 Oh, you're out of tune. Yeah, but I'm not... I'm more of a solo artist. Daddy, I'm just noticing something. I noticed... I look at you. I'm not as sure as I know. To be honest, right? This is the truth, right? Do you mind that I... You're top, right? The granddad top. Yeah. I felt bad about that, sure. Did you get any abuse for the first few years? No, but I abused myself at my own mind head. I shouldn't have been. That was very hateful. Do you know? Well, it was hateful. No, but it wasn't a nice thing to say, was it? No, but it wasn't nice. It was okay. But see, you're beard. You're beard, right? It's very tingly looking this morning. Do you... You must put a wee colour through that, do you? Tell the truth. You do. It looks browner. I don't know. It does, now, Greg. Caroline or I would love Caroline or to come in here now, too. Well, I can swear in my life. It looks brown. Maybe you'd need washers. It's the sun. Isn't it? We haven't had much of that. Sun, breakfast and, uh... Stress? Ah, no, come on. Stop it. It is good to hear from you. Don't worry about it. I'd be talking to myself. I shouldn't have mentioned about your beard now. Brown looking. You don't have a filter, Lisa. There's no point changing now at this stage, is there? Okay, then. Go on, you just be you. All right, then, it is 9 o'clock. It's time for News Update. It's over to Donna Marie Daherty. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. Garady and Motorsport Ireland are conducting two separate investigations into the death of two men during the Slago Stages rally. The men who were participating in the event were killed instantly when their rally car hit a wall in Balli Mote at around 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The bodies of the driver in his 30s and passenger in his 40s were later removed to Slago University Hospital, where post-mortems will take place today. Garady are asking that footage of the collision is not shared across social media or messaging apps. Slago-based journalist Sorcha Crowley says both men were well-known in rallying circles. The driver was from County Cavern. A man in his 30s and his co-pilot was a man from Fermanagh in his 40s. Both married with families very experienced in the rallying for years, if not decades. They would have been on the length and breadth of the country. A meeting is due to get underway in the Chamber County House Lifford between members of Donnie Goll County Council and Donnie Goll's five TDs in around a half hour's time. It is to discuss the national policy which restricts access on the N56. Go hear a look of Glenties Municipal District. It says young people are emigrating from West Donnie Goll because they can't build close to home. Councillor Michael McClaffery added that county councillors do not have the power to challenge us and hopes TDs will raise it in the doll. It's a national planning framework as such. It's there to change. That's what we're hoping this morning, to get our five TDs into the room there this morning. Half nine is arranged and we can obviously put our views across to them. They're well aware but anyway, we want to put our views across to them as much and see then can they get this into the doll, get it raised in the doll because I firmly believe that if this was down to area elsewhere we wouldn't have been having this problem because of Donnie Goll. And it's once again it's Donnie Goll just seems to get the hammer in all the time around others, Donnie Goll gets it. Ireland's budget watchdog is calling for the government to set aside windfall taxes to pay for future pensions. The amount of money spent in the state pension has grown by 50% in the last decade. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council insists the state should plan now to meet increasing pension costs in the years ahead. The IFAC's chair, Michael McMahan, said it's time to build up savings to meet spending needs. Taking some of the windfall corporations that Ireland is very lucky to be receiving at the moment and it gives a great opportunity to start building up a savings vehicle which the government has said they intend on doing but we would like to see it set aside for the pension cost. Looking now to weather today is going to have some sunny spells and scattered showers. Highs of 15 to 18 degrees in light occasionally moderate westerly breezes. That's all for now. We'll be back again with the next news update at 10 o'clock. Until then, good morning. Why is it so hard to get a good deal on simple car home insurance? Well, getting a quote from On Pust Insurance is never this hard for car and home insurance that's a little more human call 0818 22 22 22 On Pust Insurance.ie You're feeding me on the potholes, Jules, yeah? Acceptance criteria, terms, conditions apply. One Direct Ireland Limited trading as On Pust Insurance is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. One Direct Ireland Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of On Pust, home insurance on the written by Aviv Insurance Ireland DAC. Best prices online. The county's number one talk show, The 9 to Noon Show on Highland Radio. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest, The 9 to Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Highland Radio. Hello, good morning to you. Just turning four minutes past nine on this Monday, the 17th of July, 2023, and we've all made it into another week. How are you keeping? I hope you had a lovely weekend and are all fresh and ready to go for a new week. Or perhaps you worked all weekend and today's your day off, whichever way. I hope you have a lovely one and I hope you keep it here with us on Highland Radio on The 9 to Noon Show. Over the next three hours, a whole range of stuff, hopefully, to keep you entertained and informed. The lines are open for you right now. If there's anything you wish to comment on and issues you wish to raise, any information you want to pass on. Maybe something positive happened with you or you had a positive experience. We love that stuff too, don't you know? Oh, eight, six, sixty, twenty-five thousand. That's the WhatsApp number. If you're listening outside the Republic, zero, zero, three, five, three, eight, seven, sixty, twenty-five thousand. Eight, six, sixty, twenty-five thousand. If you want to give us a call, oh, seven, four, nine, one, twenty-five thousand. Again, from outside the Republic, zero, zero, three, five, three, seven, four, nine, one, twenty-five thousand. And comments via email from anywhere, of course, comments at highlandradio.com. Lovely, seemingly nice day out there today. The weather forecast all over the place lately, it seems. Yesterday was supposed to be a washer. It turned out really quite a nice day. Today was supposed to be a washer. It doesn't seem too bad. Tomorrow was supposed to be a good day. Now, there's rain being forecast and that's us in our part of the world. But maybe you're listening where there is extreme heat at the moment, be it particularly in America, Southern Europe, some of the temperatures being witnessed there are really, really high. And it's all right, I suppose if you're healthy and, you know, a young adult or middle age, but of course, if you're very young or the older you get, it's hard for the body to regulate your temperature as well. So those extreme heats are a big issue. But maybe you are listening from one of those places. Get in touch with us and let us know what it's like, what you're experiencing. All right, OK, let's get on with a look at the front of the newspapers. We'll start with the Dairy People, Donningall News. And an inspection is set to be carried out at Cassidy's Quarry as part of court action into the defective concrete block scandal. As part of the Coleman legal high court action, it's been revealed that experts intend to inspect the quarry in the coming weeks, providing an update to the affected homeowners. Coleman legal issued an update which, set as part of the court timetable, they're arranging an inspection at Cassidy's Quarry. We have been in negotiations for many months now in relation to access and the method that will be used to sample and test the rock in the quarry itself. We expect that this will take place in the coming weeks, explained the statement. Coleman legal are also in the process of agreeing a comprehensive set of tests to be carried out on each of the lead plaintiffs' homes, also due to begin in the next few weeks, starting with one of the lead cases. On to the Dairy News this morning, and a proposal to confer the Freedom of the City and District on Dairy Victims campaigner John McCourt will be considered at the next full meeting of Dairy City and Straban District Council. Mr. McCourt is a well-known advocate for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse. The motion to grant him the Freedom of the City and District will be proposed by Councillor Sean Harkin of People Before Profit. On to the Nationals now, and pictures from the semi-finals yesterday, well, yesterday's semi-final, carry player Tige Morley and party Clifford celebrate after their side's victory over Dairy in the GEA Football All-Ireland Senior Football Final. We'll be talking about the outcome of that game and Saturday's semi-final too. I'm sure when we have a quick chat with a Venny, or not a quick chat, a chat with him after 11 o'clock, previewing the deal debate. Also, heartbreak for the Donegal ladies as well. They fell behind early on and struggled to claw it back, I think. So, disappointing for Ulster teams, but they've got what they want in terms of the men's senior game. They've got that Dairy, Donegal, Dublin carry final, though Dairy was so close, perhaps should have got it over the line. What do you think? We can talk about that later on, as I say. But their main news story is a one-off double payment of child benefit for parents is under consideration as part of government negotiations ahead of the budget. With talks set to intensify after the summer recess, the coalition has also agreed to increase state-funded parental leave by another two weeks, meaning parents will be able to take up to nine weeks off work after their children are born. Central to the high-level budget talks are discussions around another double payment of child benefit to help families with the cost of raising children. If agreed, it will see 638,000 families receive a one-off payment of €280 instead of the usual 140-year-old child benefit rate. What do you think of that proposal? At this time of the year, there are papers that would be friendly to government parties. There's a bit of kite flying to see which way the wind is blowing in terms of would this be well received and what have you. It is a payment that goes out to everyone. A lot of people in receipt of child benefit some might argue that perhaps don't need it and a more targeted approach to help those that genuinely need it might be better. I don't know. Maybe the universal payment is the way forward. And also, I'm sure there will be a broad welcome to parental leave, paid parental leave being extended by two weeks, but a lot of people would say, yeah, that's great, but when we go back to work, can you help us with the childcare please because some of us can't go back to work because we can't access or afford childcare. Anyway, that is the story in the front of the window. What do you think about that? The Irish Times, another story here relating to children. This is very upsetting. An unprecedented crisis in services for the most at risk children in the state is leading to a likelihood of claims against the state. A retired judge has warned. Former Dublin, a Metropolitan District Court judge, Dermott Simmons, says up to 130 highly vulnerable children are in unsuitable and unapproved placements, such as holiday centres, hotels, and B&Bs because there is nowhere else to put them. He says systemic failures across Tuesla, the Guarda, the Department of Education, the HSC, and the Prison Service are undoing, undermining and frustrating the best efforts of frontline social workers to comply with regulations and protocols. In a strongly worded letter to four government ministers to Tuesla, the State Claims Agency, and the Ombudsman for Children, and dated May 17, 2023, when he was still on the bench, former Judge Simmons says he has almost concerned for the immediate predicament and welfare of children in the care of the state. So these are children that, of course, already have had very negative experiences. They're taken into the care of the state, saying there that he's concerned at that treatment. Very sad news as well in the Irish Daily Mail today and across most of the papers of very sad loss for the world of rallying, but also, of course, for families and friends, primarily. Two rally competitors were killed in a crash while taking part in the Sligo Stages rally yesterday. It's understood that car 155, which was driven by Jean MacDonald from Coutil County, Cavern, with race colleague Darren McGuire from Neighboring for Manet was involved in the collision guard here investigating following the fatal road collision that occurred during Stage 6 of the race in Ballymote. As a result of the collision, the organisers halted the event. Rally organisers Connect Motor Club said in a statement, Connect Motor Club can confirm that an incident occurred on the Sligo Stages rally. Motorsport Ireland said Motorsport Ireland extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends and competitors who were fatally injured during a tragic accident while competing on the 6th stage of the 2023 Sligo Stages rally. And of course, our thoughts immediately with the family and friends of the two deceased but also the rallying world is a small one and I'm sure it's a loss that's being felt right across and up and down our island. On to the Irish Daily Star now 39 Guardi have resigned so far this year while a further 150 have retired Justice Minister Helen McIntee revealed she gave no reason as to why the Guardi quit but said an exit interview or exit interviews are now being held for the first time ever to find out why, which is something I would have thought should have been standard. You know, you're seeing a mass exodus if you could describe it as that from any organisation that state funded, you know, you want to know why now they're starting to conduct exit interviews which I think will be very useful information. Another 100 members resigned last year, 1% of the total number in the organisation but the Minister conceded that the police have been hit with an increased number of retirements there are currently 13,927 in the Guardi about a thousand officers short of the staffing levels, the government and the Guardi Commissioner Drew Harris have agreed Minister McIntee has also failed to meet the Government of training, 200 recruits at the Guardi's Templemore College every couple of months, she confirmed 92 recruits entered Templemore in late November, 135 in February and another 154 in May and I think they've spent 4 million or are spending 4 million in an effort to recruit Guardi but the numbers interested simply aren't there, it would seem. On to the sun this morning and Tussle's boss has admitted the children and families agency is now at crisis point CEO Kate Duggan said there are concerns over kids in care staffing issues and possible legal challenges coming down the tracks and this is off the back as I say of that article I read in another paper comments from former Judge Sims but elsewhere 13 human skulls that were stolen by academics more than 100 years ago are returning to Inish Bofin a reburial ceremony was held on the island off the west coast today the bones thought to be around 400 years old were swiped in the middle of the night from a monastery by two academics and kept at Trinity College Dublin the uni agreed to return the skulls as part of a review of legacy issues they were brought back on Saturday Inish Bofin historian Murray Coyne who campaigned to get them back said I just feel so relieved and I'm so glad they are back indeed and that wrong has albeit over 100 years later in on done and just many papers featuring the weather story and this is in the Irish Daily Mirror Irish holiday makers heading off to the sun are being advised of the dangers of blistering heat that has swept Europe weather forecasters have warned Irish people travelling to the holiday hotspots in Spain to avoid the midday sun temperatures across Europe have reached more than 40 degrees Celsius hot hot hot ok we'll be back with more in the night till noon show after this quick break stay where you are the newspapers are courtesy of Kelly centra mountaintop Lederkenny the sea store national large forecourt of the year for 2022 bags and partners are a specialist local plumbing heating and bathroom supplier established in Belfast 1960 we now have 12 branches and are known for quality value and reliability our latest branch in springtown drive includes a beautiful bathroom showroom as well as a fully stock plumbing and heating trade sales counter delivery service available see bagsandpartners.com come along to the Glen column kill agricultural show on Sunday the 6th of August featuring cattle sheep horses poultry and all marquee classes a great family day with children's fun and live music entries open on Glen column kill agricultural show.ie or visit our facebook page I've just had the eclipse cinema's experience wow they truly have taken a night at the movies to a whole new level amazing recliner chairs directors lounge VIP rooms pizza and hot food served to your seat have a glass of wine and enjoy the film on the big screen try it for yourself at eclipse cinemas Bundorn and Lifford Sturban where the stars shine brighter by the way the pizzas are amazing you can book your seat anytime at eclipse cinemas.ie enhance your skills with safe tech's part funded training programs at safe tech we provide courses including first aid roadworks people moving and handling confined spaces electrophusion and machinery training for Ireland and UK sites also online programs such as water hygiene construction supervisors safety reps if you have a group for training safe tech will go to you contact safe tech today at safetech.ie and take the first step towards upskilling and safety compliance Highland Radio time checks with Expressway travel route 32 from Lettich when you book online and travel for less expressway bringing you the time us 17 minutes past nine now as we mentioned a little earlier two separate investigations have been launched of two men following a collision during this year's Sligo stages rally in County Sligo yesterday afternoon the driver who was in his 30s and the co-driver who was in his 40s both died after the car hit a wall during the sixth stage of the rally Art McCarrick is motorsport Ireland sporting manager thanks for joining us on a very difficult day obviously for the families and friends of the deceased but the world of motorsport too it's an incredibly sad very sad situation isn't it yeah but absolutely you know we're a big sport but a small community and our thoughts absolutely and prayers remain with the family and friends of the deceased and those who assisted at the scene of the accident yesterday in very difficult circumstances as well as the event organisers it's extremely difficult on them as well so it's a dark day for our sport for sure it really is and we know ourselves hosting rallies here that every effort is made to just make it as safe as possible in terms of the organisation the equipment the safety side of things but it is also a dangerous sport look at yes accidents and fatal accidents can happen in any sport tragically it was our sport yesterday and obviously yes our safety standards are extremely high and would be recognised as such but we can put all the safety measures in place and unfortunately the most vulnerable part of any vehicle are the occupants and such as the nature of the accident yesterday both the driver and the co-driver and the car tragically lost their lives at the scene of the accident and as we would expect this is going to be investigated I mentioned there are two investigations taking place and we can't or neither would we want to pre-empt that but do we know what happened we don't really just a little bit of background the event was round five of the motorsport national rally championship and each event in that championship would run to the same format three stages repeated three times so one, two and three would be repeated as four, five and six and then they would be repeated again in the evening at seven, eight and nine so this stage had run in the morning at stage three without incident and the incident where the police crew members were killed happened on stage six the second running of the stage over this bit of road there had been no noticeable incidents the first time through and just before 3pm their car left the road we don't yet know exactly the reasons why but collided with a wall and our series incident protocol was completed almost straight away and we got emergency services and rescue teams and first responders to the scene as quickly as possible as well as the following competitors who had arrived on the scene just 30 seconds after it happened and they all did everything they could but tragically it wasn't enough indeed and it is a loss that will be felt very far and wide and I think and thinking on those that respond to or come on that scene as well difficult for them incredibly difficult because as you say it's a small community unfortunately at the times we live in now we've had to hear appeals from Guardi for people who have footage of this collision not to share it and we would hope people would understand the reasons why but nonetheless Guardi and I'm sure you're joining in that I had a respect for you that not to be forwarding on any video footage of this incident that might be out there yeah we don't believe there is much there was very little spectator access to where it happened but we do believe there may be footage circulating from a drone above the accident site and we would urge anyone who sees receives or gets those images to report them to request for them to be removed off the platform they're on but also to inform both ourselves Motorsport Ireland and on Guardi Shia of those and we can possibly trace the source of them and it's basically twofold we're trying not to make a bad and difficult situation for family members worse and we're also trying to build a bank of material to assist us with our investigations so I would like to think most reasonable well-minded people wouldn't be sharing such images but as you say in the times we're in unfortunately we have to issue reminders like that I mean obviously today's not the day really to discuss things like this but you know this is a major instant at a rally it is not the first and we know the challenges in getting these events on between insurance and what have you does this raise questions about future events going forward art at this time I don't believe so there certainly won't be any jerk reaction from our side on that until the investigations are completed currently our plans are to run the remainder of our calendar you know we're quite a broad governing body in that rallying is one of 11 disciplines we govern with 32 clubs across 26 counties that run approximately 160 events in a calendar year so currently the plans are to continue to run the remainder of our events if clubs they no longer wish to run events that's a decision for them and that can be taken in conjunction with us we'll have to work with them but at the moment there'll be no knee-jerk reaction in terms of impacts to our future events and we'll wait until both our investigations and on guard Shia Khan's investigation which we're actively cooperating with are complete before we issue any recommendations on that front like I say the event would have had a very comprehensive safety plan you know an appointed safety get accidents can and do happen and tragically it would seem like it was just a normal accident that went very wrong and you know not every accident can be prevented but tragically it was a good indeed I wish indeed we agree okay Art thanks so much for your time and thanks for speaking to us on this difficult morning we do appreciate it that's Art McCarrick motorsport Ireland sporting manager and that was just one of a number of tragic instances on our roads over the weekend very very sadly indeed right okay we're going to be joined by our next guest on the program after this short break stay where you are in your confidence at blue poppy orthodontics we offer a range of solutions from invisiline and regular braces to general dentistry, teeth whitening implants and composite bonding and now some exciting news at blue poppy your invisiline clear brace is now available for the same price as conventional braces and includes an attractive repayment plan take the first step with blue poppy orthodontics letter Kenny and Donegal town call 0749740404 planning on renovating your garden this summer then look no further than Dale site garden furniture with a full range of sizes and garden sheds wooden and steel summer houses playhouses outdoor canopies fencing and much more find us on social media made to measure and one-off designs are our speciality call today on 087 double one two four seven double six Milford tiles wood flooring and bathware Milford retail Park new wood flooring just arrived at Malacy laminate 999 a square yard 10 mil 1250 a square yard 12 mil 1499 a square yard beautiful 8 mil AC 4 glass laminate 1699 a square yard all in stock fitters available Milford tiles wood flooring and bathware 083091 0707 an apple a day keeps the doctor away yes but a joy apple keeps the sadness away crunchy juicy with a hint of acidity get some joya in your favorite store each joya taste the joy and with the joya contest you can win an electric car with 232 underway it's not too late to secure your new Nissan with the all electric leaf the petrol and hybrid Duke the new X-Trail available in a five or seven-seater four-wheel drive e-power hybrid and the Nissan cash guy petrol and e-power hybrid all available for immediate delivery visit iMotors in letter Kenny to find out more open six days a week right it's feared the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe could be broken this week a prolonged area of high pressure has been trapped over the south of the continent which may lead to the 48.8 degrees measured in Sicily in 2021 being exceeded meanwhile over 11,000 acres and are known to have been affected by huge wildfires on the Spanish island of La Palma around 4,000 residents have been evacuated a third of the population of the United States is living under a heat warning in Phoenix it's been above 43 for 16 days in a row and it's suspected to get even hotter and in China it recorded it's hottest ever temperature over the weekend 52.2 degrees celsius Professor John Sweeney climateologist and Professor Emeritus of Geography at Minuth University joins us and these are a series of events professor that one simply can't ignore how much of this is to do with the rate of global warming we've been seeing since probably the early 1990s and how much of this is the El Nino effect? Well I think it's quite clear that what we're seeing at the moment is primarily driven by the rate of change of global climate El Nino as yet is only just getting underway in the Pacific so I don't think it's the factor that's causing this particular sequence of heat waves instead what we're seeing I think is a sort of dislocation of the jet stream around the world where we're getting simultaneous extreme events occurring in many of the places that you mentioned and this is only to be expected I think but it's not surprising that we're seeing those extremes reaching new levels because if you like climate change puts ordinary weather on steroids so to speak so we know that in particular in Europe we've warmed by 2.3 degrees already since pre-industrial times and we are the fastest warming continent on the planet at the moment so we're seeing particularly severe conditions today and this week around the Mediterranean and unfortunately I think that kind of anti-cyclone once established the heat dome that results tends to linger for several days so we're seeing if you like almost static weather conditions in many parts of the world and unfortunately if you're on the wrong side of the jet stream axis at that time then you're liable to suffer for some considerable number of days alright so people will look out the window and they'll say you know what are you climate change going on about look at the weather so explain to us the difference between the weather and the climate often people will quote what's happening in one day as some sort of a counter-point as to what you're concerned about well weather is what we expect to get on a day-to-day basis climate of course is the longer term changes in the average conditions that occur as a consequence of changing the rules of the game and in this case the rules of the game are the trapping effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rather than for example we know it's warmed by between half and one degree over the past century much of it in the past 30 years and we know that we're getting more extreme rainfall we're getting longer periods of drought than we have experienced for some time and this is why we have to make a distinction between what we're seeing over the past week especially in Donegal where you've had unrelenting rain almost and what we expect to see happening on an average basis which will affect our food production our agriculture, our tourism and so on so I think what we're seeing especially at the moment is that the jet stream has taken up position right across Ireland and this is bringing the sequence of depressions especially to places like Donegal which is so unwelcome at this time of the year it's encouraging here to be drawn out of North Africa to help sustain that huge anti-cyclone over the Mediterranean so these are things which are unusual in the longer context of things but they are of course unwelcome if you're on the wrong side of the jet stream axis in each case Is the rate of change in any way surprising I mean obviously this is what people are being warned of and I'm fully aware by the way as we talk about this there are people listening who will that don't believe that climate change is a thing that this is just the weather of the world changing and at one stage we are under eyes and I get that and I understand that but from a scientific point of view what's happening now was being flagged for quite some time but are we getting there quicker than anticipated? Yes I think firstly to say that climate change is not a matter of belief that really is an outdated concept you can't argue with mercury and thermometer and if you do you should be considering joining the Flat Earth Society at this stage but secondly yes you're right I think it's true that models are quite conservative in how they project change they don't capture the real extremes that occur in small local areas they don't capture I suppose the rapidity of those extremes very well in terms of the frequency of how they change so I think we have been caught a little unawares in the past few years by the extent to which those extremes have occurred more quickly and with greater intensity than perhaps some of the models have been projecting but it's quite clear that we do face increasing heat waves increasing floods increasing frequencies and intensities of those events as time proceeds and that is something which the intergovernmental panel on climate change have confirmed over many years now and which unfortunately our policy makers are not really reacting to sufficiently to protect us and to give us assurances that in the future these kinds of things will not become more frequent and if they do and if they get locked in it's inevitable is it not that we will see particularly to our part of the world climate migration because if we start seeing consistently warm weather in the south of Europe or further south for that matter people will start moving to areas where the climate is more habitable which would be probably across where we are and across Europe at the same sort of distance from the equator or whatever the measurement might be there Yes, I think there are a few key areas of concern here the first of course are people that we already are familiar with who can't make a living in the sub-Saharan areas of Africa who simply are living on the margins of existence and do seek an alternative more viable existence further north the second I think are in the areas of the tropical oceans where low lying islands will be submerged and cultures will be lost over time they will also have to move out of necessity to other areas and thirdly of course the big deltas of the world like the Ganges Delta like the Nile Delta which will be subsiding as time goes on as well as sea level rising and they will move here we're talking about very large population movements indeed we're not talking about a few hundred thousand, we're talking about millions of people being displaced by climate becoming climate refugees seeking areas like Ireland seeking areas like northern Europe simply to exist and that's the prospect that faces places like here in Ireland in the years ahead I won't keep you very much longer we got information recently that showed that we're miles off from from achieving our goals I think we saw a two percent reduction in emissions here we've chewed through half of our carbon budget five year carbon budget in two years so to actually even meet the targets that we've set I think it's twelve percent reductions over the next three years which is unattainable really we're moving to electric vehicles but we need more electricity and we're still making that the old fashioned way to a great extent and we still at the end of the day have two million cars on the roads regardless of what fuel and then there's the ongoing debates over farming and then we have the data centres which are consuming mass amounts of electricity there's a lot going on there a lot of problems to fix in this country before maybe I might ask you about the global situation but there are calls also for Raymond Ryan to be brought before we're not just committed to ask straight out what is the government going to do about all of this well I think firstly any reduction is at least heading in the right direction but however small it is it's simply insufficient as you say to meet our obligations both in terms of what we've committed to at a European scale but also what we've committed to under the legislation of the climate act of 2021 yes we do need to start reducing very much more radically our emissions now we can do this in two ways we can do it by following the kind of recommendations that we're seeing at the moment from the climate action plan in a much more diligent way or we can face ruthless regulation down the road and so there's no point just to make one little point on the ruthless regulation and this is the problem with buying from the public because in our homes we are using less electricity and what have you now someone that's going to be driven by the rising cost some of it's going to be us doing the right thing but in terms of household electricity usage it's really quite dropped quite a lot but but at the same time then we have other areas of society which the government endorses for example data sensors I'm not anti data centre don't get me wrong which is now eating 16% of our electricity and that has doubled in a few short years so the hard work of the public motivated perhaps by saving money but be that as it may in reducing their electricity consumption is more than offset by government backed industry that is using tons and tons of electricity and I think that's where the public sort of start saying well alright we did start doing orbit but things aren't making sense and when things don't make sense you don't get to buy in yes I agree completely I mean the data centre issue is one which should have been tackled in a much more robust way I'm horrified that data centres are now building gas fired power plants to power their own operations if they get excluded from the electricity grid so yes it does demoralise the public to see that kind of thing happening but we also have to remember that you know 40% of our emissions now come from agriculture and the ability to persuade the agricultural sector to take radical steps is also failing quite miserably and I think we have to acknowledge that too and we are wedded to our cars our emissions went up 6% from transport last year so yes I mean we are doing things in our homes and I think we're doing great things with solar panels by becoming more energy efficient in our homes but that is only a small part of the problem and we really have to do more at a national level now I take your point completely we shouldn't be blaming individuals for this problem we do need leadership from the political system we need buy in from the public to encourage the progressive political leaders that we have in some cases to actually get through the measures which will tackle this problem and you know we can point the finger at individuals quite readily we can demonise individuals for not doing enough but unless we actually give them the support they need to take those radical decisions then we're actually not going to achieve what we have to achieve in this area and finally this is not a counterpoint to us having to do our thing I think most people realise that we should but we do have a war raging in the east of Europe God knows the consequences of that just for the immediate loss of life but for the environment we have China building more coal fired stations to provide electricity thankfully it seems that the relations between America and China are warming little because we do need the big players to make the big changes but again we will not get into this because I think the argument is well rehearsed about little old island what difference does it make but I accept we do have to do our bit for this to work we do need the big big players to really say right we actually have to do something because the future civilisations at risk here you're right without bringing the big players on board the efforts of the small countries will amount to not in the end of the day we in Ireland can't point the finger at other countries as an excuse for our inaction because we emit 50% more greenhouse gases per capita than our partners in Europe but I think that's why international cooperation is so essential it's been very disappointing the last 20 years with the COP process failing really miserably to get that kind of international cooperation going and unfortunately it doesn't look very good for the next few years that we will get the kind of commitments necessary but there is no alternative sadly tackling the problem from an international scale because countries will always act in their own self-interest unless they are compelled to do otherwise and that's why we do have to support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change even though we recognise its failings do our best to get things done at an international level in a cross national basis otherwise we're all sunk All right Professor, thank you for your time this morning I do appreciate it Professor John Sweeney, climatologist and Professor Emeritus of Geography at Manuth University again, you see this is part of the problem and I accept and I understand it I find it difficult to make the small changes I'm expected to when the heads of governments are flying in their aeroplanes in some cases bringing five or six armored vehicles with them to go and discuss why us small fry should be living in the dark effectively and freezing to death and they don't get it on a global stage, why should we inconvenience ourselves so much when the people are telling us to do it are flying around the world in their jets looking down their noses at us and I think until they get all that sorted they're really going to struggle to get by in The Big Band Country Nights at Lokes of Cranford continue this Tuesday with Olivia Douglas and her band that's another Big Band Country Night this Tuesday with Olivia Douglas at Lokes of Cranford where you will also find music in the wee bar on Saturdays and all time dancing on Sundays Homeowners, it's time to unlock incredible savings on your energy bills Efficient renewables is here to reduce your energy consumption Say goodbye to Skyrock and the cost of renewable energy solutions there's no vat on solar panels and the generous grants for both solar panels and heat pumps see these innovative systems in action in our state of the art showroom in Newton Cunningham today contact Efficient Renewables on 074 97 08 320 Dreaming of a getaway this summer there's still time to book with Tui flying from Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports Summer, best enjoyed on holiday Tui, live happy bingo every Monday night at the Halfley House Burn Foot doors open 7.30 with eyes down at 8.30 2,500 euro must go Snowball is now 1,100 euro on 45 numbers or less if you're not in, you can't win that's Halfley House Bingo tonight at 8.30 Hi folks, Paul McDevitt here inviting you to join me this Monday night for another edition of the Monday Night Sessions and have we a jam-packed show for you Aslan has set to release their last studio recording with lead singer Christy Dignum I'll be joined by Billy McGinnis from the band to tell me all about it and from County Meath we welcome the Scobes Todd Oliver will be dropping in for a chat and a few songs and we also welcome from Israel, the Doris and to finish it all off we welcome back the brilliant Midnight Preachers so that's the Monday Night Sessions this Monday night between 8pm and 10pm right here on Highland Region Hi Greg, photo voltaic panels on houses which turn sunlight and even daylight into electricity are very common so why haven't the car manufacturers installed panels which would be moulded onto the car roof onto new EV cars surely this coupled with the self-charging or house charging vehicles would be welcome, I'm not really quite sure if the mass, the space is there to charge in a meaningful way but I suppose why not what about the large bonfires in Northern Ireland for the 12th Celebrations which are affecting global warning but nothing is said about that I think we didn't mention it or did I, I was having a conversation with someone was it on air or off air a call that says we only have ourselves to blame because we buy cheap, quick, easy Chinese made goods which is just adding to the problems of climate change please the listener there RTE spent 26,000 Euro for six people in a hotel in Madrid Spain for six people for two nights for the Champions League in 2019 and indeed that's been well rehearsed at this stage Hi, I was on Marble Hill Beach yesterday and dogs were roaming everywhere some on leash and some without leash I was under the impression that dogs were prohibited from blue flag beaches from 11am until 7am I'm afraid of dogs and I like to have a peaceful walk but it's very upsetting that I couldn't go anywhere on the beach without dogs around me I wonder could you get some guards on your show to explain why this law is not enforced as it is severely exploited we might just double check those rules and where they apply to if that's alright now and just maybe have a wee chat about that right, okay now, Councillor Kevin Bradley Mayor of Letterkenny joins us on the programme night Good morning Kevin, thanks for your time today Good morning Greg, how are you doing? and good to have you with us right, a major conference in relation to derelict buildings in Donegal's being held in Letterkenny this being Friday, a significant a significant chat this is talk to us about how this came about and what's going to be discussed I'm glad to see there's come a wired four million there if we generate letterkenny, the URDF call three to do up parts, hope for a week in a bus hope and get things moving that times happen there's a lot of work I'm glad to see it coming Greg and there is a serious issue with dereliction there's more derelict houses and properties than would you know almost meet our needs if they were brought back into use particularly as residential but I mean we're talking presumably here about residential-commercial mix Residential-commercial mix as Greg the whole way down the bottom of that, how you see down there Greg, there are a lot of stuff stuck in there for years and nobody able to do anything with it now down to the station it's a complete different town you know and we've been talking about for this for some time there needs to be a proper plan doesn't there, I mean as you mentioned there's a major investment in letterkenny plan but the future of the bottom of the town so to speak probably needs particular attention it does surely do it needs particular attention there's stuff there and different people sitting on their hands every council has brought these motions or self and the planners walk the town one day with a whole way around the town they look for what is lying there and they can pick up some property in this town it would be great to see it going here and it's interesting that this event coming up on Friday is organised by the cathedral quarter group we know there are interests in that part of the town and also letterkenny tidy tans yeah and the whole lot is doing a great job and you look at the cathedral quarter with the whole thing back into this town centre bringing the town alive it's a great job you'd encourage people to attend I'm sure I would hope to see everybody there Greg everybody is on others just to come out and see what's going on yeah for sure it's this coming Friday in the station house hotel so it is down in that part of the town as well yeah station house Friday morning alright and do you have an idea of what the kind of the way it's going to go in terms of Kevin other presentations other presentations there for everybody's view what they would like to see happening what they would like to see this going yeah there's a local historian Kieran Kelly he's going to give a tour of Lower Main Street on Thursday evening talking about the history that starts at the market square at 7pm and finishes at the station house that's at 7 on the Thursday then the conference gets underway on Friday registration open from 9.30am to be a welcoming to the delegates by yourself of course the Mayor Kevin Bradley that's at 10am before it will be officially be opened by Green Party Chair and Senator Pauline O'Reilly as I mentioned the first part of the conference is looking at dereliction in Donagol and Northern Ireland and it is a broader of conversation as well because as I mentioned you know I think there's 8000 vacant homes in Donagol that's about 10% of the overall housing stock we need to stop talking about this and start sorting this out don't we we would hope that the recent grant allocations might help in that regard Kevin but something really needs to be done that's right but that's it I have to start showing it I'm just going to go okay yeah indeed all right Kevin listen thank you so much for your time I really do appreciate it that is Councillor Kevin Bradley he's an independent he's the mayor of letter Kenny as I say that conference Friday from 938 kicks off in earnest at 10 registration from 930 and it's down in the station house hotel and the say you have to start somewhere don't you 08 660 25000 let's get to some of your comments coming in this morning and I like to note actually it is World Emoji Day today the digital reactions used across social apps and messages have been around since 1998 World Emoji Day was created in 2014 by the founder of Emojipedia the date is to celebrate the universal language of emojis and their ability to portray emotions but can they I think some people find the thumbs up really quite dismissive don't like getting the thumbs up it's almost as bad as the K that Caroline tends to send me when she's finished with our conversation but the thumbs up I find it really quite lazy or is it really really good I don't know what's your favourite Emoji do you use them do you dislike them 08 660 25000 I live in the Killy Cloak area of Letra Kenny says this listener and last night at around 25 to 1 I saw 3 large lights in the sky but no sound has anyone any idea of what it could have been so 3 large lights in the sky no sound now the last time we saw strange sequence of lights in the sky in this part of the world it was Elon Musk satellites which are not quite in space and they're not in the Earth's atmosphere and they run like a string I'm not sure if that's what that listener saw but were you out and about last night after midnight did you see 3 lights in the sky what were they let us know in 2019 RT spent 26,000 for 6 people in a hotel shocking that's coming in from another listener I don't know that story must have been covered somewhere this morning because people are up in arms about it I call it says isn't the papers this is alright I kind of skipped past anything that started with the letters RT this morning I think people are living way above their means says listener and what's worse is the people of the 2000 upwards got used to living the high life when we were growing up in the 1960s we may do with what we had but now the people in their 30s and 40s want more than they can afford that I mean that's one listener that is of that belief I suppose if you did grow up in the 60s and 70s do you see a huge change not just in the world as such but in people's attitudes are we harder to please one of the biggest abuses of our children's rights at this very moment says this listener is our government homeless children waiting lists for sick children students being turfed out of their accommodation so landlords can make huge profits who's signing off on that our minister for children believes that listener it's a normal family forgotten about this is off the back of a conversation we were talking about sex education and it's just part of a curriculum change for leaving certain students affirmation carries what's basically being taught if you see all that is happening in the US should be enough parents should also be advised exactly what's happening out there the battle of parents are having school boards people should be able to see exactly what's taught before it is shown in class before they give consent and don't say it's just another subject to be taught it's not well they are making the changes to the curriculum it's open for consultation now by the way so now is the time if you are concerned to have your say look at what they're proposing and say no we don't want that or yes we do want that it is it's in consultation now so now is the time I think for people to have their say as well hi Greg I can't understand the great need to be talking to children about sex transgenders should be kept out of school a lot of ideology be better learning how to cook and keep that nonsense away from innocent children says one listener another should the video not be shown to parents before it's taught so the teachers have to practice with our children when they're comfortable then they show parents to decide that's putting the car before the horse I would be a big advocate of particularly controversial subjects like this that video and I said it on Friday don't want to keep repeating myself the parents get a chance to look at it it's the easier way to engage to look at it and have their say it's at draft stage and if enough parents say they do not want gender dysmorphia normalized maybe vulnerable children to maybe vulnerable children then they need to say no that's according to Vincent but also there's a lot of parents out there that are happy for their children to be taught of what is in the world not being taught how to do it or what to do it but there are different people out there with different that live their lives a certain way and is it harmful to educate children that that simply is the case I don't know I just want to add that I do agree parents should be aware of what schools are teaching that yes teach them the basics but let the children hold on to their innocence they do grow way too fast no need to bombard children with intimate details at such young ages right okay well we just the pauses are so I don't accidentally go from a serious comment into something less serious and then back again that's why I do pause from time to time this listener says Donagall could use the green agenda to build energy efficient houses under the DBS scheme take a look at Scandinavian countries who for years have built efficient houses our technology in the last 30 years is stone age compared to other countries but listen again this is where the message gets confusing because as part of the defective concrete redress scheme people are being encouraged incentivised to build houses rebuild houses to old standards like where is the sense in that how are we supposed to make sense of anything when census decisions are being made so yes of course we should be building super efficient houses under schemes and that's to be encouraged but we have a government funded minimum 2.9 billion scheme that effectively is rebuilding houses, building new houses to old standards so how does anyone make sense of anything when that is policy it's nonsensical I think anyway last one before we take a break for the news and obituary notices dogs are barking non stop in the Ballerain Gortley area it's very annoying keep my window closed and I can still hear them can you please with dog owners to attend to the dogs otherwise we'll have no alternative but to report it to the dog warden nothing worse than constant barking says this listener they are saying please if you've got dogs in that area Ballerain Gortley they're barking all night they can't sleep and they feel that if something is not done they may have to report it to the dog warden okay just a quick reminder of the numbers before we take that break for the news and obituary notices 086625000 that's your whatsapp and texts or give us a call at 07491 25000 green shoes big summer sale is now on both in store and online with up to 40% of men's, women's and children's footwear get great savings on the biggest names in footwear including Riker, Skechers and Tamaris also Echo, Heavenly Feet, Unahili and many more shoes, boots, shoes shoes, shoes, shoes shoes, shoes, shoes shoes, shoes, shoes and many more shoes, boots, sandals and trainers bag a bargain today a green shoes big summer sale now on in store in Latter-Kennie and Falkara and online at greenshoes.com in the next 15 seconds you're going to find out where is the best place in the north west to buy a bed or mattress it's rest text beds and furniture mountain top, Latter-Kennie where comfort meets style played on Fanny Golf Club Open Week from Thursday the 20th to Sunday the 30th of July, Three Ball Better Ball Open Ladies and Gents Stroke and Stableford Three and Four Ball Better Ball and a team classic just some of the daily competitions you can enjoy Come and play on Fanny Golf Club Open Week it's special to book call 0749136335 or book online at dunfannygolfclub.com Dirkfest Music Festival Castle Dirk presents Europe's Premier Queen Tribute Act Queen Sunday July 30th at the Dirkfest Big Top Castle Dirk Plus Ava Tribute the Bjorn Identity and Tributes to U2 and Lady Gaga Tickets 27.50 See Dirkfest.co.uk Sponsored by Castle Glass Castle Dirk Stripby Over 18s Live on air online and on the Highland Radio app This is Highland Radio News Good morning it's Donna Marie Darty with the news in full at 10 o'clock Dunny Gall's 5 TDs are to attend a meeting this morning with members of Dunny Gall County Council It's to discuss the national policy which restricts access on the N56 Gahirluck of Glanty's Municipal District says young people are emigrating from West Dunny Gall because they can't get permission to build houses close to home Councillor Michael McClaffordy added that county councillors do not have the power to challenge this and hopes TDs will raise it in the doll It's a national planning framework it's there to change and get our 5 TDs into the room this morning and half nine is arranged and we can obviously put our views across to them they're well aware of it anyway but we want to put our views across to them as a councillor such and see then can they get this into the doll get it raised in the doll because I firmly believe that if this was down to area elsewhere we wouldn't have been having this problem and it's once again as Dunny Gall just seems to get the hammering of Dunny Gall yes sir Postmortems will be carried out today on the bodies of two men who dialled while competing in a rally event yesterday the men who were aged in their 30s and 40s died instantly when their car hit a wall during the Sligo Stages rally near Balli Mote Gardi are asking that footage of the collision is not shared across social media or messaging apps Gardi and Motorsport Ireland are investigating Sligo based journalist Sarsha Crowley says both men were married young families they would have been known the length and breath of the country the entire 32 counties according to the men I spoke to yesterday they said they were very well known lovely lads and they would have been very experienced so there is a lot of shock and surprise and obviously there will be devastation for their families senior Garda officials are warning that low officer numbers have forced Gardi into reactive policing Antoinette Cunningham general secretary of the AGSI says there are no longer enough Gardi for a visible police presence in Ireland it comes as Fina Fall TD Willi O'Day criticised the justice minister on the government's new hate speech and crime legislation he says Gardi need to focus the limited resources they have on addressing the rise in street crime and anti-social behaviour in the country Antoinette Cunningham agrees I think he's absolutely right to flag something that AGSI have been saying for some time about the resources that at the present time are the lowest that they've had for a very long time at the end of May Garda numbers had dropped down to 13,927 we've turned into a more reactive police force and I don't think that the current model of policing is actually working Ireland's budget watchdog is calling for the government to set aside windfall taxes to pay for future pensions the amount of money spent on the state pension has grown by 50% in the last decade the Irish fiscal advisory council insists the state should now plan to meet increasing pension costs in the years ahead the IFAC's chair Michael McMahan says it's time to build up savings to meet spending needs taking some of the windfall corporations that are very lucky to be receiving at the moment and it gives a great opportunity to start building up a savings vehicle which the government has said they intend on doing but we would like to see it set for the pension cost councillors in the letter Kenny Milford municipal district are being asked to ring France any extra LIS money for a project in Garten councillor Michael McBride says the avenue from the heritage centre to Garten bridge is in a very bad state and it needs to be tarred as a matter of urgency at an MD meeting this week he'll ask colleagues to agree that if a second tranche of LIS funding arrives later this year that the stretch will be prioritised councillor McBride says the road is widely used a double child benefit payment could be made to parents after budget day it's understood to be among the once-off measures being considered by government to help with the cost of living talks between the coalition parties will intensify in the weeks ahead on what measures will be included in October's budget according to the Irish independent an extra two weeks of leave for new parents is also under consideration looking now to whether today is going to have some sunny spells and scattered showers highs of 15 to 18 degrees in a light occasionally moderate westerly breeze that's all for now, we'll be back again with the news headlines at 11 o'clock until then, good morning the obituary notices this Monday morning July 17th the death has taken place of Eileen Byrne Carrick McGrath Bally Buffay who's been posing at her late residence funeral leaving from there tomorrow morning at 10.20am for Rayquia Moth in St Mary's church session at 11am interment after in the adjoining churchyard Rayquia Moth will be streamed live via the parish youtube channel donations in lieu of flowers if so desired directly to the Dunigal hospice or care of any family member family time please from 10pm to 11am and on the morning of the funeral the death has taken place of Thomas Green Linden Avenue Beaumont Cork and formerly of Ra Rui cremation service at 4 o'clock this afternoon at the island crematorium Rocky Island Ringa Skiddy County Cork family flowers only please in lieu to Marymont hospice the death has taken place of Hugh Heron 68 Glen Road funeral from his home at 11am for 11.30 Rayquia Moth in St Eugene's Cathedral interment afterwards in the city cemetery the death has taken place of Mary Haggerty Ardmore Moth remains reposing at her home removal from there this morning at 10.15am to the Sacred Heart Church Moth for Rayquia Moth at 11am followed by interment in the adjoining cemetery Mary's Rayquia Moth can be viewed on mcnmedia.tv family time please before the funeral this morning family flowers only please donations in lieu if desired to the Dunigal hospice care of any family member funeral directors the death has occurred of Charlie Anthony McDade Trenta Boy Drum Keane reposing at his late residence funeral from there today for 12 noon mass in St Patrick's Church Drum Keane with burial afterwards in the family plot family time this morning before the funeral please family flowers only please the death has taken place of Sarah Duggan Moth for Rayquia Moth her remains are reposing at her home funeral mass today at 12 noon in Christ the King Church Gorta Hork Sarah's interment and the interment of her daughter Murray's ashes will take place in Gorta Hork cemetery after the funeral mass the funeral mass can be viewed on Kearn Rote funeral directors Facebook page and on the parish webcam for the family flowers only please donations in lieu to the patients comfort fund lake house nursing home care of any family member or Kearn Rote funeral director for more details including any family health guidelines for wakes and funerals please go to highlandradio.com and if you're a great value and award winning Irish steaks it's got to be Aldi Ireland's most reputable supermarket and you're very welcome back to the night until noon show good morning Eve you have just tuned in a caller says hope we don't go down the way England is going and not tell parents anything about what they're teaching our children everyone anyone can inquire as to what's being taught of their children I do think parents are going to take a bit more control we really really need a bus service in the town I presume this is letter Kenny every town in Ireland with the same population as a proper town bus service St. Constance Hospital is the perfect example of dereliction HSC is the massive property but still rent property from private sectors well a proper bus service a loss even a loss making one that runs regularly and people can trust it and then start availing of it so we were talking then about what the rules were in relation to dogs on blue flag beaches because years passed and people thought it was in but it was still in consultation and there was a bit of confusion last year I was confused I'm not saying there was mass confusion so thanks to Caroline here we checked up what exactly the rules and regs are at the moment so new rules came into force during the bathing season which started on June the 1st to control beach access for dogs and other pets assistance dogs not restricted so from 11am to 7pm each day from the 1st of June until the 15th of September dogs are only allowed in pet friendly zones on 10 blue flag beaches and two other beaches that it's hoped will gain blue flags in the coming years so Rosnola, Merva, Fintra Nairnport New, Ankargfin Kilahoe Marble Hill, Downings Port Salon, Rathmullen Lisfanen and Koldaf dogs are not allowed on these beaches between 11am and 7pm until the 15th of September that doesn't mean they're not allowed on lead, off lead, they're not allowed on the beaches at all there are some designated areas is it clear are you a beachgoer with a dog have you seen these designated areas of the beach or areas that are designated as not being dog friendly the restricted areas will include the area supervised by beach lifeguards plus a buffer either side so as of now just to recap dogs whether they're on a lead or off lead or other pets for that matter unless they're assistant dogs, guide dogs etc they're not allowed on the beach between 11am and 7pm on Merva, Rosnola, Fintra Port New Naran, Carrick Finn Killahoe Marble Hill, Downings Port Salon, Rathmullen Lisfanen and Koldaf so there you go it's clear as that now in terms of enforcement is it the dog warden, is it the guarder is it council staff is it anybody has there been any level of enforcement do you know any of this information 086625000 086625000 a very special a very special happy birthday to Tina Moore in Lurgy Brack lots of love from sister Sarah and niece in Oma could you please play a birthday request on the 9 till noon show for my sister Tina Moore Lurgy Brack Tina you're very popular celebrating a birthday today lots of love from her sister Sarah and her niece's nephew in Oma thanks a million that comes in from Sarah as I mentioned her sister no problem at all and our own Ashley McEever is celebrating her birthday today big roundy one I think is it I'm not quite sure happy birthday Ashley from all of us and your family I'm sure who didn't bother texting in to wish you a happy birthday so I presume maybe their batteries are flat or something I'm sure it's not that they don't care anyway couldn't be that surely right back after these and you know what the reason I said that I got about six thumbs up when I talked about emojis and I said the thumbs up emoji annoyed me I got six of them so there you go the favour has been returned the Counties number one talk show the 9 till noon show on Highland Radio it's time for NCBI bingo on Highland Radio it's Monday July 17th you're playing on a green coloured sheet the reference number is S1 it's game number 29 the numbers are the number 7 23 30 81 81 90 26 14 55 46 and 68 phone your claim to 9104833 before 8pm tonight leave in your name contact number and the name of the shop where you purchased your book get all your NCBI radio bingo information at highlandradio.com this is your business it's the first point of contact for customers when entering your premises at CNM and Broijery in Letter Kenny they have a huge range of clothing covering all areas of the workplace it's widely known that customers warm to and trust employees that present themselves well have your company name and broijery printed on all your work uniforms contact CNM and Broijery on 07491 28097 and get your staff done their best Hi, Paddy here at Shea and Connolly Cars in Donegal Town are you looking to upgrade your car? With Shea and Connolly Cars you'll find mix and models for every budget great finance options and may also accept ratings check out sheaandconnollycars.com or call on to us at Shea and Connolly Cars from down her road Donegal Town looking for the best place in the north west to get a bed or mattress rest x beds and mountain top letter Kenny great selection and great prices rest x beds has everything you need for a good night's sleep visit them today and sleep better tonight now a very good morning to Michael Rosemary Annie John Paul Charlie Sally Kathleen Marie all amongst the hundreds watching our live stream just to remind you that you can watch this program every day for three hours on our YouTube channel Highland Radio Ireland that's across all your devices your smart TV and your fire stick as well we're also on Facebook Highland Radio News & Sport or Highland Hub and as we watch live on our website you can click and watch in browser too and you can see the majority of our guests over the course of each show just to remind you too if you have any views about the football at the weekend heartbreak for the ladies of Donegal heartbreak for the men of Derry and Monaghan also probably feeling a little bit heartbroken this morning still Brendan Daveney is going to be joining us after 11 for a chat about all the weekend's GE action and also previewing Highland Radio's DL Debate podcast which is available for you a little later on today but on to other matters now and the CEO of alone is Sean Sean Monaghan thank you very much for joining us Sean good to have you on the show and good to be here we are seeing a direction of traffic now and it was foreshadowed we're seeing more and more automated checkout machines not just in the big stores but in smaller stores and you know places in smaller communities and older people were polled and quite a significant amount of them are not happy about this for different reasons of course so Sean what are older people telling you yeah look I think at the end of the day I suppose the polls show what the customer wants and I suppose traditionally private companies are good at providing services in line with what the customer wants but some of the automation that goes on is to leaving some people out at the moment are not providing them the service the way they want it so whether that's you know the utility companies we do an awful lot of work supporting all the people that if something goes wrong or a poor reading or whatever trying to get access to a person to sort out problems can be very difficult and we also obviously have that problem in shops where there's coming automators remember 20% of the population over a million people are over 60 and then another 13-14% of people may have a disability so they might have one have different customer service needs the organization should be listening to what the customer needs and how the customer wants to be serviced. And Sean can I say too of course this is a poll a survey of older people but I would say it's probably you know it's probably representative across all of all age groups a lot of people are finding the whole shopping experience more difficult than it needs to be a sterile experience I think more and more people are moving to getting shopping delivered to their homes I mean I know more people than I would have expected to that now don't go to the shop at all they just get it delivered to the door wherever they're living I don't know if that's it doesn't feel good for society that does it Well I think it's part of a much wider conversation and I think this is sort of sometimes it's the smaller elements of things small but important elements is you know there was a report weeks ago that says Ireland is actually the loneliest place in Europe so it's part of that disconnect of things that are disappearing in our communities relationships are disappearing loneliness across all age groups is high and highest in Europe and ultimately that means poor physical health and poor mental health and on top of that is it's also part of the conversation about an ageing society where ultimately is we now have a million people over 60 and rising so ultimately maybe transport systems, housing systems shops everything needs to adapt to maybe that the customer is changing I've said it on this show before and I'll say it again right now older people are some older people might start feeling now that they're a problem they're an inconvenience if you talk about issues in health it's about our ageing population and then when you see how our towns are being developed and designed are they really age friendly we're seeing for instance older people more inclined to use cash are being told that they can't pay at the turnstiles for a football match the local garter stations shut down and it's like death by a thousand cuts but the thing I issue I have with all of this Sean is that it's presumed that this is just the way it's going we're deciding all of this policy is deciding this our attitude we don't have to go down this route we can actually say to you we actually don't want everything we can actually be a society where we actually still interact and serve each other and laugh with each other and talk to each other we don't have to do this I think that's the that's the insight as I said it rolls up into that wider conversation around loneliness and everything else that's where we're driving because as I said the loneliness rates among young and old are united not everybody wants to go and live the way we're doing so I think this is part of the conversation there are wonderful things technology can do in health services etc and we're using technology to help people age at home but the reality is in different scenarios it's not what people want and as you say we decide the direction of travel and that's why conversations about how do we change what are the housing needs of an older population we find it really hard to get traction on that with a pre-budget launch last week and we really find how to get traction on some of the issues that affect older people even though it's 20% of the population it is a bit like well this is the way things are and we've got to keep driving in that direction and we think we need to be having a conversation and decide collectively what way we want it to be and we'll come to a stage I imagine where big shop supermarkets will start saying hell on ya there's a market here we can start appealing to older people and have different style checkouts where there isn't a rush or what have you I think that's happening already in some other countries but it's crazy because we're going into the direction that we're going to start sort of saying we now can exploit this and attract these people back and I think Sean one thing we shouldn't forget is that hopefully more of us will live older than ever did before this is going to be if you're listening now and you're 40 or 50 or 30 this is your future as well look at the way things are going now and look at the way the world might be when you're over 60 is that the way you want to go now we all need to buy in on this rather than people like yourself Sean very well of course there's always advocating on behalf of older people society needs to take more control over this situation as well I think back to that no cash for G.A. games things people huffed and puffed about that and they were ignored just ignored and is that really the way we want to go whereby big organisations, big companies make decisions and we just have to like it or lump it I think actually your prediction that what will happen is they'll try all the automation and then they get pushed back and then somebody will realise actually customer services where the added value is customer services where you attract whether it's older people or younger people or people with disabilities they attract people but I think that there will be a push back against this I think some of the great stuff around technology and medicine and healthcare are absolutely fabulous but in how we live our everyday lives if we cut out the human we've a phrase in here where we use technology so we're using technology to drive human interaction to learn more about the needs of older people and to respond to that and I think in societal terms that's really what we need to be using technology for to enhance people's lives not to cut down their human contact not to cut down their levels of satisfaction not to increase their stress but to make life better this is not just a feeling either and you mentioned this at the start and I just want to focus on it towards the end loneliness is not just it is a feeling of course but the impact it can have on people's mental and physical well-being as well they are linked which then in turn has an impact on people's independence or their dependence on health service or what have you again it's all very much in our interests if not for the care of other people then for the functioning of society that again everyone takes note of these types of conversations and where we're going I think look if you were talking now I mean I represent an organisation back in the first six months of the year up to 22,000 older people across the whole country every cornered country and I can tell you the levels of loneliness are really high the medical evidence is that it will damage your mental and your physical health and you will die younger is absolutely there but if you were interviewing the Samaritans or Jigsaw or a lot of other organisations that work with different age groups or different people that we're presenting needs they would be telling you the same thing and it's something we need to talk about we need to look at how our rural towns and villages and how our urban are going to work better for people you understand technology is going to keep coming in but how is it going to serve people rather than need to a situation where people are isolated, lonely, cut off unsupported and don't feel cared for Sean thanks for your time this morning Sean Moynihan CEO of Alone There a texture says hi Greg I just want to say I have a relation who's very ill possibly end of life at Kenney University Hospital we called in yesterday I add not at visiting time but the staff in Medical 5 were so lovely they brought tea, coffee, sandwiches and biscuits and treated us like royalty they were busy but took the time to do to be kind they get so much negative reviews I had to tell you our experience God bless them all thanks Greg and indeed and just to clarify often the negativity is based on their working environment not the great care and treatment provided by the staff Harry good morning to you are you there no Harry's not through yet is he no we'll get Harry through in a second could you ask Sean has any progress been made on the fair deal scheme for home care that comes in from Connell Connell maybe that's just quite an important issue that we might focus separately on that because a lot of people might be interested in that hi Greg is that should we go to Harry now hi Harry good morning to you good morning how's it going I'm all right so I'm good right Harry you what's your experience of using self-service Tills not great but had a problem with me tap carried like you know and I've used the money committed my account four times and the tap something happened with the towel and just lucky I'm on a wheelchair and the person cared me had money with and I paid for my shopping because they actually took nearly 150 euro to my account and left me limbo then all week I couldn't get money out of the county and for two weeks because they didn't give me the money back and they called the ghost account then because something happened with the tap character there was nothing wrong with the character but every time you tapped the money was coming out but the till wasn't saying that you'd paid so you effectively ended up paying four times plus then with cash at a regular till yeah was it tough to get the money back took ten working days wow and you know I would have just depend on it like lucky the boy cared for me I would have been no that week I would have had no money you could get nothing out of the bank money for the person cared for me like you know that's you finished with the tap and go now you're a cash a cash man cash man you know what I mean like you know but it's no joke like you know you depend on it like you know that's crazy how you can do it like you know no I've been listen I I don't use cash much that happened three weeks ago and I was clean running from one shop to the bank and one was blaming the other were taking money but actually it was the bank of Ireland that took the money out of the county like you know but you got it back eventually but as you say though that was a hundred and fifty zero odd that you didn't have access for for ten days and you know things are tight I mean that's that's through no fault of you know yeah okay right but from now on as I say I was going to say I would tap away and I'm pretty good at keeping track of it if you know what I mean but I have been called out a couple of times where the phone didn't tap properly and I had no cash and no backup so I always try and carry a bit of cash with you now myself Harry well like I've made people to have cash because the separation the technology doesn't really work out the thing you know that's your experience for sure actually I got back to him for that I got back from the bank alright good stuff and thankfully you had someone with you too that was able to help you out with the cash they had the cash with them of course yeah exactly you'd have had no shopping and having paid for it four times effectively exactly alright Harry listen thanks so much for your time I appreciate that so that's Harry's experience not pleasant and it's kind of in some people it wouldn't be embarrassing but for others you know when you tap and sometimes you've reached the amount of times you can tap your cards and then you have to put the card in or if it's on your phone and it can all get very embarrassing at the till but that was Harry's experience at a self-service till watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at highlandradio.com design driven by impulse, performance in tune with your emotions an instant connection, electric at Cooper we believe in galvanizing these instincts it's why the Cooper born are 100% electric model, looks feels and behaves unlike anything else on the road follow your impulse and visit cooperofficial.ie our incredible July offers Cooper born, test drive today, own it tomorrow Kelly's diner in Etter County proudly introduce its newest member of the team a family friendly robotic waiter it's the only one of its kind in the northwest there to help staff serve customers and with a packed menu to pick from all week from early to late there's loads to do if you'd like to see this robotic waiter in action just hop into Kelly's award winning diner today at mountain top Etter County now we are joined on the program by a legend of music and broadcasting and you're going to have an opportunity to to see him up here very soon it's Ronan Collins Ronan good morning to you thanks for joining us good morning Greg nice to talk to you this morning how are you getting on very very well thank you very much indeed and thank you for the description of an alleged I always think in my lifetime I always think in my lifetime legends were generally people who were very old and past their prime well I think I don't know where I fall into neither I think it's a phrase that's often thrown around with good intent but when you maintain one of the longest running radio shows on Arland's national station pulling in quarter of a million listeners I think that sort of gets you into that category quite comfortably well thank you for the compliment in terms of how people know you obviously primarily is it the case that people would associate you with the radio show in others are going to know your musical background as well but is that what's the balance there in terms of I think the fact that I've been I was around for so long and I started off in music and I got into radio and I was lucky enough to be able to continue with my fascination for music in all the programs that I did down through the years and then in television you know I had a television career for about 20 years and I did game shows and famously play the game and then I did the Lajo draws where I became very much a part of people's households for a few years when everybody used to look at the Lajo draw when it was only available on television at five past eight on a Wednesday night or a Saturday night and I became synonymous with that so I think all of those things together kind of turn you into a very familiar sight and sound and I was very comfortable with it it was great and how has life been without the regular commitment of the one-hour show of course people can still hear the Collins collection on Bank Holidays and work in RT Gold it's a huge change in your life and routine is it stepping away from an everyday show absolutely it has been a great change but it's been an extraordinarily happy change I mean I'm into my seventh month now yeah seven months since I've been on daily radio and I haven't missed the grind of the drive-in every day because I don't live in Dublin where I was broadcasting and yes I had the facility to do it from my home if I wanted to but I never did that I always felt that part and parcel of the job was going to the station and doing it so that daily commute of 150 kilometers every day is gone and I have a different rhythm to my life I don't seem to be I don't seem to be any less busy with things I have so much still to do but I think a lot of it is personal it is more leisure if you like but I'm still working I'm doing gigs at night with the bands and as you mentioned I have a commitment with RTE Gold which takes up my Tuesday and once a month then for RTE Radio 1 for the Collins Collection and we've had amazing guests on that and we're actually recording another one next week for the for the Bank Holiday Monday on the 7th of August it'll be Christy Moore just me and him and it was kind of an interesting departure from the daytime show because of course I'm not saying you were but you want to be at pains don't you to say this is going to be my focus now I'm not going away I'm not retired I'm not going to be taking around the back of the house or anything you know what I mean so it's a case of getting the message across that yes you're not going to necessarily hear me regularly every day every weekday at 12 you know I've got so much else on and time to afford my own interest a little bit more of their attention my attention absolutely and the other thing about it is is that my career for certainly the last 20 years has involved live music very much as well and that was something that I wasn't moving away from but I didn't feel it would be right at the end of last year to say I'm I'm giving up the daily program on RTE Radio 1 but I'm going to do this that and the other because that wasn't what it was about it was about leaving something behind that I had done for a long time and I needed as you get older you need a bit more time if you want to focus on other things you can't do everything you want to do forever and ever so that was why I made the change and it also gave the opportunity for somebody new and younger to come in and see if they can have a go at it and try and get as much out of it as I did and if they do well they'll have a ball yeah I hope so but again it kind of felt like you obviously are able to make your own decisions but why you have such a familiar voice but anyway things change and there's always a point in time where things change there was also the thing that it was an opportunity for me to make my decision myself and do it my own way and in the broadcasting business because I was a freelancer an independent contractor of whom we've heard so much of late but I didn't have a staff job in RTE never wanted one always wanted to be able to do other things as well and it was an opportunity for me last year after my thought processes I was 70 last October and I said wouldn't this be a great time to just park this and focus on other things and have time to do more of what I want to do and that's why I did this a quick question and it's been talked about so much of late and I want to move on to the gig obviously with the love and affection you have for RTE it must sadden you to see the reputational damage that's been caused it will recover time moves on and things move on and things change as much surprise do you welcome the fact that maybe they're starting to talk about cultural change there if you want it Ronan I want to talk about the music I think the mix of public service broadcasting and commercial broadcasting has always been strange bedfellows and I think it has proven to be a difficulty for RTE and we're seeing things now yes it is what's going on but in the words of the great gay burn this too will pass and out of the embers or the ashes or whatever RTE will rise again and I just hope that there's no victims in this I understand what you're saying there right Ronan on Wednesday the 2nd of August at 8pm in the waterfront hotel there's a brilliant show talk to the people now about what they can enjoy what is happening in the beautiful venue that is the waterfront well I can tell you that this is the achievement of an ambition I've had for years I've never been at the Mary from Dunlow Festival first of all I've had a great association with Donny Gull through the years right back to the 1970s when I was up there with Dickie Rock and we used to play the Borderland in Muff or the Pavisi in Donny Gull and we played in Lerick Kenny and Killy Beggs and just everywhere all over Donny Gull with the bands and we used to actually go up there and stay in Donny Gull town and you would do nearly a full week of gigs all around the county and that's how big Donny Gull was in terms of the music thing and of course Donny Gull always maintained its great association with music through its own artists down through the years and Daniel it might have been a good idea that maybe the show band memories could be brought up and realised that I was doing a show which is basically show band memories now we have our reeling of the show band year's tour which we do in January and February but this show is Ronan Collins singing show band hits with special guests and we've Brendan Shine and Sandy Kelly and the band are the conquerors and if you look up the festivals this summer and see what band is backing all the great artists it's the conquerors and they're a terrific band and then having Brendan Shine on Brendan has been just a legend for all those years and Sandy herself a great performer, a great show person and it's just a great opportunity for us to bring this show and bring these memories and the songs to Donny Gull and where better to do it and I mean the Mary from Dunlow Festival I always think things like this are brilliant for people in the local area who want to relive the brilliant memories but there's going to be people from Germany or America or something that might be able to grab a ticket that just happened to be visiting what an experience for those people will be as well and the show band era it comes upon programs like this all of the time people have great memories met their partners there about nine months after a show travelled great distances you know you'd have people that would probably have attended every single show that you did while you were in Donny Gull all over the county and all across the region and still there's a new generation of people that appreciate and love the show band music too absolutely and you know it was a great fun time I wasn't in the bands in the 60s when they were in their heyday it was the mid 70s before I got any chance to go on the road with Dickie Rock all those years ago who was still doing the business still doing the business in the 70s as was Joe Dolan and the thing had moved considerably from the ballrooms and it was now incorporating hotels and concert venues and it was Dickie and Joe who forged that particular thing of concert venues for essentially a show band act but they were exceptional at the time and I think looking back over the years there was a huge social significance in the 1960s because there was nothing else to do except go to the show and it became an extraordinary phenomenon uniquely Irish and it really had a great run from about 1960 until 1967 1968 thereabouts and of course the Miami show band murders kind of killed if you forgive the analogy it just killed the business completely and such a tragedy and such a terrible way for the whole thing to end and what happened was bands continued on for a few more years but then the social thing fizzled out completely and other things moved in, you know clubs and discos and hotels with bars and music and it went a different way but that didn't eliminate people's desire to go and see the great stars and there were other stars who emerged in the 70s then and the great red hurley came out in the 70s and did the ballroom circuit because that's what you did, the band from called the champions Daniel O'Donnell appeared in the 1980s and did the ballrooms and the hotels for a long time before he became the biggest concert act of all and it was just it was quite extraordinary and all the time I think it was the Irish people's love of a few good old songs and a bit of crack and that's basically what it is, it's very I don't want to call it simple entertainment but it's very straightforward it's about good music well played by good artists and great musicians like the conquerors do you have a song that you think for you is synonymous with the show band era? well I'm lucky enough in that I've had a singing voice for years and I sang when I was in the band years ago I drummed and sang at the same time and never had the desire to be at the front and when we started to revive the show band songs through the CDs that I compiled about it must be 15 years ago now they were a huge success and there was a great demand from people can we see these stars and so we ran shows with Dickie and we had Brendan Boyer on the shows and all the great stars through the years but unfortunately Dickie doesn't perform anymore Brendan Boyer has passed and we never got Joe Dull because Joe still had his career when we started our show band things and then when Joe died in 2007 and and Dickie had done the shows with this it became difficult to kind of get the stars there were less and less of them so I started singing the songs myself now how hard is my neck great pretty hard well matured through the years so I now sing songs that were Dickie rocks and thankfully I have the opportunity to sing lots of Joe Dolan songs and indeed I have a separate show called Joe Dolan songs that I do where I'm not I don't wear a white suit I don't look like Joe Dolan I don't act like Joe Dolan but we sing the songs and we perform the songs that he had not just his hits but some of his great album tracks that he did so asking me for my favourite songs is like asking me about who's my favourite child I tried to be clever and say is there a song that you believe is synonymous with the era but you figured me out Ronan ok well listen I'm going to remind listeners it's been farewell to you I'm going to remind listeners of when, where and how to get their tickets but it's been lovely chatting to you and we're going so well for you and we can't wait to have you up here in Donegal performing all the big show band tracks thanks so much Ronan well thank you very much indeed Greg and can I say just before you go just before I go that it's a wonderful kick on my on my CV now to have appeared in Highland Radio because you know people think that when you're in RTE for years you're not aware of what's going on around the country of the success of Highland Radio in Donegal and up in the north west generally so it was always a great boost to me whenever I got to contact some people in Donegal to my radio program to know that they were listened to both of us that's lovely thanks very much and beautifully thank you Ronan Ronan Collins there now he sings the show band hits with the conquerors show band plus special guest Sandy Kelly and Brendan Shine it's all part of the Mary Dunlowe Festival and his gig is on Wednesday the 2nd of August at 8pm in the Waterfront Hotel Dunlowe tickets are 25 euro and they're on sale right now at the Waterfront Hotel reception festival office and online and it's going to be a cracker for people visiting the area but for people from here who love that whole show band era and the tracks and it's one after another are absolutely brilliant and it was lovely to speak to Ronan Collins there as to say we do use the word legend quite a lot but it certainly applies in that man's case and support this momentous milestone this ad is kindly sponsored by forward emphasis mallet you have a nice time love we went for a picnic me pinched my sunglasses the ones that you got me right and corner had a massive fight I died for the frisbee graze my knee nice one making me take plaster as mom needs a fever flared up had to buy anti histamines it started lashing down but hello waterproof mascara and I'm convinced there's salt and in my hair please tell me you got dry shampoo mm-hmm best day ever incredible offers all summer long with you for our perfectly imperfect summer boots with you for life Kelly Steiner and Etter Kenny proudly introduce its newest member of the team a family friendly robotic waiter it's the only one of its kind in the north west there to help staff serve customers and with a packed menu to pick from all week from early to late there's loads to do if you'd like to see this robotic waiter in action just pop into Kelly's award-winning diner today at mountaintop better Kenny Gavin here from iMotors join me on the Nissan road show in SuperValue don't load at 20th of July 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Kili Begg SuperValue 21st of July 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Kiernan's Balichana 22nd of July 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as we will be showcasing our 232 Nissan lineup test drive on the day and being with a chance of winning a 500 euro SuperValue voucher iMotors your Nissan dealer for the north west now as we heard earlier a judge has written to several ministers demanding immediate and coordinated action to deal with an unprecedented crisis in the provision of placements for troubled children in the care of the state Judge Dermot Sims who has since retired from the Dublin Metropolitan District Court sent the detailed letter accompanied by related documents after he had been told in court by the child and family agency of an accused by Tisla the judge specifically referred to unapproved and unregulated special emergency arrangements suggesting there could be as many as 130 of these placements Dr Maria Corbett is chief executive of the child law project and joins us on the program now thank you for your time today very good good morning I'm wondering is any of this information from the judge coming out as a surprise but I would imagine it's welcome that it's getting the spotlight through his commentary Maria yeah the work that we do the child law project we attend the child protection cases and around the country so we've been doing this for 10 years so we can see that these cases are appearing before the judges and we believe that there's a growing frustration on the part of professionals and judges that the situation the moment is very difficult for some children in care whereby there aren't appropriate places for them so the judges letter very much reflects what we've been seeing and we believe it is it is very important that he has done this because we do need to and that's why we've with his permission decided to publish the case it is letter is to make sure that the public understands that this is happening and to try and garner some attention among the politicians among the civil servants to try and bring about a solution to the current issues where do we begin with finding a solution I wonder doctor yeah I mean you know obviously children in care many whom are placed in foster care most 90% and they have very ordinary lives but for some children they have significant needs so one of the key place things that we need to start is early supports and services for children and those services are around disability autism they're around and mental health issues anxiety self harm eating disorders those kind of issues as well as psychiatric issues and responding to the trauma that the children some children have experienced in their early lives so what we have seen as part of the problem at the moment is we don't have services in place so we don't have the services and then for those children who have more complex needs we then don't have placements to provide them with a care setting so the placements would be in foster care or residential care so in terms of what we need to do other than services and placements we absolutely need interagency and interdepartmental action so at the moment we don't have a strategy or plan that brings together the relevant stakeholders perhaps under a forum or some sort of a committee with a clear roadmap to what to do so that would be one of the big things that we'd be asking for at the moment. Yes and it's important that we act on this really really quickly that this is not something that just falls off the news cycle it has to be kept a priority and I think really reaction from relevant ministers is really important to make some sort of a commitment say that this is acknowledged this is what we intend doing this is unacceptable this can't blow over because for the people affected it's not going to blow over and there'll be more in the future as well. Exactly and I mean what's happening at the moment when there isn't a placement to such putting in place an emergency setting but for children if they're a day in that setting that might be one thing but if they're a long term in that setting can be very damaging in terms of good outcomes for them and one example and we normally when we publish cases we don't normally name where they're from we either say Dublin or outside of Dublin but unusually in one of the reports we actually mentioned that the child from Dublin was placed in the north west and he was placed there in a setting it was a private setting and the providers decided to move him but they only gave the social workers two days notice and he was moved then two days notice from the north west to the south east and again he was still far from his family in Dublin so when you look at things like that a sudden move a shift across the country two shifts a good two different place around the country this boy was nine like a young child in a residential unit merely with needs that needed to be addressed in terms of education where therapeutic supports and connecting with his staying connected with his family in this community so we need to do better than that. Yeah and it's not going to wash to say we're trying our best resources are available we're struggling in this area or that you know I mean we can fix big problems here we need to be solution focused don't we and not talking about excuses here people need to put their hands up and say this is actually completely unacceptable we can't be treating particularly young people like this or those involved in providing care for an example as well because they're being caught out in certain circumstances too I'm sure this needs to be a hands up job it's unacceptable and this is what we are actually going to do to try and eliminate this happening into the future. Yeah exactly I mean there's a real need for as a community for more social workers for more people to enter professions like social work social care we need a greater workforce in that area all the therapeutic services and the money is there it's actually more by putting the structures in and very importantly it's about interagency engagement so the child and family agency Tuesday needs the support of the HSE disability mental health services you also need the cards and others involved so it really is about joining the dots and as you say you know we do need to engage with this now because unfortunately it just creates a harder life journey for them when they've experienced difficult care placements. And unless the structures and supports are in there the struggle to recruit people to foster is going to continue as well and it's a cycle that needs to be broken and as I say there's lots of people with concerns about children into the future everyone needs to worry about what's happening right now as well and say what can we do or who can we contact to support these children the people working with them. Thank you so much for your time Dr Maria Corbett who's Chief Executive of the Child Law Project 08 660 25000 is the whatsapp and text number there or give us a call at 07 491 25000 thanks by the way for all to all of you who are messaging in texting in and we'll get to them of course as this morning wears on but we do want to and have to take a break now for the news and that's coming up just around the corner. Usually a radio ad is recorded in a recording studio. Today I'm phoning this one in on my run but I didn't want to carry my phone so for the first time I'm calling for my smartwatch because only Vodafone's one number lets me share my mobile plan and number with my smartwatch so I can stay connected everywhere even without a phone. This is one number only with Vodafone available to customers on a 12 or 24 month read on a limited plan. Eligibility limitations and terms apply. www.vodafone.ie forward slash terms. Home industry, sheep shearing and show jumping. Entries closed at 22nd of July. You can enter online at clanmoneyshow.com or buy entry form to the secretary. Email clanmoneyagrichow.com The two day clanmoney agricultural show the 8th and 9th of August packed full of events for all the family. Want to live a more sustainable lifestyle but not too sure how to start. Join me, Donemary Dordy every Tuesday at half past 12 for its hours to protect to learn all the tips and tricks ours to protect is funded by commission them on with the television license fee and the partnership between Highland radio and the independent broadcasters of Ireland. Check out ours to protect dot i e for more info with all the stories that matter across the Northwest. It's Greg Hughes on the 90 noon show on Highland Radio. Okay, it is 11 o'clock. It's time for a news update and it's over to Donemary Dordy. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. A meeting is underway between Donegall's five TDs and members of Donegall County Council at County House Lifford. It is to discuss the national policy which restricts access on the end 56. Here look of Glenty's Municipal District Council Michael McClaffordy says young people are emigrating from West Donegall because they can't get permission to build close to home. Two men killed in a crash on the Slago rally yesterday have been named as Jean McDonald and Dara McGuire. The pair had been taking part at the sixth stage of the rally when their car hit a wall. Investigations by Gardie and Motorsport Ardent are ongoing this afternoon. An assault reported yesterday in Cloddy is being treated as a sectarian related hate crime. PSNI and Derry are appealing for information after a man in his 30s was assaulted by a group of men at around 10.45 last night in the Balna rate road area. They made away in a silver Leon car. The victim was shouted at, the language of which was abusive and sectarian in nature, he sustained minor injuries. Climate change exacerbates normal weather conditions that's according to climatologist and professor Emeritus of Geography at Manuth University, John Sweeney. Countries in southern Europe have been warned to expect the heat wave to become even more intense this week after temperatures hit 39 degrees Celsius in places. Wildfires in La Palma and the Canary Islands have forced thousands of people to be evacuated. Three Donegal-based not-for-profit projects have been awarded 20,000 euro by the Ireland Fund's Heart of the Community Fund. The recipients are Spree August Sport Family Centre, Lara Enid Akwini Nahduhra and Liquid Therapy. It's from a national total of 930,000. And finally, Gale Talk waiting lists are growing because of a surge in interest in those who want to speak Irish. Many students left without spaces this year with most courses from September to Christmas fully booked. Matt and Tee and Fur and Tee have left the system after Covid-19 with even more due to retire. Those are the latest headlines we'll be back again with more news updates at 12 o'clock. Until then, good morning. Have you started typing out when you're back on the radio again? Does that actually say 12 o'clock on the sheet of paper? It does. That is very efficient. It does, it does. I kept saying good afternoon at 11 o'clock. You've adapted. Let's thank you very much indeed. All right, that's Donna Marie Doherty. She mentioned back with you. Are you just going to have a chat? I'm still on the radio. Tee is just talking away there. I'm only joking. We'll be back shortly. All right, wishing Ashley and McGee for a very happy birthday from Mary C. Hope you have a lovely day and are spoiled loads by you know who. Don't know who that could be, maybe me. Ashley's family would send a text. The internet would crash because there's so many of them as well. You know, Greg. Anyway, I hope Ashley has a great day and that she enjoys her big birthday. OK, thanks very much indeed for that. OK, Brendan Deveney's joining me now on Zoom. And the reason I know that is because he didn't walk into the studio and logged in on Zoom. That's the only way I know what you're doing, Brendan. You're very hard to work out, man. Yeah, yeah. How to keep tracks on me, Greg. You like the surprise? It's great to see you're breaking up me Monday, man. I'm a slow starter there generally. So thanks. Well, you're looking fresh on it. The Donegal ladies lost to Dublin in the All Island quarter-finals. And you've got Maxie Corrin on the show. But you'll take on it. Mine, as the armchair fan, they just let Dublin not let Dublin away. Dublin just got away a wee bit early in that game and it was just really hard to claw back. They're too good a team maybe to give a head start. I'm not saying anyone knowingly did, but watching the game, that's a little bit how it felt for me. Yeah, very well set up, Greg. You know, tactically, whenever we come inside there, 45, at least two players coming at our attacking player. Maybe three at times when they broke in. The pace that they broke with serious athleticism, Greg, you know. And I suppose that's a team, Greg. They've been in eight of the nine last All Island finals. It's a team every year that's the favourites they're there about. They're going to get their crown back after Meath had the last couple of seasons. So, yeah, listen, it's been an interesting season, Greg. I suppose after the relegation and we were I suppose on Earth and blooded a lot of young talent through that league. It was a really tough league. A lot of hammer-ins given out, Greg. And we came out in the championship then and pulled it together. We got numbers back. One Ulster, which was phenomenal. And I suppose, as Maxi said, you know, it was a great week. Of course, all the early champions. So there was a bit of hope in there, Greg, that we maybe could pull off a performance against up and particularly at home. But listen, as he said, that was non-believeably well-drilled and sleek outfit. You know, it's good. It's good performance as I've seen in a long time. Lots of positives then to take from the season, you know, the lows and the highs and I suppose know what works. What does it work where the future lies and so on and so forth. I'll talk to Amir Galar after the game as well. And, you know, she was out there and, you know, so generous just with her time and all the way kids coming up getting autographs and pictures, you know, even after a defeat like that. So gracious over out in that pitch. She was the last one out there. She spoke to me at the end and just spoke about spoke very well about the future of Donegal and Mount the Young Girls that have had serious experience this year. And there is there always has to be a bit of a rebuild and a change. When you have a team like Donegal's particularly under Maxie the last few years have been knocking on the door continuously. There's obviously going to have to be a big turnaround at some stage and that's kind of happening at the minute, but she was very positive in terms of the future. How important is game time, you know, when you're an emerging talent or have a bright future. How important is, you know, some people say, blooding players or, you know, the older terminology. How quickly do you learn from those big match day experiences and how does it benefit you in your career then going forward? Brendan. Yeah, I suppose you have a couple of things I give individually and then you have as a team. You know, if you're a team that's set and it's on the way up, you know, the experiences of playing in big games or defeats or ones, whatever they all stand you as a team. Then individually, if you're coming into a team like Donegal this year, which isn't a transition that can be difficult because you're more just finding out about yourself in terms of being a player. But so listen, no matter what, you know, if you come up against like a team like Dublin history, even though it seems very harsh, there's a serious amount of learning in that in terms of if you want to get to the pitch of it, if you want to learn, there's where you've got to go. So if I was those players yesterday, I'd be looking at those Dublin players find out what they're doing and what's going on with them to make them so easy, but certainly, no matter what, unless you're some kind of unbelievably talented player coming in, you do have to learn and there is always hardships in there where you get a few lessons and then over time that experience stands to and you see it right across the game there, you know, you have an odd player come in that's just unbelievably gifted, but by and large, most players have to kind of do a bit of time before they find their feet in the in the county game. Yeah, well, Ulster's involvement in the men's games over for another year. So, Derry, it was a very frustrating game, you know, in it for so long, leading at times and then just all went to, it felt like it all went to bits then. I would say the Derry team, Derry fans very sore this morning, Brendan. Yeah, very sore. Listen, it was an unbelievable weekend. Listen, everybody just completely ridden off Monahan and Derry in terms of having a chance yet, you know, with 60 minutes gone into the home stretch, you know, Monahan will have to be doubling. Derry were a point up or whatever and looking good as both Derry may be looking better than Monahan were in the end. I think Derry will come away with a lot of what-ifs. I think Monahan gave it their all. They were just coming up against short against a Dublin team, particularly when the likes of McCarthy and Fenton got the Gripsuit in midfield, you know, their subs come on. We always knew that we didn't expect Monahan to be that close at that point. It was a huge effort from them, whereas Derry kind of had Kerry on the rack, you know, just that second half. I mean, 111 in the first half agreed to only have four in the second half. You would never expected that. I mean, that was a phenomenal bit of scorn from them. Of course, completely like changed the narrative around what we thought were going to happen. Derry like went at Kerry at times and it was brilliant to see and it's maybe something about Ulster teams we've been talking about this for years. They go down to Crow Park. That kind of negative tactic doesn't work enough, but Monahan and Derry really went after Dublin and Kerry at times, which is brilliant to see and I suppose there's a lesson for Ulster teams that we have also challenged. It's all down down battles. It's defensive. Nobody wants to give anything away, but when we get to Crow Park then that doesn't work and it hampers all Ulster teams somewhat. And now you're saying that teams are learning. You've got to have a go with teams and it was a phenomenal performance from them. And listen, again, Clifford, you know, you just spoke about players that didn't have to come in and maybe get a bedding in. He's just one of them guys. That was the difference then. I mean, a couple of his points, even though he had two or three players converging on him, no space. It's just a phenomenal talent. Take him out of it and Derry are definitely in the All-Ireland final. And there's a lot of what-offs for them, Greg. And as you said, so were the day. Nobody more than Shane McGuigan. He seemed to get caught in the end of so many hits. He put on a huge performance as well. But you know, Rogers at midfield, absolutely colossal thought as well. And certainly, Derry, you know, 2019, Greg, they were playing in division four. I mean, it's an absolutely phenomenal turnaround. They're minor champions this year. You could have made the under 20s as well. Only the players were pulled to play with the seniors, Glenn, our Ulster champion. So, Derry football from the bottom tier of a GAA is at a phenomenal turnaround. And is this a peak or part of an upward progression? It's hard to bounce back from really being so close to a final. And you never know what happens once you get into the final. But, I mean, do you build from this, or does this be is this the end of that rise, I wonder? Yeah, but you'd have to say it is progression. You obviously have the situation with the management and Gallagher in there, and it was him that kickstarted all this. Now, there's question marks there. Cairn Mina has taken over since, you know, has there been any key change in there? We probably didn't see the best of them this year in terms of they come through one Ulster and that penalty shootout, you know, didn't set the world out in the group stages, you know, they did a social game against Cork. So, that's why we were built balding in this game, looking at Kerry thinking if they play like that, they're going to be in trouble, but they completely raised their game. So, there definitely is another bar and the age range of the group so with that, underage talent coming through and club talent as well, I think there's more to come from Derry, which maybe is not a great thing from Erdogan's perspective, but certainly, you know, everything's looking right in the county for them to push on. A rise in tide lifts all boats, so everyone has to drop the game. Obviously, everyone then gets the outside of the affected counties, gets the glamour final that they wanted, Dublin, Kerry. The strong positives and weaknesses in both sides. Is that a 50-50 game? Yeah, definitely good. I mean, you look at last year, the semi-final came down to that famous Sean O'Shea shot, they must have been 60 yards out and, you know, at that point the thing that differentiates that Craig is the players that Dublin have back, you know, namely, like Jack McCaffrey, Clarkson come back, you know, Manion, you know, top-top players. They've now created a situation where they have unbelievable talent on the bench, which maybe they didn't have last year. Conor Killian was injured for that game last year and still it took that one point to Kerry's to outdo them. So, as I've now dubbed them in a lot of those players, and maybe even Desi Farrell, it's been one massive push because I think there could be a load of retirements at the end of this and the end of that brilliant Dublin saga, so they want one more all-errant. This and Kerry have it within them that last year, you know, with all those players involved, you think Dublin's certainly a stronger squad. I think it'll give them a slid of eights going into that final. Yeah, depth of squad is so important in the modern game, isn't it? Definitely, Greg, definitely. And, you know, it's been an interesting championship. We've changed the format. You know, we've got the Provincials now kind of hanging in there. The season's too crushed. There's two squashed in together, you know, even with those group stage games is the quarter-final game and then playing the fall and making seem some very flat performances and I know the management's of the Lexatrona and Mayonet weren't complaining about that, but it must have been a factor. So I think maybe the championship needs a complete overhaul. But we're happy enough with the group stages, Greg. I just don't see how the Provincials have gone on and gone back to the start of our conversation, even though we love Ulster and it matters so much to us. I think it's probably hampered us when we get into all-errant series because the Provincials are probably on the way out, Greg, because the other three Provincials don't seem to care that much at all. Yeah, all right. Interesting stuff. So Maxi Coran and Brendan Davani will be in conversation looking about the Donagall ladies to feed to Dublin. You have Monahans Paul Finlay along with Derry Star and Donagall coach Paddy Bradley on the show as well to talk about the men's semi-finals. It's all live after 7pm today. Podcast then later on the highlandradio.com website and you can listen to the deal debate in association with Sarah's Kitchen and sister Sarah's letter, Kenny Brendan. Listen thank you very much for joining us and we look forward to the show later. All right, take care of yourself. That is Brendan Davani there. Show live just after the 7pm news this evening and available for podcast then for you on our website highlandradio.com The county's number one talk show The 9 till noon show on Highland Radio Experience comfort like never before at half the price in our massive hotel quality mattress sale now on at Better Value Furnishings Mavil. Due to over stocking we must clear hundreds of mattresses at half price get your quality mattress at half price and sleep like a king Better Value Furnishings main streak Mavil. 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Search All State MI careers today. Highland Radio time checks with Expressway. Travel Route 32 from Letty Kennedy Dublin when you book online and travel for less. Expressway, bringing you the time at... 16 minutes past 11. Now we had a rare visitor to Donegal recently and no, it was not the sun. It was a black-winged Pratt & Coal. Chris Ingram spotted the bird, took the picture. He joins us now. Hi, Chris. Hello, Greg. Good to have you on the show. So talk to us about this bird, its origins and why it would be rare to be seen in these parts. It's come from the Black Sea area or Southern Asia. It's only the third one ever seen in Ireland. The previous ones were in 1935 and 1974, so it is a really rare bird. But, Chris, you must have great knowledge to spot its rarity to realise that it was a fish out of water, so to speak. Well, there's three types of Pratt & Coal. The collared Pratt & Coal, which incidentally has also been seen at Blanket Nock in 2019. There's four previous records of that one. And the Oriental Pratt & Coal, which has never been seen in Ireland, but there's one or two records from the UK. And the Black Wing Pratt & Coal, which is extremely rare here. And is this bird that you spotted and identified so rare that people with an interest in birds might even make their way to the area in the hope of spotting it? We've had people here from all over Ireland. In fact, there's still people here this morning, a man from Waterford and someone from over the border. Why is it likely to have found its way here? Has it flown off course? Or could this be the beginning of a trend? Chris, have you chatted amongst yourselves and figured out why it was spotted or found its way to Newtown Cunningham? Well, it's like you said, it's found itself off course. You know, it's presumably migrating south, maybe. And it's got course in a wind, winds, and it's blown it over here. And where was it likely to be travelling from and to where? They're based around the Black Sea, in the Southern Asian area, yeah. And where would it have been migrating to? Well, they've migrated south towards Africa. Aha, OK, I get you. In the autumn, yeah. So, it's likely found this spot, would it recharge its batteries and then continue its onward journey? Is that likely or will it hang about or what's the working theory, Chris? It's difficult to say what will happen to it. It's been here three days now, and often these prassing coals only say one or two days. So, it's likely to move on, but where it goes, it's difficult to say, really. And it's on its own? Yeah, it's definitely on its own, yeah. Yeah, we only get prassing coals singly. And why is that? Do they migrate on their own rather than as part of a flock or it just so happens? It's just one that's come off, it's off course, you know. So, you know, that's the reason. It's wondering what's going on. What about its normal food? Can it sustain itself here? Well, it can, they eat insects mainly. On the wing, they look a bit like a turning flight. But this one doesn't seem to fade in too much, but it's obviously keeping itself fit, so. And Chris, is this the rarest bird you've spotted? It certainly is, yeah. I've seen a few rare birds. Also, it's a blanket not care, but this is definitely the rarest I've found, yeah. And I mean, just to put into context again, and all you mentioned, the other sightings, 1935 and 1973, on the island of Ireland, or specific to the new tank on the area, Chris? Yeah, the first one was in, I think it was in Galway area. And the 1974 one was in Antrim, around Antrim. So, that's how rare it is, unbelievable. What a spot, like it's a one. It's like when you had two things could have happened to you, Chris. You could have spotted this bird or won the lotto, such were the odds, and it turned out you got to see the bird. Yeah, I think seeing the bird would be the lotto to be honest, yeah. And Chris, what is the normal wildlife that you would see at the Blanket Nook Wildlife Reserve? What's more common than this rare visitor? Well, you get lots of, well, you get hoopas ones there. They sometimes stay through the summer, and it's a good sight to wade in birds. We sometimes get some quite rare wading birds here from America and so on, but not as rare as this one. Yeah, and when you think of the distance they're travelling and the expanse of the ocean and what have you, for them to probably, in desperation, find this place to land and feed, it's really quite remarkable really when you think about nature, isn't it? It is, and we're very lucky to have it here. Because, I mean, the island is a dot. And then, of course, the Blanket Nook Wildlife Reserve is a dot on that dot. That's, you know, absolutely when you talk of the travel. All right, fascinating. Chris, how long do you expect it to hang around for? As you say, no one knows, but are you getting any? Are your spider senses tingling at all, Chris? It's difficult to say. I mean, sometimes these rare birds stay just a few days. Sometimes they'll stay a week or more. So, you know, it's really difficult to predict how long it'll stay. Yeah, I love the whole idea of people travelling up to the region to get a glimpse of it. I think that's amazing that people have that interest and it's being served by this rare visitor, as I mentioned. It's lovely. I think that's another time of the year as well. Maybe people have a bit more spare time. Yeah, we've probably had at least 100 people here from all over Ireland. There you go. OK, fascinating. Brilliant. Chris, thanks for your insights. And well done. It's the pinnacle of your bird-watching career, I'd imagine, so far at least. Absolutely. Great. All right, lovely stuff. Thanks, Chris. That's Chris Ingram there. He found and photographed a black-winged Pratt & Coal at Blanket Nook Wildlife Reserve in Newtown, Cunningham, on Friday. And as I mentioned, very rare on the island of Ireland to spot this bird. 1935 in Galway, I believe you mentioned, and also in 73, 74 in Antrim. And over 100 people have made their way from different parts of the island to go and see this bird in its unusual habitat by its own reckoning. OK, there you go. You get it all here on The 9th Till Noon Show. We'll not leave you at wanton't in anything. Hi, Greg. Just in regard to the dog rule on beaches, we were walking on Kiddie Howe beached on Fannahe yesterday afternoon at about 3 p.m. and also during the week at around 4 p.m. Counted up to 11 dogs. Either running loose and someone leads in about seven on Wednesday. I don't know whose job it is to enforce it, but it has not been enforced on both days. That's the thing. Who's going to enforce it? And there's no public information out there such... Is there signage up on these beaches? I don't know. I haven't been to any. I can have a look at it a little later on. You know, I think people have to be made aware before we talk about slapping people's wrists, don't we? I think it's... We need proper signage to say, by the way, just to let you know that dogs are not allowed on this beach in this area between these times. I think that's the fairest we could do, especially with visitors who probably get a bit of a shock, don't they, when they can't take the dog onto the beach? They're probably more likely to adhere to signage, maybe, than locals in the know. Hi, Greg. Listening to your show, I would like to advise people at night, especially in bars tapping. I was caught myself saying tap didn't go through, tapped again, and I was charged twice. Lucky I had my bank up on my phone and alerted the bartender immediately. Be cautious, young, not so young. Yeah, indeed. That is something I'll be much more aware of going forward. Good morning. I was in Letterkenny on Saturday, miserable out. The staff in the stores were a ray of sunshine, could not be more helpful, much appreciated. Thank you, Kathleen. The importance of good customer services, well done to all in Letterkenny that engage with Kathleen. Hi, Greg. Power is off in town, in a town yesterday, and people had to leave the shop without their groceries because they couldn't pay in cash. Are we starting to maybe all realise that cash is in fact king? We talk about elderly people and their need for independence, but everything is online, Greg. For example, to get a bus to Letterkenny from Lyfford, we now have to book online. Same goes for even going to watch a football match. Older people struggle with this, so I feel for them in relation to self-service tills. Everyone talks about independence, but no training or patience is provided. No wonder elderly people are nervous to know a simple task that was once going to the shop. I think I've used... I'm just going to be completely honest. I think I've used a self-service till once, and I panicked and I had to get help. I don't know where you're supposed to put the shopping down. I hold on to the shopping, and then it says there's something that's not present. I don't find it really clear where I'm supposed to put the stuff down then. I really don't use them because I... Do you put the shopping on the left in the bag? And then do you put the bag on the right and then put the stuff into the bag? I don't know how it works. I simply don't, so I don't engage, and I'm too proud to ask anyone. And to be honest, though, it's probably a me problem because I only figured out how to use the coffee machines about a year or two years ago. I was afraid of coffee going everywhere, and now I'm a big boy. I can use one of those coffee machines, but the self-service tills, I get a fear of them. And I'm really pretty good on stuff like that there. You want your house all smart, speakers, lights. I'm your man, I'll wire it for you as well. But come to a self-service till, and I panic, and I disengage, and it starts beeping. An item not present. I'm like, well, there it is. It's in my hand. Oh, it's not present on the wee shelf. All right, it's pure panic stations. Kevin from Dunlowe, well done to a Donegal ladies team who kept up with the Dublin team, but as your man, as you can see, the highly resourced was brought to the fore. It's not often they play away from home, maybe because it's the fellas are always in croaker. Well, there'll be some retiring. We'll have to rely on the younger talent, like Rosheen Rogers, and there are any more McLaughlin's coming up. Nev is heading down under. That's according to Kevin there. Thank you for that. All right, okay, let us take a break. And we're going to be talking about a new book, Everything by Kathleen Chadd, it's a memoir. It's the story of a mother's survival, tragic heartbreaking and inspirational. We're going to be speaking to the author, Kathleen, after we take this break. It's going to be a tough conversation, but hope an important one and useful one. Stay where you are. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at HighlandRadio.com. While you've all the magic moments or great scenes you've captured on your phone, sitting there or in the cloud when you can have them printed at McGee's Chemist. Using the McGee's app or one of the in-store kiosks, you can upload your photos from your phone, Google Photos, Facebook or Instagram and have them printed instantly within an hour or in by 10 and ready by five. See McGee's.ie for more details. Hold your memories in your hand with McGee's Chemist, letter Kenny. Pick up the perfect dinner guest at M&S with 20% off our classics wine range. Maybe a crisp, elegant Pino Grigio or sparkling Prosecco or perhaps a sumptuous Chianti. 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Don't miss an incredible night of country music with Derrick Ryan at the Highlands Hotel Glanties on Friday, July 28th. Tickets are 20 Euro and available from ticketsstop.ie or by phoning the Highlands Hotel Reception. That's Derrick Ryan at the Highlands Hotel Glanties Friday, July 28th. On this week's Monday Focus, we're joined by Kathleen Chadder who wrote a book about her life and the murder of her children by her then husband, Sanjeev. Author of everything, Kathleen Chadder and Memoir. Kathleen, thank you for joining us this morning. It's lovely to see you. Lovely to have you on the programme. Thank you, Greg, and good morning. And a happy... Thank you for having me indeed. Your book in front of me here with a beautiful picture on the front. Tell us about your children. My boys. Yeah, they're my boys. So what is the purpose for writing this book, Kathleen? I suppose there's a few things. It's probably been there for a while. I do a lot of talking. Greg, I'm a talker. And I talk on various things, you know, in relation to both grief and the justice system here in Ireland, and I suppose in lots of ways, every time I talk, every time I do an interview, there's always a little bit extra, a little bit of something. And in a way, what I wanted to do was just sort of... Because I've been asked, why do you talk? Why do you talk out? Why do you advocate? So it was a little bit of that, just to show the background of me. It is also... You know, it's very much about Owen and Rory and about, you know, their mark on this world and the mark that they left behind them, which is important to share as well. And I also wanted something that was tangible, that was, you know, very... I suppose it's a physical piece of work, if you like, for my nieces and nephews and my family, my extended family. You know, they were all very, very young when this happened and they've grown up with memories. And some of those memories are not even true memories for them, but the memories that we've instilled in them, if you like. And so it's something as they grow older and, you know, they meet sort of friends and significant others, et cetera, that they can say, there you go, that's what it is about. That's what it's all about. That's my anti-Cathleen, you know. So it was kind of multi-faceted, really. And there's a lot in the book, but at the same time, it's not huge. It covers everything, but it's incredibly accessible. Was that by design? Yeah, this wasn't a book that you were going to take, you know, that I wanted people to have to get bored with, basically, or that it was going to take, you know, a week or two weeks to read. This was something, you know, there's only so much of me that people want to know about, if you like, or that would need to know. So it was important that it was... I remember one of the meetings with the editor, with Liam, and saying, you know, at the final draft, if you like, we could put so much more into it. I could double the size of it, of course I could. But does it add anything to the book? Is it needed? Is it necessary? And I kind of felt no. So it was important to kind of have it something that people will read. And so often I hear they've read it in one sitting, or maybe over two nights. And that, to me, is what I wanted it to be. This wasn't something that needed to go on and on. It's not a self-help book, although I'm hoping that there's nuggets within it where people will pick up and go, yeah, actually, oh, yeah, that makes sense now, maybe that would help me. So, you know, for all of those reasons, it was designed in a way, not consciously, to begin with. But I think as it evolved and as I saw that first draft, I kind of felt, no, there's a really not enough lot that's going to add to the book, if you like, that's necessary to add to it. Yeah, I get you. And I suppose you put it out there and it's up to the reader to take from it what they will. That's all you can do, isn't it? And you hope that, as you say, there's just a layer and layer of tragedy in this story, Kathleen, ultimately, you're robbed of your life with your boys. That is it. But what leading up to it, that July in 2013, it's unimaginable what you had to do and how you've survived it, it's astonishing. And I presume the strength comes from your boys. It does, it does. And I've always said I come from a very grounded background and that definitely helped. And I've got very practical parents, very practical women in my life, I suppose. And that's me, I am OK. If there's something that's happened, I can't change it. I can't bring Owen and Rory back. No matter how much I've prayed and willed it and wanted it and wished for it and imagined it, that can't happen. So what now? And I was the same, that's me, if you like, that's how I am. It was the same when I found out that Sanchez had embezzled the money. It was like, OK, fix it, what do we do now? The hardest part sometimes is actually realizing that you can't fix it. I can't fix what happened. I can't and accept in that. So there's the rational part of your mind that knows that there's something that can accept, OK, you know, they're not going to come back. But actually accepting that that's real, it takes a lot of time. And for me, a lot of time with my psychologist is working through that, you know. You met Sanjeev in whilst working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia. He was born in Northern Ireland. You were going to move to London, but then settled in Carlow. Was there anything about like, can you describe and you do in the book, the marriage, because I'm sure you've reflected on it and saying, well, was there signs that I've done something? But what was married life like? Was there anything that could have even suggested the horror that was to come? No, not the horror of what was to come. Absolutely not. I look back on my marriage now, I suppose, quite differently. And I have to be careful not to to lose the good parts of it, because there were good parts and it's important for me to remember that. Because we were, you know, on the whole, we were a happy family. But there were pockets, I suppose, in there that that probably I didn't. Maybe I didn't want to see in regards to to Sanjeev. You know, when I was pregnant, he he we didn't plan either of the boys. As such, I always say, well, if you're, you know, if you're not planning it, then, you know, take a good book. But anyway, with the boys, and he was quite upset when both of them, when I found out I was pregnant in both of them. And yet I would never have doubted his love for the boys when they were when they arrived, you know, he was a very hands on dad. He was very involved in their lives. So it's a real contradiction, if you like, in regards to him. He was somebody that I would have never, ever seen as aggressive ever in any way. And and yet I look back on it now. And I think, well, there was a passive aggressive side to maybe that that I didn't and I didn't see it at the time. And that that's the problem with with any kind of sort of force of control or as I see it now. I mean, you know, it's and it's it's hard. Because you're looking back with very different with a very different view, if you like, after what he's done. But the person that he was when I first met him through the relationship, through marriage, through parenthood was so far from from the person that he has has become, if you like, or did become on that night. And it was his intention because it became clear in a suicide note that it was to kill you and the boy. Yeah. I mean, is there any explanation as to what he's mo. Why? Yes and no, to be honest with you, he had so he'd been found out of that he'd embezzled money from our local community centre about 10 days beforehand. And and that was now public, if you like. So I think it was maybe the first time something he might have done was suddenly in in the public eye. And he knew what this was going to mean. This is my family, my community, where I grew up. And and he had done this, this awful, awful thing. But he. Sorry, Kathleen, you've muted there. I beg your pardon, not no problem. You were about to say he was the reason, if you like, a twisted logic. And that's the only the only thing that I can ever come up with is. And I suppose it's shame, you know, and it's so it's such an inadequate reason, if you like, but it that's genuinely the only thing that I can come up with is suddenly he was he was filled with shame for what he had done. And he didn't want the boys to see the real him, if you like, that he didn't want to because they did have him on a pedestal. They adored him, you know, and suddenly he was going to be coming down off that pedestal. And what has his explanation been through his actions since? Were you ever able to find that out? Do you want to know? No, not really. I did in the beginning. I absolutely did. So I agreed to accept letters from him and he wrote me three letters. I think it was and there was nothing. There was no reason, no explanation. There wasn't. I wouldn't have even said there was really an apology or a remorse in those letters. So that was the only the only sort of direct contact were those three letters. And I asked to stop after the third because I just couldn't. I just wasn't. I couldn't handle it. It was it was too much. So there hasn't ever been. He's never given a reason. And I suppose at this point. There's no reason that would ever be enough or good enough. So therefore, I think what would would do to me right now is just completely and utterly wind me up if I felt that he was trying to justify what he did on some level. You're if you should never see the light of day. Oh, no, no, no, no. And I, you know, that's one of the things that I fight for is, is, you know, we've had the increase of application for parole from seven years to 12 years, which is great. You know, it's I know that at 12 years and that's two years away still. I know he won't get parole at 12 years. He probably won't get it at 16, 18, maybe at 20 years, 22 years. But, you know, there's every possibility that he will go out into an open prison. And I'm sorry, if he's not behind a locked door, then he's not serving his sentence. And I, you know, I don't believe. And I'm, you know, I'd be quite liberal in my thoughts, generally speaking. But when it comes to this, I don't believe that he should ever see the light of day. Or could you ever feel safe because we don't know his state of mind and he has expressed his expressed his intention to kill you, too. When you say everything in the book, as horrific this person is and what he did, he was presumed someone you loved at that time and a marriage and your beautiful boys. Is that everything? Is that the everything you reference? That is, that is everything. And, you know, it's because I had my everything. If you like, we had what I would have said quite an idyllic life. I, yes, he was a stay-at-home dad. I was the one working, but I had a good job. I enjoyed the job. We were lucky enough to be able to afford to live on one salary, as I thought. I was luckier than many wives of gamblers because that I now know is what his addiction was. You know, our mortgages paid, bills were up to date. So, you know, we had the boys had the idyllic life of having a parent home. They were incredibly lucky that in that way, I was lucky it allowed me to do my job with no kind of concern about getting home to crush your school or sickness or any of that. That was all managed. And, you know, so life was good. We had a beautiful home. We were living in my community, if you like, where I'd grown up. The boys were going to school where I'd gone to school. So, you know, that was and it was everything. And, and everything was taken. You know, and I never really there. I mean, like, I know whatever about the pressure of people finding out about the embezzlement of 56,000, 56,000 year. I mean, you know, it's we'd have we'd have managed that just worked through it in it. You'd have worked through it in a year or two years and the shame would have gone. And you're beautiful still with you two boys. I reference there. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing. We could have we could have gotten through this. There wasn't, you know, and I remember that night that they were gone. My my biggest concern. And this is this really annoys me about myself almost. Oh, you know, I don't beat myself up over it. But, you know, my concern was for him. I'm worried that he was going to do something. I worried about his state of mind. I worried that, you know, all that night, I kept saying he'll be OK. The boys, he's got the boys with them. And I really get that. I think that is such a natural response because you would never imagine a parent, especially adulting parent, as you described, and would ever whatever about harm to themselves, you would never imagine they would ever do harm to these two young, beautiful young boys. And and they were missing for 24 hours. And it was he that told you. I mean, yeah, it's about the layers of this tragedy. It's just really. Yeah. And it was I don't even know when he was telling me that that those that were on the scene of the crash realise the boys were were in the boot of the car at the time. And he he had to crash the car. Obviously, people came to help and assist. And he asked for somebody's phone and phone me. He would have known my number obviously up by heart. And so he phoned me. I answered because I was sitting with the with the detective at the time actually doing a statement and, you know, straight away. He told me that there had been a crash. And my reaction was, are you OK? Are the boys OK? What, you know, and he said his words were they are dead in the back. And that's even, you know, there's a cruelness about that, if you like. Now, I appreciate that that wasn't necessarily in his mind at the time. He didn't care, I suppose, in my head. He didn't care about me at that point in time. But there was there was a coldness and, you know, and I remember sitting waiting, because obviously the detective took the phone from me because I can pretty much collapsed at that point. And but I come around and I was sitting there waiting for the detective to come in and tell me that, no, absolutely not that they were fine. They were going to hospital, that they'd be OK. And I was just going to have to get to wherever they were. But at that, you know, I still and it's still something that a very strong memory of that detective having to walk back in the door because he'd gone out to take the calls and to kind of speak to whoever he needed to speak to. But as he walked back in the door and literally, you know, he knew as he walked back in the door that that my life was over as I knew it. So I mean, just encapsulating life is tough. And we all have to go through things and bereavement, but your share of that is just far in an excess than any person should ever have to bear. And it's astonishing the way you could speak about it in the whole path. Do you hope maybe people read this book? They might see red flags, not that would ever leave to lead to such a horrendous outcome as this, but maybe save them some grief or injury in their lives. And that's it. It's question, you know, just question. If there's if there's something that you feel is is not right, just question and share, you know, that's the other thing. I'm I'm as I said at the beginning, I'm a talker, so I talk things out and shutting me up is the problem for a lot of the time. And but, you know, it is about share. It's let somebody know, you know, even if nothing happens, even if nothing ever is is there, let somebody know that you've just got this some niggle, if you like. And that might be enough, you know, and it's hard because you're able to work through this. Exactly. And I mean, in a way, you're able to look at this retrospectively in the moment, things might not align like you can see looking backwards. But people are in different situations. And like, it's it's every turn in like, you know, the natural instinct would be to rid yourself of his surname, but it's your beautiful boy surname. So you have to make a decision and carry that with you in their memory. You know, it's those little things along the way. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of people worried or wondered about that in the very beginning. And, you know, I absolutely you're right. Oh, and Rory were born as Chadda, you know, and I can't change that. I don't I don't want to change that. They were proud of that themselves, own in particular of the Indian heritage. And he loved the mix, if you like, of the two, you know, the Irishness of him and the Indianness. So, you know, that's that I can't and I don't want to forget that. I don't want to wipe that out. As I often say, I don't want to get over losing on and Rory. But I do, I suppose I have to I have to I have to live I have to live a life. And it is up to me, if I can, to make something of that, you know, and I'm very proud of the fact that the photograph that's on the front of the book is one that a lot of people recognise. You know, they may not remember why or they may not remember boys' names, but they recognise and they'll smile. Yeah. People smile when they see that beautiful happy. And it's the brother connection stuff is there as well. I think it's the fact that, you know, it's a beautiful picture and I hope with everything that you've gone through and I genuinely hope and I hope you never have to concern yourself with him being in an open prison or free because you've had to endure so much. You should never, ever have that as the final insult and in a way, then further empowering someone that should never have freedom or liberty again. And you should never be empowered to have that over you because you were able to choose not to take the letters and you should be able to choose or have a huge influence in never having to worry about if he'll ever follow through and he's threat to you, which is exactly what he wrote down. And I think, as I say, I the book is very important, but I also it's not a huge book. It's very accessible, as you say, and people will hopefully get something from it and also at the very least be able to remember your beautiful sons with you in that because that's really important, isn't it that they're never, ever forgotten and the impact their short lives had on someone like yourself. How do you cope, Kathleen? I was supposed to begin with. I had a really good psychologist now and that and I do credit him in those early days. I had a friend who got me sort of seeing somebody and I've got a really good family and and talking. I don't bottle things up. I mean, I describe grief as something physical within my body. And if I don't keep talking it out, then it will take hold. And I'll ask for help. If I, you know, when things go, go, pear shaped for me and I'm not in a good place. And I know at this stage, you know, it's very important to me having had all of the control taken away from me. And it's important for me to be in control of my life. And so it's important that I can can reach for help and ask for help and when I need it. And I'm pretty good at doing that at this stage. So that's a lot of it. And, you know, good friends, friends and family don't underestimate what they can do for you and they they keep you going when the chips are down. OK, I'm delighted to have been part of helping to talk about and remember your your sons again today as well, which is important. And I really appreciate you speaking to us. Thank you. OK, thank you so very much indeed. Good bless. Good bless. Bye bye. That is Kathleen Chada there. A memoir. Her book is called Everything. Kathleen Chada, a memoir. And there's for those of you who are watching, there are her beautiful children pictured on the front of that book. It is available from Umbrella Publishing. And as I say, you know, maybe. Kathleen's story as with the most horrendous of all outcomes, there might be information or advice within it that might benefit people even in not such the most extreme and horrendous of situations, if that makes sense. OK. I'll get out for further details as to where people can get that book. Quite a few inquiries coming in looking forward. Don't miss the ultimate Lidl Saturday summer clearance sale. Comfy Hanging Gardens share and three burner gas barbecue were two hundred and forty nine ninety nine now one hundred and seventy nine ninety nine each. Stay warm with an outdoor gas bar pit was two hundred and seventy nine ninety nine now one hundred and ninety nine ninety nine. What stocks last? Go on. Shop without compromise. 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Good morning and congratulations, Michael. Well done to you. Hey, Greg, how's it going? Good, good. What was it like working on this documentary? It was it was something else. I have to say we went to Los Angeles to work on it. Me and my family came up with me as well. And we got to hang out with Michael J Foxx and tell his story. So it was as good as it could be. And then, you know, he's just an amazing character to work with. And the film, I think, is a testament to who he is as a person. As much as the Emmy nominations are really nice, actually, the journey was was was more important to us than the result in the end. Yeah. And with that comes great responsibility, Michael, because you're telling a very important personal story. And, you know, you have all of the source material, but you have to put it to do justice to the subject matter, so to speak. So not a role I would likely take on. No, you know what? It's it's yeah, it's true that it's it's my job to do that. And I've worked on a lot of things over the last 15 years. But this is the one I was most nervous about, and I kind of grew up watching a lot of his and a lot of his movies and stuff. And so he was a he was a bit of an idol for me growing up. And I remember I used to rent back to the future from I think it was midnight out in better kind of years ago when I grew up. And I used to get in trouble. I used to get in real trouble for leaving the videos back late. And so that was my that was my childhood. So then to be in a situation where I had to watch those films again or documentary was there's a lot of fun, but you're right. It was so much responsibility and the truth is that I don't think he could ever do his story justice. We get as far as we can get. But it's an incredible story and he's an incredible person. Luckily, we kind of did the best we did. But we had great support to Apple Brilliant. And the director, David Stuggenheim, deserves a huge money. Credit is incredible. Documentary and one of the best that's ever been in America. So, you know, it wasn't all on me. So if it had failed, there would have been finger pointing left, right center, right, right. Yeah, and I suppose marrying in footage with Michael J. Fox and the archive as well. Again, it's another layer of complexity. I'd imagine it was. And, you know, we hadn't really seen it before. We we looked at a couple of different movies in the same vein. But we always knew when we were making this from the start, and Davis very much, as I said, the director was always, we have to try something different to get this right. It's just not going to be enough to do the standard, sit back and let the story do the talking on its own. And we had to impose ourselves on it. So when we figured out, as they call the grammar of the film and how we were going to do it, that to me was more scary than actual working with Michael, because we were trying something that nobody really done before to the extent we did it. And so that failed. That's on me. That is definitely on me. It's a storytelling device and it's on Davis as well. And we went to Sundance, though, that and I remember the night before we premiered at Sundance, where I'm sitting in the movie theater with Michael J. Fox on Davis thinking, I'm not sure if you've seen it, but it's a very funny film. There's a lot of humor in it. And the good thing about doing films with humor is that it's really easy to gauge the audience because they'll just start to laugh. And if you don't get that first laugh, you're out. And so I remember in Sundance, the first minute is there's a joke in the first two minutes. And I said to Davis, we don't get this laugh for day and night. And when the joke happened, the place erupted with laughter. And so we thought, OK, let's just pay it off. Well, Michael, congratulations on your nomination. I would love, I'd love an opportunity to have a longer chat with you in the future, if that's OK. But thank you so much. We just wanted to recognize the remarkable achievement. Thank you so much, Michael Hart there from Letter Kenny. Now, some sad news to finish with. The death has taken place this morning at his home in Burnford of Danny Sharkey. As you would know, a former presenter here at Highland Radio. And many of you would have listened to his weekend shows here on the station. He was pre-deceased by his wife, Moira, and daughter, Dr. Moira. Thoughts and prayers are with his sons, Patrick, John, Donal and Wider Family Circle. Funeral arrangements are to be confirmed. We'll be back with you tomorrow morning at nine.