mean the MCIB reports are all online for anyone to look at you go back through all them they blame the victims the victims are to blame they make these recommendations in every report but the recommendations are never implemented they you know like well I'll give you an example just while I was waiting to come on to speak to you this morning don't know I was just sitting going through my phone and I'm friends on Facebook with water safety Ireland and water safety Ireland are brilliant they're on by brilliant people I am not knocking these people in any way shape or form they do a great job but 14 hours ago water safety Ireland posted it's an like a poster for summer and it shows a woman driving a boat and it is before you go on or near the water make a plan make sure you let someone sure know where you're going when to expect you back and that you have a means of communication signed of.ie forward slash summer ready yeah they say a means of communication they still don't say purchase a VHS VHS radio VHS radio as you say VHS is the standard on the water yes VHS radio is probably the ultimate thing to have but again it comes back to that point it was not low and there were means of communication on that boat it was a 999 call made from it so that call had been made was enough attention given to your mind to what happened after that 999 call was made on shore no definitely not it was it was just a basically don't know it was a perfect storm of mistakes you could never again get so many people to make a mistake at the same time what happened was the call went when you ring 999 in Ireland the call goes to BTECAS in Navan the woman in Navan she answered the phone hello would you like Fire Police Fire Guard that ambulance or Coast Guard at this Desi says Coast Guard now you have to remember he's in between the first wave had hit just before the second one hit and she says would you like the Coast Guard and Donny Gull and Desi says yes we're on a boat there's three of us we're off Malinhead we're taking on water the boat's going down then the lady says ok connecting you to Coast Guard by the time the Coast Guard answered they couldn't hear anything because the second wave had already hit the operator stayed silent as is apparently the protocol and Malinhead couldn't hear anything so they hung up the woman in BTECAS then she then elevated this to her supervisor and she said I don't feel that this call has got the attention that it deserves the supervisor then according to her policies and procedures should have re-listened to the call and made contact with Malinhead she didn't listen to the call and she went ahead and phoned Bali Shannon and asked them did you receive a call no this is we didn't receive a call but we'll check with Malinhead so Bali Shannon called Malinhead and Malinhead said yes we did receive a call we're ringing it all we're getting is message reminder it was put to bed no one and at the inquest the Coast Guard said that they did not get enough information to launch a response which is fair enough they didn't but on that original 999 call the operator the you know the emergency responder on the first live call has the option to say operator replay call and that will replay the call right from the beginning had Malinhead Coast Guard said operator replay call they would have heard everything right from when the call originally connected and when they were asked at the inquest why didn't you use the playback facility they said we didn't know about it we didn't know it existed we were never trained in it yeah the inquest as you refer to there were two inquests there was a digital inquest initially during COVID then there was an inquest in letter Kenny which was overseen by Dr Dennis McCauley no stranger to this program in other circumstances one of the things that was interesting is that MCIB whose evidence it would appear and whose report is crucial to this they didn't attend the inquest and he was critical of that fact no he was apparently it's never been done before the MCIB have never refused they have always turned up at they have always turned up at inquest and you know been examined on the report you know as Dr McCauley says you know if you're good enough to write a report you know why can't I question the person why can't I ask you questions about the report you know that you've wrote and studied and they refuse they were actually on the zoom calls as you say the digital there was a lady from the MCIB and she was nothing short of ignorant to Dr McCauley and the day in the courthouse and I can't remember exactly which one of it was a group of lawyers you know standing outside and I heard one of them saying to the other that it was the most blatant disregard and disrespect that he had ever seen shown to a coroner in all his years you know as a legal practitioner you know that he just didn't just show disrespect for our coroner it was also for us as well you know they were kind of like there's a report use it or don't it's up to yourself that was terrible you believe an inquiry is necessary into this case but also into maritime public safety in general because certainly from what you've been saying as you say there was a perfect storm of mistakes and if someone had said one thing then somebody else might have done something else and somebody might have heard something and you know if what and maybe you know are coming up you will argue I'm sure way too often in this discussion all these issues in the round not try to put blame on someone not try to hang somebody out to dry but very much to try and say look what procedures do we need what do we need to put in place what do we need to ensure that this does not happen again yes and that was supposed to be the role of the MCIB when they were set up 23 years ago there were supposed to be five independent people you know totally independent of anyone you know all of these investigations found out what happened quiet happened and implement procedures so as you know to prevent our recurrence happening in the future now at three years ago when this all you know was when Michael Kingston the marine lawyer you know he started bombarding you know the government with evidence of you know all these families and all these investigations and he did he ordered an investigation into the MCIB and maritime safety in Ireland and he asked a man by the name of Captain Steve Clinch now Captain Clinch was the former the former head of England's version of the MCIB now Captain Clinch done this report and completed it almost two years ago now this report has never been released but first of all I'll release it in the first quarter of next year I'll release it in the last quarter of next year and then the transport committee along with lawyers such as Michael Kingston, Karen McCarthy you know they were all really really wanting this report and it wasn't forthcoming so on the 22nd of February at a meeting in the eroptus of the transport committee they asked about getting the report the Captain Clinch report published and he said no that the Attorney General had decided that it was not in the public interest to release Captain Clinch's report but what he would do was he would give the six recommendations that Captain Clinch had recommended and he said that these were satisfactory that the MCIB would be dissolved and a new unit would be set up the MAIU and the six recommendations of Captain Clinch would be the basis of setting up the MAIU but the Clinch report under advice from the Attorney General would not be released to not only the public I wouldn't be released to the transport committee or anyone in the doll either MAIU a presumed marine accident investigation unit investigation unit and hopefully getting it a better system were you told what the six recommendations are? I don't know them yet it's only the transport committee that has them they haven't been made public but I think that one of them is because I've heard a lot of talk about it the five people that sat on the previous MCIB none of them had any seagoing experience they had no qualifications in the marine they had like business advertising law degrees they had nothing to do with the marine so one of the stipulations of the new MAIU is going to be that these people must be qualified and experienced to the highest in the marine I believe I've heard talk of the head position in there I think it's called the chief surveyor I think one of the things that's going to be implemented there is that this person must have 25 years experience as a ship's captain or similar so that these new five people educated and experienced you know to the highest in the marine which is a massive we know which is a massive one Donna Marie hopefully you will get some closure on this and I know you will continue to mourn the loss of your dad you'll continue to mourn the loss of your cousin but I'm sure if we do get this new unit if we do get an inquiry along the lines that you're seeking and if we do get safer and better regulations in there at some point in the hopefully not too distant future that will be at the very least a fitting tribute to your dad and to your cousin and it will hopefully bring you some closure in the meantime Donna Marie Keenan thank you very much indeed for speaking to us this morning thank you Donna it is our pleasure and we will follow this one obviously we have asked the department to transport for a statement as well and if we get anything back from them obviously we'll bring it to you straight away that's Donna Marie as we say thank you Donna and questions remaining after that MCIB report and if you have a report that gives more questions than it gives answers then that is something that perhaps you know does need to be addressed and addressed as a matter of urgency hello to all those who are listening online and watching the feed on Facebook watching the feed on YouTube Anita says good morning Highland Video from the Cayman Islands have a great day all of you funny I was talking to someone about the Caymans earlier this week it's been a pleasure once of visiting the Cayman Islands on a cruise ship and I have a lovely photograph of myself kissing a stingray while standing beside a catamaran that we'd sailed into this area called Stingray City on and it's one of my most beloved memories actually from a Caribbean cruise so I have fond memories of kissing stingrays in the waters just off the Cayman Islands and snorkeling there as well and it's a far cry from kissing stingrays off in the Caribbean we are here this morning and it's at 25 to 11 going to take a short break back after these on the new SUPLA scheme plus in Irish Country Living don't miss our 32 page Easter food magazine inside this week's Irish Farmers Journal you cannot afford to miss it today on 0749175989 or find us online we'll do the paperwork you do the wallpaper Michael Hiney and associate solicitors how can we help need help designing or understanding plumbing requirements for your new bathroom is not a problem our experienced staff are equipped to handle any type of bathroom installation from a simple tap replacement to a complete bathroom overhaul call in and see us and view our checklist make sure you have everything in order it could save you money and a huge amount of hassle McDade's Bathroom Plumbing Tiles Bunkrana making things simpler for you video wants to send you on the holiday of a lifetime plus 5 grand spending money get your tickets now at highlandradio.com answer the question and start packing draw takes place Thursday 6th of April on the 9 till noon show start planning your ultimate getaway only on Highland Radio and that is this day week at half 11 on the 6th of April which is as we say a week today that draw will be made you could be celebrating on that day but as the old saying goes whatever chance you have if you have a ticket you have absolutely no chance if you don't just putting that out there tell you a bit more about that later on in the program I want to go to a very important issue because you may well have heard our coverage of the Dahl hearing on the confidence motion in the government yesterday during it Donnie Gull's Deputy Thomas Pringle made a very impassioned speech during which he spoke about Emma a woman in Donnie Gull who was waiting 5 years for an accessible home for her child and he spoke about the difficulty that Emma had and said it was people like Emma that he wanted to represent in the floor of the Dahl that's why he was voting the way he voted on that confidence motion it's lighted to say that Emma now joins us on the line Emma good morning good morning Emma you were spoken about on the floor of the Dahl yesterday and you've had some progress in recent times but before politicians took up your case and before it became spoken about in the corridors of power you had 5 years of banging your head against a brick wall yeah because you're trying to sort you're kind of trying to sort out yourself first you know you're hoping that you'll just find something and you can't find anything and then you just feel like you're going in a vicious circle you have a child who is a wheelchair user and that's and that is a challenge for yourself and indeed for her as well because you know she long term is going to be in that wheelchair and that's something that you have to factor in and she has to factor in as part of everyday life yeah well that you see this is the thing and you know you're trying to make life easier for her I saw yesterday when I was spoken about in the Dahl floor and then of course it started to be repeated through social media and things like that and there's so much support you see people saying things like she probably just wants a big house with a big garden and why can't she sort it out herself and we don't know anything about our situation do you know that kind of way and you're thinking to yourself do I have a child with a diagnosis of a devastating disease and you know she's an agony all of the time the disease that she has is a syndrome that she has it's taken so much from her already and this isn't about you know I want so give me this is about trying to make life easier for her and as long as you have to worry about housing as long as you have to worry about accommodation as long as you have to worry about where you're going to be in six weeks or six months or six years from now that's time you cannot be worried about and devoting to her and what you effectively put words in your mouth but I think what you would say is look I do not need to be worrying about accommodation I need to know that accommodation is sorted so I can devote all my energies where those energies need to be devoted I have another child with special needs I have two children with provide needs and all of my time should be taken out taken care of for them all that time should not at the back of my mind I should be thinking you know I have to carry my child up and downstairs we're in a two story house so she's carried up and down the stairs and the symptom that she has means her bones come apart easily so can you imagine how agonizing that is being lifted and carried upstairs and maybe your shoulder and your elbow all coming apart to be reduced back into place when you get back upstairs and she's been lifted in and out of the bath there's no disability bathroom this is a child who's already in pain he will never be pain free and she knows that when the pain specialist talked to us he said you know at the moment before we start this pain management routine she's probably at about eight out of ten because she's having multiple dislocations today her joints are apart every day so he's saying you know she's never going to be pain free there's a four so this child is in pain all of the time and then extra pain has been added to her because she'd have to be lifted upstairs and lifted in and out of the bath and aside from the physical pain that is causing her where's the dignity in that you know what's what about her right to dignity you know when we get to our front door I have to lift her out of her wheelchair sit her on her bum on the pavement then bring the wheelchair in and then bring her in a step at high to get her into sitting when she's coming down the stairs your carrying her down the stairs and then you get on her wheelchair you take her into sitting and she seems to go back up the stairs when she's going into the bath the wheelchair in the hall and you're lifting your carrying her and then you have to sit her on the toilet to get her into the bath and now because we can't get her into the bath anymore because she's getting over and she's getting bigger the option that we have available to us now is what they call a bath sort and they basically sit her across the bath and she will sit on that and you'll share her down and I'm sure the day is now coming when she's going to turn around and say listen I want to do this on my own I want my privacy I want I want to do it and is that they already yeah I mean yeah they've been gone a couple of years ago and it's kind of like you know I want that for her I want the day where she can go in to her bed and transfer from her wheelchair to her bed so I have to cry out in pain because she's an agony I want the day where I can if I have to help her get into the bathroom of course but I can leave her in there and say right here you go there's the shower in the bedroom and let her do it herself and she can call me when she needs help and really and truly what you need is a bungalow with accessible facilities both in terms of entry into the house and also the facilities in the house itself and in particular the shower the toilet and so on and so forth how close are you to getting that at this point in time well you know I think it's very important I said this yesterday and people are saying we understand where you're coming from but you know don't be scared to say it as it is but I am saying it as it is I don't believe in playing the blame game on point you know sure folk sure folk you know I have been liaison with the council and our medical team and our key worker and all have been liaison with the council they're saying they just don't have that that available to them and so I met with Charlie McDonnell and then he arranged a meeting with Darrell Bryan yesterday and kind of an impromptu meeting but a meeting which I appreciated very much and Deputy Pringle had arranged to bring us down to the old chocolate and kale's case and our local to these Padre McLaughlin had been engaging with us as well and we saw him yesterday and Darrell Bryan assured me yesterday in person that this was going to be resolved he said to me that the capital was there and he would be engaging with the council and and Deputy McDonnell would be engaging with the council and I said to him what kind of time then we looked at because you know I've been told this could take years and he said and I said you know Michela has a progressive disease it's not fair we know that she's not going to get any better she's only going to get worse and we know that and she has the right to enjoy the last time a consultant spoke with us was three weeks ago and I said to him he told us not to think about the past, don't plan for the future just live on the now so that's what we have to do and I said and it's impossible to do that and you're lying to me you might wonder how do I make this better for her because I can't I believe me I have told the editor part trying to find some sort of treatment some sort of trial anything that will bring her back to the way she was bring her back to the reform final that we need and it's not happening every door it's like oh there is no cure for this room but it's generally that there's no cure she had that and she was horrified that he just wasn't presenting and you're going okay so I can't take this from her I can't take it for her so all I can try and do is make things easier for her and what you're saying is Donegal County Council and to Dara O'Brien and to anyone who will listen is look we know the situation we're in and what you're saying is look anything you can do and anything that the council can do to make the situation better if you have access as we said a bungalow so you don't have to carry up the stairs a ramp so you don't have to pick her up and lift her up stairs and put the wheelchair in the front door and then walk in after and put her, as you said put her bum first onto the pavement I mean if you can have a ramp into the house if you can have a proper wet room if you can get those at least you'll make her somewhat more comfortable and take some of the pain away and they can't put a ramp in because of the incline they've said and they'll have to dig up the whole front area so where you are at the moment it isn't possible and they can't adapt this house they said we can't adapt this house that's just and you know what it's also really important to say that you know this is not about being nice in front of the landlord the landlords who own this house are very nice people after I had my parents will continue to stay here they like it here, they find the landlords easy to walk with so this is not about demonising landlords I've heard a lot of people saying that recently these are nice people it's just the house is not suitable for a person well look, hopefully as you said Darrow Bryan is on the case Charlie Mcconnellog is on the case Patrick McLaughlin, Thomas Pringle between them all surely they can manage to say okay we're going to build what's necessary and it should be done and look, hopefully it can be done in a matter of months if not, well weeks would be unrealistic, we won't be unrealistic but certainly this needs to be a matter of months you need to be in your new home before the end of this year yeah, please God we're just about keeping our head above water well look Emma, all we can do is say, I mean, I feel for you and I absolutely feel the pain and I know how much you would like to get this, you know her health sorted and you know the limitations, you know what's ahead and you're facing that in a realistic way as is Michaela herself as well and all we can say is look, hopefully anything that can be done by the council and by the wider society to make things better, to make things more comfortable, to make day to day life better and more bearable for you hopefully that will be done and will be done immediately in the meantime, Emma, our thoughts go with you, thanks for speaking to us this morning thanks so much, Nega, how about that Emma, you take care, that's Emma there and I mean, we heard Deputy Pringle speak about it in the doll yesterday, but I think it's always important that you hear about these cases and I said the same thing to Paddy Diver when he spoke about Mary and the situation Mary is in because I recalled Mary speaking at that event in Letter Kenny, outside the community centre there along with Jerry Hall and others back in 2020 and I think it's important that we always realise that when you hear people talked about in the doll and you hear stories there are real people behind those stories yesterday we heard the political references to Emma, today we heard Emma Kelly's Diner in Letter Kenny with 15% off after 3 every weekday when you spend 15 euro meet up for a chat and a bite to eat Monday to Friday with an extra 15% off the menu for all senior citizens at Kelly's Diner, Mountaintop, Letter Kenny stroll through cobbled streets for hidden gems or bring the little ones to a magical wonderland trust the award winning Atlantic travel to guide your next adventure step through our doorway to the world Atlantic travel, Letter Kenny these days, we're all looking for healthy tasty family meals and lots of variety the good news is that our fishermen continue to bring us the best of the catch like fresh Irish hake and haddock there are so many ways to enjoy them try delicious Thai curry with hake or mouthwatering Cajun seasoned haddock for lots of tasty recipes try the Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun Cajun for lots of tasty recipes and different meal ideas visit boardbier.ie and look out for Irish hake and haddock next time you're shopping fresh ideas, great meals not long till our trip to Ards and North Down I can't wait to dust off the golf clubs or maybe I get some R and R in the spa we could book in some paddle board or maybe kayak in this town, the kids would love that there's loads of great options for dinner and drinks the main question is, what do we do first? create moments to remember and visit ArdsandNorthDown.com Highland video weather updates with Ireland West Airport fly dilly to London Haidtzer with Eirlingis and connect to 80 plus destinations worldwide including Boston and New York Ireland West Airport don't just take off, take it easy sunny spells and scattered showers today some heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms cloud will thicken from the south later top temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees celsius with moderate south westerly winds south east later that's the situation with the weather forecast now, one of the big questions that's being asked is will Joe Biden come to Donegal because we've heard that Joe Biden is being invited to Donegal when he comes to Ireland we believe next month I'm sure every county in the country is going to be inviting Joe Biden and every county in the country is frantically struggling for a 14th cousin 16 times removed or to find a pub where Joe Biden's great-great-great-grand uncle once had a pint in and we're really good for that in this country but it will be the latest in a series of visits to Ireland by US presidents that started way back with President John F. Kennedy joined by Sean McKiernan on Zoom Sean is a political commentator Sean, a very good morning to you Good morning to you Donald and to all of your listeners in Donegal Thank you very much indeed Sean, you've taken an interest in visits of US presidents to Ireland going right back to John F. Kennedy and as someone who's originally from Waterford just across the river from Wexford and just a couple of kilometres down the road from New Ross that's an area that will always be connected with John F. Kennedy indeed when I was a child one of our go-to excursions for the day was John F. Kennedy Park in Wexford which was just a short distance back so the Kennedy legacy is one that I was always aware of but there's been a number of US presidential visits over the years Well, Donald Joe Biden will become the 8th sitting US president to visit this country 7 of his predecessors have visited this country by an office it's worth noting that George W. Bush his father, George H. W. Bush as he's referred to who people may remember successfully prosecuted the first Gulf War and liberated the city of Kuwait he visited as a vice president in the early 80s and Joe Biden himself visited as vice president towards the end of his term in office and I suppose a lot of the a lot of the work in terms of tracing his roots was done then by people in Mayo and in Laud and I think that's why those two counties will feature heavily in the visit I don't want to be disappointed the people have done it God and I've no particular insight into the plan beyond what's available publicly in the media but I think those two counties is now the Mayo will dominate alongside engagements in Dublin and in Northern Ireland People will look back on recent times on the Clinton visit which was very important because of course President Bill Clinton visited Guildhall Square in Derry just up the road from us here in Donegal and that proved a very very important visit from the point of view of cementing the peace process and indeed one of the iconic scenes in Derry Girls reflects that really really well and you know it's important to look back and say that maybe these US presidential visits they haven't all been self-serving electioneering visits from their point of view they've made some very very positive impacts and very tangible impacts here as well Yeah I mean you could make an argument that they are slightly self-serving I did an item with Greg and with other people across the media and locally and nationally a few weeks ago during St Patrick's week and you know I discovered my research in the Kennedy Library online that in 1961 so John Kennedy's first shamrock ceremony in the Pied House he actually had to be reminded of the St Patrick's Day now we'll give him maybe a little bit of grace and say that the US president was very busy and demanding a distracting job but on that occasion he had to borrow a green tie from one of the secret service detail a guy called John Mugsy O'Leary but our ambassador on that occasion Thomas Jay Kiernan obviously made a big impression on them because the following year in 1962 Kennedy is issuing a very warm statement acknowledging between the two countries and of course in 1963 with that iconic visit which you yourself referred to very well done in your opening remarks it obviously had a big impact on the people of the South-East it had a big impact on the people of the country and Ryan Tiberty wrote extensively about this for the 50th anniversary and indeed did a TV documentary and he called it at four days the change to the president you know he actually talked about coming back in the spring and this was that's deeply poignant because he didn't live to see the spring he died in November he was deeply moved by the honor guard of an Irish army cadets that he saw on his visit to Arbor Hill during his four-day visit and he talked about it a lot with his staff after the visit and such that in actual fact when he was buried in Arlington cemetery in Virginia the flag ceremony so people may be familiar with this from dramas on TV etc where the US flag is folded so poignant and moved away and all of those graveside honors were actually done by Irish army cadets because what he had seen in Arbor Hill moved them so poignantly and I think actually there's a documentary available somewhere on that as well When Obama came there was almost a sense of the wheel turning full circle because Obama very much painted in many circles as the new Kennedy and Obama perhaps more than US president came as I don't use the phrase came as a rock star because it's something of a cliche but it's not entirely wrong either because there was that element of that this was the big celebrity who was coming and you know it was all this featherling and all the all that and there was something about the Obama visit that sort of seemed to harken back to the first Kennedy visit I know you want to move on to Obama but I was just stressed the first Kennedy visit Tuberty said changed the president I would argue he changed the country the country was starting to become more prosperous emigration was still an issue but we were starting to become more prosperous and the mass was T-shock he was trying to modernize the country we hadn't joined NATO that left us with isolated on the world stage we were only freshened to the UN etc so that visit was about a surviving on the world stage I think the Ireland of 2011 obviously we've been shook by the financial crisis we've been shook by the recession but we're still a far more wealthy far more advanced country than we were in the 60s more self-confident more able to look at them as an equal he was an extremely eloquent speaker he was a historical figure the first black president as you say there was that element of coolness about him and I think I think the country needed something to cheer it up in 2011 it was also a very historic week the Queen had been here that visit had done incredibly well and I suppose we all felt very good about ourselves and it was also a time of reflection Dr Gareth Fitzgerald died so again it was time to look and he of course was the great constitution of the sader he had done a lot to modernize the country so I think that week was a very heady week of emotions and Obama tapped into that phrase successfully in the speech of College Queen almost inevitably the Biden visit however it's framed we haven't got an itinerary yet we haven't got any details of will there be a major when one suspects there won't be a big huge public speech in College Green attended by thousands it'll be I suspect a far much more low key affair well I think probably probably in regions I suspect you're going to see big crowds because I would suspect the security risk is not as high but I mean I suppose security is a big backup to this because the issues in Northern Ireland are resolved and if they are, there's always going to be a rump they won't be happy and for the first time in a long time war has been prosecuted on the continent of Europe and we are a country that is very fortunate to have headquartered major American companies with their European and in some cases their global operations headquartered here so obviously that heightens the security risk and it will potentially dampen the opportunity for ordinary members of the public to see in here we certainly await with Bated Bread to see how that pans out over the course of the coming weeks in the meantime Sean McKiernan thanks for speaking to us this morning that's a political commentator Sean McKiernan there was joining us on Zoom and speaking to us about US presidential visits he's been a guest on the program before no doubt he will be a guest again Sean thank you very much indeed it's 11 o'clock which means it is time for the Highland video headlines and we say good morning to Miquela Clark thanks Donal good morning defective block campaigner Polly Diver says frustration is boiling to a different level as homeowners continue to await the implementation of the revised redress scheme he claims representations being made on behalf of affected homeowners is simply a vote catching exercise an initial woman is calling for a public inquiry into maritime safety it's after Donna Marie Kenan's father and cousin died when their boat was hit by a freak wave off Mallon Head on July the 17th 2018 she says recommendations made at the inquest sent to their deaths need to be implemented immediately also Garde have confirmed that a Garda National Economic Crime Bureau-led investigation is currently ongoing in Donegal inquiries are believed to be centered in the Killy-Bags area Garde say no further information is available at this time funding of 17 million euro has been announced Arland's regional airports junior minister Jack Chambers who has special responsibility for aviation has defended the government's allocation in terms of aviation's impact on the environment he says investment in regional hubs is essential for the country's economic growth as Arland is an island nation over 28 million euro when commercial rates were collected by Donegal County Council last year that's below the 43 million year worth of commercial rates deemed collectible the rise in PRSI rates to fund pensions in the future that's the call from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council which says state and public sector pension pots are in danger unless action is taken and repairs to a burst water main are ongoing in Craig and Stranorder and surrounding areas today property owners are advised that there may be some supply disruptions those are the latest headlines we'll be back with an update again at 12 noon thank you very much David McKellar this is the this is the main show on Highland Radio going to take a short break back after these do you currently have vacancies that need urgently filled have you tried various ways to find new staff but didn't succeed let Highland Radio help you source and fill your current vacancies in the most cost effective way simply sign up to our new job spot and we will tell our listeners about your vacancies both on air and online every Monday Wednesday and Friday during our prime time shows we will broadcast the latest job opportunities across the Northwest and into County's Derry and Turron all job listings will be available online at Highland Radio dot com for more information contact the advertising team on 07 491 253 22 or email advertising at Highland Radio dot com Highland Radio we're here for you times opens with sweeping changes for farmers for more in your farmer's journal his Paul Mooney find out details and grants for animal housing slurry storage handling equipment and fencing border counties at risk as TB in Northern Ireland hits record levels minister plans for more acres places this year cheap prices up as Easter buying begins farmers questions answered on the new suppler scheme plus in Irish Country Living don't miss our 32 page Easter food magazine inside this week's Irish Farmers Journal you cannot afford to miss it in security now introducing zero wire smart alarm systems zero wire zero mess and a real peace of mind with a simple press the button your alarm can be set or on set or download the free app and control it from your phone call us today on 074 912 6025 and get your alarm from 299 euro stay local stay safe and protect what you value most with Sheridan security systems all footwear is reduced to clear in the big closing down sale at McGarregal shoes letter Kenny all men's shoes and boots must go also all ladies footwear at knockdown prices in the closing down sale now on McGarregal shoes mean street letter Kenny welcome back to the third and final hour of the nine tail noon show today many many people looking forward to the country hotel in letter Kenny tomorrow night March 31st the party party is coming to town Marty Morrissey and his friends bringing a night of entertainment and we're promised a night of entertainment never before on or in a host of others already confirmed and now this week confirmation that the whistling donkeys have been added to the lineup and everyone really looking forward to this no one more so than Marty Morrissey himself Marty good morning good morning Donald lovely to be back on Highland radio forward to being in letter Kenny later on tonight and certainly tomorrow yeah and forward to the party party absolutely and I had I must say it was a very sort of a pleasant shocker to work a couple of weeks ago now I walked in and you walk into our kitchen there's a table to your left and then there's a chair at the back of the table inside the door I walk in I turn around to say hello to Sean and they're sitting over at the end of the table is Marty Morrissey there's that it's amazing the people you meet when you come to work in this place absolutely Marty it is great to talk to you and this and I know I can't help but thinking Oliver Callan had something to do with this because this is one of the best examples I've ever seen of a bit of satire actually almost becoming real well you know it is really because Oliver Callan and Mary Rose on their program were mimicking me with my pink shirt and white teeth and hair all over the place and the shirt open down quite low which isn't me of course at all Donald but then I began to you know they instead of saying Marty Morrissey or to your newsletter Kenny come to do the call it's a hi I like to party which is true and it just became a catchphrase and I just decided to I suppose transform the flagging and then join the crack into a show if I could and it is an entertainment show that is really I'm really so proud of the reaction that we're getting because when we started I started I did two experiments last year in John and Wexford and between the two venues we got 1100 people which was in June last year so I thought okay there's something in this so I decided to do a five a tour of five different venues the first one was in the INEC and Killarney the ballroom not the big one because I wanted to start small and we had 700 there we had 600 in the Royal Theatre Castle Bar turning up and then it seemed to the word of mouth kind of was very powerful we had a thousand in the University Theatre in UL in Limerick UCH and we did another thousand in Galway last Saturday night in Leisureland so our last event is happening in Lefkenny so now when I was on with Highland Radio before I didn't know whether this thing would work or not because I wasn't sure what the hell was the party I have a better idea now and we have a good crew coming tomorrow night and I'm hoping the people are going to go all and Derry and Tyrone and Slago will all come out and have a great night's crack that as well as bringing some national names you're also giving exposure to some local acts on-or in particular I know are playing and they've become an absolute sensation initially online they're only starting to play a few live shows in fact I think this may be the very first time they've played live I know they've got some sell-out shows in the Ballard Theatre and in Limerick I'm not sure will this be the actual first time they've played live in Donegal I think it but well maybe I think it is I think you're dead on there where you were in Limerick because I heard it from a friend of mine and she said to me you know there really are powerful and I think they're brilliant I had them on my own radio show on RT on St. Patrick's Day and the reaction was just phenomenal because I think they deserve I mean Donegal people should be very proud of them but they are a national I think they're national talents it's not just local talents they are of that high caliber and I know that they told me they're performing and they're practicing and rehearsing and writing and getting it right because there were two duets coming together and but their voices are just oh I think they're great and they're the nicest guys so I as a result of that advice I asked them to come join me in Limerick and in Galway and I'd be honest with you Donald they stopped the show they were that good so I hope the people of Donegal will come out tomorrow night in the Calary Hotel in Latter-Kenny and get tickets available on Eventbyte.www.eventbrite.ie you can also ring the Calary Hotel and get tickets on their website as well and I think even for Anor alone coming back to Latter-Kenny for their first public outing is fantastic and as you said the Whistlin' Donkeys who are a major major successful band they were under late late a couple weeks ago and they're huge as well they come to their own band and they come on paddies from from Anna with us in Galway they open the show and they were fantastic but I'm really looking forward the Whistlin' Donkeys I love myself and I think that they're going to even they're going to get bigger and bigger and bigger and they too are great guys and I'm looking forward to having them on the show tonight. These are very much the kind of nights we dreamed of just two years ago that at the height of pandemic there was this all the will we ever get out of the pandemic. There's a lot more now our nights like this where people are going into theaters they're going into hotels and they're just sitting back they're loosening the tie and they're being entertained and if ever a society needed that and if ever there was a time it was needed it was us and it's now. You're dead on and you've summed up my motivation. I think that you know I think Covid and you know we really need every day is a great day for your life and well and your health and you know we've got to embrace this and make the most of it and that's really the motivation behind this and that's why I wanted to do make it a party and have various acts and have musicians locally intermix with people who like Charlie McGatigan and Paul Harrington who won Eurovision who will also be with us tomorrow night to be on the same stage as them and get a bit of a profile and have a platform because you know years and years ago when I was a child you were top of the town and you remember when I was a child you had good old days on the BBC and all those kind of things and you feed yourselves well I remember that well down at the old bulletin bush this is different you know when you go to Ed Sheeran or you go to Westlife you know what you're getting but that's part of the magic of it you don't know what's coming next although we have to tell people what they are getting and apart from Anor and the Whistlin Donkeys we had one of your own David James I've come across him actually he'll be sitting on the chair he'll be sitting on it in about three hours we have Raymond Sweeney's realtor dancers coming with Kordia who had TikTok they hit 19 million views on TikTok and they sang for the President Joe Biden as a result of that and they were on Good Morning America they're coming and Sean McStravec from across the border they're in there in County Tyrone from Art Bow is coming and obviously Paul Harrington and Charlie McGilligan we prize it to give away you can win trips to Europe I think to France from Shannon Airport we have hampers thanks to XL stores who have been outstandingly supportive of me and we have holiday vouchers we have hotels as well so if you can imagine Anton Deck Michael McIntyre a bit of a late and good old fashioned wild fun that's going to be the clownery hotel to my next letter Kenny Anton Deck couldn't hold a candle to you Marty let's be honest about it I also have to say and we all know that you're well known as a GAA commentator and a GAA pundit you're coming to Donegal a county with a long GAA history which is at the moment something in turmoil would you have any advice to offer if anyone comes looking for it because if they wouldn't take out the GAA fans then Donegal are going to be looking for a bit of comfort at the moment well look the people at Donegal are passionate GAA supporters and they're also when I think of the great footballers that Donegal have produced from the 1992 team to the 2012 team is just phenomenal and I love Donegal anyway and that's why I'm bringing the show to Donegal and my advice but you know sometimes sitting around the table and battling it out having it not doing it in public and starting out ironing out all the difficulties because the only thing that matters is Donegal football and Donegal GAA and the GAA family will I hope put their arms around each other I know there's different views and different camps at the moment but you know what you've got to remember that the most important thing is Donegal football Donegal GAA sit around the table and look for Donegal that's the only bit and I'm not even trying to give advice but ultimately that's what people should do finally this is the sort of format that could well translate onto the screen and one can't help but wonder if this formula or a variation thereof could potentially transfer onto the screen maybe at half nine on a Friday night at some point in the future Donna I think you're the best that that was a nice little probe and you never know what might happen we leave it to the gods and we see what happens but I think it has potential I mean considering the calls that have turned out I mean when you're sitting in an apartment in Dublin and you're putting a blank sheet of paper and you say okay how am I going to do this and you then see thanks to the God and I thank the people for coming out in their thousands at this stage to watch the, to enjoy the crack and the four shows and please God there'll be a big crowd in Calgary they'll have a bit of fun they'll have a laugh, I hope they'll have a bit of crack they'll enjoy the music, they'll enjoy the dancing and that's what it's all about that transfers to a TV audience down the road well then so be it we'd all be happy Marty Morrissey it's been an absolute pleasure speaking to you this morning safe journey to Donnie Gull and we look forward to seeing you in the Calgary tomorrow night and can I say thanks to Highland Radio for all their wonderful support between Sean and David and all the crew in Highland they've been outstanding and I do appreciate it so thank you Marty thank you and safe travels up we'll see you tomorrow that's Marty Morrissey there presenting the Marty party in the Calgary Hotel tomorrow night and I know a lot of people really really looking forward to that quarter past 11 time for a break to see the timeless legend at the headlines bell Sonic 2023 Friday 16th of June your trip includes luxury transfers bed and breakfast in the four-star Clayton Hotel Belfast and your standing ticket to the outdoor event contact us today on 074 9125,000 to see Tom Jones at Ormo Park Belfast Friday 16th of June you could run you could dance or you could just breathe the Bernardo's Big Active supported by Aldi is happening in schools across Ireland right now and it makes doing good feel great it gets classmates of all ages active while supporting their mental health and wellbeing the Bernardo's Big Active supported by Aldi will raise vital funds to help Ireland's most vulnerable children sign up today at Bernardo's.ie forward slash Big Active for great nights in choose centra and choose great big savings while you're at it choose one selected hunky dory sharing Chris bag one selected cabri chocolate pouch and one selected 7-up Pepsi R club 1.25 liter all three for five euro whether it's a big game movie or boxed make it a great night in with centra centra live every day don't know if you know Alice and Pat late 40s couple of kids been together 17 years never married of course but that's not a problem until something happens and suddenly words like unmarried inheritance and substantial tax bill enter the equation you never need proper estate planning until you do that's why the experience team at McElhenney and associates are here to help find us online or call 0749175989 McElhenney and Associates solicitors strain order highland radio time checks with expressway travel route 32 from letter Kenny to Dublin expressway bringing you the time at approaching 11 minutes 17 minutes past 11 and it's the third hour of the nine to noon show now you'll have heard on news this weekend and it's seen in your papers today that the women of honor group are seeking a clear open and transparent process when it comes to a statutory inquiry into allegations of bullying harassment and sexual assault in the defense forces it follows the publication this week of a damning report which said at best women were targeted in the organization at worst the report says they were verbally physically sexually and psychologically abused yesterday we heard the chief of staff of the defense forces saying that there is no place in the organization for anyone who was behind such activity so I did to say that I'm joined on zoom this morning by Karina Malloy a retired company quartermaster sergeant and a founding member of women of honor and other of the book women in defense Karina very good morning to you thank you very much for having me it's our pleasure Karina Karina the report that was published this week very much indicates what you and your colleagues and women of honor have been saying for the past number of years yes for the past number of years and it's a fantastic authentication for all the male victims that have suffered before women ever joined the Irish defense forces so we are happy to say that both male and female victims have finally been heard and finally got their voice heard there was a very interesting story in the Irish independent this morning which says that initially the army had been saying to ministers in Iraq this committee and so on that there were issues but they were historic they were in the past the paper this morning saying what's now coming to light is the fact that this is not historic this has been happening right up to the present day yes that's true I mean the report is a bitter pill for the organization to swallow and it's going to but if it's going to make the organization a safer place to work then it's time for the organization to take its medicine and to step up to the mark and to move into the 21st century and be accountable for their actions Suggestions as well that where is in the past allegations may have been investigated effectively internally by the military police that now allegations will be investigated by Gardie that's something I'm sure you would very much welcome yes we very very much welcome that new legislation will come in into fruition that the Gardie will now be allowed to investigate sexual criminal activities such as sexual assault and unfortunately rape and that has always been my personal bug that the guards were not allowed to go in to do that because unfortunately true no fault of their own the military police are just not fit to do that investigation they're not trained to do it the guards are the place to go and presumably to military police either consciously or unconsciously will almost feel that they have a certain role in preserving the reputation of the defense forces they'll go in there without malice perhaps but unconsciously we are first and foremost the army we are first and foremost the defense forces and our first loyalty is to the defense forces our first loyalty isn't necessarily to the alleged victim yes that is absolutely true because in my case numerous times when I was trying to report something at the attitude was well let's not destroy that officer's career and you're intimidated and threatened not to report it so yes I mean a sergeant in the military police that's been tasked with investigating something absolutely he's going to be under the thumb of the chain of command the recommendation of the report that a statutory inquiry take place to be chaired by a judge and chaired externally is one I know you will welcome because the last thing you really wanted was another internal inquiry yes absolutely what what we need now is a full full public statutory inquiry and victim led the terms of reference so that it can compel witnesses and provide documents and the report from that inquiry will be sent to the DPP to see if criminal charges can be brought how important is that this happens in public oh very very important absolutely vital to be done in public because the organic defense forces are very very good at cover-ups I'm sure you and many of your colleagues in Women of Honor and indeed many men as well will have stories to tell and we can expect I'm sure a lot of those stories to come out during the course of that inquiry it's an inquiry which is going to be difficult on a personal levels for yourselves to actually stand up in public to tell those stories but it's maybe also going to be difficult for the wider society which will we have intellectual knowledge as it were that women of honor exist and that there are reasons women of honor too exist and that there are allegations and that there are incidents that happened and we sort of know they happened but I think when we hear all those stories and hear them told in the first person by the victims over a protracted period I think it's only then we as a society will come to recognize exactly how enormous a situation this is and how much you know the situation you've been speaking about has been one that needed to be brought into the open yes absolutely sure look at look at the state church look at the mad mad during land race look at the baby homes the fluid the fluid medivite inquiries I mean it's all going to be as stark as them and this country is not very very good at accountability but hopefully once and for all that this finally is going to reform the toxic and criminal practices and the misogyny culture in the Irish defence forces that it's still ongoing do you believe the Irish defence forces can eventually emerge from this process perhaps bruised perhaps slightly broken but better yes absolutely it must become a better and safer place for males and females to work and are you confident that will be the case providing it we get a full statutory public inquiry victim led terms of reference they cannot hide anymore Karina Malloy retired company quartermaster sergeant a founding member of women of honour and author of the book women in defence thanks very much indeed for speaking to us this morning we will await to see what happens with interest thank you very much for having me Karina thank you and that's Karina there from women of honour and it's a very big story it's a very big issue and you know the hashtag is and the sad reality is there has been a lot of misogyny in the defence forces over the years and a lot of men suffering as well there are stories to come out and they will start to come out over the coming weeks and months and once we have that statutory inquiry as we say perhaps we will get to the point where the army is bruised and the army is perhaps slightly broken but it will have to emerge better for it and we wait to see what happens in terms of that we just want to alert people by the way who have revolute accounts that there is a scam doing the rounds at the moment now revolute are at the moment contacting some clients regarding tax details and so on and so forth but if you get an email from revolute be really really careful we've seen a screenshot of one it has on the top forward ray contract agreement and it seems to be sent by you to yourself and it's basically a ray contract agreement and it's got this attachment that says signed a agreement shtml download and it's a file and then there's a question when and where did this happen now obviously anything you ever get that sort of says something like when did this happen is this you and you see a suspicious email like that and there is some sort of an attachment that says download don't ever ever click download unless you're 110% sure of the validity of the file you have that is rule number one when it comes to these sort of things but there is a ray contract agreement it seems to be something that you've forwarded to yourself and it has this shtml attachment signed agreement that you're invited to download and as we say please don't that's revolute now that's there are no shortage of scams doing the rounds at the moment and we would as we say ask you to make sure not to click anything like that if you are in any way suspicious now I want to go to the LOX agency because there is a public consultation taking place on the LOX agencies waters with regards to action plans the LOX agency have control of two waterways there's carlingford and there's foil obviously foil is our main area of interest joined on the line by Ciaran McGonigal of the LOX agency Ciaran good morning to you good morning Donald Ciaran it's a very important one because obviously there is a lot of use made of LOX foil by anglers by fish farmers it's a a renowned area for shellfish and shellfish cultivation and all these things along with the tourism potential are going to be discussed over the course of this consultation absolutely as you've alluded to Donald Anglin in the northwest you know was really really important to the local communities we've a wide diverse range of fish species beautiful scenery and a dedicated Anglin community here it's one of the best areas in the world for fishing to be perfectly honest and it's our job as the LOX agency to continue to work together with these local Anglin communities to protect and conserve the waterways and fish populations for future generations and obviously there's tourism potentials as well plus there is the aquaculture potential and there's always going to be some tension between those who are promoting aquaculture cultivation and then particularly with the beds and so on and we have seen some of those on LOX foil and there's always going to be that balance to be struck are you confident that the LOX agency has been and will continue to strike that balance between angling shellfish cultivation, aquaculture and tourism? Absolutely yeah we will continue to endeavour to increase habitat capacity ensure fish stocks continue to thrive balance as you say the need for commercial exploitation of shell fisheries and LOX foil with the management of productive and sustainable anglin fisheries as well so we like anglin clubs to be vibrant and resilient in the future and we're looking at trying to promote resilient communities so you know very much these documents are all about trying to engage with the local communities bring them on board with what we're doing Now last year saw a stakeholder consultation process where you had detailed discussions with the anglin clubs and with others to get their perspectives on this, now the consultation is broadening out into the wider arena and with that in mind there are two very important information sessions taking place next month, one in Derry one in Balabuffet Absolutely yeah we're holding a series of these information sessions throughout the catchment areas in April, as you say and Jackson's hotel Balabuffet and Monday the 24th of April from 6pm to 9pm that some of your listeners would be interested in we're also going to hold one at the LOX agencies headquarters here in Perhan and Derry on Monday the 17th of April from 6pm to 9pm so we would encourage as many people as possible to come along, there will be agency staff there to present the documents on the night and answer any questions on the documents with the feedback process because ultimately there's as much feedback as possible to improve these documents going forward There's also a survey on the LOX agencies website that people can fill in Yes absolutely there's an online survey tool just to make it a little bit easier for people to get their feedback back to us OK and that's lox.agency.org the website there Ultimately Kieran this is all moving towards what will be the fisheries and angling improvement strategy for Foil and Carlingford 2022 2030 so the importance of this really to anyone who has an interest in the foil is look this is going to govern the policy that will be in place on the foil effectively for the next 7-8 years Absolutely yes we have forced key themes within the strategy communications and partnership sound evidence based maximising potential and successful delivery of our projects and it really will be really influential in terms of the delivery of those projects over the next 8 years we're looking at using nature based approaches promoting the involvement of our local clubs and the projects that we do we have a very good reputation for delivery on the ground we've planted over 20,000 trees last year installed over 18,000 metres of fencing provided over 300 new angler access points throughout our the Foil and Carlingford area realistically this strategy document will be the definition of what we're going to be doing and now is the opportunity for people to put their spoke in and try and shape it and mould it and make sure that we can deliver fully for stakeholders over the next 10 years Kieran McGonagall from the LOX agency thanks indeed for speaking to us this morning just to repeat those public meetings the LOX agency HQ in Prehen and Derry on Monday April 17th held Balaba Faye on Monday April 24th both those sessions 6pm to 9pm agency staff on hand plans will be available for inspection or people can go to LOX-agency.org and look at the surveys and the documents there as well but for now Kieran thanks very much indeed that's Kieran there from the LOX agency and as we say this is going to govern the policy that oversees what happens on LOX Foil for the next 7 years up to 2030 so you know important that if you have something to say on that now as they say is the time to say it a few year commons before we go to a break Cora says so we have to raise taxes because the government squandered our money foolishly over this past couple of years another Cora says and we were speaking earlier to Paddy Diver about Finifol Cora says Finifol standing up for the people you might as well be talking to the wall the government or the council don't give a damn I have someone to access a property for my mom I've heard nothing from them since that was the summer of last year don't be waiting for people to do things well I mentioned that tomorrow in O'Flaherty's bar in aid of Cromland hospital between half past 10 and 3 o'clock in support of the run for Ella there is a coffee morning that's taking place as we say O'Flaherty's bar tomorrow between half past 10 and 3 in support of Cromland's hospital and it's the run for Ella is the overall umbrella event over which that's happening we were speaking earlier about a cashless society and the Cora says regarding a cashless society there was a great thing on Facebook a few weeks ago about the difference in paying a bill with 50 euro cash versus 50 euro on a bank card when 50 euro cash had changed hands a few times as cash in different businesses it was still worth 50 euro but the bank card transaction that was used again a few times as different bank cards had lost so much value with charges basically the banks would be the main winners in a cashless society and I remember I saw a really interesting piece a couple of years back about shopping local and it sort of tracked 20 euro and it said you go into a shop and you pay 20 euro in your local shop the shop will then go down the road and give that 20 euro to the local dance teacher for their child's dance lesson the dance teacher will then go down and give that 20 euro to the local shoe shop to buy a pair of runners the owner of the shoe shop will then use that 20 euro to go to the local restaurant for a night out and the local restaurant will use the money for and the idea being that this 20 euro kept on circulating within the community and within local businesses and that's the key to what shopping in local businesses actually means and Cora I take your point with regards to the cashless society absolutely and thank you very much indeed for the call because all semi-detached houses should have a cavity wall between them with sound insulation now that is absolutely true with regards to we were speaking earlier about those semi-detached houses in that crazy situation we have in Heather Park in Bunkrona where you have two adjoining houses both believed to be affected by defective blocks one of them has been knocked down because their owners are on the scheme the other because it's rented is not on the scheme so it's got to stay standing so we now have this standing semi-detached house we're going to have to go on some stage the house beside it's been knocked and it's all a little bit crazy now let's go to a very short break after that we'll be back with our next guest watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at HighlandRadio.com at ESB Networks we're connecting Ireland to a clean electric future and as part of the National Smart Metering Program we're now installing smart 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Your new smart meter will reduce the need for estimated bills, help you to manage your electricity usage more efficiently and enable you to access smart electricity products and services we'll contact you before your meter is installed find out more at ESBnetworks.ie slash smart meter brilliant news, the whistling donkeys are joining the Marty party this Friday night in the Conry Hotel in Letterkenny for a night you won't want to miss Donegal's finance donor, Eurovision winners Paul Harrington and Charlie McGatigan Railster Dancers, Tick Tock Sensation Koija, David James, Shauna McStrabbock Comedian Bernard O'Sham any more, get your tickets now at www.conryhotel.com or call 07-4-912-4369 Show starts at 8 o'clock SuperValue makes saving money as easy as one, two, three One, we match Aldi on the products you love Two, great special offers like SuperValue Fresh Irish Housekeepers Cut Saved 33% Grame Norton Somnion Blanc 10 Euro And three, mini off vouchers every week on the app So, follow the one, two, three and save money at SuperValue Enjoy alcohol responsibly The groom goes free The groom goes free Yes, you heard it, the groom's room Evolve clothing, Larry Kenny Retail Park The groom goes free Call in today Terms and conditions apply The Rafoe Pipe Band Tractor Run will take place this Saturday 1st of April from Rafoe Mart at 12 noon Registration is from 10 am 20 Euro per vehicle Open to all types of tractors, cars and lorries For enquiries telephone 086-86-841 It's just gone half past 11 It's 23 minutes 3 minutes to 12 to be precise But this time next week You could be celebrating Because this time next week someone would have just won A 10,000 Euro travel voucher On Highland Radio with an additional 5,000 Euro spending money In association with Atlantic Travel The lucky winner can choose anywhere in the world to travel to It's utterly your choice Your 10,000 Euro can be used And whenever you want you can use it once For a massive, ground the world trip Where you can break it up and use it for Your favourite destinations The choices in your hands All you have to do to win is buy a ticket at HighlandRadio.com Click on win a holiday Answer a simple question and then choose Either 1 ticket for 10 Euro 6 tickets for 50 Euro or 10 tickets for 80 Euro The closing date for entries is 11 o'clock On this day week Thursday 6th of April The draw will be live On the Line to the Noon Show with Greg At half past 11 on next Thursday So as I say Around about this time next week Highland Radio making dreams a reality And hopefully we can make your dream a reality But as the old saying goes You've got to meet us half way and get a ticket Now I want to move on To a very important conference taking place Next month Ireland's largest Environmental Research Conference Is coming to ATU Donegal It's taking place from the 3rd To the 5th of April The co-organiser of it is the lecturer In analytical science and instrumentation At ATU in Donegal That is Dr Dennis McCrudden And Dr McCrudden joins us on zoom Dennis good morning Good morning Donald how are you? Very well indeed thank you Tell us something of this conference Certainly on paper the briefing notes I have Dennis this looks like a very important conference indeed Yes we're delighted With the response of God for the conference Now just before we go I just want to thank Highland Radio For giving us the opportunity to come in there Because on behalf of The Environment 2023 Organising Committee it's just great to get A little bit of airtime So it's the longest running And the largest environmental conference On the island of Ireland It's increased in popularity Due to the environmental issues That's what it's all now It's run on conjunction with The Environmental Science Association of Ireland They're a voluntary group So they give us great help And the organisation off the conference itself Is a non-profit organisation So all we Hope to do is break even What's this conference This is the 33rd event The theme of the event is Evidence and plans towards a Sustainable future And I think that just I think what we really mean by that is People have accepted that climate change Is happening Now is the time where plans Have to be in place To try to stem the tide Of this global warming issue That won't affect everybody In the future There's going to be a particular emphasis On agriculture, particularly in the panel debate There is indeed So this is the first time We've held it in Donegal And we have a full programme as well And as part of that We're having a public debate A public panel debate So that's really where We have quite a good panel of Speakers on that We have Colin Maragy, MEP In the Midlands there Who was involved in the cap reforms in Brussels We have Douglas McMillan from Ration Ireland We have Paul O'Brien from the IFA We have James Moran ATU Galway Who was involved with Different environmental farming practices And we have Edna Curley Dr Edna Curley from Value Agricultural College Who chaired the event She's very hands-on person And she knows exactly what's happening on the ground So I suppose Really The topic of debate is the implications And solutions of future climate change Actions on agriculture So there's a lot of things coming down the line now For anybody that's involved in agriculture And in particular the farming community And You know, as opposed Scientists want to work with farmers We want to work with farmers They have to be part of the solution Therefore, they can't be expected To do all these adaptation measures And mitigation measures Without some sort of compensation There has to be some sort of compensation And part of the problem has been That this debate's been very much Phrased in what farmers will have to cut What farmers will have to lose What farmers will have to not do The reality is farmers have been working the land For generations, for centuries And you know, you can argue No one knows the land better than farmers So you can have someone like yourself Who's an analytical scientist And you can bring all the evidence based And everything else to the table But farmers can bring a lifetime of experience And generations of experience And if the two of you work together That's going to be the optimal way In which solutions are found If a government tries to impose restrictions And cuts, it's not going to work That is definitely correct And that's the way we would look at it That's the way I think most I think sometimes There's a view out there That people and science And farmers are at odds with each other But I think it might be A little bit of politics being played In some ways there I think scientists or environmentalists Don't care how they just Want the measures that's Required to be put in place And some of these measures There's no doubt about it It'll involve, especially for maybe dairy Dairy farmers, large cuts In their Heads They have become very efficient And to cut their heads now It's going to really dig into their profit So there has to be something put in line there That they can actually And this is one of the reasons why we want As many people as possible From agriculture to try to come To the bit It's hard to be hearing first hand The stories from Maybe agricultural consultants Agricultural advisors Even environmentalists But most importantly the people that work The land, the farmers themselves Another central element of the events Is going to be visited Lenvey National Park and I suppose For something looking at the land And looking at biodiversity and linked issues Where better than Lenvey National Park And get a sense of the land And get a real sense of things like biodiversity Yes, and This trip to Lenvey Has been really popular with the delegates We're amazed at how many people were overbooked We've had it actually turned Unfortunately some people down On going to the trip to Lenvey We're just at capacity Of what they can cater for There really were excellent The people out in Lenvey were excellent They're excellent organisers In place Four different conservation projects Leaders who's going to talk to them On the environmental The environmental plans that they have For Lenvey and That's going to be really of great interest To the people that's going to go out there The scientists are going to go out there They're going to hear on the ground Exactly what's happening at Lenvey And there's lots of good things happening in Lenvey From the environmental perspective From the point of view of organising You're on the organising committee yourself Dennis It must be a difficult one I'm sure you've attended previous Conferences yourself Just as a delegate It must be very different now to be on the other side Of the fences where it would be one of the organisers You suddenly appreciate, I suspect What all your predecessors had to do over the years I had no idea What I was getting into, to be honest I had no idea what I was getting into But I'd brilliant help There's an organisation committee In the scientific committee as well So there's two committees if you like But even at that You know There's Sinead McGinn that works At the administrator with the ESAI That I mentioned earlier Did a lot of the groundwork She's been involved for many years So it was great to have somebody that knew When we had something in line But even at that moment It was a much greater task And now As you say, I now appreciate People who organise large scale events Such as this How many different pieces have to be put in place Before you actually get To Monday morning At least we did get the promise When we were talking about the transition From the ITs to the ATU And we were talking about The whole Connoff-Thulster process And all that over the years One of the promises made And we'd see far more research We'd see far more engagement And I think events like this very much Are making that promise a reality Yes, exactly Donal And you know We now can work with researchers And ATU Galway and ATU Slago So we're a much broader base And one of the big things about that Is shared equipment You don't have to rely Maybe we may have a piece of equipment But Slago or Galway may have a piece of equipment That as well As well as that we have access to experts You may be working on something That you may require an expert In some particular field That's also available to us now So I think there's a lot of pluses To be involved in the bigger I know the cameras are a little scattered Some people say but what's technology Now and what's not It's not a major problem really Dr. Dennis McCrudden, thanks indeed For speaking too As you say on Monday And that visit to L'Envée Sadly for those who may be thinking about it Over-subscribed at this point With that panel debate particularly on the implications And solutions of future climate Change actions on agriculture It's an important one you're hoping for A good attendance at that And not just academics, you want farmers to be there as well Exactly, thank you very much Donal Dennis it's been our pleasure, thank you very much indeed That's Dennis there and that event taking place From Monday to Wednesday Of next week, it's the Mindful Nun show On Highland Video, time for a break Don't miss Jimmy Buckley At the Highlands Hotel Glenties On Good Friday, 7th of April Doors open at 8pm with early dancing To Connor O'Donnell That's dancing to Jimmy Buckley At the Highlands Hotel Glenties On Good Friday, 7th of April Ready for a change or upgrade? Thanks Seattle With our wide range of award winning Seattle SUV including Private Atteca or the spacious 7th Seater Turacco All vehicles come with great offers on finance And PCP options Book a test drive today by calling DMG Motors On 074 97 21 396 Or visit DMGMotors.ie Choose your new 231 Seattle With confidence with a visit To DMG Motors, Clairode, Donegal Town Super Value Fresh Irish Housekeepers cut Saved 33% Prime Norton, Sauvignon Blanc, 10 euro And 3, Money Off vouchers every week on the app So, follow the 1, 2, 3 And save money at Super Value Enjoy alcohol responsibly Live for it It's with Ireland West Airport From March 26th, Air Lengas will operate A daily service to London Heathrow Providing onward connections to 80 plus destinations worldwide Ireland West Airport, don't just take off Take it easy Sunny spells and scattered showers Today some heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms Cloud will thicken from the south Later, top temperatures this afternoon 13 to 15 degrees celsius With moderate south westerly winds They'll back south east later And that's the way the weather is looking At the moment A query in from a caller And it simply says this High Donald as an elderly couple With a Micahouse If we die before address Does the claim die with us Or does it continue with the person The house is willed to There's a sadness To that question There really is I would certainly expect and I would hope That the claim would continue With the person that the house is willed to That if a claim is being moved In respect of a house The claim is moved in respect of that house And if the current occupant sadly are no longer with us And long may it be before that's an issue I hasten to add But if it does become an issue That should not make any change whatsoever to the claim The claim is being made in respect of the house That would be the way I would look at that And hopefully that is the situation Speaking earlier to Paddy Diver Paddy mentioned a Mary O'Regan In the course of his and I asked If that was the lady who had spoken Because the name resonated with me Because I had attended the Micah protest The first one that took place outside the community centre In letter Kenny which if I recall correctly Was it about May 2020 It was during the first sort of Covid wave And it took place at the community centre And I remember A lady who was an older lady Who spoke very much On behalf of older people And she spoke with passion And she spoke with fire And Mary now joins us on the line Mary good morning Good morning Donald Mary as I did say to Paddy That you spoke with passion and with fire On that day and Paddy did say to us That sadly your health is not what it was Back then and sadly As a result of what you're going through Maybe some of that passion and some of that fire Is temporarily gone It's coming back I was aware I was made aware That OAPs Were not really being Catered for In the Micah redress Like the 1910 was taken on Accepted by them But a lot of people in that committee Would have had at least one salary going into their house Some of them too And there was a few OAPs on it And they obviously had good state pensions Or private pensions On it because I'm an OAP I live on a state pension And there were not a lot of people like me And I felt that I had a voice And I was going to do it And that's the people I did it for Now I had I mean I can't believe it Like TV3 here and my daughter Standing behind the camera with a cue card It was hilarious I had RTE I had BBC Scotland They did documentary I was answering up Mary Would you do a podcast with me Yeah Paddy Then Michael Doherty one night Ten to nine Mary had a big favour to ask you Well go on Michael ask Could I bring the bishops to your house tomorrow And everything was Yes yes yes And I did a lot of videos And I ended up going to Brussels Part of the Micah delegation And the second night in Brussels No I didn't feel well Are you okay? And got through Christmas And on St Stephen's night As we had called down south I went upstairs about 8 o'clock My bedroom was my sanctuary It was my bolt hole It was the one place I felt safe And me I have a beautiful little dog We went up to the bedroom And I would play tour war with him He'd fall asleep I would be doing games on the phone Or I'd be reading or watching television And I'd go up and say oh gosh nearly 12 o'clock I'd better get up and bring the dog out So normally I would go into the bathroom And then me and the dog would go out But that night for some reason When you walked out of my bedroom door The staircase was directly to your right Actually it was a very dangerous situation But I stood at the top step And there was a big cloud in front of me And I remember nothing else Until I was being wheeled in the bed I didn't know where I was It was three nights later And I don't remember ambulance men I don't remember emergency parking Anything like that And I put it all down to stress And anxiety for what I probably overdid it for a woman of my age Not realising it And I'm at the stage now I'm 72 With that fall I had a bleed in my brain Fractured skull, fractured coccyx Now today I have no sense of taste Or smell I have absolutely no smell And the taste is sweet sour savoury I've learned to live with that But only recently I've realised how dangerous that is Because I had a problem with the dog And the vet said My breath gets fishy And I said well I can't smell And then I thought gosh I have a gas cooker And all this I do put it all down to all the stress And anxiety This was my divorce settlement It was my forever home And I did the house out to the last I spent my last penny on it I had a sister who said to me Mary Are you out of your mind What are you talking about a new house All I have to do is maintain it And then in 2016 I was diagnosed with cancer And the same year as the way I put it My house was diagnosed with mica Now Like I'm 72 This whole thing is no fault of mine It's not fault at all or my families are that It's the government, the council And those bogus blocks of priors Now I won't use the name Because I know that's not right for you But I've no problem using the name I would have no problem being taken for defamation Because I would be a guest At the station I'll go to prison for a couple of months It's too toxic to me The experience But the whole thing is now I've got word this week I have no choice It has to be I have nowhere to go And I mean nowhere My daughter is a full house This is the council's problem It's a government's problem It's a block player They should be housing me It's a basic human right to be housed Now I have nowhere to go I have actually driven around the council of states And I have seen vacant houses And I am going to apply for one of those For while my house is being demolished And rebuilt And as far as your concern to be given 15,000 euro is not good enough You want to be given a home Where am I going to even get a house A friend of mine looked and asked At the other day and she said Mary You're looking at 1,200 a month I mean as I say I'm a blow in So I don't know a lot of people here Do you know what I mean I remember the first meeting I went to And I felt so out of it I said what am I doing I'm going to lobby the banks And I said now I'm going to send A little tough now And I just said what is the owner of the house And do you know what the answer I got was This scheme won't suit everyone Now I was on to Greg before And the same morning Deputy McHugh was on after me And Greg said to him What's that 70 year old woman going to do That came up here to be near her family The same answer This scheme won't suit everyone So like their fault As I say We're a county We're the only county in Ireland that doesn't have A national rail link We don't have an electric grid to maintain We don't have motorways And we don't have an underground pipeline Gas pipeline What we're doing we're subsidising the rest of the country So it's time for them to look after us It's payback time We need a rebate Now at this stage I'd say the cost of all this Is going to be over 3 million By the day And the like of me 3 billion I think more so than 3 million At least Well it could be a lot more than 3 million But say for Donny Gawley Yeah But the thing is It's not going to be all in one year I mean in my estate now There's 6 to 8 of us Are back And some of them are Marginally showing effects of us It depends on the aspect of ours Now I've agabled and I do apologise Mary I am really sorry about this Time has caught up on us I do have to end the show I hope we can pick up this again Because it's important But I just wanted to hear your story I'm delighted to hear that you're on the mend To an extent after that fall And certainly you're pleased been heard Mary we hope you get sorted And get sorted soon Over the next couple of weeks and months And do stay in touch Mary thanks for speaking to us today Thank you Don I'm delighted to hear that Because when Pally said earlier That Mary wasn't as fiery as she was It's great to see the passion coming back Thank you to all for listening to the programme Thanks to Anya and to Donna Marie For all their help John's up next around the north west Apologies I'm a moment or two late But for myself Donal have a very good day Do you have a favourite business in Donegal That you absolutely love If there you go to For exceptional service It's time