 So the Green Kitchen Deli, offering fresh, nutritious food to go. Choose from a full menu of delicious sandwiches and salad boxes, or build your own option. All made on-site and prepared fresh to order. Jumpstart your healthy lifestyle at Green Kitchen in the award-winning Kelly Centra Mountaintop Letter Kemi. It's flu season, and children are twice as likely as adults to catch the flu, which can sometimes cause serious illness. That's why all children aged 2 to 17 can get their free nasal spray flu vaccine, a safe and effective way to protect them, and the rest of your family too. So make an appointment with your GP or pharmacist. Visit hsc.ie forward slash flu for more information from the HSC. OK, you are very welcome back to the 9 till noon show here on Highland Radio. We're joined on the programme now by Marina Porter, manager of the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre. Thank you very much for joining us this morning, Marina. I appreciate it greatly. Thank you, Sean. It's Greg here. I don't mind, it's just so that you know and who you're talking to. I'll have him one of those mornings. Don't worry about it. I'm not precious in that regard at all. Before we talk about the letter received, just your reaction to this awful news that emerged from Offie, a beautiful young woman, a teacher out for a walk in broad daylight, viciously attacked and murdered. You know, it's just absolutely unbelievable this news, isn't it? We are on believing the country as a whole, our shock. Never mind that poor community and our family and our students. I really don't know what to say. There are no words really, Greg, you know. Yeah, but I mean, it sort of talks to, you might remember, the conversation that's ongoing, but was in great focus, you know, about the amount of women that have been the subject. Now, we don't know the motivation for this attack. The Guard is still investigating it, but it does remind us of that conversation. As I said, that's ongoing, but came into particular focus a couple of months ago about how women don't feel safe and about a lot of them don't. And this is, and that was at night, I think that conversation was happening. And this is something that happens in broad daylight. And that's just, we were talking about it in the office here this morning. You know, she obviously, she went out during the day. We presume we're safer if we go out in daytime. And sadly, that's not the case as we see here. It's just a pandemic, really the violence that's taken place against women. And it's a real societal problem, Greg. It seems that, you know, people are just their free game. If somebody wants to do something or, you know, I think it seems that females women, it's almost as if they're not being seen as human beings. They're objects that can be abused or murdered in this way. I don't know. It's just deeply, deeply shocking. Yeah. And the reason we have to talk about it in the broader context is because that, say for instance, that first instance of domestic violence, if that is not addressed immediately, we've seen how tragically that can turn out once it escalates. If someone is inclined to be abusive towards women or to have been abusive of them, or arguably the incident that happened, that's how it ends up. So, you know, we can't take these awful instances in isolation. We have to have the broader conversation again, I think, Marina. Absolutely it is. And I mean, sadly, we have a huge crossover of clients here between ourselves and domestic violence services. And, you know, families are living in absolute terror of, you know, ex-partners or whatever. And it's truly horrific. And we're very fortunate here in Letter County that we have the DPSU, you know, and they can deal with people with, you know, great kindness and empathy. But it's like the system moves slow, you know, the court system and all just move slow for people. It just has to also be victim driven all the time because we saw recently, you know, the changes to the stalking laws. But that took people who were the victims of it, having to bear their souls across the media to TDs to get some change. And that change was a long time coming. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, that's the case, yeah. We also want to speak to you about an appeal. Did the appeal begin on the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre Facebook page? Can you tell us how the story started? I didn't actually, even Greg, put it on the Rape Crisis Centre. It's a private Facebook page where, you know, if, say, you have something you don't need, you can post it if somebody wants it, they can have it. Understood, yeah. You're looking for something. So I posted it there and then the uptake was just unbelievable. I just posted it on Friday. And what did you post? I just posted that a family, a mum and her two children, basically they lost everything in their previous home due to black mould. And I mean, I was just talking to the lady during the week last week and she told me that everything and then she'll show me photos and like their pillows and all their bed and everything was mouldy. They had to dump everything. So they got a new apartment, but they had nothing and she had no money. And had to start from scratch and no resources to do so. And then she felt really awful that, you know, she couldn't buy her kids the Christmas presents and stuff that she wanted to and all. And I'm like, well, I can reach out and see if I can get you a few bits or something, you know, and we talked about, you know, the food bank and the Vincent to Paul and, you know, all the wonderful resources that are out there. So I put out the appeal and anybody commented on this post. I just messaged them privately then. And I mean, I'm still getting messages even last night. I've been on Messenger all weekend. The public have just been amazing. We are brilliant when we're motivated aren't we? We really are. And the family were just, you know, so amazed and so thankful. And I was like, but this is what you deserve. Everybody deserves this. You know, we deserve to have a roof over our head and that our kids have clothes and food in the cupboard and just the basics in life. And so then her wonderful son wrote me a letter and she sent me a picture of it. So then I shared it then on our page then just to thank people. Yeah, to let them know the impact they'd had on this family. Absolutely, because it was truly amazing, Greg, you know. What a major young fellow too in that him recognizing the efforts of his mom and her sacrifices too. Wasn't that beautiful? It was so beautiful because like the conversation I had with her was that, you know, I feel like I'm letting my children down because of my circumstances. And I was like, but if they know you love them, that's the most important thing you can give anybody. But he got it all and for a young man, I honestly, it was just very humbling to read it. And I just wanted to share that with everybody who has helped and who are still coming forward with offers of help just to let them know the impact that their kind gestures have had. And in your way, no matter how good you are with words, Marianna, Marianna, beg your pardon. You could not have expressed the gratitude in the same way this young man did. No, absolutely not. No, because it was directly from his heart and, you know, on behalf of the whole family. Now, mom has written me a letter since so I have that here and it would just have you in floods of tears to be quite honest. And how are they getting on? Hey, we're getting stuff for them. People have been, you know, given furniture, you know, home furnishings, people have bought like new doovies, new pillows, throws for the beds, people have given clothes. So I have more stuff to collect today. We've got a new bed for the boy. So people have been magnificent, you know, lamps, towels, all those basic things. So I think it has really given them a good positive start to the new year now. And it knows that they know and hope they feel that the arms of the community are wrapped around them that they're not on your own because you can feel very isolated, can't you? Very isolated. And I suppose a big part of our work here at the center is working with people to build their self-esteem and to realize that you deserve so much better. You are worth so much more. And if that support is in common from, like, say, immediate family, friends, circle, the community. So I think this just shows what a wonderful community we do have here in Donegal that people are willing to step up and support people that they don't know. Because I think, Greg, like, you know, if you hear me talking, it's usually about all the bad things and the negative things in the world. Well, that's why I felt it was really important to share something really wonderful to start the year off. And there is so much of that. There is so much of that goodness that doesn't get spotlighted or we don't necessarily know what's going on. But there's an awful lot of it happening all the time. As you say, often the focus can be on the negative because there's an awful lot there that has to be dealt with too. And we're trying to fix that when we talk about it. But this is lovely. And if they're listening, I hope they're happy or they recognize their importance in their important place in the community fair play to you for recognizing that, you know, this is something that could be addressed and getting it out there and getting that great response. And what a beautiful thing to get those two letters. You can keep them with you now. And they're priceless. Yeah. Thank you very much. Thanks so much. And I'd like to thank everyone who has helped. We're all truly, truly grateful. All right. Take care of yourself. Thank you very much indeed. Okay. We'll be back with more after the break. The Nine Till Noon Show brought to you by Kelly's Toyota Port Road Letter Kenny. Stockists of a wide range of used passenger and commercial vehicles. You have one new message. Hi, Claire. Auntie Dee here. I just wanted to say a big thank you for skipping my party. We had a great night and everyone was so happy you didn't come. Now you take care. I hope to see you soon. Bye. No one will thank you for turning up to work or anything else when you're sick. Stay at home and get a test to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 from the HSE for us all. Enish Fitness Dunlowe are now offering class-only memberships, register in person with reception to get access to the convenient Enish Fitness app for booking and paying for classes. This week's Irish Farmers Journal could save you thousands in cash for more. Here's Paul Mooney. Don't miss our 50 tax-saving tips for farmers inside this week's issue including how much can family members earn in your farm tax-free, what reliefs are available when transferring farms, and how to make the most of tax exemptions. Plus, we have money-saving advice for household bills, banking, insurance, pensions, and more to make the most of your income. Don't miss our money-saving tips inside this week's Irish Farmers Journal. You cannot afford to miss it. Last chance to enter. 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Highland Radio Time Checks brought to you by Lederkenny Shopping Centre, the centre of shopping in Donegal. Free parking and shopping all under one roof. Lederkenny Shopping Centre, bringing you the time at... The time is 10.31. More guests and more of your comments coming up after we take a break for a piece of music. Here is George Michael. Okay, that was George Michael there. And Faith. Now, more of your comments here. People should know about the RSV virus. It's common cold to many, but it's serious to some. My daughter had premature twins. And before leaving the hospital, it was one of the viruses she was told could be fatal. Yes, indeed, and I'm not diminishing that for a moment. But I think the risks with flu and COVID are greater. Thank you, though, for that. Hi, my daughter did not see it. The junior cert is due to her leaving this year. Children that last sat then wouldn't have done transition year, indeed. Yesterday, we were talking about what to do with good conditional toys, but the boxes are a bit tatty. A caller says, bring the toys to where car boot sales are going on and give the toys to them stalls, but I think they want them to go directly to someone who needs them. My daughter did transition year, did junior cert in 2019. Now, in leaving cert this year, those students who didn't do transition year didn't do junior cert in 2020. I bought a new car in August and nearly 12,000 euro went to the government through tax and Vatna. I wonder the price of cars is high and then they, of course, take a big take on petrol and diesel as well. Big differences. On my way to work, generally speaking, petrol is... You can make a saving... Yesterday I was talking about maintenance savings and this is just by coincidence. 14 cent of a difference from one petrol station to the other. Now, not in the same area necessarily, but in two relatively close areas. 14 cent of a difference per litre of petrol. Isn't that really quite remarkable? And in one particular garage, the petrol is cheaper than the diesel in this other garage that I'm talking of. Yet often they have about a 10 cent between them. Unbelievable. 14 cent a litre in one particular garage versus some others is really quite remarkable. Again, that's kind of... You can save money if you shop around. If it's practical to do so, there's no point if it's far away driving and burning your saving either. Credit Union, Greg, gives allowances of two to discount where possible plus free breakdown cover. Keep asking, keep shopping around. That says it relates to insurance. My initial shopping around has saved €350 and I'm hoping to save even more. The public already know the result of Golfgate, nothing. So let's really be honest, Greg. Yeah, well, we'll see what comes out from the trial which gets back underway in February. A caller says, I am so upset about the murder in Tullamore. I have a daughter the same age. I don't know what to say. I'm just broken hearted for the family indeed and I looked at the pictures and I saw my niece's faces in that picture. It's just absolutely heart wrenching. Right. Any word on the basic payment for artists? The slowest paid people in the country were supposed to be in by now. Guess I will struggle on. This government don't really care about Oslo. Probably time to emigrate. So anyone with any information on that, please get in contact. Right. That man is on talking. Miho Kallam. What is morally right about big wages? Politicians are getting. Could that not be caught and put more money into the micro fund or other fund? There's lots of stuff out there indeed. Good morning. Could get the name of the designer that was on Greg's show yesterday. Please. Yes. It's Claire McDonough from Le Maison. Hi, Greg. Just listening to Tony Hulan last night. That guy just makes it up every evening. They haven't a clue. Get the country opened up. Where did all the bad flu go to everyone? COVID. Thanks. The flu is still out there. The figures are available. Obviously, if people are wearing masks and not socializing as much and not in as close contact, the flu is not going to spread. You know, I mean, that's basic kind of stuff. You know, you're not going to get your gastroenteritis and your stomach problems because people aren't in as close contact as they were. It'll be back. If you miss flu, it'll be back. Don't worry about that. I work in retail. I work in retail rotors, usually done out three weeks in advance. Manager always comes at the last minute looking to actually, you know what? I'll hold that one off for Richard. He'll be able to answer that. Greg, do you not think that the awful attack yesterday could just as easily have been a man? And I hate the usual. That person comes from a highly respected family. Would it be less sad if the family were not highly respected? That young girl is the same age as my granddaughter and I just cannot stop crying. I agree with you as it relates to framing victims of violence as known to the Guardian, not to go known to the Guardian, highly respected. It's not something I would do. I don't understand everybody's life is equal and I don't understand why that forms part of the reporting. So I take your point as it relates to that. The instances of... I can't recall when... You know, there's another one actually that's coming in along those lines. I don't recall... Here it is. Violence is not gender. Most victims of violence are men. Most suicides are men. Most parental alienation is against men. Most domestic abuse, two-thirds is against women. Yes, it's a societal non-gender problem. Plus, not one shelter for men to escape with their children or 24-7, 365-day helpline balance, please. Now, a woman has just been murdered, right? Domestic violence mostly affects women. Now, I understand this probably comes from a man who feels that maybe the courts are against him or the guards are against him or whatever. But to seek balance in this tragic situation, I don't remember the last time a fellow was out jogging and was just randomly murdered. Yes, of course, most of the violence is towards a man-on-man. But I don't understand why people don't want us to talk about this as being a particular problem that needs addressed without having to say, oh, yeah, but what about this or that? I don't understand that argument. The only thing I can think about at the moment is what do we do to stop women? For the most part, it's women being abused and murdered in the home or randomly attacked and murdered in the streets. We can talk about the other things as well, of course, but I don't see why one sort of has to be brought down and the other elevated or vice versa. This is an awful situation that needs to be addressed and the statistics are out there to suggest that this is a societal problem that needs to be looked at. Greg, do you not think that? Sorry, I've just read that one. Hi, Greg, yesterday's announcement that secondhand car prices have risen by 53% is another attack on Midland, Cymarland. Again, government policy, i.e., the no tax pushing up prices. I'm sick of it. This joins the long list of price hikes, such as alcohol, electricity, coal, heating, oil, gas, petrol and diesel that our government and their experts tell us is for their own good. Where are these attacks on women going to end? I have a young girl who is a teacher and living away and I was worried sick about her yesterday. It makes me livid that those responsible get a prison sentence and then can be out again. A tax set needs to be applied to homes that are lying idly in order to free up property. There is a multitude of derelict properties and it will not change unless something is done about it. Right, but okay, they talk about that all the time, but I never see any progress in relation to that. My son took COVID on November 10th. They sent out a text for him to get a vaccine today. Is it too early? November 10th, December 10th, Jan. It's two months. I think it's supposed to be three. I think it's supposed to be three. Double check that with your... I was going to say GP. You might struggle to get in contact with them. I'll try and check that out for you as well. Another, I couldn't sleep last night thinking on that poor girl and her family. Sadly, it's happening too often. Life sentences should mean live. Greg, my wee woman is 10, no way. Will I let her take the vaccines because it's not tested long enough? And as of yesterday, four children in her class were off with COVID, but still go to school and take a self-test. That's up to you. You are perfectly entitled to make that decision and feel comfortable in you making that decision. I mean, I don't know if you know how long all the vaccines that she's taken up to the 10, do you know all of the vaccines, what was in them and all the potential side effects? Every vaccine is a side effect. We kind of go in blindly and then all of a sudden we're on this one going, all right, this one I need more information on. But listen, that's your choice. I think a lot of people would have a great deal of thinking to do about vaccinating an 8, 9, 10-year-old because you say you probably feel like, well, she'll be okay. And that's up to you. Right, okay. A caller says, I agree with me. Wouldn't it be amazing to open up a house like Rock Hill House and create employment? Okay, another caller says, I don't get a bill for electricity. You don't get a bill, but you get billed for it. Okay, so you pay for your electricity. So you're billed whether or not you get a bill or not, but the 100-year-old is supposed to come off that bill. And maybe you can access the bills online. Do you pay as you go, perhaps? Is that what you're talking about? Maybe you pay your electricity for your electricity in advance. The 9 till noon show with Kelly's Toyoza Port Road Letter Kenny, where you can care for your Toyoza with a two-year service pack from 299 Euro. Enish Fitness Dunlowe offer yoga, pilates, circuits, and women's only weight training class to find out about their class's only membership calling to Enish Fitness today. At Chrysler's Supermarket, we offer daily specials at our deli with fresh and delicious food to go, avail of our Butcher's Weekly Specials or choose from a range of healthy options and pre-packed meals plus many more offers in store. We're open seven days for your convenience. Chrysler's Supermarket, where quality and value is assured. Don't be without your favorite brand toiletries, cosmetics, and fragrances with McGee's Chemist, where you can click and collect or have them delivered to your door. Email your list, no matter how big or small, to cosmetics.mcgee.ie or send a text to the dedicated order line. See McGee's.ie or Facebook for more details. Don't be without your everyday essentials with McGee's Chemist, Main Street Better Chemie, and McGee's.ie, where the best costs less. It's that time of year again. Long evenings, low temperatures, and slippery roads. So for your free tire check, call Donegal Tires. They have all you need in stock, winter or all season tires, or especially for wet hours conditions, the latest generation uniroil, the Rean Tire. Experience the difference, call Donegal Tires Donegal Town. Phone 97-21482 or see DonegalTires.com. OK, you're welcome back to the program. We welcome on to it now Fiona Boyle, who is a stop smoking specialist and the C.H.O.1 tobacco lead. Good morning to you. Thanks for joining us. How are you keeping today? Not too bad, quite yourself. Very good. I'm very good indeed. Right, OK, you know, there's never a bad time to give up smoking, but maybe a lot of people, particularly maybe with the increase in the last budget, might have said, right, 2022 is going to be the year that I stop smoking. Do you see an uptake in contacts at this time of year, Fiona? Yes, of course, traditionally, there's a number of times. So the likes of New Year, Ash Wednesday, November are often traditional times when people might actually make a quick attempt. But to be honest, Greg, it's throughout the year because different people are experiencing different things at different times. So there's different opportunities to stop smoking. So people will often go with them, whether it's a change in life, whether it's a new partner, a pregnancy, an illness, or just you get to the stage where you get fed up smoking. It's not easy to stop smoking. No, absolutely it's not. It's comparable. The addiction to nicotine is comparable to the addiction to heroin and cocaine. So there's a lot of people that want to give up smoking, but they can't even get their head around the distress. It will cause them the difficulty. It's a decision that, yes, of course, long term or even short term. You know, they know they're damaging their health, but the mere notion of even starting to think about stopping smoking stresses them out. Maybe it makes them even more inclined to smoke and they say, right, I'll do it down the line. I'll do it down the line. Can those, do you reach out to those people? Does someone have to have made that decision before they can successfully stop smoking? No, they're supposed both actually, because obviously we get referrals in from the medical professionals. So somebody might have a medical condition that's encouraging them to stop smoking. But, you know, we totally understand that anxiety. Absolutely. Because it's much easier to change what you think than what you do. So actually stopping smoking, we realize is a very difficult thing to do. The first thing I would say is actually to get in touch with myself and Marissa, to have a conversation, to find out what it is that we offer. Because the whole idea of our service is to boost the confidence of that person who's actually thinking of it, stopping smoking and working out a plan and doing a good bit of preparation prior to actually even setting a quick day. Is there a big difference between knowing you should stop smoking and wanting to stop smoking? Yeah. Talk to me about that. So it was my experience I've been in this role since 2004. And certainly the clients that we would see who wants to stop smoking will often have an easier time than the people who feel they have to do it. Having said that, a good part of the work that myself and my colleague Marissa would do is working with the client. And often they will say, I don't want to stop smoking, but when you actually get talking to them and you do sort of a decisional balance weighing up the pros and cons, you'll often find that there's actually an awful lot of negative things about tobacco that they don't like. And often there's very few positives. All right. So tell us that what people should be doing to prepare to stop smoking. It's okay. So I've actually recently done an article for the paper as well in the top 10 tips. So I suppose number one is to prepare well. And that is very much about like that, what you've said, working out, what are your reasons for actually doing this in the first place? Maybe even do get a sheet of paper, put a line down the middle and write the pros and cons. So what do I like about smoking versus what I don't like about smoking? And that'll give you a good indication as to where your head is at. Yeah. The problem is that in the pro column, really, the desire to smoke is to alleviate the desire to smoke for however long you last between cigarettes. Other than that, there aren't a great deal of pros. Well, certainly from clients come to our service. We often find that there is very few pros, but some people will say that they actually enjoy the hits. Some people might say that they enjoy the taste. So there is things that some people will find that they actually like about them, but you're absolutely correct. The majority of people who smoke are actually doing it to relieve the cravings that they're going to get in the withdrawals between hits of nicotine and nicotine sort of stays in your body for roughly about 90 minutes. So that's why most people will smoke somewhere between 10 and 20 cigarettes per day. Yeah. Okay. Really that withdrawal experience. Before we talk on about the next stage, how much of it is willpower and how much of it is chemical support, if you know what I mean, and we can talk about that, like what is the balance there? It varies from person to person, I imagine, but how much willpower is needed to stop smoking? So if you speak to any of my clients, they'll often say that I would say, you actually don't need willpower to stop smoking. What you actually need is the desire to do it. And then the willpower will come with each and every day where you're not smoking. And as most of our role is very much of it getting you to that stage where you actually are using treatments and more than likely you may well be using treatments even while you're still smoking, to get you ready to set that quick day. And then whenever you do quit, very much is that I'm going to try and not smoke for one day to see how it goes. And if it goes well, fantastic. But if it doesn't, then we'll work out, okay, so what's wrong? You know, what changed? Was there something that we couldn't have foreseen or did we think we had prepared well for something that, and Hain said, we perhaps could have done a bit more preparation. So it's very much, but just to answer your question, the foundation and whether anybody stops smoking it out, is there a desire to want to do it? Is it easier if you buddy up with someone, be a partner or someone normal? Absolutely, yeah, yeah. So the evidence is very clear on that. You're at least 50% more likely to be successful if you, like a work colleague or a friend. And then if actually if it's yourself and your partner, in fact, so say if it's your partner at home, then you're about a 66% increased chance of doing it. The key there though is that both people have to be at the stage where they want to do it. And that there isn't one of the people... It starts from the north without having to tag, to tell someone along that journey with you. Absolutely, and even if it is a case whereby the other person isn't ready, they can still support the person who is ready by perhaps smoking outside and not leaving their cigarettes around them and not asking them to come out for a cigarette, things like that. Yeah, if you smoke 20 a day, right, can you be given them up and inverted commas by having the odd one? Maybe one in the morning, one at lunchtime, two in the evening. You might use that as part of your strategy to quit as in cutting down prior to quitting, but the evidence is very clear. Up to 95% of people who have a slip, in other words, who have a drag of a cigarette after quitting, will go back smoking again. It might take them a couple of weeks, a couple of months, but there's a strong likelihood that they're actually going to go back smoking regularly again. Right, so in terms of the supports offered, they're freely available, I believe. The quit team are there, you are amongst them. And you've got really quite a high success rate, haven't you? We have, yes, so in Donegal and we've been well-established over the years, our success rate at one year is about 35% of the clients, 35 to 40% of the clients who come on the program and set a quit date are actually still quit at 12 months. Right, so how do you help people? So as opposed to that whole piece, the three aspects that we work with are the emotional aspect, the behavioral aspect of the habits and also the addiction. So absolutely we will discuss the different treatments that are available and combination nicotine replacement would be the most successful treatment on the market at the moment. So we would very much encourage people to use treatment first of all, but also to use enough of it and to use it for long enough, which is on the average, it's for three months. Right, so patches, mist, inhaler, lastender is a lot of people have sort of gone solo using vaping, vaping in and of itself. That was something that, you know, it is an addiction because, you know, it replaced, what are your views on, and I think the general consensus is at this point and we don't have long-term data in inverted commas, which we can cherry pick when we seek that information sometimes. We don't know what the long-term impacts of vaping is. Are you a fan of replacing one dependency with another? Generally speaking, no. I suppose just in relation to the evidence, the Health Research Board in Ireland in 2019 actually did some research on electronic cigarettes and they found them to be a similar success rate as one single nicotine replacement therapy. But I suppose the difficulty with the e-cigarettes are like any nicotine replacement therapy or Champax or Zyvan, which can be used to help people stop smoking, they've been vigorously tested through clinical trials. So we know they're very safe and effective of what they do. That long-term data piece is a bit concerning regarding the electronic cigarettes. But apart from that, the actual, I suppose, because what we work with clients is the whole habit and the emotional attachment that you have to smoking. Because with vaping, you maintain, you might have it with coffee, you maintain that hand-to-mouth routine. Exactly, exactly. So often, what happens with the clients that we would deal with is they often find that they're switching rather than quitting. So they switch from a regular to an electronic cigarette whereas one of the things that we would encourage clients to do is say if they're using the mist or the inhaler is to use your opposite hand that you would normally use to smoke. So again, you're trying to break that hand-to-mouth action that becomes automatic. So in terms of once you start through the supports that you offer if people want to go down that route, I think people might want to know is if I stop tomorrow, how quickly will it become easier? Okay, so that really depends on the individual and it also depends on the treatment that they're using and the support that they're getting. So the gold standard would be that you want to stop smoking, that you, for example, are on our program and that you're getting that behavioral support and you've already looked at your triggers, you've looked at the habits, you've probably made your house or your car smoke free even prior to quitting and then you actually use the treatments correctly. So when you're doing that, you're much less likely to go into the withdrawals. Are you able to manage the withdrawals much easier? So most withdrawals will, most of the majority of people will actually have subsided quite dramatically by four weeks but we would actually keep clients on the treatments for three months because lots of different things are happening during that first three months. So you want to get as many firsts over yet as possible. If you can, is it important to try and sort of maybe make some lifestyle changes? So the impact of stopping smoking feels even greater and also to our imagine, you have to make sure we talked about replacing smoking with vaping, but you don't want to replace smoking with bickies either. Absolutely not, no. So one of the 10 types that we would actually be looking at as well as exercise. So if you're not into exercise at the moment then maybe looking about finding a type of exercise that you enjoy. So whether it's walking or swimming or whatever it happens to be but to become a little bit more active and perhaps use that exercise as your replacement for the smoking as well. And again, if you are concerned about weight which often people aren't when they're quitting tobacco if you replace the cigarette for the bicky as you say absolutely you're much more likely to be on the calories. And again, that's where the treatments come in. So if you're using treatments correctly and effectively you're less likely to feel hungry and you're more likely to replace that hand to mouth action with a treatment rather than the calorific food, the high calorie snacks. What do you do with the money? I mean, obviously, you know, sometimes the money you save it's quite significant but it just goes into the black hole of debt. You know what I mean? If you can, do you keep the, you know, keep the daily money, put it in a jar or something and look forward to a treat for yourself if you can. But even sometimes the more indebted you are the less impact saving 15 quid a day can make in a strange sort of a way. Yeah, so just on those two points the first one is one of the things that we also when we're seeing clients we actually have a saving tin that they can't get at but that they're given and again like that some people are very disciplined whereby they can afford to put the money that they would have spent on tobacco and others like that may have debt issues but even to not being as much debt as often a positive thing that people will experience when they're stopped smoking. If people want to get more details and there's more tips and tricks there but also really importantly there's some, there's a group of people there to work with you through this journey i.e. the stop smoking team, the quit team how do they get in contact? Yeah, so myself my mobile number is 087-2514790 and feel free to call it or text it at any time and then my colleague Marasa is 0860492465 and it's a free confidential service and we will work with you as to where you're at there's no pressure it'll be up to the client to set the quit date but we will work with them to help support the confidence in actually setting that quit day. All right, see you later. Just to let you know as well there's a new initiative happening the Healthy Communities Initiative which actually as well as having stop smoking support it also allows a few of the geographical areas and done a goal access to free stop smoking medications as well if you don't have the medical care more information on that and also when it moves to the guilt. Yeah, more information on that by contacting you I'm sure thanks for your time this morning that's Fiona Boyle, stop smoking specialist with the CH01 tobacco lead there we have her numbers here if you want to contact her and make that change today it'd be lovely if it felt like we had helped people to maybe change their lives for the better. The 9 till noon show brought to you by Kelly's Toyota Port Road Letter Kenny home of the new pro a city your perfect business partner. Enish fitness done low are offering half price programs on Saturdays this month. That's a one hour consultation and a four week plan for just 10 year with this month at Enish fitness done low. Brian McCormick sports and leisure mean street that are coming the big winter sale is now on with quick reductions throughout the store selected kids clothing reduced to clear also added as track suits for all ages on BMC sports dot IE men's and women's sports clothing with discounts of up to 40% off check out the Brian McCormick's winter sale in store or click on BMC sports dot IE do you need a little extra help staying in your home at Bluebird care we offer a wide variety of Q mark approved personalized home care services across Donegal and are fully trained and committed staff will always meet your care needs with kindness compassion and dignity to get your personal home care assessment plan visit Bluebird care dot IE or call our care team today on 07491 29562 and bring care home with everything from pedal and a left to ride ons to go carts and scooters there's loads of fun guaranteed all year round at tennis toys if you the kids birthday coming up tennis toys can help make it 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relationship and emotional questions and also your employment questions get them into us right now but at a minute past 11 it's time for a news update and it's over to Donald Kavanaugh thank you great good morning at Dunigold TD says he will be pressing in the door next week for the Irish government to take action on seeking answers as to what happened the investigation into the killing of Eddie Fullerton the Dunigold counselor who was shot dead in his Bunkrana home in May 1991 Mr. Fullerton's family is this morning being briefed on the findings of a police ombudsman of Northern Ireland report Operation Greenwich which looks at claims of collusion in a number of murders that took place in the Northwest Counselor Fullerton's murder among those being examined Deputy Patrick McLaughlin says there are many questions that the Irish government must answer he'll be raising them in the door next week based on the findings of this report there have been over 3000 cases of COVID-19 in the Northwest this week most of them in Dunigold on today's 9 to noon show the HSC's Northwest Director of Public Health said given the difficulty in getting accurate figures at the moment the real figure is probably higher Dr. Anthony Breslin urged people to continue to adhere to public health guidelines he told Greg that while there are indications we may have seen the worst of Omicron there could be more variants around the corner parents are expressing frustration meanwhile the new close contacts rules will still force asymptomatic teenagers to restrict their movements even if they're doubly vaccinated only those who've had a booster and are asymptomatic can avoid self-isolation under the changes which take place from midnight to night there were 36 people awaiting beds at letter Ken University Hospital this morning four of them on emergency department trolleys the figures are contained in the INMO's latest trolley watch report the figure for Sligo was 29 with 11 in the ED the combined Northwest total of 65 represents just over 16% of the national total the UK's new Brexit chief is meeting our EU counterpart for the first time face-to-face later today Liz Truss will host Marius Sefkiewicz for a dinner this evening in Kent ahead of further talks over the Northern Ireland protocol Ms Truss has said she's willing to trigger article 16 of the protocol if the EU doesn't agree to changes and Garthys say no stone will be left unturned in bringing Ashley Murphy Schiller to justice the 23 year old teacher was attacked while jogging along the canal in Tullamore County awfully at around four yesterday afternoon a murder investigation is underway and a 40 year old man is being questioned at present and we're back with news headlines again at 12 noon Okay, Donald thank you very much for that we'll be back with more after this break getting fit just got easier with Enish fitness done low subscription payments are now available to help spread the cost of your membership call in to Enish fitness done low for more details at Centra jumpstart your new year in our better than half price sale with great offers like bird's eye 10 potato waffles better than half price now 1 euro 48 Nestle Cheerios 700 gram better than half price now 2 euro 50 and Centra fresh our strip points take 360 gram only 7 euro Centra live every day you deserve better better services better rewards and better savings all with bored gosh energy get 40% off your electricity and start saving today because when you're spending less on your energy you can spend more on what matters most switch to a better way at bored gosh energy dot ie e a b 962 euro 12 months discount with direct debit and paperless billing unit rate and standing charge apply see bored gosh energy dot ie for e a b prices and full teas and seas Central Auto Parts are now stock in Sony a water base paint offering all up-to-date colors for all vehicles and selling mixed commercial the perfect paint for diggers plant and machinery buy it today at Central Auto Parts Port Slink Business Park Letter Kenny Find us on Facebook or call us on 07 4 9 1 2 7 4 9 1 Looking for an easier way to get your prescriptions filled? Look no further. With our new Brennan's Pharmacy app, you have a simpler, faster way to manage your prescription orders. Just download the free Brennan's Pharmacy app from Google Play or App Store. Fill in a few simple details about yourself and your medicines and your all set from prescription ordering, daily medicine reminders, then I'll call your local Brennan's Pharmacy today for more information. We're here for you. The Restex Beds and Furniture Winter Sale is now in full swing at our Letter Kenny store, supplying only the finest quality, luxurious Irish made beds and mattresses with genuine savings throughout our range. We look forward to seeing you at the Restex Beds and Furniture Winter Sale. Okay, you welcome back to the program. Delighted to welcome back on your therapist, author and coach taking your relationship and emotional questions right now. Good morning to you. Lovely to see you again, Keely. How are you keeping? All good. No dramas. Can't complain. That's fantastic, isn't it? I was chatting to someone recently who was at the very start of a relationship and they were concerned that the person was made a few references about their appearance, their weight and stuff. But still they intend to continue in that relationship and then they might drag to you. Maybe they might hope to change them in some way or other or if someone started making personal comments very subtle even would you be concerned about that? I'm a massive fan of clarity and one of the things I do is want to have a conversation about that. What did you mean by that? It's just one way to bring that to the forefront. This is especially important if that person if your natural position is to avoid conflict smooth things over then actually this situation especially if you've had a history of problematic relationships where you're a yes person you end up kind of in a one way relationship dynamic then it can be a really important point to highlight that for your own well-being especially if you're trying to break unhelpful cycles where you constantly with someone nitpicks at you don't defend will stand up for yourself can be quite vital. And how do you strike that balance? I think the majority of us are non-confrontational we maybe peace makers we accept stuff we put it down to something or other make excuses whatever it might be but then again you don't want to get to the stage where you're ultra cynical of everyone and challenge people on absolutely everything how do we change ourselves as individuals and it's not just this could be in the workplace Keely it could be negotiating the purchase of a vehicle you know what I mean how do we sort of you know change ourselves that we can speak up a little bit for ourselves. Absolutely I think one of the things it's not that you you know you're being over hypersensitive because that's one of the things that people throw at you if you do challenge them but it's about things that unsettle you so if someone is making a comment about your appearance or your weight and it unsettles you and potentially you've had an issue with avoiding those sort of things in the past and people you know you may have well been bullied in the past for you it can be an opportunity for you to begin to challenge that one of the ways I find challenging it doesn't necessarily mean it has to go into high conflict you can literally ask someone what did you mean by that It's a simple question isn't it and it puts the onus on them rather than you feeling that you have to sort of analyse the whole situation Absolutely you're asking them for clarity and often what is likely to happen is if people then think and then they realise there isn't a then sometimes they may start to say what you're being like that for they can try and discombobulate you by suggesting it's some sort of issue of your own now if you take if you take that bait you know fair enough but as we get older we get a little bit wiser it's going to be really important information to pay attention to because what we avoid in the here and now has a habit of coming back with a vengeance in the future Yeah almost invariably yeah My best friend recently met a man on a dating app which he's head over heels about but I recently saw him still on a dating app so I matched with sorry I just could see this scenario where the two friends are attract to the same fella but anyway I'll start again my best friend recently met a man on a dating app who's head over heels about but I recently saw him still on the dating app so I matched with him to see what he would do and sure enough he started a conversation I've kept the conversation casual so they're still talking I don't want to break her heart but I'm wondering if I should straight out tell him why I matched him and that if he's not interested in my friend to then go and let her down gently Hmm So what's the question here The question is there's her friend saw him on a dating app and matched him they're still chatting away albeit casually and the friend wants to know what to do her best friend is going out with a guy that's still engaging with the opposite sex or the same sex but in this case the opposite sex on a dating app Well my loyalty will always be to my friend I'd have to have a word I'd have to have a word It's an old brain and you go straight to her and say but I just wonder then if I were the best friend going out with this guy I would say to her well did you smash and you start chatting that would be that's a bit simple as simple as okay my way is to you and this is a type of thing that is often happening in people are meeting online the other person may not be offline they're still keeping their options open which is fine if they're going to be truthful about it the pain comes from thinking you're the exclusive and when you're not exclusive these sort of situations arise the friend in my mind your loyalty is to your friend I'd have a word there's a lot of people sitting in situations right and you know one partner's really happy with that the other it's got a name now so maybe that's it it's not a relationship it's not a friendship it's a situation and they find themselves stuck in it well they choose they choose I'm a fan of choice okay yeah well that's it isn't people don't always like that they have choices but often we choose but we're not conscious of it unless you in a coercive control relationship which is a whole number of different kind of but just because something's given a label it doesn't mean it's the thing there's no such thing as a situation because there's always gonna be emotions in there isn't there it's like a friends with benefits you know I mean that can't last long term surely absolutely not but the challenge is that there's new new terms to try to describe relationships is a bit like you know I think that kind of really got sort of started through Facebook you know you know in a relationship or something like rather not say so it's kind of evolved out of people publicly declaring where they're at a situation clearly means there isn't committal and it's a situation you know sounds like you know if there's a situation on the M5 usually something's gone wrong you know there's an incident an accident but our emotions aren't that flexible we can't we don't we haven't evolved whereby our emotions are that elastic they simply aren't absolutely not so you can find all manner of terms to define it but the reality is something is awry in the relationship that maybe it works for your one dimension but often people tend they think that maybe having a physical relationship is sufficient but it pinches them on the earth it often comes back to them so that's a real challenge for people whatever you want to call it whether it's a hook up situation situationship friends with benefits some things are right and often that can come and pinch people on the bottom and often people might say it suits me when it doesn't but they don't want to have and they don't think they're going to get what they want I'm having a serious relationship issue with my mother herself and my dad split up many years ago and almost every day since that I've been reminded that we played a part in their marriage breaking up and because of me and my sister she was unable to meet anyone else I'm sick of her Christmas was the final nail my boyfriend is annoyed and says I can't cut her off your mother is not supposed to know which is I despise her at times I also fear a total cutoff any advice this kind of reminds me of some of the work I do with individuals when we work with narcissistic mothers and how difficult it is for people to get to the point where they totally go non-contact and cut off parents the reality is people do cut off their parents especially if they're particularly toxic the challenge you have is that most people won't understand it and most people you're the person who knows exactly what you're contending with your mother and if for example it means that you need to create space or you need to be mute in terms of your communication with her for a while then that actually may well be to your benefit the challenge you have is generally people don't give you the thumbs up for that if your mother is blaming that generally means she's taking zero responsibility for herself in the situation and therefore she becomes a victim therefore trying to burden you with guilt often about you know it's probably fair to assume you didn't ask to be created you didn't ask for them to bring you into the world so clearly that is deflecting blaming others which will create guilt with regards to yourself so in actual fact some of the steps that you're talking about are particularly helpful because it's about protecting your well-being the challenge generally people face when they when they distance love and parents is they get judged for it and people assume that you should try and do something they don't actually get how difficult it can be and it's not an easy decision to come to and so what I'd encourage you to it's a gradual process as well you know it doesn't mean you just flip to no contact it may mean you have short bursts with that person sometimes having crowds you start to work out what works for you but just understand that people won't always get it all right when you talk about you know relationships with just people you meet if they're toxic or controlling or coercive you know you get out you protect yourself you know what I mean you make that tough decision do the same rules apply with family because okay yes there is that genetic and blood connection right it's such a non-healthy relationship there's no obligation to maintain a relationship with family sometimes is it best just to cut it or does that have a ripple effect well I you know I work with a lot of Asian clients as well and they come from collective communities where it is all about family and so you know whether you're from you know a collective community or west traditional western it's very difficult for people to cut family it's a really good point you make there it's different that is never easy for people there's power there's dynamics there's money there's finances let's be honest there's also wills estates very good there's a lot a lot that absolutely goes on and so it's a very tentative sensitive process especially if you have toxic family members and sometimes it's about helping people to strategize develop strategies to stay and to help cope and that's why I'm a fan of coping mechanisms if we know what the root cause is don't just give people coping mechanisms without understanding what the deepest stuff is but it enables people to become much more clearer about how to navigate a difficult a difficult terrain and cutting off family members you know is not easy for people yeah okay really not easy someone else has picked up on our first question it's about the the woman head over heels with a fella her friend saw him on social media they connected and she's chatting away to them she has a casual relationship with this person but still communicating with them and she's just gone down a road there and this caller says the friend with the new partner might feel it's the friend going behind her back by choosing this man to communicate with online it's going to be a difficult one to unravel a caller says the lack of intimacy has left me distant and discontent I don't want to lose my partner but I need more this sounds very much like a conversation those two people need to be having with each other as well as difficult as it is and maybe what you have to say might be that push Keely absolutely well intimacy is a real fundamental part of relationships intimacy and sex and so if that is not in the relationship that it matters it's really important to highlight that that matters and to get curious about what that is about now that might be a difficult conversation to have however it's worthy of having it because if not it will show up elsewhere in the relationship we also know generally people can remove intimacy from the relationship and sex as a form of punishment or sanction depending on how your dynamics are so it may you know how can you have a conversation about that and encourage you to try to have the conversation about that and see what occurs now if you're particularly needy that's also something to address or neediness because sometimes that can burn people out in terms of intimacy obviously isn't always about what's in the bedroom or wherever else takes you fancy of course it can be a meaningful kiss it can be a hug it can be a stroke or a touch sometimes partners might give back what's projected on to them as well do you know what I mean is it possible that maybe the other partner feels a bit awkward doing that because the one that's texted into us maybe they're not offering those you know those sort of intimate gestures as well and it becomes an awkward space absolutely especially you know what life is like it gets ordinary if we're not grooming if we've let if we've let the forest grow I shaved for you today so say nothing alright we got any evidence for that well it's not on me neck alright okay listen calm down Keeley we'll keep it above above the neck above the navel well like I said right you know these things we can all get tired and things can become a bit stale so it can be time for let's call it a review of where things where we're at you know what we also want for ourselves but what is also happening with intimacy but also those touch you know if someone's cooking breakfast like what is also happening around those areas outside of the bedroom has that diminished what might be going on in the relationship alright a comment here I had a narcissistic mother I was in my fifties when I cut her out of my life and I can tell you I was judged it took a lot of therapy to get me to the other side she passed away since but it's in my mind every day it's a very very hard role that is exactly what you were it's different maybe from you know a relationship with someone that you meet in your life lastly I'm trying to find love in 2022 how can I do that can you seek out love or does it have to just arrive at the right time well it depends you know some people can be much more proactive and deliberately go on a campaign to find that person I'm much more I find for myself personally I'm not good when I force things things don't really happen in a way that is helpful to me I'm much more interested in pursuing things that I like interests and then meeting like minded people along that journey I find that a much a much more richer way to meet people I particularly don't do well online swipe into the left you know judging someone on the visual dynamic doesn't necessarily work for me I don't tend to read the text I tend to look and discriminate but actually I've given many an ugly man a chance by meeting him and meeting his personality you know what I'm saying I was obviously people would be familiar with the word cat fishing but I heard the phrase yesterday for the first time mask fishing I don't know if you're familiar with that it's people you know you get to know someone with wearing a mask and then oh wow I know I don't think it's really thing but it's what the young ones are talking about mask fishing well there you go it's with the filters I mean you know my daughter put a filter on the phone the other day and I'm like I want to look like that person in the phone because that clearly is not it's not me it's just one of the benefits try different strategies you could try doing the whole online thing which comes with its challenges let's be honest but also are there any interests or pursuits to help you get out of your comfort zone because instantly we're done as well you're going to be meeting people with shared interests or at least in the same space as wanting to right there's no point swiping on someone having seven or eight dates really liking them and find out that they don't really like to go anywhere there you go yeah okay alright make sense alright Kili listen if people want to engage with you on a more personal level you are a psychotherapist author and coach and your website addresses what Kili keyforchange.com that's number four or you can write f-o-r Kili because you covered all bases come on alright listen thank you as always have a great one that's Kili Taverner there right we'll be back with more on this edition of the 9 till noon show including answering your questions as it relates to employment law and also particularly in the context of what these new changes to close contacts might mean for you in the workplace but we'll open it up to general employment questions get in touch with us right now because we've got Kili and beyond he's going to be joining us after the break the 9 till noon show brought to you by Kelly's Toyota Port Road Letter Kenny home of the new pro-way city your perfect business partner well Davey brilliant that you weren't in work today we had some crack it was Petters last shift so we all went out for lunch thanks for staying away the lads are delighted chat you soon mind yourself no one will thank you for anything else when you're sick stay at home and get a test to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 from the HSE for us all Inish fitness Dunlowe is offering a free fitness plan a deal or two with every six or 12 month membership purchased in January call in to Inish fitness Dunlowe to find out more do you suffer from high cholesterol men of all symptoms digestive issues anxiety the natural way letter Kenny can provide advice on natural remedies for a number of individual 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Mooney don't miss our 50 tax saving tips for available when transferring farms and how to make the most of tax exemptions plus we have money-saving advice for household bills banking insurance pensions and more to make the most of your income don't miss our money-saving tips inside this week's Irish Farmers Journal you cannot afford to miss it Highland Radio Time Checks brought to you by letter Kenny shopping centre the centre of shopping in the UK the time is 27 minutes past 11 you very welcome back to the 9th noon show now time to return to a previous guest Deputy Bernard Durkin good morning to you Deputy thanks very much for joining us Morning Regents your listeners right now the 7 month roll over of the 90 million euro lotto is also confirmed in future the top prize will be won no more than five draws after the cap is reached right now statistically it seems almost impossible that it's rolled over this far I presume you welcome this change but does it answer the questions you initially posed I wonder Well I do welcome it I think it's moving in the right direction but as you say yourself we have to recognise the public concern and frustration continues roll over that happened in early June and nobody won the lotto the main prize since then that's what's causing frustration and annoyance amongst the general public who would like to have their weekly flutter whatever they wish to do with it but the fact that there was advertised a potential jackpot that nobody won for six months despite 55 or six draws that wasn't that wasn't acceptable and I think that the lotto lotto lotto have recognised that and have set about changing it but also too what they did though Bernard is following the likes of remarks from yourself and others and comments on this show and comments on other radio shows they spent an absolute fortune that wasn't being won by players plugging the fact that some people were winning money that to me I was looking at that going seriously you're actually spending money that could be going into prizes trying to defend the fact that your 19 million euro is still rolling over it was like wow this is really the world we're living right now well you see the first argument the first response to that was you know this is a game of chance an actual fact it was a game of no chance for a lot of people who bought lottery tickets there was no chance of winning and there should be some even more chance and if it was 10,000 10 million 10.7 million to one fine very very long hours but a lot of people are participating it should mean that the yards come down somebody should with it sometimes somehow somewhere and that wasn't happening either so whatever happened after the 6th of June last it's being addressed at this stage to monitor its progress and in obviously having had discussions as we had at the committee and the lottery also then likewise the regulator has become involved and is monitoring the situation but one way or the other if we sell our advertise on the basis of a potential prize of 19 million for example and it doesn't happen well presumably the public will then participate on the basis that sometime somebody has to win it and of course that is not necessarily true and this is where we were told about the Game of Chance and the Monte Carlo episode and the Las Vegas episodes and so on but of course the fact that they happened doesn't mean that they were right it doesn't mean that it was fair to the person who was speculating and the lottery has a high profile throughout the country because the funds the lottery have been instrumental in providing funding for very very many good causes and that needs to continue of course but I mean it's always better if things are transparent in other words you know how much money is gambled how much money is donated to charity how much money goes to you know pension funds how much money is spent on advertising you know what are the odds of winning what prizes in reality is what's needed I think particularly because the amount of money that's going into it I mean yesterday two people won a total of €500,000 how much was actually gambled ahead of that draw like I think that is important public interest information you hit the nail in the head and actually the public are right to know that as well and that is the subject of my parliamentary questions written questions for next week this week coming so we will know we will get that information because it is vital information we need to know how much the public are spending how much they are speculating how much is gone in prizes and where the rest of it is gone and so on but the point about it is this is that and you are absolutely incorrect it has to be seen to be open and transparent not just not just good enough to say oh this is fine it just supervives it's open and transparent let's see how we can come to that and also too I think it's worth looking at push notifications because when the lottery was established I'm sure it wasn't established in a way that someone can just be sitting listening to the radio or watching Coronation Street or whatever and then get messages pushed to them from the National Lottery App inviting them to go and gamble that I mean okay that might be grand for your Paddy Powers or Skybetter whatever it might be but really with the National Lottery do you think that's appropriate or is it appropriate or does it need looking at these push notifications you know they see how long it is since you engaged there's algorithms there and they go hold on yeah Greg hasn't logged logged on in a while let's offer him the chance to win 50,000 euro by spending and scratching six yes I think you're right your assessment is correct this goes goes back again to the core issue the core issue is the public's right to know how the lottery is operated and whether or not it is in accordance with the rules originally set out in legislation and anticipated as far as the National Lottery is concerned it also is important that if we want to continue to to avail of the National Lottery as I've mentioned already in relation to the funding good causes of which there are many and growing then it is important that the public have absolute confidence in the way that lottery is operated and it's not a private commercial issue this is a public lottery and we have to we have to do it in such a way as to ensure that the public are satisfied and happy that when they speculate their their few pounds of pennies or feelings or or euros or whatever that they do so in the clear knowledge that the reason outcome or whatever the outcome is where the money they'll need to have some ideas to where the money goes and to what causes it goes and whether it goes to a pension fund then you correctly identify that that will come out in the next few weeks I think that will be answered and if there's nothing to hide it doesn't it doesn't matter it's fine because you know we also have to acknowledge the fact that for them to change this they did have to get approval from government effectively didn't they to do this so you know that they are operating in within guidelines that maybe even they need to be looked at as well Deputy Bernard Durkin will wait with interest to see what answers you get to your questions and we appreciate you joining us again and thanks for your time today thank you Greg take care of yourself okay back with more shortly if you're trying to eat healthier this year they're the perfect way to add flavour and texture to a salad if you couldn't care less about that they're a fabulous way to add crunch to a big juicy burger whatever you're into you can't argue with legal prices legal more for you hello Grace where are you heading down to mid to measure fireplaces in Chrysler mid to measure fireplaces didn't you just buy a fireplace there yeah but I'm going now to pick my kitchen work top create the kitchen and living room at mid to measure fireplaces and granite work tops they've been in business for over 40 years so for help choosing granite or quartz for your work top fireplaces stove visit the mid to measure showroom at cashel chrysler or see mtmfireplaces.com or on facebook do you currently have vacancies that need urgently filled have you tried various ways to find new staff but didn't succeed let highland radio help you source and fill your current vacancies in an effective way simply sign up to our new job spot and we will tell our listeners about your vacancies both on air and online every monday wednesday and friday during our prime time shows we will broadcast the latest job opportunities across the north west and into county's dairy and tarot all job listings will be available online at highland radio dot com for more information contact the advertising team on 07491 25322 or email dot com highland radio we're here for you and you're very welcome back to the program i'm delighted to welcome on to it now employment solicitor at richard grogan associate solicitors richard grogan good morning richard good morning to you it's great to have you on the show and congratulations on the exposure you're getting i know you're incredibly popular on tiktok and of course that's it's down to you and your information your presentation but you know there's been a massive vacuum hasn't there clearly that you are filling and others to some extent but you certainly that people have a lot of questions but obviously struggled in the past to find the answers does that make sense yes it does in a way i mean i think the issue on it is if you take we say there's an awful lot of solicitors that have lots of great information up on their website the law society of Ireland has great information up on their website but i suppose i've just changed the foot short snappy little pieces up on instagram and tiktok and people don't want to read four pages they just want to get you know to the point and so that's what i'm trying to do they want the ice cream they don't want the veggies and you give them the ice cream yeah nobody likes veggies yeah everybody so i've just given them snippets of information and hopefully that helps people employers and employees yeah but how has it been received by employers i wonder are you getting any feedback from them because you know ignorance sometimes is bliss and you're empowering people and maybe there are those maybe some employers most employers by the way are fantastic by the way but i'm saying you know are you getting any pushback from from that that area some pushback from some employers but actually quite interesting a number of employers are sort of sending me messages but i didn't know about this thanks very much i'm going to get this sorted so i think that helps avoid unnecessary problems in the workplaces and by the way most of these are not ones that are going to have people off down in the WRC these are sort of basic ones that really should be sorted out in the workplace and hopefully that helps you know get the problem sorted alright someone was on to us they were a close contact over Christmas they had upper respiratory symptoms so they went for a PCR test they didn't get their PCR test for seven days the result for seven days but they were off work for seven days and off work for no reason as such because it turns out they did not have COVID the employer has obviously significantly docked their wages and they can't as this is their question it apparently because they've got no evidence of positive test but you know PCR they feel they can't claim for any sickness benefit is there any advice you can give them that's the problem if you're not sick you don't get sickness benefit and if you don't have a message from the HSE saying that you have to self-isolate you don't get the social welfare either so in companies for example of sick pay schemes if you're not sick you don't get paid so it's it's it's an option to say if you had COVID and you had a positive then you would be under a sick pay if you if you come on it's no you haven't had COVID and you're great but you don't get paid so you know that's just the laws we didn't draft it it was drafted at a different period and nobody's done over the last two years about this but that's the way it is that just is a particular grey area then you're not at work and you could and should be but you can't be because you're waiting on a PCR test which turns out negative so you fall between the two stools well it's not grey it's black and white you're either ill or you're not ill yeah it's as simple as that yeah unfortunately for a lot of people if and there's a mixture of questions to not all COVID but particularly with the new changes to close contacts rather than me sort of are there obvious questions I should be asking Richard rather than me confusing it you know because now antigen tests can be used to register illness benefit I'm sure maybe employers might want more evidence I don't know what do we need to be looking at for with these new rules do you think Richard well I mean I think the big problem that's coming up is that if you have no symptoms if you're a close contact but the issue on it is the employer can't ask you are you fully vaccinated so that's one issue that's causing problems with other employees by the way because sometimes the employer doesn't know what the vaccination status is but other employees do and if somebody comes and says to the employer well you know I know that Joe isn't vaccinated the employer says well I can't even ask him under the current legislation he says he's here and I can do nothing about it and if the employer says well right I'm going to take the decision to send the person home for seven days the employer has to pay so the employer goes well I'll just trust him so that's one and the other big one is that if you have to self isolate sorry not isolate but you have to come to the workplace you have to take regular antigen tests and you have to wear the medical mask now actually the government hasn't set out who pays for that is it the employer is it the employer or are they going to leave that as guidance so they never have to make that decision well that's right but the employer arrives at the at the front door of the factory or the shop and they have a non-medical mask and the employer says where's your medical mask and they say well you have to provide it and the employer said well actually you shouldn't have left home without a medical mask so you know I'm not very happy that you're following you're not following the guideline so I mean this is the sort of stuff that comes out and then they say you have to have regular antigen tests now you know they're three to four euro each so you know I think there's an issue there for employers it does a cost and for the employees they're at the cost but nobody's come out with the guidance as to who pays plus the person who was a close contact could present with the same negative antigen test every day because I'm not sure if they're obliged to show it to an employer I'm sure they're not but they're not going to keep it and they're not going to see the person conducting the test either but I suppose a lot of this is down to trust and responsibility and people being expected to do the right thing Richard well of course it's all down to to that the difficulty that we're getting back and the pushback we're getting at the moment is from other employees in premises who are saying we're concerned if somebody's going to be coming in here that they are taking the antigen tests and you know this is the problem the employer can't stay to that person by the way when you're coming in there's an antigen test over there would you ever take it before you go up to the room where you're with the other men and women who are working here and the person goes when you can't ask me to take an antigen test so that's a problem so that's one of the the issues that again that they haven't given any guidance as to how they deal with that is it legal for people to an employer to discriminate discriminate against employees who are not vaccinated and to not let them on the work premises it's not discrimination it could be a claim under the payment of wages actually it could be an unfair dismissal claim but it's not discrimination unless the person can show that they can't get vaccinated in which case there will be a discrimination case on the medical grounds but you know there are some employers by the way who are effectively coming in from contractors who have been told by the main contractor if these people aren't vaccinated and if they don't do a piece an antigen every day they're not coming onto my site that's a problem in that situation the employer says well look it's nothing to do with me I just can't get you onto the site yeah okay if you get COVID on your holidays and a lot of this would have been a Christmas holiday so you're you're you're sick with COVID isolated on your holidays that's just your holidays is it or can you declare that and then take holidays again yeah if you get sick while you're on holidays and this goes back to actually 1997 it's in the organization working time act if you produce a doctor certificate to say that you were sick you get those days back but it's a doctor certificate by the way not a not a PCR it's a doctor it's actually a doctor certificate so that's one that people have you know going down to your doctor the doctor says well you know if it was only an antigen test the doctor would say well sure I don't know about that so it is a doctor certificate and to be honest with you that just hasn't kept up with you know the reality as well I don't want to see a load of people having to go down to doctors surgeries to get them back but in reality that's what they have to do and by the way GPs are under huge pressure as it is at the moment rather than be giving out a certificate to say that somebody was sick 16 years working with a company and no pay rise am I entitled to one now I mean is there ever an entitlement to a pay rise as such no simple answer get a new job if you don't like the job get a new job I mean that's the reality no okay if you get approximately 22 days and you will leave but your company only lets you carry over 39 hours into January and here we're going to get into this we're already out in this kind of worm of when your holidays run from but anyway I'm going to ask the question and let you deal with the worms if that's all right if you get approximately 22 days and you will leave but your company only tells you you can carry over 39 hours into January and have to use them by March are they allowed to take the rest of the days off you if you wanted to carry more than 39 hours as our company states that my extra hours will be lost and only can carry 39 after December but they must be used by March said the same thing twice there but I think you get the message the annual leave here in the legislation which is section 2 the organization working time act is the first of April to the 31st of March that would be not social media screaming they don't tell me it's nothing else so that's but they can certainly say you have to use it by the 31st of March because that's the end of the annual leave here they have to make sure that you actually take 20 of the days because they can actually send you home and say go home you haven't taken your holidays but the 20 days not the 22 so no they can't stop you carrying over after 31 December but they can after 31 March and did can a company say you need to take seven days in quarter one eight days in quarter two and you know whatever the remainder is in quarter three can a company put that can that be stated and enforced alright there was always time when you had builder's holidays the first two weeks in August employers can put in a time where you have to take a certain period of time but they have to discuss that with you or the union take into account your personal family and circumstances and the opportunity for rest and relaxation but one of the provisions is they're obliged to make sure that you take two weeks at one stage in the year but a lot of companies will have we close for the first two weeks of August and when you're signing up your contract you're working in a factory they close but that's allowed yes but it has to look at each individual case is the state still paying redundancy to employees if the employer can't fund it yes could someone tell me right this last one here I work in retail the rotors are usually done at three weeks in advance the manager always comes in at the last minute looking to do extra hours which is too short notice then the manager takes spite and then you don't get asked again they're currently in receipt of WFP and manager only gives 16 hours knowing I lose payment and cannot get banned contract either I've asked a number of times for this like I'm there a lot of years and there are people getting all the hours going this is so unfair so there's I think they're being disadvantaged because they don't change their working schedule at the last minute well you're entitled to go look for a band of hours contracts that person can do that in relation to notification of working time you're supposed to get on Thursday before the week beforehand so today you should be getting the notification for next week but if they give it three weeks in advance if somebody doesn't want to take additional hours that are offered then that's just the way it works you know an employer comes in and says by the way there's overtime here does anybody want it and if you say you don't alright very last one working for the same company for 14 years carrying out government type work employed as a self-employed contractor told how to do the job and supplied with tools what are my rights if wow alright they need to see a solicitor fairly quickly because this is are they really a self-employed contractor or are they not but if they've been putting in tax returns as a self-employed contractor there's a real issue there that you don't actually have any rights so but they need to see a solicitor some great solicitors up in Donegal so go and talk to one of those because they'll be able to sort them out Richard Grogan employment solicitor Richard Grogan associates solicitors our listeners and viewers might be disappointed if you didn't do the catchphrase but maybe you reserve that only for social media I'll do it if you really ask I'll do it go on then that's the law and that's the fact take care of yourself thank you very much Richard Grogan there okay we'll be back with more after these we look forward to seeing you at the Restix beds and furniture winter sale shop in store or online at homeland.ie hello this is your call to make a real difference aware are here for people living with depression and bipolar disorder now more than 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Centre in Lederkenny with healthy options throughout the store there's also the green kitchen deli offering fresh nutritious food to go choose from a full menu of delicious sandwiches and salad boxes or build your own option all made on site and prepared fresh to order jumpstart your healthy lifestyle at green kitchen in the award-winning Kelly's Centre Mountaintop Lederkenny and I've been training hard for months 7K most evenings in all weather along familiar tree lined roads only for that wind I'll be close to my fastest time ever just when I need a fallen tree okay, climb over keep moving always ask yourself the question are you sure it's safe never approach fallen wires if in doubt call us on 1-800-372-999 ESB Networks stay safe and stay clear of electricity wires recently engaged discover your dream Dunnegall wedding at Jackson's and Villa Rose in the heart of Bally Buffet with our wedding venue showcase on Sunday, January the 23rd contact your wedding team to book your showcase appointment with Jackson's and Villa Rose in harsh winter weather once and higher have all you need to stay safe and keep warm there's great deals on coal, solar gas, firewood and heating oil with free local delivery also electric, fan, halogen and oil filled heaters see in store and the fuel store at Watsonhire.ie great offers on winter clothing and boots and for any higher items there's still the weekend higher deal of three days for the price of one all at Watsonhire Kilt Oil Etterkemi with free parking at the door all right you're very welcome back to the door calls and comments and we appreciate them all by the way Hi Greg just wondering if any of your listeners have not received their updated covid pass which includes the booster we received the booster in early November yet nothing as of yet well the only rolled out the roll out of those documents at the start of the week or towards the end of last week so it's going to take a few weeks I would wait to see if you get it and check your spam folder too it could end up in there Celebrity First I love the TV clipping of the doorbell ringing and the lad answering the phone it's very entertaining we enjoyed it last time round and the dates very entertaining okay I didn't see that but thank you for that comment regarding the Liam Carr sentencing yesterday I think the justice system should be looked into and why this case went on six years and put a victim on the stand for four trials it's a disgrace to do that it's all in favour of perpetrators that caller please Greg this is what happens with the Lotto when privatisation happens they want to make back the money they had paid for the Lotto indeed another I used to always buy two Lotto tickets a week thinking it was going to a good cause but since it was privatised I very rarely buy tickets only for some birthdays whoever made the decision to privatise it should lose their pension well I think it's around about a little over a third goes to charitable causes a caller says there's no money evening in the scratch cards the Lotto do it's the biggest I've ever seen I happen to get a lot of for one thing or other a lot of scratch cards I probably got about 25 of them through gifts and stuff and I scratch them all and I don't know how much they cost but out of a ton of cards it was 12 year win total or something like that there but is that I mean is it proven and audited and checked that the amount of winning cards we expect are in the bundle I don't know it's only seven on three numbers last night four weeks weeks now the most common scores was three in all the Lotto draws which suggests that there is something wrong is that three numbers get seven euros is that what you're saying another the Lotto jackpot should be distributed to the lower prize winners after five weeks of not being won not five weeks after the limit has been reached smaller jackpots are fined by most opinions 19 million is not something I'd like to have people who will only start playing the Lotto when it gets to a certain level if it's two or three million or whatever it might be it's not worth doing it as soon as it starts to get to seven or eight or nine they're going right I better do the Lotto so you know I mean humans are kind of strange in how we think how's that TD anything else to do deflecting deflecting from real issues a lottery is a lottery betting companies are the big issue that no one wants to talk about because we asked him to come on and talk about that obviously he occupies himself with other things but we invited him on I gave up smoking using champics best decision ever non-smoker now for 16 years well done to you even the smell now turns my stomach my husband was off cigarettes for over 20 years but used nicotine gum he's now back smoking and taking the gum also any suggestions that's problematic getting contact with the quit though through the HSC they'll get advice there I quit 16 16 months ago my wife still smokes at home and I have my own business with the money I saved I couldn't have done it with the help I couldn't have done it without the help of the fantastic quit team in letter Kenny congratulations to you and best of luck with your new business I stopped smoking 30 years ago I had no help to stop smoking congratulations to you hypnotism worked for me and many others to stop smoking it's interesting I'd like to speak what works what the attitude was going into it what they can remember of what was done and how they felt afterwards so maybe if one of you out there wouldn't mind having a chat about how you know hypnotism it's easy for me to say how hypnotism worked for that or anything else as well really interested to hear about that okay that is where we have