 All right, I'll see you later. Hello, buddy. Hello. Not fun to him. All right. Greg, thanks very much. Thanks, everybody, for the company. This week, have a nice Friday. A nice weekend. We'll talk to you Monday. Enjoy the weather, hopefully, Lee. If it's as nice as... I'm hoping I can cut my grass because it's up to my knees. Well, we're going to start a thing on a Friday where we get... So, we need to cut our grass. ...forecast. Come in and tell you if you can cut your grass or not. All right. Good stuff. All right. Listen, have a good night. Lee, thank you very much indeed. All right. That was Lee Goots back with you Monday morning. It's a June show right now, though. Our Friday panel will be joining us very shortly, but at 9 o'clock, let's get a news update and say good morning. Donald Kavanaugh. Thank you, Greg. Good morning. The leader of the DUP has confirmed his party will not support the election of a Stormwind speaker when the Assembly meets today for the first time since the election. The party won't nominate a Deputy First Minister until the UK government acts on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Westminster is thought to be on the cusp of doing just that with an announcement expected any day now. The DUP's move will mean neither the Executive nor the Assembly will be able to function properly, so Geoffrey Donaldson reckons his strategy, which has been strongly criticised by other parties, will pay off. This is a matter for the UK government to deal with. I made my position clear last September what we would do to ensure that the government did act, and hopefully now we are going to see that action being taken. But let's be clear, that action would never have been taken by a head-in-the-sand approach pretending there isn't a problem. The measures are being taken to restore blanket bog habitats in the North West. The Union Minister for Heritage Malcolm Doonan will unveil a 20.6 million euro bog conservation project. Later today it's intended to deliver environmental and social benefits through the conservation of blanket bog habitat. The Environmental Protection Agency says Ladies Bay in Bunkrana is one of two beaches in the country where water quality is deemed to be poor. Its 2021 bathing water quality report has been published this morning. Another poor one is Balbriggan in County Dublin. With more detail here's Donna Marie Daherty. The Environmental Protection Agency says the main source of pollution affecting Ladies Bay in Bunkrana are the Bunkrana Water Waste Treatment Plant combined with storm water of overflows and surface runoff which are made worse by heavy rainfall. They acknowledge that Irish water is due to begin upgrade works at the Westbrook Pumping Station over the summer and a larger capacity storm tank is also due to be constructed at the Bunkrana Waste Water Treatment Plant. In total 21 beaches were assessed in Donegal in 2021, 17 were deemed to be excellent while 3, Lis Fannin, Rath Mullen and Port Arthur and Derry Begg were deemed to be good. Full details on our website highlandradio.com. And Sting in Bunkrana people there are being urged to have their say on the future of the town with a consultation event to take place on Monday week May 23rd in the Inichon Gateway Hotel. Donegal County Council will outline plans for the development of the shorefront and discuss the Bunkrana local area plan while architects will present designs for the new leisure centre. Cahirlith Jack Murray is urging people to take part. I think this is a very exciting time for Bunkrana. The repowering Bunkrana project, it's going to be absolutely massive. Upwards of 20 million euro to be invested in the shorefront and surrounding areas. Probably the biggest investment the town will ever see. So we want people to see how that goes. We've now got an architects design for Bunkrana leisure centre that will be presented to the public. We'll also be consulting with people on our town plan or local area plan so we can see how the town will grow and develop in the years to come. Cloudy with a few showers. The showers gradually dying out as some sunny spells developed for the afternoon. Top temperatures today 13 to 15 degrees Celsius. Fresh westerly winds breezy at times. More cloud pushing in from the west during the evening. One or two isolated showers possible. The winds will die out overnight but skies will remain cloudy. That'll keep overnight lows mild at 7 to 9 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow mostly cloudy to start. But sunny spells developing as the day goes on. Top temperatures on Saturday 16 to 19 degrees Celsius. And that's how I'm ready to use back with news again at 10 o'clock. This is the story of how I met your father. Let's do this. Now streaming on Disney Plus. How I met your father. To a night of new friends. Screw being mature. We can still make bad choices for a few more years. A new laugh out loud original series. I've been on 87 dates this year. 88. I was 87 before you struck out with Ian so now technically. Got it. Thanks. How I met your father. Now streaming exclusively on Disney Plus. 18 plus subscription required. Tee's and Tee's apply. The 9 to noon show with City of Derry Airport. Enjoy convenient travel to London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Algarve and Mallorca. Visit cityofderryairport.com. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest. The 9 to noon show with Greg Hughes on Highland. And a very good morning to you. Four minutes past nine on this Friday the 13th of May. Hopefully everything will go well given the date that's in it. It is the 9 to noon show as I say and our lines are open for you to get involved in the conversation with our panel. They'll be joining us very, very shortly. But as I say, we want your views. WhatsApps and texts to 08 660 25000 08 660 25000 or call 07 491 25000. Get involved on social media. You can watch the show. Go to our website highland radio.com. Watch it there. You'll see our guests or go directly to our YouTube channel Highland Radio Ireland, Facebook Highland Radio or on Facebook Highland Radio News. So there is just literally no excuse not to get involved and have your say. Okay, right. Let's introduce our guests. Firstly, Deputy Padre McLaughlin, Chin Fane spokesperson on Fisheries and the Marine. Good morning to you, Deputy. Thanks for joining us. Good morning, Greg. Good to have you with us. Do you read any of those books behind you? Are they yours? Tell the truth. I think my wife is a better reader. I think your wife might be doing the heavy lifting on the reading, is that what you're saying? Absolutely. I've read one book in my entire life. That's the only reason I find it a curiosity. It's shameful, Grania. I'm so sorry. That's the upset voice at me of Grania Hine's member of less active retirement. I will eventually probably start reading more. Grania, good morning to you. Good morning. Great to have you with us. And last and not least, Edward Grant, incoming president of the ATU, Student Union, Donegal. Good morning, Edward. Morning, Greg. How's everything bedding down at the former LWIT, the ATU, Donegal now? I'd love it if it was settling down at this stage. I think there still is that buzz on campus about people coming together and we're trying to create that interconnectivity between all our campuses. So definitely from a management point of view and from the unions ourselves, there still is huge buzz. Yeah, and is there a sense of change? Yeah, there is, especially coming from meetings and that was before it was all, we need to push this across the lay notes. What can we do to support the students and what can we do to support this merger? OK, brilliant stuff. We might touch on that a bit more a little later on. But as we know, the Democratic Unionist Party, the DUP, will not agree to the election of a new Stormman speaker today. Its leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, has said, the assembly is scheduled to meet later for the first time since the 5th of May elections. The DUP has been protesting against post-Brexit trading arrangements. And of course, we know there is quite a strong war of words, you could say, between the British and Irish, the British and the Europeans on this issue. The Simon Coveney is doing the rounds on British media today as well. Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill said the DUP's decision would punish the public. I'll go to you first on this one, Grania, if that's OK. Grania Hines, perhaps no surprise that we're going to have no speaker, no First Minister, no executive, really. What's your take on it all? Well, I think it's very unfortunate and it's quite a sad day to think that people have not yet come together. I mean, you have to look at it from both sides. You look at the Unionist side and their concerns. I suppose they feel this is the last step to stripping them of their identity. Like, they feel British and Sinn Fein, of course, and the Nationalists feel Irish. And there is a divide. And it is very difficult when somebody is stripped of their identity and what they've been brought up with. And they don't seem to look at the real and the big picture how good it is for Northern Ireland, the protocol. And I think perhaps there should have been a bigger approach by the other parties to emphasise the good points of the protocol. Yeah, but I mean, I think what is it? 60% of those elected MLAs are in favour of the protocol or would support its retention, maybe with, I think it's generally conceded that there has to be some adjustments on it. Really, it's the DUP and the ITV and the urban MLA that are really the outliers on this. Yes, I agree that they are outliers, but I think it is a lack of understanding. And I think maybe there should have been more meetings before the election so that people, it was clearly stated how good the protocol was for Northern Ireland. I don't think that point has been made enough. Yeah, but it's not the financial benefits, though. It is this border. It's the border between Britain and Northern Ireland down the Irish Sea, isn't it really? That's not necessarily the financial implications, perhaps. Yeah, but that is also the identity crisis in the North. There is an identity crisis between people. And I think until both sides give a little, maybe give a little more. And I think Shantvin are trying at this stage and the nationalists to show the unionists that they are for all the people. And that is what exactly they should be. But that penny has not dropped with the DUP. And I don't know how you're going to persuade them. I think the British government are behaving very badly. I think the way they're speaking to the union, the way they're speaking, they have no real communications with our own T-shirt. And I think this is a mistake. And I think there's going to have to be a lot of work behind the scenes. I think Parich probably would agree with that. It must be done. And I'll bring Parich in a second. But I think one of the things that sort of jumped out at me was some advice given to the British government as to why the protocol needs to be gotten rid of. And one of the reasons was is that it would lead to increased trouble in the North. And they cited bomb threats, I think one particularly against Simon Coffey. And I thought, wow, is this where we're at now in 2022 that one of the superpowers in the world would be making decisions on something based on the threats of violence. I mean, that seems a little backwards there. That is a red herring, that's perfidious albion, as they say. That is just something they are using to their advantage. I mean, that is not a fact, I don't think. And I think they're quoting that to justify what they want to do, what it looks like they made it, which would be a very bad outcome for everybody reading. All right, well, bring in Deputy Part McLaughlin. I mean, in this argument is sort of, you know, Sinn Féin in the glasshouse of bringing down the executive for three years in 2017, Patrick, I mean, you know, you could say the DUP are playing straight out of the Sinn Féin playbook. Well, the context, of course, is completely different. What happened then was that you had a huge scandal where hundreds of millions of the people's money had been literally burnt. And then you had a situation where this was only the latest scandal, there had been a number of scandals before that, and that was the one that brought it down. You just, you'd lost the conference, and that was, unfortunately, again, Unionist Ministers had lost the conference of the people. So that was the context then. This is very different, this is a fresh election. The people have voted, as you said, 60% of the MLAs support the protocol, understand the need for it to be there. In terms of the DUP, it's clear that's the British Conservative Party elements within it, including the Prime Minister of Britain, Boris Johnson, Liz Tross and others, are determined to play games, ignore the decision of the majority, in this case, significant majority of the people in the north, to do this sort of, this game that they've been playing with the European Union now for quite a while, it's the distract from the situation in Britain with Partygate, it's distract from the, with the anger in many communities. So do you think the British government are kind of using the DUP? Yeah, I think that's, if you look at, particularly Boris Johnson's, and the group around him and the Conservative Party, and if you look at the DUP, the DUP had the balance of power in Westminster only a few short years ago. They decided to bring down Theresa May, who would have had a deal that would have avoided any border, anywhere, and they brought her down. They wanted to go for the hardest form of Brexit possible, working on cahoots for the likes of Boris Johnson, he was coming over to their party conference in the north, and now you see them working on cahoots again, and people need to pay close attention to what Simon Coveney said yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was very stark. He said that we do not have a partner here. You know, in the past, the British and Irish governments would have worked together to address the concerns of parties in the north and try and pull them together and keep the executive movement. The Irish government are saying, we do not have a partner. The British government are acting recklessly. They're playing games with people's lives in the north. They're ignoring the democratic wishes of the people in the north as they did at the time of Brexit. As you know, the significant majority of people in the north did not vote for Brexit. They voted to keep Ireland, all of Ireland, within the European Union. So that's the difficulty we have. So with the political vacuum that is there, with clearly the relationship between London and Dublin on this issue being, you know, fractured, and with this being, and I noticed, you know, I mean, obviously it's going to be tied into, you know, a future border poll, some saying this is really just setting the groundwork from that. So with that language, that's obviously going to stoke fears with the political vacuum and with this sort of Dublin, London disagreement. Have you concerns that we could start seeing an increase in trouble in Northern Ireland, you know, an increase in, you know, paramilitary activity, for example? I have to say, I feel sorry for the Unionist people because they just are leaderless. They have people who got their strategy unbelievably wrong in relation to Brexit. All the approach that they have taken, that they have allied themselves, this is the likes of the DUP, have allied themselves with, you know, elements of British Tories acting against the interests of their own people. I mean, the DUP had a five point plan and only one of those issues was around protocol. Everything else is what everybody in the North wants. We want the health service to work properly with the proper investment. We want the cost of living crisis to be addressed. You know, there's a three year budget that has to be passed. There's a billion to be invested in the health service. 350 million this year needs to be given to people to deal with the cost of living crisis. They're the big issues for our people right now. Like as an Irish Republican, Greg, I have serious concerns about, you know, the constitutional situation in the North, but I'm willing to address them in the round. But right now we need a government. You know, we need the people have voted for the issues affecting their lives to be addressed. And the British Conservative Party are acting utterly recklessly. They have given the DUP all the encouragement in the world to ignore the democratic model of people and bring the institutions down. With all due respect to Northern Ireland and there's not much bigger, of course, from our perspective, but, you know, there is a war ongoing at the moment and you have the likes of Britain, you know, threatening to just break international treaties and all the ramifications of that. I mean, it's just a really peculiar time to be added. Of course, too, Edward Grant, you know, we're talking about, you know, orange and green and then there is, you know, that big move toward, I mean, fishing fan is pretty much as you were, but that big move towards, you know, the alliance and people that are other in inverted commas and they're a sizable chunk of the people of Northern Ireland and they would want, and their voters would want their voices heard, too. Yeah, so, again, it's really harrowing news to hear coming out today. We still have full faith going forward that the Wellcome Done Agreement and hope that agreement will be met. Is there any regression from when we are at the moment? Is there a huge negative in the union? We're already starting to experience a lot of issues surrounding that international visas for students travelling in and out of the North, trying to find accommodation. And again, it's just going to get worse as time goes on. Yeah, all right. Grania, do you see a solution on this anytime soon? Yeah, that's what I would like for it to say, like, what is the solution? The solution is to sit down and talk and compromise and to assure the unionists of their identity that it is, I think they are fearful and fear leads to a lot of bad situations. But to put in fairness on that, Grania, this is not of anyone's doing except Boris Johnson and to a great extent the DUP. I mean, this was, this is Boris Johnson's other oven-ready deal. This is his protocol that he negotiated. This is what he put to the people in Britain and was elected on. Do you know what I mean? I can't imagine the DUP politicians and their supporters are very switched on and clever. I mean, they know really where this all come from, I'm sure. Of course. Of course. And they can see they're playing their advantage. But the solution has to be got and the unionists have to be won over to the side of the North so that everything is done for the people, by the people, as they say. So what I'm saying is, Porig, what is your solution? How are you going to get this solved? You're not going to solve it by everybody going into their own corner. Yeah, I think the problem, Grania, in this instance, is that the British government are choosing a path which is utterly reckless. I mean, you would have heard the comments from Simon Coley and they were very stark yesterday. I've never heard them. And all of the time in the peace process, since the Good Friday Agreement, I've never heard an Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs say that we do not have a partner and we do not have somebody who's working with us. So our problem is, is that you now have, as they did throughout this whole Brexit process, these hard line elements of the British Conservative Party reckless, selfish, ignoring the will of the people of the North of Ireland, democratic will, and encouraging them to not make the institutions work. But in fairness, Porig, just to try and strike a balance, like you might have an election in the Republic or anywhere in the world. And they have a pre-election manifesto, but one of the sticking points, say, for instance, for Fina Gale would be, we're not going into government with Sinn Féin. So they have their plans on health and the cost of living in everything okay. And they get a certain amount of votes, but they say, no, one of the number one was that we won't go into government with Sinn Féin. And that, you know, that's not unusual for having a number point plan, but also having a red line and the red line for the DUP and the sizable amount of people that voted for them, albeit in smaller numbers, was getting rid of the protocol. So, I mean, we can't be surprised that they're gonna dig in on that, can we? Yeah, but this is not a serious debate because, I mean, first of all, the protocol is the offspring of Brexit. This is the outworking of the DUP and Boris Johnson's own strategy. They created this mess. The European Union in fairness to them have been working to try to address the concerns diligently, but I believe that Boris Johnson and Liz Trulsen and this cabal in the British Conservative Party are determined to have a fake fight. It's a fake fight for domestic political reasons in Britain and the DUP are being taken on that journey. So, it is exasperating. The other thing to say, which is a positive is that the generation of Unionists of Edwards Age have clearly moved towards the Alliance Party. So, you can see the future direction here is that the DUP are leading people, you know, under their organization into the abyss, into the political abyss. It's only a matter of time. And I think that's a disservice. I genuinely feel sorry for people who are off the Unionist identity with the leadership that they have had now for a number of years, chaotic, selfish, reckless leadership. And all of us have a responsibility. And Gronje's point's very, very true. Everybody in the island of Ireland has a responsibility to each other, to assure each other. But right now, the British Conservative Party have put a wrecking ball through all of that. Well, I feel we have to really depend on the EU to stand firm, to be fair but firm. And I think that will send a message to the British government. But this game's going on here, too, really, because the British government can be seen to be taking action, to be decisive. And it's all long-fingered stuff. It's nothing that happens immediately. So, they can benefit from the... Maybe what they might see is the positive political fallout from it. Talk about that rather than the cost of living or them heading towards a recession. And nothing really has to happen immediately. One question from you, Parve, before we move to the next thing. You know, we could be looking at rolling six-month selections. I believe that's how the system works in Northern Ireland. Honestly, not honestly. I mean, you're not going to answer any other way. But honestly, do you... I wonder how people might vote in six months' time, you know, with everything that might go in the conversation and people will see how the dust settle and really get to know where people stand on certain issues. I'd be intrigued, although I wouldn't wish it on anyone, another election. I'd be really intrigued to see how the cards fall if there were another election in six months. Yeah, I mean, I think that the Alliance Party's position might even be strengthened a little bit more. In our case in Sinn Fein, we missed out by, you know, a handful of votes in Upper Ban and in East Derry. So, we would be hopeful. But, I mean, I just think that's... But it was also a problem. No, absolutely. It was also a problem. Maybe if you have the majority the next time, you still have the same problem. So, in the meantime, I think serious concerns should be raised about the protocol. People should be... A lot of people don't even understand the protocol. People aren't that interested in it, a lot of people. Yeah, but it's like the vote on Brexit. People thought they were voting and they voted in great numbers, simply to protect the borders of Britain or something. You know, that's the type of stuff that motivated people. People don't really need to understand. The people in business and what have you, I presume, understand the protocol. But really, what you're voting on is, do you want a border between Northern Ireland and Britain down the Irish Sea? And that's what motivates people, I think. I don't think it's the ins and outs of it. I think the talk about borders should be kept, you know, in the background for the moment. People should just try and look at the pluses and the minuses and work on that. And run a good campaign to show how you feel and that you are happy with the unionists keeping their identity. It's their identity that is causing all this problem. I think people get that. Yeah, I get that. OK. Listen, thank you very much indeed. That's the voice of Gronja Hines, though. You're listening to Edward Grant and Deputy Parkman. Welcome back with more after the break. On this week's Business Matters, I'll be joined by Ben Cramabast, I was designer, Bernie Murphy. So join me, Cure No Donald, for Business Matters on Sunday evening after the 60 o'clock news. The Business Matters podcast is also available to download at highlandvideo.com. Business Matters in association with the faculty of business at ATU Dunnegal. Looking for a career in financial services? Consider the Level 9 MA in Governance Compliance and Data Protection. Take the next step in your career and contact the exec ed coordinator on 9186206 or email execedexeced at lyit.ie today. At Cherrymore Kitchens and Bedrooms, we are now operating out of one new state-of-the-art showroom in Dunnegal Town. And we invite you to visit our new 5,000 square foot Dunnegal Town showroom to discover the latest eye-catching design Remember, at Cherrymore you're dealing directly with a manufacturer, which means high-quality kitchens at factory prices. Start planning your dream kitchen or bedroom by calling Cherrymore on 074 9725 822. Cherrymore, 25 years delivering value, quality and service all over Ireland. At Creaseless Supermarket, we offer daily specials at our deli with fresh and delicious food to go. Available at Butcher's Weekly Specials or choose from a range of products and pre-packed meals, plus many more offers in store. We're open seven days for your convenience. Creaseless Supermarket, where quality and value is assured. Hit refresh on your home this spring at Foy and Company in Balibife and Letter Kenny. Create your perfect home with new arrivals and furniture and beautiful fabrics, paints, wallpapers, rugs and wall art. From brightening up your kitchen to breathing new life into your living space the Foy and Company team will help you create the perfect colour scheme for your home and lifestyle. Book your free online or in-store colour consultation today at foys.ie. OK, you're very welcome back to the 9 till noon show. 08 660 25000 for your calls. Sorry for your comments via text. A caller says, as a Protestant living in Donegal, we feel underrepresented. Where can we turn to for union leadership in this county for our voices to be heard? One of the reasons that the SDLP done so bad is that Finafore ministers and TDs were up canvassing with them. The people of Northern Ireland aren't as easily as fooled as us in the south. Finafore and Finnegal are worse than the DUP. No healthcare, housing or any public services. The SDLP needs to stay away from Finafore and stand on their own. Tories created the mess in the north. The DUP needs to spread their wings. Greg says another. Don't call yourself an Irish Republican. Sinn Fein brought in the British abortion law into Northern Ireland and your party used to disgrace and tramp on the graves of people who fought for Irish freedom. There's a lot in that one. Do you want to come back on it, Parg? No, I think sometimes it's better to respectfully disagree on issues. Right. Ministers have approved the provision of a monthly payment of 400 euro to people hosting Ukrainian refugees. The support will unlikely they'll be available for a number of months, and I think it doesn't matter how big the property is, it's still 100 euro a week. Meanwhile, some in the tourism industry have warned that continuing to host refugees in hotels will have a negative impact on their businesses with the knock-on effect of job losses, less money in the economy. So I wonder what is the medium-to-long-term approach to this crisis? Edward Grant, incoming president of the ATU Students' Union. Donegal, what's your views on this? I think this is horrendous, really, to be honest. It's an issue that we've had locally with students for the last year. I've been on to multiple times, and now it's just getting exacerbated with the Ukrainians coming over. I guess brilliant that we're bringing over in humanitarian aid is what's needed. But the fact that the government didn't have the foresight to start building houses 20 years ago, never mind this year, is ridiculous. Our sales at Union are trying to enter talks with the college and local council to see about trying to bring some of the modular housing approaches that you've seen over in places like Sweden and places down in Dublin to see if we can use it. There's a short-term solution going forward. I just don't think that's ever going to happen. I hear that is the fix-all for lots of things, but I just don't see any movement or progress in that regard. There hasn't been, and it's the only thing we can push for at the moment, and as I said, the college management will reiterate here again. Next year we're going to have students living in caravans, and that is the God's honest truth. We recently rolled out our accommodation survey, which was important to the homeless. How many sites did you say 70? Seven, seven hotels. Seven and one homeless student. She's bouncing between housing and contact. We're kind of trying to work to see if there's any positive steps we can take forward, but without a stringent action plan going forward, not only is this going to be an issue internationally for Ukrainians moving over, but nationally, ourselves, trying to get students' houses, trying to get homelessness started, we need housing and we need stringent plans going forward. We need housing shortages at the moment, and that's well documented. For the next cohort of students, if they choose to go to, if they still choose to go to ATU, Donny Gull, I mean, it's going to be worse. Next? It's going to be ridiculous next year. I honestly don't know what we're going to do. We've been trying to get in contact with college. We've been setting up meetings with upper management to develop a plan going forward. Our largest accommodation provider, Valerie and Halls, is already half full with students going on waiting lists It's going to be an absolute nightmare, to be honest, Greg. Yeah, and the students staying in hotels, like, do you know if they're getting a rate in the hotel or? Yeah, so over the last three years, the union have been negotiating hotels to get student rates put on. I can't comment exactly as to what they are, because I'm unsure they're going to be continuing for the next academic year. We have to renegotiate during the summer to see if it's something viable going forward. Yeah, okay. And I suppose, firstly, the 400 euro payment, I mean, if I had a property, if it was my house, and, you know, I know it would cost more than 400 euro in home heating or electricity and what have you, because you might be inclined to keep the heating on more than I might, because, you know, it's my own personal decision and it could be a five bedroomed house or it could be an apartment, and it's still struck at 400 euro, I don't know where these houses are going to come from. We've seen from the DAFTA.ie publication yesterday, I mean, there's virtually no houses available country-wide. I mean, there's a big conversation about how many refugees were taken in poor, it's a complicated conversation, but do we need to put a cap on it? It's a slowdown at the moment, but we don't know where things are going through the summer. Yeah, I think the problem here, well, the wider housing issues, you know, Greg, is that we didn't build public housing for about a decade, it's a disastrous decision, and that meant that we pushed families into the private rental market and now it's really hard to get a place to rent anywhere in Donegal, that has driven rents now to over 1,000 euro in places like Pocranna and Lederkenny right now to rent a family home, totally out of reach in terms of people's wages in the country, so that's that housing crisis issue and so you have that already as we speak. It was and what Edward's describing is pardon me, it's like a virus that started in the cities, so the universities are in the cities and it's worked its way up right across the country where you just cannot get spare accommodation. In terms of the Ukrainian refugees, like the various refugee council had said a number of weeks ago, Greg, that the government need to be looking at holiday homes and vacant homes and I think there's about 8,000 vacant properties in Donegal and for the life of me I can't understand why there hasn't been a concerted effort to go through that working with the local authorities. There's 8,000 vacant homes, many of those will be holiday homes vacant on April the 1st of 2017 or whenever it was or 15 or 16 people will want to be available and 400 euro a month is not going to entice people to give up the opportunity to go to their holiday home in the summer. I don't know how many houses really might come from that 8,000 in reality. We have an emergency here obviously we have a responsibility under international law towards refugees you're looking at millions coming into the European Union we do have to take our fair share based on our population, I think that's about 2% of the European Union and there is people in fairness accept that but what we cannot accept is students or people on the housing list people who have been failed for so long being pushed into further crisis so the Ukrainian issue needs to be dealt with and what we would support is looking intensively at that whole area of holiday homes. Are you mean paying people or are you saying compelling people to make those properties available? Well I mean I'm glad that they've now put money on the table that's what Irish refugee councillor said you know weeks ago that there needed to be some incentive but there needs to be a proactive approach working with Donegal County councillor in this case in Donegal and all the other local authorities but what we cannot do is take housing from the existing limited squeezed private rental stock we can't be impacted as Edward has described very eloquently there the crisis that we're facing already I mean are you saying that we do maybe need to look at compelling people to make vacant properties available? Well I think we need to proactively, I believe as you engage proactively with people with holiday homes you would secure a significant number without having to compel them I do believe that but that hasn't happened but if that doesn't happen because you're not answering yes and no and listeners are going to pick up on this and we want it to be clear if we can't work with people to entice these vacant houses to be used to address this crisis are you saying that we should be looking at a way of compelling people to make these properties available? Well I think Greg you would agree you always avoid compelability you always try to avoid it at all First of all you take the first step and the first step is trying to secure vacant holiday homes in Donegal and that hasn't been attempted that I'm aware of so do that first before you talk about compelability compelability is always the worst thing that's the red flag you don't want to do that what you want to do at this point now is try to secure empty holiday homes across the country properties that are vacant across the country that's your first step and that hasn't happened to any real intensive way Well 400 year old month that's the carrot Well I think that's for families that have space at home I think that's the target of that and that's fair enough let's see how that goes but you know as I say the people who are working at the front line have been saying for weeks that we need to be looking in a proactive way at the empty houses 8000 and Donegal alone tens of thousands across the state that's your first objective Okay but a lot of people will be waiting and I'm going to bring you in in a second Grania but this is important after the next election a lot of people now are looking towards when their young ones finish school and they're looking to travel to their holiday homes wherever it might be in the west the county the north wherever okay and that 8000 might be 8 into really really quite significantly so if it doesn't yield enough to even scratch the surface of fixing this problem what other option do you think a government should should keep on the table to make these empty houses available for Ukrainians Well I mean I have heard talk of the issue of modular units and the mountables that can be done in a short period of time in different locations that should be examined but as I say the one area that the people you know who work in this Irish Refugee Council and other organisations who work with refugees have been saying and saying to the government focus on the empty properties the many empty properties in a proactive way across the state ask you a question would you if you had a holiday home in Downings right or maybe somewhere further afield would you give it over for the summer for Ukrainian refugees Well I think it goes the same as the wider population as you know Greg there are many hundreds and hundreds of people across Donegal who have offered a space in their homes where they live permanently so yes I do believe there would be a layer of holiday home owners who would say we can do without a holiday there for the next while when you've got hotels right and as I say Grania I'm going to bring you back in why would they do that right when you've got hotels that it's financially beneficial for them to not open to guests at all and to house Ukrainian refugees because they get 100% occupancy over the course of 2022 why out of the goodness of their hearts when hotels are literally raking it in why would they out of their goodness of their hearts give over their house for the summer and to align points of view here I mean what you have now in Donegal is you're taking up hotel spaces that's going to have an impact on the tourist season it's going to have an impact on families you want to have weddings so that is not the top priority direction you want to go in I do believe Greg there will be a significant section of people with holiday homes if you do this in a positive, proactive way that would be willing to do that and of course they should get some kind of financial gains to this payment now to families who make their own homes available so the thing that's alarmed me is the government have made these grandiose statements about it will take 200,000 refugees and so on they've caused panic with people on the social housing list who think they're not going to get their council house that they've waited so long for they're causing serious problems in tourism I mean to rent to hire a hotel room anywhere across the state is getting very very expensive so you can see the knock on impacts rather than do the thing that people ask them to do look at the holiday home the empty houses okay, Gronja come on I've been listening to that and holiday homes let's take that one first the appeal has gone out to owners of holiday homes so how are you going to contact holiday homes are you going to write to them interview them I mean when you say you have a push for 8,000 holiday homes like I know that Donegal has thousands of holiday homes many of them own by people from Northern Ireland as well mostly Northern Ireland people like I cannot see them giving me up these holiday homes perhaps if they got the HAP which is a bit higher than 400 but they have been offered, Greg is correct I think the offer has gone out to owners of holiday homes they are getting a financial as for hotels quite honest I think the government the hotels will probably open up again for Ukrainians but I don't think they should be allowed unless they keep them over this summer hotels who now want to put them out take them back in the winter months no, it's not all so what I'm saying is I agree I think the hotels should keep on the Ukrainians and you're talking about the students now I'd like to tackle that problem I think for students there should be designated ATU buses my granddaughter travels an hour and a quarter I think to get to DCU from Palmerston so it's not as if students don't travel in the cities so students will have to travel, they have to commute that will be one thing perhaps landlady the old system where students stay with landlady could be looked at I think the understanding is and Edward will correct me on this one the number of people making sort of that room available to students actually fell last year didn't it Edward so at the start of this year we did have really low numbers on our accommodation list just kind of touching both on the Ukrainians and on the students with the constant appeals that we put out we actually now have more homes on our list than ever before back there is that area of hospitality and people at a personal level will reach out and will try and do their best to help others so it's just something that I've seen personally in the role coming back to transport that's something that's desperately needed we have homes available in Kilmercrennan that currently can't be accessed whether in the order of our students because there's only one or two buses a day you should have designated college buses that I think that would solve a lot of the problems you know went with the timetables if this is not handled carefully and sensitively though we could have a real problem here I think because there are people many people struggling to see a GP and they know now that people coming here from war to Ukraine instant access to the GPs the government is throwing out school transport and bus transport tenders like confetti at the moment and you know every single year the struggle we have in getting many students on to buses and this is what people are talking about in the community that are saying hold on a second there's a bus running from letter Kenny to here and back three times a day all of a sudden now and you know I'm not sure I'm going to get a seat for my child for the next term I just worry if we're going to get even more division here if this is not handled correctly and then when you talk about not ruling out maybe compelling people to make empty properties available for refugees it just feels like we're heading down a road that could be very divisive in this country just to say we have in Shinfena 37 TDs around the state in every county almost and city and what's been described on the radio here in Donegal today is the exact same experience right across the country so whether it's housing childcare, education health there's a squeeze on and the tensions are building up and Favreau Peter McVerry who we all know is such a great champion in terms of homelessness and housing he said this weeks ago that he was really worried about the divisions that would be caused if he didn't get this right so yes there is a serious challenge here and the governments I think really need to get a grip in terms of just the other thing to say is there were a lot of people in Donegal who volunteered to make their homes available whose offer hasn't been taken up and I would personally know some myself who offered their home and it hasn't been taken up for one reason or another so I have a fear around the hotels that's going to create very significant knock on effects of the policy that don't need to be over issues looked at so I am worried about the division and tensions that this is going to cause OK Grani do you want to last word on this one before we take a break I feel like we have to look at solutions it is as it is and we have to see what can be done and I think holiday homes might be the answer but it would have to be compulsory I don't see people volunteering I just the student Edward reference the couch surfer I hope that doesn't sound like an insult reference it's not how I mean it but having to go from one place to another if I were her and I see a hotel within a stone's throw away where people are housed in great numbers and these are people coming from an awful situation please don't get me wrong in the tone of my question but if I were her how I might feel that I'm homeless effectively away from home and then there's such an immediate solution to other people's homeless issues Edward I mean we're not going to speak of that person's views because you might know her and I don't want to attribute anything to her or him I don't know if it's her or him for that matter but that's just a really small example of how you can understand people might say well what about me and this is the amazing thing I've come to know my role is the people in the worst situations always seem to be the most empathetic towards others it's always tends to be the people who have things, who have houses, who have the supports necessary that seem to be promoting this anti-immigration rhetoric that seem to be promoting this anti-humanitarian humanitarian rhetoric and I think a lot of the with respect Edward I just on this program particularly I would like it to be a space where people can express their concerns without it coming across as being anti-immigrant or anti-refugee like I think someone if they have a genuine concern about their well-being them getting a house if they're on the waiting list for a long time I want them to be able to feel that they can express that without them being labeled as anti-Ukraine or anti-immigrant I'm not saying that's what you're doing it's just a hobby and we've been careful with the language if that's okay yeah no that's perfect and as I said I'd be great for open debate and I think there's a place and a time for that from my experience anyway a lot of the students looking at this here as you see that the government's only willing to invest when there's money coming and that they feel very downtrodden not because homes are being taken up but because the opportunity wasn't given to them by their own country okay listen thanks all three of you for now we'll be back with more from our guests and your comments as well after these messages at mns we know there are some essentials you buy week in week out and we also know you want the best quality without flinching at the till so we're sure you'll love remarkable value more than a hundred great quality products you use all the time all at a price you'll love you'll find pasta for 50 cent a litre of milk for only 85 cent and six eggs for just one euro 60 for M&S quality and everyday low prices you'll find pasta for 50 cent a litre of milk for only 85 cent and six eggs for just one euro 60 for M&S quality and everyday low prices choose remarkable value just one of the ways to save with M&S food subject to availability see in store for details print your first communion photos at McGee's Chemist and you'll get a free large 10 by 8 photo of your choice with photos from just 12 cent you can print in store or use the McGee's photo prints app and have them delivered direct to your door preserve all your best first communion moments or great memories from any big occasion with McGee's Chemist Leather County where the best costs less terms of condition supply ask in store for details don't just do okay in your career do great at all state don't settle soar don't procrastinate innovate don't do mediocre do magnificent at all state great work great life great people where great opportunities await search all state and i careers today thinking of changing your floors why not see what Flurid Leather County has to offer Flurid have a large selection of solid semi-solid and laminate click vinyl wood flooring together with a fantastic choice of parquet herringbone flooring all at incredible value don't delay call Flurid today on 087 161 7 008 the former master of the national maternity hospital this week told the rockers health committee it is not credible that values upheld by the sisters of charity are compatible with services such as selective abortion concern about Catholic ethos is too acute to proceed unless and until there is full scrutiny of all correspondence between Ireland and Rome doctor Peter Boyle and said the land on which the hospitals proposed to be billed should be owned by the state and the government should directly ask why the land is not being gifted and whether this is a result from an order from the Vatican T shock me how Martin has said the operating license given by the HSE to the new national maternity hospital and other documents give cast are in guarantees that all legally permissible services are permissible services would be available to women in the new hospital but I understand that that element of this deal there's going to be some further legal clarification on it interested in all of your views on this one but yours first granny if that's okay yeah that's perfect and I was at a meeting of letter connected determined yesterday and I knew we were going to discuss this and I asked them what their opinion was and every person at the meeting said go ahead with the hospital that that is what we need that's what women need and you can nitpick all you like you can put pluses and minuses but there's a lot of pluses and and every woman on the room said yes go ahead with the hospital straight away and I do agree with that I do think it's good to look at the legal aspect of it and to ask questions but like to continuously you know there's argument does it feel like a balanced debate to you Grania because outside of politics there's I think two or three dissenting voices which we're hearing all of the time but there's many many others you know within the health service side of it that believe that this serves the greater good and we should proceed yes I think it serves the greater good and I think we should proceed and we have to really trust our clinicians I mean people are giving opinions who aren't medical people who don't really understand who are women particularly and I think on the whole if it was put to a vote in Ireland today all the women would say yes please go please please please go ahead give us a service what's your view Deputy McLaughlin yeah well a number of opinion polls have already been carried out in this and that isn't the case the opinion polls demonstrate that a significant majority have concerns that we are investing one billion euro of taxpayers money after many years of negotiations on a site that is not owned by the public listen no sir I have to say to you women's lives are more important than a billion euros the whole conversation about this is that we get it right so that every procedure or care that a woman is actually available and can't be challenged into the future though that's really the part of and in the meantime you save babies' lives and mothers' lives while you're arguing okay continue yeah well just to say everybody wants this to happen in terms of having a state of the art national maternity hospital the maternity hospitals that we have and doubling or not up to the standard that we want so everybody's agreed about that that's agreed by everybody but it is extraordinary that we now are at the situation where the cabinet looks like it's going to sign off next week on a site where we will invest one billion of our money that we do not own that leaves all sorts of concerns so you have very eminent people former master of the national maternity hospital you have women who are on the board of HSE no you have a range of concerns one former master the point is in fairness and that's the point I was making to Grania we are hearing an awful lot from the two board members and the former master yet there are many many dozens of others that work in providing women's health that we're really not hearing their voices on it is it a skewed debate I think that what people find extraordinary is that's you had a situation where the national maternity hospital has control over the entire operation now you go into a new convoluted legal process with a new board working with the St Vincent's healthcare group you do not own the site I mean I find it extraordinary that you would be in a position I think any person out there listening in that you would be in a position where you would commit one billion money under some convoluted legal I mean Grania would you if you were lucky enough to have a 400,000 euro house would you be happy enough to build that on someone else's land and if you decided just one second Grania but the basis of that would be something along the lines of that if you decided to build a rockery that instead of it being a nominal fee for a lease you'd end up having to pay 50,000 euro rent to the landowner I mean would you be happy to be curtailed and corralled like that? I would yes because I would have a house and a home and I think loads of people who don't have houses and homes would jump at the chance lease or no lease and 299 years it's amazing but why does it have to be there if it's so long and the fee is so nominal why not just gift the land what are they hoping to do after that we don't have that I mean that would be the idea I agree what would you see the solution to this being Podrick because anything other than the direction of traffic at the moment does mean great great delays and we can talk about how we got here but we are where we are and I hate that phrase what do you think should be done now? well Mary Lou McDonald who's raised this and other women opposition leaders like Ivana Batschik and Roshan Shotoll and Catherine Murphy and Catherine Conway a whole range of women in leadership and Irish politics have asked that the T-Shop get a grip of this go in and negotiate very very firmly with the the healthcare group and insist upon full public ownership but you wouldn't know Park even in our conversations in the past let's scale it right right down I had asked you numerous times about the three school campus in Bonkranagh and should we get down the CPO route and you were incredibly careful and incredibly cautious with your language because you did not because it was so sensitive and I presume that you didn't want to compromise any negotiations or maybe even you know drag the procedure on for ages and ages and ages right so that was on a huge scale locally but a tiny scale compared to this so you know I mean can the T-Shop go in and play hardball? well actually Greg I was the only national public representative that called for that site the old further loomsite to be CPO but before that but who immediately Greg calls for a CPO? no I'm not criticising you I'm talking about I'm not having a go at you I'm talking about the T-Shop's positioning going down that route with waving a CPO in their face Chinfayne haven't called for a CPO in the case of the national maternity hospital what we've said is you know this has been going on now for about 12 years and now you have this you know this thing that we have to do this now that we've failed to secure we've failed to secure public ownership we're going to invest one billion you have all the concerns that women have about you know whether legitimate or not in terms of interference with women's health based on their experience in the past sadly so you have a range of issues that makes a mess but it looks like the cabinet we're going to sign off and it makes Tuesday as it happens okay Edward a few on this unfortunately we haven't had time to join a meeting with any of the class reps so the union currently doesn't have a position mandated on it but what I can say is that it's a complicated issue and the government should have had better foresight going forward and just chatting the students on campus and kind of getting a little bit of interaction with them I can say that the widely held belief is that they support the deal as long as they get guaranteed that legally permissible procedures is going to be valid without a religious ethos interfering and it seems the government are going down the route to provide that legal underpinning it's cold something it's cold something I simply don't know the words I haven't gone to attempt it okay listen thanks so much to all three of you for your time today granny it's always a pleasure you know that thank you so much for joining us okay thank you take care of yourself granny we'll speak to you soon okay Edward Grant incoming president of the ATU students union all over feeling we'll be speaking more over the course of this year and I look forward to that and helping platform and and highlight the issues facing students at ATU thank you all right take care and last no problem and last but not least deputy pardon deputy parking McLaughlin thank you very much for joining us take care guys 08 660 25,000 watts apps and texts we're going to get to your views your comments and so much more besides after we take a break up for the news but I'll come back with a quick weather forecast for you the 9 till noon show with city of dairy airport pre-brook your airport parking fast track and launch access at cityofdairyairport.com for a stress free start to your trip Brian McCormick sports and leisure main street letter Kenny your football destination store if you belong on pitch try a new pair of adidas predator edge football boots available in kids and adult sizes complete your kit with a pair of Murphy's gloves available in many colors and sizes update your own eels shorts and socks with the all important gum shield then you're ready to compete look the part play the part in store online click and collect on bmcsports.ie this time of year we're all thinking about freshening up the paintwork in our homes bringing color and vibrancy to our living spaces but the important thing isn't just the colors we choose it's the paint would use the highest quality ingredients for a richer color and smoother finish that lets you wipe away the marks of everyday life and it's irish made designed to work with the ever changing irish light would one range of paints transform your home fleece woodwood naturally milford tiles wood flooring and bath where milford retail park now open large range of wall and floor tiles on display and stock over 70 different laminate floors to suit every pocket tileers and wood fitters available new bath where showroom now open milford tiles wood flooring and bath where 083091 0707 Ineshaun Credit Union have recently launched Cultivate an agricultural loan at only 6.55% APR 6.75% call any of their four offices for more information or to make an appointment Ineshaun Credit Union Cardona Movil and Moff supporting local farmers Ineshaun Credit Union is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland Highland Radio weather updates with Ireland West Airport thinking of a sun holiday with the family you can now fly to beautiful New York every Friday this summer with Ryanair and enjoy some of Europe's best beaches. Ireland West Airport you're flying. Okay after a clearly start Sharers will begin to die out as some sunny spells start to develop towards the afternoon temperatures 13 to 15 degrees winds fresh but they will ease as the day wears on all right Donald's next with news Live on air online and on the Highland Radio app this is Highland Radio News Good morning it's 10 o'clock Donald Kavanaugh at the Highland Radio News Desk the leader of the DUP has confirmed his party will not support the election of a Stormont speaker when the assembly meets later for the first time since the election last week the party also will not nominate a deputy first minister until the UK government acts on the Northern Ireland protocol Westminster is thought to be on the cusp of doing that with an announcement expected any day now the DUP's move will mean that neither the executive nor the assembly will be able to function properly Sir Jeffrey Donaldson believes his strategy which has been criticized by all the other parties will pay off this is a matter for the UK government to deal with I made my position clear last September what we would do to ensure that the government did act and hopefully now we are going to see that action being taken but let's be clear that action would never have been taken by a head in the sand approach pretending there isn't a problem Ladies Bay in Bunkrana is one of two beaches in the country where the quality of bathing water is deemed to be poor in the EPA's bathing water quality report for 2021 the other is in Baldrigen County Dublin water quality at Ladies Bay had been designated sufficient in the 2020 report with more detail here's Donna Marie Doherty the environmental protection agency says the main source of pollution affecting Ladies Bay in Bunkrana are the Bunkrana water waste treatment plant combined with storm water overflows and surface runoff which are made worse by heavy rainfall they acknowledge that Irish water is due to begin upgrade works at the Westbrook pumping station over the summer and a larger capacity storm tank is also due to be constructed at the Bunkrana waste water treatment plant in total 21 beaches were assessed in Donegal in 2021 17 were deemed to be excellent while 3 Les Fannin, Wrath Mullin and Port Arthur and Derry Begg were deemed to be good full details on our website HighlandRadio.com Staying in Bunkrana and to people in the area are being urged to have their say on the town's future with a comprehensive consultation event to take place on Monday week May 23rd at the initial Gateway Hotel Donegal County Council will outline plans for the development of the shore front and discuss the Bunkrana local area plan while architects will present designs for the new Leisure Centre Coherlich, Councillor Jack Murray is urging people to take part I think this is a very exciting time for Bunkrana the repowering Bunkrana project it's going to be absolutely massive upwards of 20 million euro to be invested in the shore front and surrounding areas probably the biggest investment the town will ever see so we want people to see how that goes we've now got an architects design for Bunkrana Leisure Centre that will be presented to the public and we'll also be consulting with people about the town plan or local area plan so we can see how the town will grow and develop in the years to come Steps are being taken to restore Blanket Bog habitats in the north west the junior minister for heritage Malcolm Noonan is unveiling a 20.6 million euro bog conservation project today it'll be focused on delivering environmental and social benefits through the protection of Blanket Bog habitats Minister Noonan says the project will involve working with farmers and communities across the north west the Wild Atlantic Nature project is a 20 million euro EU funded life project that is going to run from the north west of the country working with farmers and landowners to restore Upland Blanket Bog it's a really exciting project and it means for farmers it means a strong level of engagement where they will be rewarded for results based payments through the protection and the rehabilitation of Upland Blanket Bog really important habitats when inflation are creating serious hardship for thousands of households across the country the Labour Party is urging the government to take urgent action to tackle the inflation crisis which hit a 22 year high of 7% according to latest CSO statistics Labour's finance spokesperson Jed Nash says government intervention today has been wholly inadequate he says the low paid and those in rural Ireland are the worst hit I think there's a range of different interventions that the government can make that are entirely inadequate we know that those who are really in the teeth of this storm are the low paid those who live on their own those who are living in rural areas and older sections of society with a forecast on that area and tell us it'll be cloudy this morning with a few showers, the showers beginning to die out as we develop toward the afternoon sunny spells setting in with highest temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees Celsius fresh westerly winds breezy at times more cloud pushing in from the west this evening in order to isolate a shower as possible tonight with westerly winds gradually dying out skies will remain cloudy into the early hours that'll keep overnight lows mild 7 to 9 degrees Celsius mostly cloudy tomorrow morning but sunny spells will develop as the cloud gradually breaks a slight chance of an isolated afternoon shower in top temperatures of 16 to 19 degrees Celsius winds on Saturday will be light Back with news again at 11 o'clock Rani Hall Kalheim an agree her remains will repose at her home this evening from 7 o'clock with rosary at 8 o'clock and again tomorrow from 12 noon to 6 p.m. funeral mass on Sunday at 1 p.m. in star of the sea church an agree with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery house strictly private please on the morning of the funeral family flowers only please donations in lieu of desired to the Dunlowe district hospital patients comfort fund care of any family member or Sean medlin funeral directors the death has occurred of Francis O'Donnell Ney Boyle, Krahie Dunlowe her remains will repose at medlin's funeral home this evening from 5 o'clock with rosary at 8 and again tomorrow Saturday from 5 with removal at half past 7 to St Cronus church Dunlowe where she'll repose overnight funeral mass on Sunday afternoon at 1 o'clock with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery the death has occurred of Morris McFadden Taylor's Hill, Galway City and formerly of Coolehawn Tume Graney, Scarlet of County Clare and Newtown Falkara, Dunleagall his remains will arrive at St. Mary's church Clada Galway on Monday for a queer mass at 12 noon followed by Burial in Rahoon Cemetery family flowers only please donations in memories of Morris to Galway Hospice funeral mass can be viewed live on dominicansclada.ie the death has occurred of Gerard Gillespie, Main Street, St. Johnson Gerard is reposing at his late residence funeral from there tomorrow afternoon at half past 1 going to St. Bethan's church St. Johnson for 2 o'clock with Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery family flowers only please donations in lieu of desired the Alzheimer's Society, Dunleagall branch care of any family member or Kelly's funeral directors house private please from 10 p.m. to 11 a.m. the death has taken place of Charlotte Kelly, Bally Curran Kilmackrennan, remains reposing at her home Rockwea mass tomorrow afternoon at half past 4 in St. Union's cathedral letter Kenny, Burial afterwards in Newlake Cemetery funeral mass can be viewed live on M.C. and Media.TV family flowers only please donations if desired to the Dunleagall Hospice care of any family member or James Harkin the funeral director and the death has occurred of Nancy Hurl, Ney Baldrick Cottage V. Tumac Bridgend removal from her late residence this morning at quarter past 10 to St. Angus's church Burt for 11 o'clock Rockwea mass followed by interment in Burt cemetery Rockwea mass can be viewed on Church Services.TV family flowers only please donations in lieu of desired to cancer care West care of any family member or Murphy funeral directors including any family health guidelines for wakes and funerals please go to HighlandRadio.com OK, you're very welcome back to the 9 till noon show here in Highland Radio coming up a little later on in the program we're going to ease our way into the weekend talking all things entertainment and also a new feature for you on a Friday we're going to give you the weather outlook for the weekend ahead and into next week just to give you an idea of what's coming up as we head in towards the summer months. OK, some of your comments here students student on refugee accommodation fix old buildings into hostile accommodation says a caller but where is the will and where is the way that's the problem with the suggestions because it sounds like a good one. I know someone from Spain who owns a holiday home in Donegal the house is very lavish it's huge when they retire in four years they'll move there permanently they'd never be willing to give it up and I completely understand and agree compulsory grab should be for the hotels not people's homes that's interesting but what was your take away from Deputy part of McLaughlin's comments as it relates to my questioning as to whether or not we'll ever go down the compulsory route. Definitely no fast solution for this accommodation issue says this listener we can't compel people to release private property you know especially if that and this is a point of view not my point of view such you know there might be people who have a distrust of banks there might be people who certainly don't want to go near the stock markets that they feel paying into a pension is too risky and they invest work very hard and they invest their money into a second property or a holiday home in inverted commas where they're going to spend their summers or their retirement and that's what they see is the safe bet could we be in a situation where that bet could be far from safe in that they could be at some way or other compelled to make that property available in the national good is that is that the direction of traffic sorry to over use that phrase is there any long-term policy being set in stone say this caller people are skeptical to open up their homes when they don't know how long of a commitment it is going to be that's a fair question but of course it's very impossible it's not possible to judge how long the situation might continue and with some of the posturing and the language being used and the further expansion east of NATO likely this could go on for quite some time we heard a figure of 2% referenced by part of McLaughlin as it relates to our responsibility as it relates to refugees this caller says 2% leaves us taking in 9 million people we cannot cope with the population we have plus 2% at 9 million will totally change the demographic of our country is the deputy seriously suggesting we do this a caller says there are two houses in Donagall town which we used as respite care these houses remain empty very little it would take to bring them up to scratch wise the HSC not offering these homes exactly as the government the agencies exhausted their properties in terms of accommodating people another texture can you ask why there are Ukrainian flags flying everywhere on their own not one Irish flag have I seen on my journey this morning I think we should respect both countries fly the Irish flag alongside the Ukrainian flag please I don't think it's in any way to disrespect the Irish flag I think it's communities showing solidarity and support for a new population of Ukrainians in their area did Podrig answer the question if he had a holiday home would he give it up I didn't hear a yes or no could old buildings be converted into hostile like accommodation for both students and refugees alike there's so much real estate that is wasted believes this caller solving one problem they won't belong to find another another here hi Greg when will we ever learn the British government have never kept their word on anything regarding the people of Ireland they will always find a way to go back on an agreement they should never be trusted no minister no executive no can do is it finally time the Russian ambassador was expelled from Ireland I think there's two issues being discussed there I'm not sure about that I think it's always I don't know I don't know the answer I think that it's maybe better to have lines of communication as particularly for us in the nature of our country but there's an awful lot going on hard to know another caller says if Boris Boris revokes the protocol we should call for a border poll what happens does this mean the border would have to be put up again there's all I mean and the Gregory Campbell of the DUP has said many times and not at least on this program that there's no chance of a hard border between the north and south because it wouldn't be practical he says it just simply wouldn't happen we'd have to find another way I would be as I said on the program last week I don't think people should presume that if there were a border poll called today that the people on the island of Ireland would actually vote in favour of that when all arguments pros and cons are teased out and disgust a caller says there are so many abandoned shops in Latterkenny maybe the government should help landlords convert them into student accommodation to get some life back into the town will Irish citizens waiting on council houses be further delayed now we're being told that they won't good on you Grania you made some excellent points you should run for election another caller following on from the comment read out from the Donegal Protestant not all people of Protestant faith or heritage feel or want to feel British or connected to unionism in any way most are completely Irish and feel no collection or affiliation to anything British and nor can we presume of course that those who would be of the Catholic religion automatically would have a nationalist point of view or an anti-union point of view either you know we are all different and there's complexities there right okay Minister Damien English is going to be joining us shortly he's looking to encourage businesses to improve and engage more online their online product their online and engaging we'll find out what supports are there for people to do that that and so much more besides coming up between now and 12 we really appreciate your company and we want to enjoy that open tool 12 on this show and throughout the day here on Highland Radio okay let's take the bingo numbers good luck if you are playing today I do hope you win and that you can that look forward to the weekend with a few quid in your pocket here are the numbers it's time for NCBI bingo on Highland Radio it's Friday the 13th of May you're playing on the yellow sheet the reference number is s15 it's game number 19 the numbers are 81 80 20 31 30 29 62 18 65 and finally 73 phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight leave in your name contact number and the name of the shop you purchase your book and we'll call you back the next working day get all your NCBI bingo information at highlandradio.com the 9 till nin show with city of dairy airport enjoy convenient travel to London Liverpool Manchester Glasgow Edinburgh the Algarve and me orca visit cityofdairyairport.com beef prices smash records as live exports soar for more of this week's Irish farmers journal his paul mooney March trade on fire as demand for livestock reaches new highs as dairy markets boom we examine the outlook for milk prices tonnage to commits to no cut in cattle numbers and fines for dog attacks on livestock to rise to 5000 euros plus don't miss our new silage series sharing tips for budgeting and improving silage quality on your farm only inside this week's Irish farmers journal you cannot afford to miss it by choosing dunnigol creamries milk you're supporting over 200 dairy farming families across dunnigol in doing what they do best producing delicious fresh milk every day for over 100 years dunnigol creamries milk has been brought to you dilly from our dairy at crossroads Kelly Gordon the longest established creamery in the region support local farms local families and local jobs by choosing dunnigol creamries milk is your scooter a little older pre love perhaps what adventures I wonder did it have in the past another family another life bright city lights or a quiet country existence seeing Ireland's best sights we don't really need your car story with a scooter service you get a complete vehicle health check genuine scooter parts and free roadside assistance for 12 months your local scooter dealer is dmg motors Clairo dunnigol town telephone 0 7 4 9 7 2 1 3 9 6 or visit dmg motors dot i e the award winning genesis aesthetics and skincare clinic you door now offers a wide range of skin boosters the injectable moisturizer for under eyes that improves dark circles fine lines and wrinkles also treating the face neck chest and hands this amazing treatment works from the inside out resulting in brighter smoother plumper skin for help choosing the right aesthetic treatment for you contact Mary you're a static practitioner you can download the genesis app or call 07 4 9 5 3 2 5 7 5 now you're very welcome back to the program the minister of state for business employment and retail Damien English is urging Irish based retail businesses in dunnigol to enhance their online capability and presence in order to exploit new opportunities to increase turnover to expand and to sell internationally minister English joins us on the program now this morning it's good to have you with us right the worst schemes during lockdown I think funds made available to sort of encourage people businesses to increase their online presence I think a lot did and we saw some great progress is this building on that it was some potential seen there or is this simply a separate initiative just for this time absolutely right it is building on success over the last couple of years with schemes like this and similar to this but also to attract in some new businesses that haven't spent money on the online business over the last couple of years so we've had a couple rounds of this scheme or versions of the last two and a half years mainly in response to covid time field is about 29 successful dunnigol companies have applied and drawn down grants to enterprise Ireland for this at the online retail scheme great feedback there are Inish Helt, Denmark Gibson Pharmacy Gibson Pharmacy Services in Scrooge Limiters so range of companies there but I won't go into them all pet world so I know companies have successfully drawn it down so what we're saying is this new scheme is 9.3 million set aside for this year previous applicants can apply again if they want to do additional work in the business again to develop their online services their presence if you're a brief applicant reapplying the max you can get but if you're a new applicant first time you can get 80% of a spend up to 80,000 euro so the max grant would be 64,000 euro we think this is money well spent we're trying to support these companies to be able to reach new customers hold on to existing customers but also take on international markets and the research would show that companies that have used these grants have grown their business have increased their sales in some cases have taken on new employees and certainly plan to expand their offering as well so a successful scheme so far we want to continue with that as well but Greg it's fair to say companies that will get this scheme are those that apply 10 plus already well that's what I was going to say and we'll talk more about the criteria I just wonder you know there's a lot of people out there right at the beginning of a business or have a small business it might just be themselves maybe you know a couple of people working with them that could probably really grow from a small base their business and they're outside of this you know you mentioned and of course I'll give you an opportunity to give the criteria in more detail but the company must have 10 or more full-time employees and an existing online presence you know what about those what about the entrepreneurs and those that have really good businesses and would really really benefit from this Oh absolutely Greg and that's why this is only one of a list of offerings so we have different schemes targeted at different sectors and this is fermented by Ireland for those companies are 10 plus the most successful one that's available still to companies under 10 will be the online trading voucher and that's a grant of two and a half thousand through the local enterprise office in Donegal or any other county as well really successful scheme we saw about 15,000 companies over the last two years drawn down that scheme and you can get two rounds of that so you can get two two and a half thousands but on top of that then I recognise there's a lot of companies probably hanging around the four or five employees that have successfully used the online trading voucher and want to go forward or again so in the summer we'll be bringing forward a new digital offering to the local enterprise office as well targeted directly at them both in retail and other sectors that have digitalised their business but also to go online and reach customers the bottom line that your listeners might not be aware of about 70% of customers today who are online are still shopping abroad online we want to get them shopping local shopping Irish and the thing about it is that the market is so big you don't have to take the 70% back you take 10% of that back and it represents a massive swing for the coffers here you only have to make a slight inroad into that to reap the benefits big time absolutely and we did see some inroads in a during Covid and then he would drift back as well but the research would tell us that Irish customers when they go online would like to buy Irish local Irish companies somewhere nearby and they will always try that they look for local first but we have to make sure then that their businesses can respond to that request with a good service, a good online presence and match what other international players are doing because there's no reason why Irish companies they have the products they have the services they don't need to be able to reach their customers in a better and clearer way and that's what we're trying to do here and in a space where even for big companies like Amazon it is more complicated to order from them in terms of extra charges or what have you right so I don't want to convolute this in any way just with my line of questioning so for this particular scheme tell us who it's open to and how they apply and how they could benefit okay they apply through Enterprise Ireland and have to go on there they'll be able to see a starter kit and kind of a toolkit to help them with your application you have until the end of May June is closed at 12 o'clock you have to put in place your application detail what your plans are how you want to develop your digital team in-house, how you want to develop your presence online what consultants are going to engage with as an expert to help you that's three things your overall work plan for the next year to be able to drive this down in line with that you also have to submit your accounts for the last year as well just to show again that you're a company that has a presence a physical retail presence already you have to have an online presence already this is about bringing that a step forward as well so I would ask any of you to engage with Enterprise Ireland and talk you through this process again 29 companies have been successful and don't even go I'm sure they're available to assist people as well because this is a scheme we want more and more to do because everyone gains from it it's about really looking at your business and seeing how you can target to improve that online offering we would say in most cases it is worthwhile bringing in an outside consultant to guide you through that to advise you to help you and that's at this funding as far there are panels of those type of experts available you know we're seeing similarly with say for instance the refit schemes where we have you know one stop shops should we look be looking at something like that if we're not already in relation to things like this because sometimes it's hard to see the woods for the trees people have the drive but they're up to the rears with other things and if we could sort of have a as I say a one stop shop you know it might even help the whole scheme no absolutely it's a good point and it is something that you know there is and for the article guide in the direction but we haven't got to publish this that I'm aware of but it's something that I'm looking at not just for the digital work on the online but also for the go green and for the lean a lot of companies they would like to develop their offering here they like to spend but they're nervous of finding the right partner to partner up with and who they can trust so I do think we have a role and you're right I think to our department to put up trusted partners for all these various schemes we're doing with if you go to the local enterprise office they will guide you in the right direction as well yeah the nail watch is also fantastic in that regard I'm not doing them in any way a disservice and all people have great things to say about them but you know where I'm coming from absolutely I'm green with you all right okay I must ask you obviously we spoke to you in the past given your previous portfolio I'm sure you're still across the whole defective stock crisis we heard from Leo for Adcar on this program towards the end of last week that they hope that new legislation would be passed go through the final hurdles before the summer recess but the microaction group locally and others they want pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill to underpin this redress scheme do you know what the government's position on that is at the moment minister well I understand that the aim was with the cooperation there being the house was to get this legislation through as quickly as possible so we can get the new scheme and operation and what we can spend I am aware that the number of houses have been fixed in Donegal on my own as well and it's brilliant to see it and some great success there well six in Donegal in fairness minister I didn't say that but I'm aware someone that's okay that's a success and I had hoped that when we launched the initial scheme while it wasn't perfect I think it was a shame that that wasn't utilized better locally I'm not blaming the residents the scheme became far too complicated wasn't what it was meant to be the new version I think would be a lot better quicker and smoother but we need to get it up and running because I want to see hundreds of houses fixed not just six or seven in Donegal on my own I know the benefits of fixing these houses I've seen houses and houses but why are they not fixed over the years and the pre-led scrutiny just to be clear what that's about that can sometimes delay legislation you can achieve the same thing by bringing the legislation through the houses and through committee stage I don't think every legislation needs pre-led because we've had years of discussion on this I've been up and down to Donegal a lot since 2016 with a focus on this scheme engagement with those residents a lot of changes have been made to this scheme but I don't think we need to spend months on pre-led we need to get on with it and start spending the money in a fruitful way Minister Damien English, thanks for your time this morning I appreciate it 086625,000 WhatsApps and texts to that number 07491 25,000 a big talking point on the program yesterday was the news that the Donegal rally a service park is no longer going to be in Milford it's being relocated to letter Kenny and this has caused a lot of upset in and around the Milford area but not just the Milford area, I had an opportunity to speak to a number of people along the route of the rally who were really peed off about it they thought it was a two-fingered salute a slap in the face so it will be interesting to see how that plays out though we've been told the decision has already been made the reason I'm talking is I want to read a few comments that I didn't get to yesterday because it's such an important issue for many a caller says it's a disgrace that they're moving the station away from Milford it's not broken, don't fix it another, people stay all over Donegal on rally weekend the genuine rally people don't mind travelling to and from the event they are not in Donegal to party but to follow the stages what about the environmental issue regarding fuel fumes and carbon footprints from 100 plus rally cars to and from letter Kenny instead of halfway from the stages in Milford another, Greg, where is the service station in letter Kenny for the rally or who donated the 10 acres I don't know who donated the land but it's the old unified site in letter Kenny another caller says the only good thing about lockdown was that for the past two years the residents of letter Kenny did not have to suffer all the e-juts that follow the rally and invade our town every year and torture everyone hi, Greg, I've heard about looking up holiday homes online if you delete your cookies on your browser, desktop, mobile as I've heard on the show on prices it can vary or try private browsing the same cookies may need if you have passwords on certain sites you want to remember, good, that's also good for booking flights as well and one caller says good luck to Ireland in the Eurovision, this is a correct carryover from yesterday, no doubt RTF 5050 as they would have to host it regarding their cutbacks, well look at I think Brooke, I watched last nights and she was robbed I thought she was brilliant, I thought the song was good, I thought a lot of nonsense went through to the final and really what we're going to turn to now for the Eurovision song contest and we'll probably all forget it by next year comes we don't create music that resonates across mainland Europe Europe is so diverse and has so many different musical cultures what we produce in this country does not fit into it and I don't think it ever will now the way the voting is done it's almost like a waste of time and that is now not sour grapes but Sweden's was an excellent song but you don't know maybe you need to join NATO to get through to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest now I don't know but there was some really very bizarre musical acts that went through we had a good pop song, you might not like it but we had a good one Brooke put everything into it and she should have gone through to the final given what went through I just don't think that we produce artists or music or a sound that is popular in Europe anymore, perhaps a ballad certainly nothing up tempo I think we should cut our losses in terms of trying to send pop music out there, go traditional let's get out our traditional musical instruments so let's go with big ballads but we're wasting our time and wasting the people like Brooke's time well that being said Brooke has done very well out of this she's going to be popular, she's going to be famous and she's had a huge platform across Europe ok but it's just it feels like a waste of time did you watch that, were you interested in it someone said to me why are you watching that trash I says because I'm sick of watching the news and listening to all that stuff and I just want to switch my head off and that's what I did and it worked for the hour and half it was on alright 0866025000 whatsapps, text to that number 0749125000 back after the break we'll take a piece of music after that see if you've any requests get them into us now if you want to 0866025000 someone's celebrating a birthday communion, wedding whatever it might be if you want to give them a shout out on Highland, get in touch now we can still make bad choices for a few more years and you laugh out loud original series I've been on 87 dates this year it was 87 before you struck out with Ian so now technically how I met your father now streaming exclusively on Disney plus 18 plus subscription required so you're struggling with your mobile connection yes I've tried everything have you tried walking in a circle standing on a chair shouting instead of speaking this is ridiculous best I can do for you I'm afraid let me be your hero also all laundry hampers and baskets and all hotel collection duvet sets are still half price but when all our half price laundry hampers and baskets and all our half price hotel collection duvet sets are gone they're definitely gone order online before 2pm for next day delivery or drop by your local home store and more home store and more a happy home as we move into spring it's time that we look after what is precious to us are you struggling with your hearing it's an essential part of your everyday living hearing is our social sense and connects you to friends and family at connect hearing we are here for you with our clinics at courtyard shopping centre letter Kenny and Joyce's sorobity clinic in Dunlop our centres are open Monday to Friday where you can avail of our hearing test wax removal and repair services connect hearing connecting you to life join me David James this Friday for the jive time show will be coming live from my motors and drum cane for the start of their used car weekend sale there will be music chat and great giveaways on the day so tune in from 2.30pm or join us at eye motors and drum cane this Friday ok a couple of comments here the dup will hold back for six months and steal votes from the uup and get back the votes to put them out of shin fe and that could happen indeed and that answers sort of the question I put to our guests how would the cards fall with another election in six months another corner says the dup should not associate themselves with the likes of Boris Johnson and his like let them keep the royal connection but work with Ireland on all other matters the protocol or an imaginary border in the Irish sea says a caller is hardly going to create a united Ireland if only it was that easy the dup have just backed themselves into a corner trying to act the hard line party to attract more votes if the loyalists from Antrimis Belfast, Kirk Ferguson etc would be told that a lot of Irish people from the public might not be keen in joining in them in the united Ireland anyway then they might just calm themselves down a wee bit a warning for you a hoax call pretending to be from Amazon is doing the rounds again I got one here in Bunkranna can you put the word out please yes of course what is it about this country and its obsession with rightly ditching its aggressive religious past but using abortion increasing the numbers of termination as a symbol of struggle against a defiant clergy the main victims in this battle so far are the unborn children in Ireland and other surely if a person pays property tax the property cannot be taken off them and also some of these Ukrainians may decide after being given temporary accommodation to claim squatters rights and that will also be a problem but these are all things that we shouldn't really have to be speculating about in a show like this it should be all made very clear to us I think right okay keeping us busy appreciate it very much by the way I just want to say to Bridget Willoy and Nigel McHugh who are getting married today in Glenties congratulations and have a lovely day that's from Sarah O'Donnell in Capri it is the 9 till noon show with me Greg Hughes here on Highland Radio this Friday loads to come stay right where you are let's take a break though here is the Lightning Seeds The 9 till noon show with City of Derry Airport enjoy convenient travel to London, Liverpool, Manchester Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Algarve and Mallorca visit City of Derry Airport.com The Euro Millions jackpot is a guaranteed 17 million euro play responsibly in-store, in-app or at Lottery.au the National Lottery it could be you At Hickey Clark and Langan insurance brokers they compare quotes from all leading insurers so you get a great price home, motor and van farm, holiday home travel and liability insurance they quote them all so if the worst happens you're covered for a competitive insurance quote today called Hickey Clark and Langan on 911 2688 or pop into their office at Bally McCool Letter Kenny Hickey Clark and Langan general insurance is limited trading as Hickey Clark and Langan is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland enjoy a quality somewhere with Super Value with great offers like Super Value fresh Irish fillet steak safe 33% selected fresh Irish meat like chicken skewers and sausages any three for 10 euro and selected personal care like Lynx, Dove and Trezumé safe 70% enjoy low prices that compete with anyone Super Value, real food, real people wet suit on and underwater by air aprons on breakfast orders in conversation flowing loving every second every day is different there's always new faces it really suits me it fits my schedule I can see friends do my yoga balance work with life and enjoy both my career in tourism works for me and mine works for me get a career in tourism that works for you visit tourismcareers.ie brought to you by Fulcher Ireland all right a caller says Greg I agree Brooke was robbed last night I thought Brooke was brilliant she should be very proud of herself the one act in particular that got through that made me gasp in horror they say was Serbia's entry it was just weird it was different but it was quite a message behind that song to do with health rights in Serbia and particularly those in the arts and what have you I'm not sure how that resonated across Europe but clearly it did it was very very different okay now I'm joined on the program by Declan Meaton hi Declan morning Greg and what we are about to talk about is in my notes which are out on the desk so I haven't a clue what would I do to I do to some extent I do to some extent but I'll grab them here Declan Meaton of course thanks Caroline definitely this manager of the Milford resource center right tell us about this tell us about this initiative or this consultation that's up coming Declan yeah so the Donegal public participation network is running a number of public consultations around the county over the coming weeks a few of them have already taken place but the next one is taking place in Milford next Tuesday at 6 45 p.m. in the Mulroy woods so people will be wondering well what is the public participation network the Donegal PPN is the link forum through which community organizations involved in the community and volunteer sector social inclusion and environmental sector basically are able to provide oversight and participation into decision making at a local authority level local government so at the county council level so this particular consultation is open to all community groups and sports clubs involved in any of those areas across the Milford electoral area and as I say it's taking place on Tuesday at quarter to seven and the important thing and I guess the reason that we'd encourage people to come out and take part in this is that this consultation will then feed into the development of both the Donegal development plan and also the Donegal local and economic and community plan so it's very important that community organizations have their opportunity to identify the positives, the negatives and the needs that they see in the community and there are no better people to identify those needs than those who are working on the ground in the community and there are lots of them so what could come from this so in real terms what might we see at the end of this process just to help us understand why we have this level of engagement what could be an example of the outcome from this I guess particularly with the local economic and community plan what comes out of that is policy decisions on how money is allocated through grant rounds or what grant rounds are created by the council and the LCDC so that's really important that community groups have their say on what they identify as needs within their own communities from community groups and sports clubs the difficulties that they're having in the current climate with all the different challenges that they have so that the end game of that will be okay for example there's a real need to develop or refurbish community spaces to retrofit community spaces then that means that potentially in the end up you could have a local economic and community plan at county level which states for the next five years that that's a priority that should be given over for efforts from the county council to help community organisations so it is important that community groups come together at these public consultations in order to have input into that so that the output on the other side of this positively impacts the work that they're doing and helps them do that work and it's the kind of thing that you've explained it very well I think people will see the benefit of their input and this other hope they would that they can help best craft this to the benefit of their area or the wider area into the future absolutely and that's why we're going to do so I'm a member of the secretariat of the public participation network so this is why we're bringing it out into the community we're not doing just one consultation for the whole county we're bringing them into people's local areas initial development partnership have run a few of these over an initial there was one in Dunningall town last year we did Balabafe a few weeks ago there's Milford next week and then we'll have Kenny and Dunlow in June as well so letter Kenny is the 7th of June and Dunlow is the 14th of June so it gives everyone an opportunity to access these consultations locally it allows them to talk about their needs on a very local basis and then that's fed up into the county council through those mechanisms yeah and it's not just you know for office use only here at the end of this process people will be made aware of you know the recommendations the findings and the direction we're going in via a publication absolutely yeah that's 100% correct so again because this particular process will feed into two very important documents that will I suppose outline the strategic direction of Dunningall County Council over the next five years and this really is the only opportunity for community groups rather than individuals to have a say on that then it is really important for them to take part in it and a really good opportunity for them to take part in it because the outcomes are tangible in the sense that there will be two plans, two strategic plans basically in place that have been formulated with this input from these public consultations all right the Milford electoral area workshop takes place on Tuesday this coming Tuesday in Mulroy Woods Hotel Milford it starts at 6.45 and refreshments will be served you can register via Dunningall ppn dunningallcoco.ie is it open to everyone or is it particularly those who are involved in groups or representative bodies or in their community in some way or other or as I say is it from those that cohort is it for absolutely everyone Declan look it is aimed at people who are involved in community groups and sports clubs and people who have some sort of involvement with them to bring the views from that perspective people out there are involved in some ways in their communities and so their perspectives are very welcome and we'd love to see them there next Tuesday in Milford and you've full faith in this process that it works that this is by getting the views of the people out there they're not wasting their time so this will feed in and the fingerprints of this process will be seen down the line in how things are rolled out and supported through the council and what have you yeah I mean look these processes take place they're there for people to participate in them the outcomes of those I'm confident in terms of the representation that we have through the public participation network our representatives will be making sure that the fingerprints of this process are all over those development plans and strategic plans in the future so absolutely all right Declan thank you have a great day, good weekend to you thank you very much Declan Meehan manager of the Milford resource centre so just to recap the Milford electoral area workshop takes place on Tuesday in Mulroy Woods Hotel Milford 6.45 p.m. is the kickoff time and you can register your attendance at Donagall ppn at donagallcoco.ie and refreshments will be served okay we will be joined by our next guest after these news our correspondent Petunia at Alcorn's garden centre I am surrounded by an array of spectacular summer bedding these beauties are moving fast with last year's prices held wow I'm amazed by the choice of shrubs trees, roses and perennials ah rosemary has just selected a super specimen plant and trendy ceramic pot oh Craig is advising on the many baskets buy from Alcorn's the value happens every day the groom's room at Evolve clothing in the Leta Kenny retail park has the best value and selection in suiting for your wedding day Little Mix fans are you ready? Century cinemas Leta Kenny will be screening the final concert of Little Mix confetti tour live from London's O2 on Saturday 14th of May at 8 p.m. with an encore show on Sunday the 15th of May at 6 p.m. book your tickets now at CenturyCinemas.ie Highland Radio weather updates with Ireland West Airport thinking of a sun holiday with the family you can now fly to beautiful New York every Friday this summer with Ryanair and enjoy some of Europe's best beaches. Ireland West Airport you're flying okay let's look at the weather forecast then so a few showers at first this evening no that's yesterday's weather forecast that's not good is it anyway I can tell you because earlier on that it's going to dry up as the day progresses some sunny spells will start to develop towards the afternoon temperatures 13 to 15 degrees with fresh westerly winds rather breezy at times too early in the day but they will die out as the day progresses and it's looking good for the weekend but hey do not listen to my word on it we're going to be having a meteorologist done with us a weather expert talking about the weather for the weekend into next week there is some talk of a storm off the coast of Ireland I'll be interested to find out if they believe it might make land during next week we hope not but we'll find out all of that for you and it's going to be a regular feature for you on a Friday we hope to give you the weather outlook for the weekend and into the following week right Kathy White joins us on the programme now hi Kathy lovely to have you on the show right now you are talking to us about Pledge a Plant tell us where this idea came from and who benefits from it Kathy sure so Pledge to Plant was born out of basically I came up with the concept and my mom sadly died a number of years ago and South Tiberi Hospice was absolutely incredible to her in the last days and mom also loved gardening and flowers and left me with that legacy so just to sort of remember mom with her flowers and to thank the hospice I set up Pledge to Plant so we asked people across the country to grow a few seeds or a range of few flowers and gift them to family, friends, neighbours throughout the month of June in return for donation to the Irish Hostel Foundation so people really become micro florists almost is it absolutely and micro vegetable growers and so last year was the first year of the campaign and we raised 42,000 euros which was amazing good people just loved it because it's really simple and it sort of just involves a little bit of socialising maybe a plant sale, bringing your neighbours or friends together okay so there's four stages really you register and you can tell us where in a moment then you get your seeds into the soil and we see so much growth at the moment I don't think there's a better time then you set a date in June to sell your plants via a sale or a full on garden party in June as well and invite the neighbours or friends around and then you donate the proceeds of that sale to the Irish Hospice Foundation full simple steps yes really simple and you know you don't even have to have a garden to get involved this could be a windowsill, a sunny windowsill and you might grow even sunflower seeds will grow the very name sun, they love the sun so on a windowsill and then they grow sunflower seeds, the sunflowers absolutely, they're really dramatic and we still have time to plant things like sunflowers also maybe some herbs, some of you friends or your family cook, you know, I presume anything really I suppose that you can generate you can generate some money from charity in its sale is that it? yeah absolutely and generate a little bit of fun as well and you know this now is the perfect time if you've spoken about herbs they're like even rockets or lettuce or herbs some of those you can harvest within 10 days so imagine having lovely salads gifted to you from somebody's windowsill or garden or a pot outside their door and I'm saying sale, I do understand it's making it very transactional it's really you offer it and then seek a donation that's really the is that the way really it doesn't matter as long as people grow and the resort goes to the Hospice Foundation yeah absolutely so it can be a plant sale it can be whatever way you want it to be but it just regenerates such interest and fun with it last year so hopefully we'll even be bigger and better this year and I'm trying to give examples but you've that online resource that makes it all much clearer for people and they can see those four simple steps the first one to register I suppose is where they start accessing that information so what should people be doing right now Kathy? so they can log on today to the Irish Hospice Foundation website go on to their pledge to plant page and they can register there for a packet of seeds and all the can-do around this and on there we've got some of Ireland's top gardeners and growers giving some inspiration and they can also go along to our Facebook page where we have daily contributions and if somebody has an issue or a question around what they're growing we will come back to them that's when the community probably turns into a weak community then doesn't it? yeah absolutely yeah we know the benefits of gardening and growing go far beyond any of this plant sale as well it's just wonderful to plant a seed and then see it grow I mean it still amazes me it must have been lovely for you Kathy on a personal level and I know you're not doing it for yourself you're encouraging others but in your mom's name who obviously meant so much to you to be encouraging people maybe who haven't grown anything before to be growing and then to raise so much money then to go to the Irish Hospice Foundation I'm reading obviously would have been good to your mom and to the family so it must have been lovely last year that whole process for you oh difficult I don't know how did it feel? it was mixed emotions but it was still pretty amazing and my mum was very shy lady and I think she'd be in the corner quietly listening to this going on in her honour but I think she would be, she'd smile gently as she would as well in sort of grateful appreciation and the love that we're doing it through and wherever she is not too embarrassed if she's listening but what was your mum's name? Mary thanks Kathy, best of luck with that hopefully it's bigger this year 42,000 euro last year it's wonderful it really is thanks so much for explaining it to us take care, bye bye that's Kathy White there 08, 6, 60, 25,000 news is on the way this is a notice for all tractor and agri-plant owners minimise your downtime when you need tyres and call Donegal Tires Donegal Town we can go to you and fit your tyres on site or repair your existing tyres if you have a puncture don't waste time and leave the hassle to us so call they say you should have your second baby first because with your second baby you'll have learnt what to do what not to do, what's best for baby and best for you like the loopy-loo range from Lidl everything your baby needs including award-winning nappies from only 99 cent when you know what to do, loopy-loo available exclusively at Lidl more for you, see our full range at Lidl.ie there's more than me coming back to the mountaintop letter Kenny this month rest takes beds have just opened brand new showroom and if you're like me and you really appreciate a good night's sleep these guys have brilliant ranges of beds and mattresses and they have some great offers too call in and check out their new showroom no open just beside us here at the mountaintop in letter Kenny the hurlers of Donegal and Tyrone will play for a place at Crook Park this Saturday afternoon at Carrick Mall a win for either side will see them progress to the Nicky Rackard Cup final join the Highland team for full-match commentary this Saturday at Park Column Kill in association with the North West's Premier Bathroom and Tile Store Bathroom and Tile boutique Bridgend The O'Neill Sportswear Massive Warehouse clearance sale is backed by popular demand for one weekend only county GA jerseys, leisurewear including t-shirts, tracks at bottoms half-sips hoodies and jackets are all reduced to clear open from 9am Friday May 20th and Sunday May 22nd the sale will take place at O'Neill Sportswear Warehouse off the Millmount Road roundabout Straban OK Donna Marie and Fenilla will be joining us very shortly and a couple of guests and also a weekend weather forecast all on the way between now and 12 noon but at the top of the hour 11 o'clock it's time for a news update and we welcome back on to the programme, Donald Kavanaugh Thank you Greg, good morning in an hour's time the new stormed assembly will get together for the first time in the assembly chamber the DUP will be present but they will not facilitate the election of a speaker nor will they facilitate the election of a first and deputy first minister the party leader Jeffrey Donaldson however won't be there, he resigned his assembly seat last night, his seat will be taken by Emma Little-Penguin a former MLA and MP Ladies Bay in Bunkrana is one of two beaches in the country where the quality of bathing water is deemed to be poor in the EPA's bathing water quality report for 2021, the other is in Balbriggan in County Dublin, water quality in Ladies Bay had been designated as sufficient in the previous year's report the EPA says that they've been given assurances by Irish Water that work is being done on the Bunkrana wastewater treatment plant and the Westbrook pumping station which will address some of the issues and people in Bunkrana are being urged to have their say on the town's future a comprehensive consultation event is to take place on Monday week May 23rd the Nicole County Council will outline plans for the development of the shorefront and discuss the Bunkrana local area plan meanwhile architects will also present designs for the new leisure centre there the finance minister says the visa for the Russian ambassador should be extended Pascal Donohue says that they need to allow Yuri Filitov stay in the country to keep some diplomatic ties open he says he's not convinced Russia would send a replacement if Mr Filitov were to be expelled €180,000 to be spent on improvements at three quilts of sites in Donegal 100,000 will go toward improvements to the entrance road at Arts Forest Park in Kresla 55,000 toward improved car parking and access at Drumbolstronaura and 25,000 for similar work at Korovadi outside letter Kelly it's part of a new five-year strategic partnership announced today between the government and Quilcher steps are being taken to restore blanket bog habitats in the northwest the junior heritage minister Malcolm Noonan is unveiling a 20.6 million euro bog conservation project today and the C. Fisheries Protection Authority is to appear before the Iraq this committee on agriculture and fisheries next week minister Charlie Mcconnell told the door last night it'll give TDs an opportunity to question the SFPA on a number of issues pertaining to Kelly Beggs particularly its actions in recent weeks which have led to controversy and claims that the industry is being threatened and we're back with news headlines again at 12.0 Donald thank you very much indeed COVID-19 can still cause serious illness especially in people at higher risk we need to keep protecting each other so stay home if you have symptoms wear a mask in healthcare settings public transport and busy places let fresh air in if you're meeting indoors keep hands clean and get a COVID-19 vaccine and booster let's keep looking out for each other from the CSE for us all okay you're very welcome back to the 9 till noon show and we're going to talk all things entertainment and support entertainment locally as well we're going to have guests joining us a little later on and our two guests to talk through things today is of course Finula Rabbit a familiar face regular voice for this item good morning to you good morning and also replacing or standing in sorry should I say for Michael Leady Donna Marie daughter your digital journalist here at highland radio hi Donna Marie how are you getting on good excited to to be in the hot seat you're not nervous at all no no well say that now yeah no I wouldn't I mean I would be I'm glad you're not so I don't even know why I'm bringing this up but it's just like you're trying to make her nervous it's not like you sit beside the managing director I'm so intimidated main things right okay a caller says hi Greg I think Brooke was brilliant last night and she was robbed and I think the multi song was very good too but same as on and no good I'm not sure if either of you have any interest or watched it and we won't stay in it too long but Brooke I thought she had a good song well performed I don't think there's as much energy in the performance last night as she had on the late late show but it certainly was good enough I've come to conclusion for Nula that what we produce here is not the music that continental Europe and the other elements of it like you know we the sound we create unless it's a ballad it just simply is not going to get votes and we're wasting our time well I think so they're in particularly in a lot of the year the eastern European countries there seems to be a much more kind of a rocky kind of a thing or you know what we would think that we're no longer in that era as much I don't know anytime I've ever been to any of those countries and you go to the pubs or the clubs or anything like that you always feel this now is exactly what it was like when I used to go to discos back in the 80s or 90s or whatever so I think either we aim it at the audience that we're putting it out to or else then why are we bothering you know the way is in I just don't know why we don't like a lot of the acts that got through like they might sound weird to our ears but they were very traditional to the countries you know like I'm not saying we don't have a pop tradition but why not sell up why not get all our musicians brilliant musicians that we have and go out there and at least if we don't get through platform you know what might be seen as traditional Irish music yeah with a modern twist well that seems to be a lot of what they do a lot of the other countries do and I so I think we need to remember as well a lot of and again I don't have any Eastern European but a lot of them are interconnected as in their cultures are interwoven in different ways which means that as you say when they play something then that has a cultural background for them it's not just for themselves it could be for seven or eight different countries in that region you know what I mean and who are part of the voting block different voting blocks so yeah why if we're going to keep doing it why not go and do something in a river-esque type thing or there was a girl Neve Kavana a long long time ago that did one for and it was quite it always kind of reminded me why me Neve Kavana sang why me oh then that's not the one I'm thinking of I thought it was no it's a girl there was another car then it was very kind of a yes you know that's yeah it had that sort of a haunting with the pipes and different things like that behind it I can't think of her name there we go I know I think she's I know straight away I can't think of her name but no I think she was from down and go that's why I thought but anyways I think you're right we need to do something in a river dance type of a situation there's no point in saying we are robbed if the Europeans didn't like what we put out there you know or whatever that's competition Dona Marie what do you think obviously you might not have to like Brooke's song but it was a good song it deserved to get through didn't it I thought that it actually would have gotten through to the final you know I didn't think that we were going to win it but I thought it might have at least got through there's a lot of new Irish music coming out the likes of Denise Chayla and all down the country and they're doing they're making really good pop music but it has Irish incorporated into it her song in Shaw I think if we had something like that there it would do really well you know because it is you could sit and listen to it you can sing along but it has all the it has like modern Irish culture and it's like she's reference and centra and spice bags and things that you know it's kind of represents us that we're not you know people often when I talk about Ireland and Eurovision they go back to Riverdance I know what you mean and Dana and that was of a different time I think there's something to that because as well if you did platform that song it also does you know open up to a huge audience as well you know so if we don't get through at least we're showcasing something fresh and new and innovative or more reflective of Ireland now you'd need that there or something that you'll know that has a good hook that will go well on Tech Talk because if you get on Tech Talk you're fine you know well I'd say now and you know I don't like to compliment RTE but they did do a series there that lately which was like Irish music stop it I want license money yeah exactly give us a cut of the cake and then we'll be very nice to you but they did do a very interesting one program which was kind of new and old Irish music but new as in by new artists and stuff like that and it was very interesting and it's like what you're saying there's a lot of for lack of a better phrase the new Irish or people of different cultural backgrounds who are now living in Ireland bringing in what may have come from their family or their original cultures and then blending it with Irish music and that to come up with a sound that's really interesting maybe that's the road we should go as well again at the end of the day we saw a short list of songs on the Late Late Show right whoever watched that and then we picked from that you know like I think say for instance I'm sticking those I wonder exactly that's my point a panel of Johnny Logan and whoever else the the Irish artist initiative we were involved in this year I think that would be a much better way of finding a contest because you had you know very traditional Irish music you had you know rap you had hip-hop you had you know all different types of people from all different types of musical backgrounds I mean that would be a true representation if the winner of that were to go forward for example I'm not saying but I think that's the kind of maybe selection process we need to be involved in. To be honest watch any of the RTE shows that they had on the music they went around different counties showcase a little bit of the counties and you're just like going I don't know who picks some of the stuff it's not that the artists aren't talented but there seems to be a free you know they seem to frame it in a particular way whereas this was just unbelievable it was like songs that I would recognize going back in the day but re-thought of re-imagined as well as a lot of new stuff in that. And finally on this there's some speculation that the Russian hackers are going to do all they can to ensure that the public don't vote for Ukraine to win Ukraine are going to win it right what do you think about that I mean it's one of those it's kind of a difficult question because you don't know what to say perhaps but you know like it's not a fantastic song they're going to win it because of course what's happening in their country and it's going to be a show of solidarity but what is the point of everyone else entering it yeah I agree I mean I you know obviously what's happening over there is terrible and you want to show them support but it's not very fair to the other artists who are putting in the effort it's not fair to other countries that are putting money up in order to put their people forward it's not fair to the host country do we really need like is giving the Ukraine if that's what they do Eurovision in what way is that helpful there's lots of other ways in which you could be helpful to the people of Ukraine and the people leaving it in their droves you know especially as well when it comes to next year how are they going to host Eurovision like how they're going to be able to do it no that's it's going to be a problem yeah well hopefully they could but I take your point right we'll start with you in terms of you were at the cinema or planning to go to the cinema I'm not sure downtown Abbey a new era I've heard from a few downtown Abbey fans that like this are you a downtown Abbey fan did you like this so I actually hadn't watched the series before it but I went and it was really good you know millions of people have watched the series there was a time back in the 19th century and thank the god those days are behind us where you could take your glove off right and slap someone across the face I feel I feel if we're still in that century I do feel she's insulting me to my core Phanula would have removed the but then it go ahead Donna Marie no it was it was really really good and what I liked about it and it's again it's because of Compromise series they didn't have to spend the first act of the film you know setting the scene establishing characters trying to figure out who's who's auntie who's their sister who's their wife and it was really Maggie Smith was hilarious in it she is brilliant and but no my sisters know like they've all watched it I've dipped in it like you know it's been on and I've seen it and but no it was just very very enjoyable what I don't understand with things like that though Donna Marie when you've got something that's long form right like can you make a one hour two hour film and sort of points and speak to the fans that you'd want to I don't know what do you think you totally can and something like Downton because to be honest you don't really go to Downton for the story I mean even in the series the story was kind of secondary it's all about you know the sumptuousness of it the characters you know there's such a big group of characters that you could hate 90% of it but then you'd like the butler and the maid storyline or you'd hate you don't like all of the kind of wealthy people knocking around where you like the downstairs but you don't like the upstairs you know what I mean that kind of thing in it and then they've moved this now to the south of France because it turned out that day Maggie Smith and who doesn't think that she did met a lad back in the day who she hadn't seen in years but she impressed him so much he left her a chateau in France if anybody is going to leave somebody a chateau in France it's today Maggie Smith I totally imagine could totally imagine that happening in her even in her real life don't mind in her character life on this she's just so awesome in it isn't she's just so good so you've got a whole new level of sumptuousness plus it also then bring it's bringing it forward historically so you kind of see little bits and pieces that are changing for them as they're kind of losing ground a meaningful story in and of itself for someone who's not watched religiously the series I was definitely drawn in by the story you know it's just like the series there was a few different storylines going on but you don't need to obviously there was things maybe context that I was missing out on before but I don't think it's essential to have seen it beforehand what's the timeline versus the series is it a prequel oh no no it's they're all afterwards so they did the series and now this is the second third movie what it basically I think what they're doing is and I don't know where they're going to finish it because slowly it's coming to an end they're going to be in Manchester in 1987 living in the council because it is coming to an end that's one of the things I know I don't know if it was much in this one but in the previous ones is not sustainable you know what I mean where's the money going to come from how does it keep it going this wouldn't draw you to the cinema would it you're waiting to be honest I was thinking of going to the cinema but then too many bigger stuff happened and then I'm like so bigger movies happened that I really think are very if you go to something a bit more action filled I think you need the cinema to give you the full thing of that whereas this is a perfectly good movie that you could sit down at home and watch TV my big TV it's not big anymore it had its birthday last week and my big TV you could sit there and watch it did you miss it for the last two weeks oh god yeah I was down watching 27 inch down almost like I told my dad I was like animals what's good on here what would you give it out of 10 Donna Marie is it a good date movie do you think or is it one to go with the girls or the guys what kind of stuff they like or I'll definitely go with the girls I don't know I think probably I would have fell asleep in it no I think we'll give it around a 7 but I think this is the end of it you know all the really sense can I just get tied up I'm not going to say the obvious thing I've never watched any of it but it's that's that I call it says I think it's time to send back Dustin the turkey to the Eurovision I don't think that achieved anything Greg Linda Martin sang Why Me Steve Kavana sang in your eyes but neither of those are the ones that you're talking about no I don't think so another call says Brooke done very well her song is as good but Eurovision needs traditional Irish song maybe Daniel O'Donnell could write the next song I'd love to see pensioners very old ones dressed in black shawls and old Dublin stalls I think they're talking about painting a picture there was it Ema Quinn with the song The Voice you're thinking on ah I think that is the voice that was it it was very kind of she was part of a Noona who were part of the original Riverdance at that Eurovision fair play The Voice I don't I don't remember that if Ed Sheeran was representing Ireland last night we'd still not get through Eastern Bloc Volt past number of years Ireland and multiple rubbed last night I think that they're right in that I think it doesn't matter who was I don't think it doesn't matter who was singing for Ireland there we're not going to get through with the way it's done no we're two out of the way yeah we don't have the alliances or whatever that there seems to be let's have a little listen to this Ema Quinn here is this the right one yeah that sounds about right it was very I remember it was that it was very kind of in that in that type of a sound you know the way I think one like that the whole way through no no there's words right well maybe we've tried that then okay that was Ema Quinn but that was a long time ago she was back in the 90s like so no harm in giving it another run now as you say even if we don't get through at least we're showcasing something we're showcasing something about Irish music that might make somebody go oh that's interesting and learn a little bit more about Ireland want to come here whatever and another thing too is that it seems every act was a former contestant of a talent show The Voice or something like that they're including I suppose that's the other thing you need to ask what do we get from this it does cost us a certain amount of money but what is the benefit is it that kind of five ten second clip or thirty second clip that they do about Ireland is that the is that what we get do you know what annoys me is I was trying to watch it last night and people waffling over it you know the commentator is trying to be hilarious you know talking over those little segments talking over presenters as they were doing there but it's really ignorant yeah but it's become a celebrity thing now I mean it's in that's how Graham Norton got so big in the UK was originally he was only just some guy that people had barely heard of but then he started to do the Eurovision after Terry Wogan had given it up and he started all that kind of sarcastic whips and stuff and that's shot him so I think we might need to ask ourselves what are we in this for what like what what is the benefit to ourselves do not have enough of that life do not have enough of that life without signing up for competitions just to make a decision I actually raged and switched the TV off because I was so peeved off by it and then I had the humiliation of having to switch it back on three minutes later because my life was empty it's literally what I'm realising how much you need it all right back with more from Finula and and Donna Marie after this break we're all faced with things going up these days but you'll still find amazing value every single day at Aldi and you could save over 70 euro on your big family shop when compared to one of our nearest competitors nearest and dearest indeed so don't change your lifestyle change your supermarket Aldi every day amazing compared to one of our nearest competitors nearest and dearest indeed so don't change your lifestyle every day amazing comparisons against products sourced in Super Value 28th of March 22 lowest pro rate used and offers excluded for full details see Aldi.ie beef prices smash records as live exports soar for more on this week's Irish Farmers Journal is Paul Mooney March trade on fire as demand for livestock reaches new highs as dairy markets boom we examine the outlook for milk prices tonish the commits to no cutting cattle numbers and finds for dog attacks the livestock to rise to 5,000 euros plus don't miss our new silage series sharing tips for budgeting and improving silage quality on your farm only inside this week's Irish Farmers Journal you cannot afford to miss it overtime it's natural for your hearing not to be as clear as it once was the good news is advances in hearing aid technology may offer different solutions Sabrina Robb here from Donegal Hearing Clinic we provide peace of mind with hearing issues that affect people of all ages contact us for a consultation at Donegal Hearing Clinic on 07491 88470 or visit DonegalHearingClinic.ie life sounds brilliant with Donegal Hearing Clinic Lettercanny and Bunkrana Armaculla jewellers in Lettercanny are synonymous with fine jewellery quality watches and giftware with stores at Main Street Lettercanny and the Lettercanny Shopping Centre or online at armaculla.com they use from their quality product range in a relaxed atmosphere and their sales staff will be happy to help you make the right choice whatever the occasion Armaculla jewellers making moments magical for generations OK so all things entertainment with Donna Marie Daugherty digital journalist here at Highland and Fanula Rabbit as well I want to word with you on Doctor Strange in the madness of the multiverse we spoke about this with Michael last week while you were a guzzling champagne I know he cheated on me he did indeed, but be that as it may here we are, we are where we are he gave it full marks 10 out of 10 yeah I did I Michael and I went to see it again because Michael has seen it I think five times now he's got it I know he's got although I could in this movie because there's a lot going on with it now not five times might be a bit much but we went he went with me and we went to see it when I came back home again I really enjoyed it my problem is it's very hard to shut my brain off so the multiverse is one of those areas where it's very easy to pick up on anything that doesn't run through like I'm you know there's one character Vision that's in it but his story line his previous story line is mentioned in it and you're kind of like I don't know why they haven't just made him again like this is a multiverse what's happened why doesn't that happen so there's a few little bits like that but I have to say it completely was not the movie I thought it was going to be the story line was completely different to where the trailer I felt the trailer was going to be I definitely enjoyed it it was actually quite short I could have gone a little bit longer with it there was a lot going on and happening in it it's introducing a lot of new characters which is awesome because I could never get enough Marvel and I really enjoyed it now well I like to keep my cards close to my chest and my views on these films and I'm going to continue in that theme but let me ask you Donald Murray do you like this crap I actually really like Marvel have you seen this one yet no it's on my to list for this week it is very good now I never Dr. Strange would not be in my kind of top four or five Marvel movies he's the weakling yeah there's just something about it and I love Benedict Cumberratch and you know has this purged me of his performance and power of the dog I'm not really sure did Michael try and convince you how good it was even though you were a little bit well he does he does say to me oh really when I go when I nudge him and go oh my god that's not following the script stay there the two of you because tonight live on stage it's three Hail Marys on Grey and On Theatre tonight starting at 8pm it's brought you by Tommy Marin you would know Tommy he's brought a few other shows up to on Grey and On have always been a huge success Tommy good morning to you welcome on to Highland Radio thank you very much Greg it's always nice to be on Highland Radio good stuff tell us about three Hail Marys well you know this is our final tour it's a show that's based in a nursing home in Ireland on a wet Friday afternoon that it centres around three of the residents of the nursing home Mary O'Toole who's a very charismatic and religious character Mary O'Neill a Londoner who married a Kerry man and has lived all her life in Ireland and Mary O'Brien the nostalgic one who when she hears somebody has died at the age of 78 she says things like well isn't 78 a lovely age to die at so these three characters sitting on a couch in a nursing home there are other characters as well in the play who are spending their last day together in this nursing home and they decide to tell each other their life stories and they all have very diverse life stories to tell the humour comes when one of the Mary's leaves to do a chore and the other to try to relate the story that they heard and then they get it all mixed up so it's a combination of nostalgic comedy it also has that serious theme of dementia running right through it but it's done I think in a very very profound way it's done very sensitively and as I've said before Greg we meet the audiences afterwards carers in nursing homes dementia managers they all come up and they'll say you know what it's a brilliant play this is exactly how it is in a nursing home and the fact that we've brought it to a stage and we give people comedy and we give them a thought provoking message at the end does make Three Hail Mary's a really special play. Yeah and it's a line that has to be walked we've obviously struck the balance there because you know because of the way theatre is you get to engage with those who have watched it from all different backgrounds and as you've said they're feeding feedbacks overwhelmingly positive Exactly and you know people who are out there this morning listening to you who are caring for a loved one with dementia or who indeed have a loved one in a nursing home with dementia they will all say to a person that you know sometimes you have to look at the lighter side of this condition and there are times when funny incidents happen and I think that's a good thing I think it's healthy to bring all of that out we all appreciate the sadness that's associated with memory loss but it is a reality of life and sometimes you have to look at the lighter side of life and I think that's what Three Hail Mary's do I was really heartened by the fact that Caroline the lady who rang me to put me through to you on the switch said that she'd seen the play and she absolutely loved it and what I love about the play as well Greg is the fact that so many people come back to see it twice, three times and I think that's testament to the fact that it's a very unique play and even for somebody who doesn't normally go to plays because there's sing songs in this you can be singing half the night away because there's loads of sing songs as the characters have a sing song and you know it's just one of those plays that really strike people and you forget about your woes and your worries for two hours you find yourself catapulted into this nursing home and I guarantee you it's just you know of all the plays I've written I've written it's The Real McCoy nobody's talking to me the Banshee of Crokey Hill co-wrote Paddy the Musical and others but this one for me is special because I just think it resonates with people so much and did you say it's the last chance for people to see this for a while Tommy at least yeah well we're on our final tour because we're going to go back it's 10 years since we did It's The Real McCoy we're doing a nationwide tour of that in September I have a new play coming up in February of next year so this is our last run we're in as I say only one night tonight in on Grain On and then we're in Tipperary and we do seven nights in the Olympia and we've come a long way haven't we Greg yeah well done it's brilliant actually it's great to see yeah Cork but that only can happen from that can only happen from people enjoying it it doesn't happen through marketing obviously everything helps don't get me wrong because you want people to know you're coming to the town near you but that kind of success those kind of runs only happens because of the audience reaction and then telling other people and the word getting around that this is something that people need to see or should see yeah I mean you know you build up a reputation over years you don't as you say you know suddenly arrive in a town and fill a theatre so I suppose It's The Real McCoy was kind of the ground breaker for me and then nobody's talking to me so I wanted to do something that was a little bit different because those two plays were all back in the 60s great comedy but I wanted to do something that was a bit more thought-provoking and yet equally as funny and I just cracked it I think with Three Hail Marys in a very special way okay there are a few tickets left for tonight show it's a one and only show it's the last tour and you can contact on green on box office for to book your ticket Tommy thanks for the time this morning appreciated thanks a lot great take care yourself alright that's Tommy Marin there who is also a radio show presenter Midwest Radio okay heart stopper on Netflix Donna Marie I loved it yeah it is it's a bit on the cuff it's a British coming of age about a 15 year old and six year old they're in school in England and there are two boys and they're both gay and what's really nice about it is that it speaks more to a young people would be younger than me I'd say maybe four thirteen fourteens and it's what you expect it to be it really isn't so you're waiting for the whole coming I've seen the parents rejected and you know this year it's not like that it's just a really nice it's nearly like a rom-coms to series so it is just very pleasant but it doesn't hit the what you're are they gonna do this now they're gonna do that now it doesn't hit the no it doesn't it is it's a bit on the coffin like the the right and then it's a bit saying that kind of like rom-com ask it's you know you kind of doing what they're gonna say before it comes up but the whole big dramatic there is no like sorry the representation that's in it is a really positive reinforcement so that I think sometimes there is a lot of LGBT shows coming out on Netflix and stuff and sometimes the representation that you see in that is quite negative it's about everything that gay people come up against they suffer their their hard times and I think if you are especially 12 or 13 and you know that you know you're gonna have to come out at some stage and constantly seeing how the negative side of that can be really daunting but they don't do it they just do it really really nicely and it's based off of a web comic and they nod to that there there's like little animations in it nearly like Lizzie McGuire back in the day but no it's a really really nice watch Olivia Coleman's in it as well so she has a supporting role and it's done over what is it six-parter or how many parts to other is it a film no no it's a series it is I think there's eight episodes in it and they're around an hour so wait so like it is these episodes are long so you have to kind of commit to it but it's not it's really light it's a bit of a break away from your usual doom and gloom that comes around with these here type of films or TV shows and I have a niece who's 12 and another one that's 13 and they just can't get enough of it and do you think it will play well to an older audience as well I think it will it's a nice it's a nice break it's not too serious it's kind of something you can just put on have a cup of tea in the background and it's just like watching a good cheesy film it sounds to me like one of those shows that you stop on it and do you press play or not and you don't and then you miss it but you're saying hit play you know give it an episode and see what you think do like it is on the cuff like it's very on the cuff but I think it's just it's a nice kind of you know sometimes the shows that are coming out they'd be quite heavy and you know like the likes of It's a Sin and all that type of stuff that are maybe more focused on the LGBT community that's the strike spot exactly whereas this is actually it's it's just a pleasant story it is it's really pleasant and it's really bright even the colour and it's all really you know like the characters like the fashion sense on them is amazing they're all they're home they're really like this show for sure no it's good to think that they're doing something as you say taking a different tack instead obviously the struggle that people go to is important but like as you're saying and that's probably something that a lot of people haven't thought about if you're a young person now and all you're seeing is the struggle or the difficulty and all your TV is about how people get rejected or you know which one would hope in this day and age happens less and less of course and also too if you were a member of a minority watching the likes of Netflix right say African-American or something you'd presume that the only thing that happens to you is A you're in a TV show you know like Power or something or B you know you're in a documentary about a false conviction or something do you know what I mean but where is the the probably the majority of people's regular lives yeah so that's good and they actually have a very diverse representation ethnicity wise as well in the cast there's lots of the not leading characters but best friends leading characters like there's lots of different races in it and even down to whenever they're calling the school role in the background the teacher like they're all they're all diverse names okay what would you give another 10 I would say maybe an 8 right so one better than I'd be at the cinema the whole talk about the eastern block vote is irrelevant Australia have gotten through many times and nearly won more than once the Australian songs are very very powerful ballad very powerful ballad and also you know it's very Eurovisiony and I kind of did say that you know I mean if if we are going to try and present something that's a poppy and that would get in the charts in Britain or Ireland that's not going to work there you do need something that's either traditional or something that's a really strong powerful ballad that plays more to the more to sort of maybe a Eurovision audience and that's what the Australian song did deserve to get through I have no problem with it Sweden deserved to get through it's just the ones that got through ahead of Brooke but I'm just being it's not because she's from the north west if she was from Cork I probably wouldn't care less is that bad now what it's supposed to be about there was pubs with eight screens showing it in Derry and everything last night I'd say there was some crack had right I'm going to take a break then I'm going to come back then with that finula and we're going to have a look forward to the weather forecast for the weekend and into next week two don't go away the nine till noon show with city of Derry airport pre-brook your airport parking fast track and launch access at cityofderryairport.com for a stress free start to your trip don't just do okay in your career do great at all state don't settle soar don't procrastinate innovate don't do mediocre do magnificent at all state great work great life great people where great opportunities await search all state and I careers today for all your health and beauty needs you can always rely on McGee's chemist Kenny if you need a prescription just call or order online at McGee's.ie and it will be ready for you in advance before you arrive for beauty and skin care there's all the big names of great prices in store and online and for your photo printing needs simply download the McGee's photo prints app or click on the website link McGee's chemist Main Street Deter Kenny for all your health and beauty needs and so much more call 911-21409 or visit McGee's.ie at Centra we have great offers this week like Centra Fresh Ours Chicken Fillets 454g only 5 euro Weedabix 24 family pack 430g only 3 euro and Peace Bay Sauvignon Blanc wine only 10 euro Centra live every day enjoy Celsensibly Years ago I used to dread my motor insurance renewal then a friend told me about O'Malley Scanlan Insurance in Balibu Fe and Dunlow they do all the hard work they contact all the major insurance underwriters and they get the very best possible quote for me they have saved me a small fortune over the years and they could do the same for you When your insurance comes up for renewal contact O'Malley Scanlan Insurance at their Balibu Fe office on 911-310-20 or they're done low office on 95 Treble 206 O'Malley Scanlan is regulated by the central bank There's more than me coming back to the mountain top letter Kenny this month The rest takes beds have just opened their brand new showroom and if you're like me and you really appreciate a good night's sleep these guys have brilliant ranges of beds and mattresses and they have some great offers too call in and check out their new showroom No open just Mercedes here at the mountain top in letter Kenny Now we welcome on to the program Cleona Necruley who is the producer of film which is a cinemas at the moment called Uncalian Cune Two you thank you very much for joining us Good morning Greg And congratulations to you and everyone involved in this it seems to just be widely, widely loved Yeah it's quite unbelievable really you know just the reaction so far I mean we already had such highs you know when the film had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February and then when we opened the Dublin Film Festival the same month you know that was a huge honour and then the iftah so it's kind of been our heads are spinning really you know and then we wake up this morning to you know five star reviews from Donald Park in the Times and from the Indo and across the newspapers you know and it's been received so well as well in the UK you know we have major film critics like Peter Bradshaw and The Guardian and Mark Hermode you know giving it five stars and giving it rave reviews so we're our feet have barely touched the ground Do you think we're more broadly receptive now of films not in English or is it always been the case that if you make a good film it'll find its audience regardless of their first language Yeah I mean I think there's a real acceptance now of watching films and dramas in subtitles you know so you can you only have to look at Netflix and shows like this Good Game and that you know they're so well received and so watched in huge numbers that it's just kind of become normalised now that we watch films in subtitles and so yeah it's great and I suppose like you said you know if the story is good enough then really the language shouldn't matter people will watch it anyway Alright tell us about the storyline for those new to it please Cleona Yeah so I think Cune is based on a much loved story by Cara Keegan it's called Foster and it was published in 2010 and received lots of awards and it's also been translated into many languages all around the world and it's about a young girl in the film her name is called Caught and she's sent away she comes from a bit of a dysfunctional background you know her dad is a bit speckless and drinking and her mother is pregnant and there's a plethora of kids around the house so she's a little trouble soul and she's sent off to her mother's relatives for the summer and she doesn't know these people but I suppose it's really an examination of the relationship that grows between her and her two sort of so called foster parents for the summer and it's just a lovely endearing story about you know just how their relationship develops and how she blossoms from it all but of course as one of the characters Eileen says in the film there are no secrets in this house but the young girl unfortunately does discover there is a secret and it's quite a painful secret. Okay now obviously it's wonderful when your film is selected maybe to be shown at a festival or if you land a streaming platform that hosts it but I presume particularly as film makers you want as many people as possible to see on the big screen it's shot for the big screen so it's great is it that it's available locally here in Letherkenny in Century but also in cinemas across Ireland and Britain Yes it's wonderful it's playing in over 60 cinemas in Ireland and actually last night and Colin Cume was the number one film showing in Century Letherkenny so it would even be Dr Strange and we're delighted with that but yeah it's amazing and over the UK it's been released today in Curzon cinemas and many cinemas across the UK you know from Glasgow to Wales to Manchester Newcastle and all over London and yeah it's the widest release an Irish language film has ever received in the UK so we're kind of breaking new ground over there and actually we just announced the other day that we're getting a release in Australia and New Zealand as well and this is the first time again that an Irish language film has has been acquired for a release in those territories so it's unreal now that you know the language is travelling through brilliant excellent stuff and of course you've got strong strong Donegal connections yourself I do yeah my mum Ellen and in Crowley she's a daughter she's from Downing so yeah we're I have a lot of family up there my uncle Michael and his family run the famous singing club on the Atlantic Drive near Downing I've lots of aunties and uncle and relatives up there so brilliant stuff, well done continued success it's lovely to see thank you so much for joining us Cleona I really appreciate it alright take care and continued success Cleona Ne Cruley there she's the producer of The Quiet Girl or Ancaleen Kuhn and Finula isn't it good to see because I know you're not a huge fan of the Ara Bagara representations of Ireland it's good to see a proper Irish film being well received and I'm really interesting about what you were saying about people watching it now with subtitles and like it's true I mean I've watched stuff now in German Polish all kind of stuff all subtitles it doesn't even occur to me not to do it so why would they not watch something that's in Irish if the story is good enough that brings it out there Subtitles or dubbed Subtitles Don't like whenever the mouth doesn't match sound I know it really is I have a TV at the moment and it's got a lot of things to do it's out of sync and nothing I can do can address it but I know what I can do right pick something for us here from your list please I was going to just mention I suppose more what's coming next week if that's alright because there's just a couple of things I wanted to put on people's radars one is on May 16th which will be Tuesday is The Time Traveller's Wife Now The Time Traveller's Wife is a book that came out many years ago one of those ones that was in every book club and all that kind of thing everybody was reading it and then they made a movie out of it and now they're doing a TV series and they seem to be taking a slightly different tack to it if anybody who has never seen it basically it's all about this girl and as she goes through her life this man appears to her and in some ways it's kind of weird because this man appears to her from childhood all the way through but it turns out that he is A Time Traveller and they're kind of their whole story and falls by going back and forth through different things that happened that he doesn't necessarily remember because it may not have happened to him yet even though it's in her past so it's very kind of intricate but at the basic heart of it is this big love story alright that's going on Sky Atlantic and that's on Sky Atlantic Now before you mention the other one I also noticed what's coming up or seeing the advertised is the staircase now you would have watched the documentary do you think there's any appetite for a dramatic representation of that story? I've actually just started watching it but I didn't watch enough of it to be able to put it on the list and I definitely so far so good Okay well listen we'll come back to that then Tony Colette I've stopped calling her Colette I know I didn't because I don't know Tony Colette and Colin Firth play the main characters in it I think it is interesting because in the documentary you know it's very much just the facts ma'am but in this they're kind of giving context and the family context and the broader thing and I know I'm only kind of like first one in but I am wondering when I get to the end of this where I'm going to land because that is part of the thing even with the documentary you're never a lot of the way through which you're not 100% sure what actually happened I watched the Adam product during the outbreak I really enjoyed it as well I thought it was very when you put time travel into anything especially if you're interested in it and you've done the research as you say they know themselves when they're talking about it did you watch the Adam product it's really good it's just one of those ones you really enjoy but you do have to keep any physics that you ever learned any basic physics that you ever did in school leaving for the leaving search leave it outside we're going to be finding out about the weather forecast for the weekends and the next week after these messages hey you're doing great everyone needs a boost sometimes is it time for yours? COVID-19 can still cause serious illness in people who are high risk and in those who aren't so even if you've already had COVID-19 your booster vaccine can protect you from getting it again and make your symptoms less severe if you do everyone aged 12 and over can now get a booster vaccine check if it's time for your booster and make an appointment on hse.ie for us all from the HSE and the all new Nissan area there's a model to suit everyone call today or visit our website at iMotors.ie for more details or call 0749134567 to arrange a test drive at Lidl we do things every day to make life better for us all things like being the first retailer to work with farmers on a sustainable beef program to improve environmental impact donating over 600,000 meals in the last year through our partnership with FoodCloud and helping bees by doubling our number of pollinator friendly stores in 2022 decision by decision, day by day we're taking Lidl steps to a better tomorrow join us on our journey today at Lidl steps.ie Lidl, more for you Highland Radio weather updates with Ireland West Airport Stress-free travel, 10 minutes from Carpark to Departures Gate and a selection of 19 destinations across the UK and Europe to choose from can only be one place Ireland West Airport, you're flying OK, why would I even read the weather forecast to you when I've got Alan O'Reilly of Carlow Weather you can check out their website by the way carlowweather.com and follow Alan on social media Good morning to you Alan, thanks for joining us Good morning Greg OK, so we have this habit I think sometimes you know, I've seen of weather forecast for the southeast and they say it's going to be 30 degrees down there and then everyone up here in Donegal says do you know what's going to be 30 degrees this weekend so we want more targeted local weather and you're the man so tell us, what can we look forward to over Saturday and for the rest of the day Saturday and Sunday Alan Yeah, so unfortunately while the south of the country we'll get up to 19 degrees today it's probably going to struggle to get about 14 or 15 in Donegal because the cloud is going to be slow to move and it's also very breezy now the good news is that strong wind is slowly going to ease off this evening and it will stay dry and it will probably be tomorrow before you start to see those sunny spells and feel a bit of heat so some good sunny spells will develop tomorrow but they're going to be localized there is going to be still a good bit of cloud around so you know it's not going to be clear of blue skies or anything like that it should get up to about 16 maybe 17 degrees in the afternoon and the winds will be much lighter so it will feel much more pleasant Sunday then looks the best day for Donegal with some more sunshine a lot more sunny spells getting up to 19 degrees maybe even just about touching 20 degrees the winds will start off light it will pick up a little bit but not in light today so still a lot of pleasant again so the weekend does look generally good if you're having a barbecue or outdoor dining it looks good first Sounds lovely now into next week what's the story I did see some suggestion that there could be a storm off the west coast whether or not it makes land or not I'm not sure if that's something you're tracking or anything of any concern about what are you seeing for next week Alan Yeah it is going to turn unsettled unfortunately and there's a risk of some thunderstorms coming into the south east on Sunday night they could move up across the country so there could be some tundry downpours on Monday but actually the west probably will do best to escape them but yeah there's a low pressure system that's now developing on the weather models from Monday night into Tuesday the weather models are struggling it will stay out to the west coast it's just how far out to the west it will stay the very latest weather models this morning do show it's staying further west so the impacts really is going to go should be quite minimal but there will certainly be some more windy and unsettled weather but the worst of that storm unless you're a fisherman shouldn't really bother you too much Good stuff Alan thank you very much have a lovely weekend Thanks Greg take care Alan O'Reilly of CarlOweather, CarlOweather.com we're going to join us next every Friday hopefully just before 11 we're a little late with it today I think right okay a quick one from you and then I want a quick word with Finula about one of hers so dull face on prime Donna Marie I'm a bit lit to the game with dull face so I am so I'm about halfway through the first season now and the cast is really carrying it at the minute because you have Max from Two Brokers is playing Jules the main character Brenda songs in it which a lot of people know from the sweet every second Cody where she was London Tipton a lot of familiar faces but it's basically at the heart is how to about coming back out so the kind of premises of it is Jules has broken up their boyfriend and has realized that she's cut off all of her friends so it's about her kind of trying to become one of the girls again and there's a weird cat lady in it I still haven't I don't know if that's going to be kind of resolved at the end I'm still trying to figure out why this woman with the cat's head keeps reappearing I think this was referenced before wasn't the cat I don't really understand what's happening but it's alright sort of you know it's okay it's something to put on you know is that good enough there's a lot of stuff there is I'm kind of waiting for it to excuse me I'm waiting for it to pick up about the minute would you back out would you say right enough is enough or have you started something you're going to see it through I'm kind of giving it one more one more episode to see because I really want to figure out what's going on with the cat to be honest maybe they threw her in there I was going to say you could probably google that and save yourself three or four hours of torture but so far it sounds like it's a 50-50 5 out of 10 job is it alright that's okay well we'll see we'll get an update for you but the platforms haven't really put out anything massive lately no there's nothing last series was the was the was the big thing on Netflix like but I mean and I'm only here mixed reviews on that in the sense that some people are really loving it and other people are watching it but yeah it's a long time since something came there like oh my god you're talking about yeah I know they don't want to watch that conversations with friends this I'm bringing up because I saw the trailer for it now and it didn't really inspire me but it is um this is Sally Rooney Sally Rooney is the author they wrote normal people yeah the one that everybody went cracked about last year this normal people was her second book this is her first book now in my thinking a lot of times the second book is much better than the first book it can be and why did they pick normal people before they picked this so you would I would wonder how this is going to turn out but it is on RTE next the Friday but Thursday isn't the 18th is Thursday no Thursday is the 19th no is it today is the 13th 14, 15, 16 oh you might be right which means the Time Traveller's wife is on Monday the 16th it must be taken over from Julia's finish which was awesome if anybody hasn't seen it so is this a series or a film this is going to be a series again it's set in Dublin it's about two young girls that grew up together go then up to trainers where would we be if they didn't all get into trainers they go up to college in Dublin then they start meeting other people which kind of opens them up from what I can gather in it more sophisticated lifestyles that they're not really sure they and then as the girls are kind of drifting apart what are they drifting apart into that kind of a thing that seems to be the basic premise from the trailers and different things like that I know people who've read the book and really enjoyed conversations with friends as the novel they thought it was really good and they actually thought it was a better book than normal people when the original came out it came out so it'll be interesting to see what they've done with it and whether or not it gets that kind of massive hype in terms of transferring to the screen we'll find out if Sally's a one trick pony well I mean is it possible for anything to be that normal people just kind of took off you know whether it was just part of a lockdown thing whether it was that we were just ready for something that was just nice you know the way it was even though their lives were kind of complicated it was very easy to watch it so it'll be interesting to see what this does now I mean I've read some reviews in it and they're all reviewing it really well but they're saying it's like an ode to Irish people which makes me nervous but you're like oh this could go either way like but yeah definitely going to be giving it a go so yeah obviously I have no idea the days of the week May 18th is conversations with friend and May 16th is the time traveller as well thank you as always it's great to have you back and you'll be reunited with Michael next Friday Donna Marie Daherty thank you for stepping in it was great to have you on too to have your perspective she's digital journalist here at Highland Radio and we'll all be back with you on Monday from 9 o'clock thank you so much to all of you who took part who listened or watched or however you took part it's greatly appreciated have a great day