 I just want to make sure I've got the right faders up here. Yeah, I would never get them wrong. That was That's why daddy daddy. Yes. I don't after 11. Was that the way I was talking to you? Was it? Was it very But as I said before, it's a good job. We're kind of the same people on airs off air. We do Imagine if you come on and go. Yes, Greg. This is Lee. We're gonna do that. You know, yeah We're just the same aren't we? Just the same. We're just we just we wear whatever we say we're the same on airs off Here basically I can be how I swear words, which was good. Well, you see But it wouldn't have been the worst thing. No, but you don't swear But you say you know what they say when you're training to get into broadcast He said you should never say trained. Huh? You trained. I was trained by the BBC. No, but listen to me No, I know I know it didn't do me much good Did it look but listen to me and they say you should never say anything And should do that you don't want it to go out on a hundred percent, you know, you know, because we do say things I say bad words sometimes. No, you don't know dad says to me says you don't say bad words on the radio So don't be saying them now. That's right. Dad tells me off. Yes. I do listen to It's all good. Good to be back in the studio. Great to have been out yesterday. We'd love to get out I was good and nice to be out. Isn't it lovely day to meet people in their space rather than always expecting to come here I've been a big advocate of that. Yeah You like to get out and about there's some people, you know, well, not unlike I'm talking from previous radios I don't like to be out and about. They're very comfortable in the studio, but they're not comfortable I've met a person. They don't work here. And it's the only person I've met who it was their worst nightmare Yeah, they just don't like they're the comfortable in the studio. Um, but they're not comfortable Had some lovely food, too. I had Um We were given you there was loads of different foods from different cultures there And there was one there was one and it was like sort of it looked like beef and rice I'm not sure from what part of the world it was So I was just reading down the list. I saw beef. This is right. I'll have a bit of that Okay, so I dug my fork and scooped it up into me man. So tender about you. No, it was lovely, right? But it was catfish and The shellfish what do you call them crawfish? Right, I don't eat that but you did eat it. Do you like it? No, I'm expecting to the big spices were beautiful, but the fish and the clawfish that so Wait, what made you think it was beef because be it's also beef. It's obviously sort of a surf and turf all right Okay, the rice was absolutely the spicing was beautiful. It was just the do you like fish? No, I don't you see that's the whole point of the story. All right I got the point at the anecdote. Yeah, but um, no, but it was it was the spicing and it was beautiful It was just the fishy taste wouldn't be for me But I'm lovely lovely food up there homemade butter as well. You what was the ladies name? Can you remember? Jane Gamble was a very good and it tastes much different. It was do you know it wasn't a salty? Oh, yeah, see the probably horse in the salt to make a 10% It was it was beautiful all the nice taste of butter, but a bit of salt Didn't have as much salt nice even though she answered nice Lovely good luck to you nice thing was lovely. All right, Lee Friday to mark and you believe your favorite day of the week. Yeah every day I like most days. Yeah, I like Mondays, you know Mondays and the freshest on the Mondays because you get a bit of a sleep at the weekend, you know You're balance Tuesdays. I'm bad most days All right, let's get a news update to the couple of minutes past nine. It's over to Donald Kavanaugh Thank you great. Good morning They can hear look I've done a go County Council says government intervention is vital to secure the future of businesses Council Martin Harley says a 30% increase in running costs is forcing owners to use up personal savings to sustain their businesses with growing fears that many more Will be forced to shut their doors over the coming months Counselor Harley says to me go County Council is doing what it can in terms of rates rebates But the government must do more through the rates Council that will be doing the the rates repeat them. It's not like it this time It will be each person will get a get a check for 50% of the rates That's all they can do at the moment But I think we need to look at someone at a national level that that's gone through I'm gonna put someone in place for for the next number of years that that keeps business flow because the SME sectors One of the highest employers and cross Ireland So this is something needs to be done for that SME sector The North Education Minister is being urged to visit Arverley school and resource center in Oma The only one which is currently located on the strew shared education campus site last week The school's principal Johnny Gray hosted a group of political and community representatives to showcase the school and highlight the potential of the campus when other schools We locate there this week at the assembly in Stormont West Row and Emily Nicola Brogan urged minister Paul given to visit the school saying its inclusion in the Strew project is unique and both Arverley and the wider campus project deserve support Arverley is the only school is actually on the strew campus site at present It's also the only special needs school that is part of a shared education project Mr. Gray is very passionate about the opportunity of equity the shared education can bring for all of our children and young people They come in together schools including special learners gives those children young people who are at risk of being excluded by society a rightful presence and a voice in education So I have invited the education education minister to Oma to visit both the strew campus and to visit Arverley The world's oceans are warmer than they've ever been while February was the hottest month ever It's the ninth consecutive month that records have been broken typical sea services in August topped 21 degree Celsius That was the highest figure on record and an oracle's committee is to recommend that legislation is introduced for assisted dying in strict circumstances It would only be allowed if the person has a terminal illness and between six to twelve months to live The illness must also be causing intolerable pain Professor Siobhan McHale is a consultant liaison psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital She's concerned about the potential implications the College of Psychiatrists have produced a position paper in Opposition to the introduction of assisted dying for a whole range of reasons But I think that the starting point I think we're all agreed on is the current status quo is not sufficient So it's not a case from our perspective that we say either we introduce this or else We leave things exactly as they are we actually believe that we can do better Mostly dry today with a mix of clouds and sunny spells with just a chance of an odd shower top temperatures Nine or ten degrees Celsius in moderate to fresh southeast to East winds strong at times in coastal areas And that's how in radio news back with news again at ten Don't forget all of today's news available on our website how to radio calm but for now from the news team. Good morning What's that milk still in date I was muted on that call wasn't I am I after losing my car keys Most things we worry about never happen and with Liberty insurance You can worry less about things that do especially now that you can get up to 300 euro off your car insurance at Liberty insurance IE so you're free to worry about literally anything else Did I send that to the entire group chat or not worry at all? Let's worry more Liberty online discount applies to new private car policies only maximum discount 300 euro subject to minimum premium and Applied before optional covers acceptance criteria terms and conditions apply Liberty Segura's companion Iria Segura's essay trading as Liberty insurance is authorized by the general director of insurance and pensions funds in Spain and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conductive business rules and now it's time for the talk of the Northwest Hello, and a very good Thursday morning to you seven minutes past nine It's the 7th of March 2024 how you're keeping out there. It is great to have you on board for the next three hours And we've got loads lined up as you can imagine all different types of topics So we've got another addition of your voice your community We're going to be speaking to people associated with the Irish wheelchair association Which is one of our name charities for our charity day, which is tomorrow week that and so much more besides 08 660 25,000 that's the what's up to the text number And if you want to send you what's up voice notes that number to please feel free to do so not everyone is wants to text or can text, but you want your voice heard Well, what's up your voice note to us 08 660 25,000 if you want to give us a call to its 07491 25,000 all of those numbers from outside the republic 00353 And I'll where you go Um, and if you want to email its comments at highlandradio.com and a good morning to you If you wish to watch the show as well We're on youtube on your smart screen tv or your fire stick Highland Radio Ireland give us a like and subscribe we're on x as well Good morning to you wherever you're watching us from and across facebook highland hub Highland news and sport it's always a busy morning a thursday morning for newspaper So let's see what is grabbing the attention of our friends in the paper industry The Tricolon Tribune asked the question who shot fanat polling station The hottest topic in fanat this week is who made the decision to close the polling station at port salon for friday's referendum's names and photos Wanted and the official reasons it's for the next edition of the tribune We understand that the loss of the service was not the responsibility of donagol counter Council and the lines of inquiry have to be outside of their control the council does Not do a barter account therefore it is not within its gift to engage in horse trading Neither is polling station closures due to falling numbers because there is a base of around 500 on the register there is a specific fee for polling station and every wane the country knows that for a fact and on it goes we'll try and get help and get to the bottom of that ourselves on to the donagol news this morning a survey launched this week by the university of holster is calling on people in donagol and beyond to share their journey of despair money worries as well as resilience as a result of their homes and businesses having defective building materials the survey is specifically designed to assess the mental health and familial impact of the defective building materials crisis and requires the thousands of people affected to take part to ensure it gives a broad vivid picture all homes and business owners are encouraged to take part on to the dairy news this morning and dairy people voiced fierce criticism at an information evening for the proposed redevelopment of a derelict property into student accommodation the developer and architect were present to answer questions on the redevelopment of the property at 29 Park Avenue the developer Seamus Clark would not discuss the proposal with the dairy news as plans were not officially lodged yet on to the broadsheets now going to the Irish Times great picture on the front of the paper and it is Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pangley and First Minister Michelle O'Neill during a visit to Saint Paul's GA Club in Belfast the picture is sort of mid shot of Minister Pangley hitting a slitter with a hurl it's a great picture and it makes you wonder what took them so long to get back into government because they seem to be the best of friends which is good actually I'm not being cynical in that regard but it's a nice picture and it's in most of the papers today the big story though is that it looks very much like that Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be contesting the next US election which of course has worldwide ramifications the first shots of what's set to become the most toxic and embittered US presidential campaign since the civil war sounded yesterday even as Republican candidate Nikki Haley announced her withdrawal from the race as anticipated the former governor of South Carolina found the road ahead effectively blocked by the deluge of women who are wedded to Donald Trump's make America great again version of republicanism with 14 of the 15 states returning an overwhelming mandate in the super Tuesday primaries that election about eight months away there's going to be a lot of waffle a lot of conversation between now and then and the waffle continues on the RTE crisis it rumbles on former RTE chair Suni Rahali told Catherine Martin top officials she would have been happy to speak to the media minister on the phone and threatened to resign three times just ours before her dramatic exit last month new document show this is the independent by the way newly released correspondence from the department of media includes its record of a series of phone calls between the minister's top officials and Miss Suni Rahali on February 22 in the hours leading up to her resignation the documents sent to the media committee also include the now infamous letter which led to the former chair's resignation that was sent on the evening of February 22 before Miss Martin's prime time interview in which she failed to express confidence in Miss Suni Rahali and it's kind of interesting how it went in that she sent this letter talking about a meeting the following morning but then went on the national media in the meantime and chucked her under the boss effectively so as a say that will rumble on there's no doubt about that well something I wanted to mention just so we're aware as parents and guardians and as a society there was a warning issued yesterday you may well have heard it about 13 youngsters who have been hospitalised across the country with frostbite this after taking hippie crack which is nitrous oxide which is effectively laughing gas children were told are playing Russian roulette by taking legal nitrous oxide well it's not legal because you can't sell it for human consumption but anyway they're playing Russian roulette by taking legal nitrous oxide with politicians demanding new legislation to make it more difficult for young people to get their hands on it it comes as a Dublin hospital warned of severe cases of frostbite linked to its use with youngsters using the gas known as laughing gas or happy crack as a legal hype in the last 10 months children's health Ireland at Cromland recorded 13 young people presenting with frostbite the gas is stored as a liquid which can spill on hands and legs and causing painful injuries and deforming scars said consultant paediatric surgeon surgeon doctor Catherine de Blackem who is pleading with young younger people not to use the gas as the risk serious brain damage so that's something we just need to keep an eye on if it's happening in Dublin generally it's happening elsewhere as well i'm not sure if any of you have ever come across that or it's used please feel free to let us know the sun this morning uh stiffed as insurance premiums keep rising drivers are still being stiffed on insurance premiums despite new guidelines reducing compo payouts and it just makes you wonder what's going on in this country at the moment and are we just real egets or being treated like egets like we have a situation whereby many of us we're all in a cost of living crisis many of us struggling to put food on the table to pay bills to fix cars that break down at short notice and at the same time the banks are making record profits they're even their expectations are being smashed themselves the banks are making huge profits electricity company esp 800 million euro in profits not far off a billion euro in profits and look at the price of electricity it's come down a bit and pat us on the head and say look we'll bring the price electricity down but still way ahead of where it used to be so the banks uh the insurance uh the interest rates increase so we don't spend money you know so we don't have enough money really to live the interest rates go up the banks make an absolute fortune electricity gone through the roof even though it's come down a little bit they're making record or or record equaling profits uh the price of food gone through the roof yet at the same time the supermarkets which were so loyal to are making and recording huge profits the people that rule the country tds and i mean tds of all shades their wages are as high as they ever been whilst we've been going through this cost of living crisis they get more and more money um they're now looking to bring back bonuses to to reward bankers and other heads of organizations including rte uh to reward them so they can get bonuses and pay increases all while we struggle to feed our children to close our children and to keep things going like what is going on banks electricity companies uh retailers i'm on about food retailers so we're in a cost-living crisis in effect oh oh by the way i forgot as well apparently the country is full employment rich the country is rich so where is all of this money all of those organizations we talk of or i talk of sorry all recording record profits and yet we continue to struggle like what's going on how someone explained that to me how all of that works um because there's there's two tiers at least two tiers there's the there's us and then there's everybody else uh it seems and all these big companies and what have you uh but anyway uh sorry for the ramble uh drivers are still being uh read that didn't they they're still being stiff so insurance companies they're making record record profits uh we were hearing about oh we're going to drive down the amount of money that's being paid out in compensation that'll be passed on to the consumer it's not a lot of people are getting renewals uh and the price has gone through the roof where it's increased a couple hundred quid yeah you can shop around and there are stories of that i've done it myself but still you know who's holding them to a can't who's asking them to explain why premiums are staying the same or going up yet the amount of money they pay out uh which is why we have insurance is going down uh the star this morning tds and senators are getting secret discounts from hotels allowing them to stay overnight in the capital for much less than ordinary guests that despite the fact that they get an annual tax free allowance of up to 34 000 euro just to cover travel and accommodation hotel rates of sword in recent years prompted the government to meet industry representatives last year to discuss accusations of price gouging which has put the cost of hotel breaks beyond many tourists and staycationers or us going to a concert or a football match or whatever it might be but this paper reveals that the country's tds and senators are staying in top dublin hotels at a discount of up to 48 percent meaning they pay half the amount regular guests are charged i wonder if any tds gone to a concert which they will they're just normal people but whilst we can't get hotel rooms they've still got that 48 discount it would be interesting the scheme is a closely guarded secret and hotels quizzed about the discounts refused to reveal details over the phone explaining it was policy to provide those rates only in writing to verified eructus email addresses so why would dublin hotels be offering discounts of up to 50 to tds and senators i thought why would why would they especially when those those people have 34 000 euro tax free to cover accommodation and travel good to see this although it's in longford and not here longford council secured five criminal convictions in january in its ongoing battle with illegal dumpers littering the county the culprits were fined a combined total of 7 000 euro and also ordered to pay hundreds in costs over flight tipping instance that saw substantial waste dumped in a river empty beer bottles discarded and three incidents where bags of waste were dumped the court cases followed 150 fines for litten wardens from litter wardens for a range of offences throughout 2023 so 150 litter wardens fines issued five illegal dumpers named and shamed in the courts and find 7 000 between them i wonder what the stats for us up here are we must dig out what we did in 2023 but that's good to see what they're doing down in longford all right that was a run-through what's making the headlines we'll make our own headlines very shortly the newspapers are courtesy of kelly centra mountaintop letter canning the sea store national large forecourt of the year for 2022 the nine till noon show is brought to you by letter canny credit union offering low-rate car loans with fast approval apply online at lettercannycu.ie or in office today at esb we're investing over one billion euro a year to drive Ireland towards a net zero future our ambition is to generate five times more renewable energy by 2030 enough to power around three million homes and businesses this means investing in onshore and offshore wind farms new solar farms and innovative solutions like green hydrogen because we are and always have been invested in Ireland find out more at esb.ie enter the virgin media playhouse for unbelievable value from Ireland's best broadband get 500 meg superfast reliable broadband for just 35 euro a month for 12 months and no activation fee when you act now switch in store or at virginmedia.ie virgin media it's playtime tees and sees apply see virgin media.ie subject to location and availability new customers only 12 month contract 500 meg broadband 70 euro thereafter Ireland's best broadband awarded by umlaut see virgin media.ie forward slash proof charlie mcclafferty funeral directors serving letter canny and the surrounding areas for over 100 years charlie mcclafferty funeral directors then our family take care of your family and guide you through a difficult time drama hall chapel restoration charity auction will take place this saturday 9th of march at tony mornen's auction yard drama hall over 250 lots consisting of livestock farm feed new electrical equipment and appliances plus some special items including rally experiences with gary gennings and signed katie taylor and connor mcgregor memorabilia all items are listed on tony mornen's facebook page online bidding available on marty.ie via mornen auctioneers that's this saturday 9th with the auction starting at 11 a.m sharp this ad is sponsored by frank mornen kitchen and bedrooms voted highland radio kitchen supplier of the year 2023 okay we're joined on the program now by mary good morning mary how are you keeping good morning greg lovely to speak to you and you too now you are of the naranport new action group and chair of the naranport new tidy towns committee now there is something of an eyesore in the area tell us about it what's going on that's right um oh greg now um as you said i'm a member of the naranport new action group and i'm also the chairperson of the naranport new tidy towns committee and i'm here to inform your listeners of an environmental disaster which has occurred at castle golden beach here close to us now for those people who don't know who are listening where is castle golden beach castle golden beach is at the far end of the naranport new golf links and let me explain how this has come about a group calling themselves to save our beach at castle golden illegally moved a mobile home close to the shoreline and sac lands at castle golden in december 22 now donnie gall county council and the environmental protection agency were informed um and did nothing regarding the matter uh and just to be clear this this was this was placed there as part of an ongoing dispute over right of way at the beach uh in port new yes um yes and that was part of their uh campaign for the restoration of of a car access right of way to the beach effectively so this is the caravan that's still there yes right okay now um i'm sure as you would know if you or i put place the caravan or a mobile home on our lands we would be very quickly told to either apply for plan of permission or have it removed now none of this happened the litter warden visited the site and he told us that it was not a litter matter but that it was rather a planning issue um the mobile home was used by the same save our beach group during the summer of 2023 more or less as a clubhouse and still nothing was done by the council and i've just been listening to your program there and um well we'll go to that later about the fines and the litter and all of that down the country but anyway then came storm asia in january 24 and smashed the mobile completely and our worst fears and concerns had unfortunately come true the scene at this stage was carnage um there was metal sheeting broken glass broken furniture and all the contents of the mobile home were blowing all over the marmgrass onto the beach and into the sea now the worst part is that there was polystyrene and fiberglass amongst the scattered debris and this will have a devastating and lasting effect on the beach and the marine ecosystem so the litter warden was contacted again and this time he acknowledged it was a litter problem so he spoke to a member or members of the save our beach group and informed them that they must gather up the mess and remove it from the site now an attempt was made by them to do this um but as you'll understand all of these the small pieces and everything were everywhere it couldn't i suppose it couldn't all be gathered you know from picked out from the marmgrass and all the rest of it but i mean it's still there on the site all this mess is still there on the site and now they were able to get this mobile home onto the site so we wonder you know why can't they remove the mess the same way well it's just very important that we don't talk about um individuals murder because this is obviously a very contentious issue but maybe the person who who put it there is is no longer involved or moved on or something along those lines uh no no no no the same it's the people from the group the same our group they are the people who put it on there and they're still all involved now you're saying that we're heading towards and thankfully the tourism season season now is wider than the summer it kind of starts for some st patrick's day onwards it will be starting very shortly you are calling on the council now to take responsibility for the removal of the debris from this mobile home well i mean i think they should make the people who put it on there i mean it's it's it's certainly not a community responsibility greg it's the responsibility of the people who put it on there and i'm just wondering haven't listened to your program and fines been issued and all the rest and the litter wardens in down the country in longford or wherever you know it is uh you know issuing all these litter fines surely something has to be the same up here or is it just double standards i mean do they you know do they do that in other counties but not in dunny gall you know and you know there there were concerns as well in that there's a seal colony in that area and i'm afraid to even think of what the effect is going to have on them with all this stuff that's blowing into the sea i mean they'll ingest it and like the the the consequences will be ongoing it's also coming to nesting time for birds and you can imagine if like they're going to be gathering up the stuff for their nests and i mean i doubt if they'll be able to differentiate between sheep's wool and fiberglass wool and i mean they're going to build their nests from this stuff so what's the result going to be from that and this group this group of people would like us to believe that they're concerned about the environment now i don't believe that you know based on their their behavior just i mean obviously you're involved with the port new tidied tans committee and you do great work of course in keeping the area neat and tidy but presumably there's a sign a standoff here you're saying right we might be involved in the tidied tans committee but we ain't picking this stuff up no absolutely not i mean we're like i was you know it's just not fair i mean you know the visitors will come to our beautiful area very soon and as chair of the tidied towns committee i want this mess cleaned up immediately you know it doesn't seem to matter to these people but my committee take great pride in our area so i would urge them to show some respect you know right you know it would be marvelous it would be a marvelous idea if they would put some of their energy into doing something useful in the area and the other thing is if they think if they think that they have the backing of the community and this is what they are saying and have published that and they're wrong because we have proof that they're wrong okay we did a survey back recently and had up on 400 signatures we're a very small area so you can imagine if we have over 400 signatures from the area you can just guess who side the community are well mary we i mean obviously this seems to be a little bit of of disquiet in the community which is unfortunate but in any case it is what it is uh we'll contact the council to see what their view on this is or what responsibility they feel they have and it'll be interesting to see their response ideally uh if the people or persons responsible for putting it there themselves removed it and maybe love could break out i don't know uh but anyway yeah well we would like that too as i like as i said put their energies to some good use okay mary i'll get you it's just yeah yeah so listen greg i just want you to we just want to say thank you and for your wonderful show listen do it every morning and keep up the good work salon mary thank you very much indeed i do appreciate your kind uh comments right okay we're going to be talking about um uh shortly if not next about um efforts to or calls for efforts to be made to reduce the vacant uh commercial property rates in donagall they are pretty high no doubt about it but before we head into the break uh i just want to remind you how highland radio is delighted to have teamed up with vodafone to promote their high digital initiative do you want to know how you can learn online skills for everyday life well vodafone foundation in partnership with alone have created online skills training for all the people the training is available online put it into your browser on your phone or uh your other devices high digital dot i e and that's h i digital dot i e or via in-person classes in convoy uh with the right support you don't have to be scared of technology and can embrace it so uh have a listen to this morning's tip here's an online safety tip brought to you by high digital free online skills for everyday life supported by vodafone foundation and partnership with alone when using the internet you should be mindful of scams and frauds scams are when someone tries to trick you a fraud is when someone tries to steal from you these dangers come in many forms common ones include messages pretending to be from tech support requiring personal information from you social and romance scams asking for financial aid and grandparents scams or scammers may impersonate a loved one in distress requesting money scams and frauds try to exploit our personal nature of gaining through an opportunity or avoiding a loss or wanting to help others be aware of potential scams and frauds if you would like to learn more about how to identify these visit high digital dot i e or call 1800 20 30 30 for more information brought to you by vodafone foundation and alone the nine till noon show with letter kenny credit union simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from letter kenny credit union call us on 0749102126 or apply online via our app or in office today refresh your shoe wardrobe with the latest arrivals from green shoes bringing you the latest styles from top brands such as riker broken stock and wonders also new balance bugatti xti and many more step into style this season with green shoes market square letter kenny shopping center and vulcara or a green shoes dot com one for all and shop lk cards accepted right price tiles and wood flooring are 26 years old and to celebrate we're offering up to 70% off everything in store that's right a massive birthday sale with up to 70% off all tiles wood flooring and bathware everything's in stock right price tiles and wood flooring up to 70% off birthday sale now on still dealing with frustratingly slow broadband don't wait any longer switch to imagine's high-speed broadband today act fast sign up before the 31st of march and get our hero package for just 49 99 visit imagine dot i e or free from us on 1800 938 407 to upgrade to faster broadband faster imagine broadband is subject to location and availability with a minimum 18 month contract activation fees and annual price change of cpi plus 3 applies see imagine for full tncs if you're tired and struggling to put a spring in your step discover the power of revive active at your local brennan's pharmacy revive active is an award-winning super supplement containing 26 active ingredients including vitamin c d and zinc which support your immune system all in one handy daily sachet made for busy stressful lives it's a convenient way to put back what life takes out enrich your life with revive active in store or online click and collect from brennan's pharmacy dot com we're here for you step into evolve clothing athletic any retail park for a vast suiting selection two and three piece suits in all sizes and styles explore our suiting department and discover unbeatable value and wedding packages radio we are joined on the program by senator lisa chambers candidate in the european elections for midlands northwest i would ordinarily accuse you lisa of all of a sudden taking an interest in donny gole now the election now you're in but in fairness you're a regular guest on the show so you get a pass on that one good morning to you thanks greg good to be on again and good to get that nomination do you think are you happy with the three candidates do you think it puts us in i know this is not what you come on for but just to have an opportunity to put this to your sense are you happy with the strategy i'm look obviously i'm happy to be a candidate and you know we'll be running uh just six candidates in the whole country so to be one of those is a huge opportunity and a privilege so i'm you know i'm really it's it's it's a big deal to be a candidate in this election so i'm really thrilled about that and i think there was an expectation it will be a two candidate strategy but you know we're going to a five seat constituency you could kind of argue it both ways you do you run two to get two seats you're on three to get three seats and look there are people making these decisions that are in the job a lot longer than i am and i have to trust that they know what they're doing and that is the right strategy to maximize the vote and geographically we're well placed so um so look at i'm running my own race and i'm happy to be in it and i'll be running a positive campaign it's not about running down anybody else i want to bring my message to people and say why i think i'd be good for the job and why i think it'd be good for the west of ireland and the northwest to have an MEP in this region so that'll be what i'll be doing the next few months so we've got three three months essentially of campaigning um before we hit the polls on the 7th of june the same day as the local elections quite likely so um yeah it'll be a busy period ahead and um look i'll be hoping to convince donnie all voters as well that i'm i'm worth giving giving a stroke to um and hopefully they'll they'll keep me in consideration when they're going into the ballot box all right okay well we'll see is that the months wear on um the figures are released annually about uh vacant commercial uh commercial vacancy rates effectively donnie gall now stands at 18.2 ballerba feinster and all or has this uh annual uh thing they have to endure uh where they have often the highest vacancy rate in the country at 29.4 bundoren had the lowest at 12.7 but across the northwest and as opposed particularly in uh donnie gall you're calling on the department of enterprise to take action in this regard how does that look yeah so i came across this it was actually the kind of tribune in gallway that first reported on this um that kind of caught my attention they were focusing on gallway city where there's a very high vacancy rate as well so when i dug into it um so this report comes from geodirectory which had been reporting since 2013 in conjunction with the y economic advisory services so they look at commercial vacancy rates right across the country um but if you look at the figures so donnie gall is coming in there at 18.2 18.2 percent um mayo and raskam and coming in at 17.4 percent and then sly go and gall we are actually higher than that sly goes at 20.5 percent and gallway just above that so you know all of those places they're all in the west of ireland um that's that that's the pattern that emerged when i looked at it and i think that's a problem because the national vacancy rate just to bear that in mind is just over 14 percent so parts of the west and northwest are way above the national average uh so donnie gall is there at four percent higher than than the national average and why is that and if we compare that then to where the lowest rates are need wexford and cork that's where the lowest rates are so you're talking about the east of the country and then our big city in the south so there is a regional imbalance um and there's been a consistent increase in commercial vacancy since these records began you know the minister yesterday when i asked the question uh to to his department said oh you know vacancy rates can go up and down but actually they've only been going up now geo directory attribute that to three things okay and two of them we probably can't do a whole lot about in terms of a government that's changing consumer habits which happen and businesses always respond to that and then there is the increase in hybrid working which came about because of covid kind of accelerated things there and that's great for workers and we don't want to roll back on any of that but the third reason they gave was the increased cost of doing business and that's something the government can do something about because if you're setting up a physical shop you're now most likely competing with an online retailer as well and they don't have the same overheads they're not paying electricity you know heating lighting and they're not paying for physical premises to rent and they're not paying commercial rates and these are all things that we as a government can do something about so we need to think outside the box a little bit how do we incentivize and make it more attractive for businesses to actually set up a physical presence in our centres I don't dispute anything you've said but these figures do uh I do question these figures to some extent and I would love to see a little bit more detail in it because they're done based on aircodes active aircodes right but at what point say for instance Balabafone and Stroll are constantly have the highest vacancy rate at 29.4 percent I'd be interested in having a look at what that actually means because you know that would mean every third business is vacant but it's not really quite like that it could be right that you have 12 businesses on one location with one aircode and it doesn't actually tell the full story so as I say I'm not contradicting anything you've said but I would love to find out at what point does this aircode associated with the commercial premises cease to be counted do you know what I mean like if it's line vacant if it's never going to be used so it so that we actually get the true picture because I think until we get the true picture it's very hard then to ask any agency really to sort of start addressing it it's I think it's kind of a blunt instrument and you know what I mean I don't mind it right but if you've got five businesses that move to one site that's four vacancies effectively you know what I mean but all the businesses are still active uh under effectively the one aircode so as I say I'm not disputing anything you've said but I just would love these figures that it's a little bit like eyeball the published every week I'd like to dig a little bit deeper into where you get these figures when do you purge these commercial premises at some point it has to be done you would imagine have we been counting the same vacant premises in ballot phase through and all over the last 10 years yeah no it's a fair point and it has been raised and actually edwards town in langford is the highest level of vacancy so it's not done you go listen isn't top of the list there no we're not the top of the list anymore that's we're close we're close but um it's 30 30.2 percent in edwards town look I think the data certainly needs to be refined and I don't think we can expect much more of geo directory they're doing a very basic role in terms of just you know I suppose a surface level dressing of looking at the vacancy but what you can still extrapolate from that is that we're treating all premises the same so you can still see that pattern emerging that the west of Ireland and the northwest of Ireland has the highest vacancy rates because everyone was treated the same so that pattern is still there and because of that maybe maybe the data isn't as refined as we would like it to be that's why yesterday I asked the department of enterprise if they would review this report and prepare a plan and actually do their own analysis of commercial vacancy and actually put money and resourcing behind that plan because maybe some of those buildings can be repurposed into housing but really we need we need commercial you know properties in the town centres because we need a reason for people to come in and if you have more businesses operating in a town you know say in Dunygall town for example it benefits every business because footfall increases and every you know all boats rise together so I think and one of the things highlighted by EY was that if you allow this vacancy to persist for a long period you end up with long-term vacancy which then can lead to dereliction and Greg I don't need to tell you about the problems we have in the west and northwest with derelict buildings that we're trying to address through the vacant homes grant and other measures we don't need to be adding to it so I think it's a good piece of research that allows us to identify where there is an issue but it's certainly I think a body of work the department of enterprise need to do more on and get a good grasp on exactly what level of vacancy there is and I do think there needs to be positive discrimination for our region I think we need greater investment clearly there is more of an issue where we're living than there is in the east of the country why is that and how do we make it you know businesses need to make a profit and if the overheads are too high if they can't make a living because it's too expensive to pay your rates and your rent then we need to look at that and that's something that we can as a government address and that's what I that's what I'm asking for yeah okay listen thank you very much indeed as always that's senator Lisa Chambers candidate in the european elections for midlands north west I'll wait 60 25 000 some of your comments here are the politicians getting a cash pack deal from the hotels as a discount I would doubt it I would say they're just getting do discounted discounted rates Greg can you find out maybe why certain areas of the mountaintop have to go to the public services office to vote rather than illustrious school like the rest of the area well there are lines I presume this is what it comes down to there are lines and and you know I live on a line whereby quite literally my next door neighbour in a general election votes in Donegal whereas I would vote in Sligol each room I presume is it possible that the line runs through the mountaintop it's inconvenient but it's crude and it's just done on a map mostly from Dublin I suspect maybe it the line goes through the mountaintop open to correction on that if anyone can give me a further insight into that I'd really appreciate it but my god would tell me that eventually you're going to have two houses and one's going to be voting in one area and one's going to be voting in the other it's inevitable isn't it there has to be I would appreciate if you would find out how many fines on the spot were issued for littering by Donegal County council you should also inquire how many fines were paid and how many prosecutions were initiated for non-payment of fines what indeed as I was talking about what's happening in Longford that that very much was at the forefront of my mind in fact I was doing a little bit of digging during the break I wasn't able to find out anything but we will any news about the roads in Bunkranna Irish water have a mess made of the roads and is there any end in sight now it be a bit more specific we can try and find out is it really 50% off I know a veil of a corporate rate from hotels want to drive for work but I have but have had to have stayed in a particular hotel a number of times before I get it well the this is in relation to the TDs and senators in Dublin hotels it I don't know if it's corporate rate it's a TD senator rate it's 48% in some cases so I don't know if it's the same thing that you deal with when you're traveling around you're talking maybe about a loyalty kind of a thing by air miles for hotels I think this is just by default for TDs and for politicians for TDs and senators according to the papers today all right we're going to speak to a lady next who was trying to deal with some tax affairs and ended up with an extremely high phone bill you'll want to hear this the 90 noon show is brought to you by letter can you credit union digital loans now available apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account it's time to transform your smile with the help of blue puppy dental letter Kenny in Donegal town their expert team offer orthodontics teeth whitening implants and composite bonding all in house start your journey by calling 0 7 4 9 7 4 0 4 0 4 or easily book your appointment online at a time that suits you through their user friendly patient portal available anytime anywhere at blue poppy dental dot com blue poppy dental and orthodontics letter Kenny and Donegal town give vouchers available if the medical experts get it wrong everything changes from misdiagnosis or delay diagnosis to surgical injury or even poor treatment all have physical emotional and financial consequences we're here to help so if your treatment didn't go according to plan speak to our experienced medical negligence team at mackleheny and associates find us online or call 0 7 4 9 1 7 5 9 8 9 mackleheny and associates solicitors strainer in contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement creative landscaping works at Donegal distributors of millboard cladding and decking thanks to its unique polymer resin construction this decking and cladding doesn't deteriorate like natural wood and won't be beaten for durability it also has superb slip resistance even when wet and every board is produced using recycled materials live life outside with millboard at creative landscaping works listen in and letter Kenny see creative landscaping works dot com return Ireland's deposit return scheme is now live and we're bringing it back in addition to a refundable deposit on return logo plastic bottles and cans during the transition period there may be a deposit on drinks containers that don't have a return logo but remember if you pay a deposit you'll get it back when returned to reverse vending machines in participating shops nationwide let's get returning together and ensure better recycling for Ireland for more visit return dot i highland radio weather updates with arland west airport you don't visit Liverpool for the weather but it does rain goals at anfield fly to Liverpool daily with Ryanair arland west airport don't just take off take it easy but it'd be nice to be heading to the airport mostly dry today with a mix of clad and sunny spells with just the chance of the odd shower highest temperatures of nine or ten degrees in moderate to fresh southeast to east warnings winds are big apart and strong at times on coasts now breeches with me on the program with a word of uh warning just for all of you out there good morning to you breech thank you so much for your time today good morning great good morning right talk to me through your experience breech but yeah i just rang the tax office on the 31st of january and the call lasted around 19 minutes and i didn't realize till i got my phone bill last week and i knew it was very high so i locked it up and the call cost me 69 euro wow for that call now i did what i did do is i rang the number 1590 which i did had i had it in the book i probably should have rang the 01 number but that's what it cost me and so yeah and so there are two numbers i wonder what the purpose of the premium rate number is uh breech if you can read just the doublin number why have it there at all why have it there at all that's right i rang air the same the next day you know and they didn't realize they thought it was a scam yeah but when i rang the tax office on the 01 number on monday they said no no i was talking to somebody in the tax office so i definitely was but they said they were trying to bring that number down but it's still up there like or it's still like it's still you can still ring the tax office on it yeah so it's at the 1590 number 1590 302 350 so advise anybody never rang it because it cost me 69 euro for 19 minutes like yeah and actually the call went down and i'm glad it went down now because you know it would have cost me a lot more yeah and just so we're clear is it revenue that you were ringing yeah it was definitely it was i was listening you know i was talking to one of the girls in revenue okay so i just don't understand why they have that number up if they also have just you know your regular 01 sort of internal dialing number yeah i don't understand either no i don't i thought then when they said in there that i wasn't talking to them you know it was but i was because i rang them back and monday and they said yeah on the one number and they said i was talking to them so what was the number you dialed again but they said they can do not they can said they can do nothing about it they are trying to bring it to take it down or something a uk number i'm thinking it costs a lot don't pay your taxes and they won't be long sorting it out if you didn't pay your taxes they wouldn't be long sorting it out no that's right yeah yeah okay so um this is a number that's out there for revenue um it's an 1850 number did you say yeah right okay it's a no it's a 1590 150 90 okay 150 90 um and uh if you dial that number and that number is still available on the internet if you dial that number you will get through to revenue but a 19 minute call will cost you 69 euro and revenue themselves say they know the numbers there they're trying to get it taken down that's crazy it's crazy breech okay yeah right okay well hopefully you got it sorted um hopefully you got it sorted but that being said you're not getting your 69 euro back by the sounds of things no all right breech listen a word a word of warning for people thank you very much indeed i do appreciate you coming on okay all right breech have a lovely day take care of yourself it's great to have you listening thank you very much indeed breech there we're just looking at a video here of the caravan we were talking a little earlier on that is in bits um now the majority of you the overwhelming majority of course are listening in radio lands so i'll have to try and describe it for you uh those of you who are watching will see it it is an absolute mess um it looks like it was uh blown up really effectively but obviously the weather has taken its toll on it and it is shroom all over the place so i can see where the problem is there we're getting on to the council to find out if they believe they have any responsibility in that regard uh listen i was on to say to us that a family member was recently diagnosed with breast cancer went to the oncologist uh who advised that she would have to wait six weeks for her chemotherapies there's a waiting list at letter kenny it's very difficult to cope with and causing massive emotional distress or there are other people out there who are going through this so this is a person that was diagnosed with breast cancer but they have to wait six weeks for chemotherapy now i think if i got a similar diagnosis you would want to feel that you were getting the treatment absolutely straight away to avoid the situation worsening any is that a normal weight have to wait for six weeks for chemotherapy in letter kenny um emotional distress as the listener points out um and they want to know is anyone else out there going through this um so i suppose to get a sense of this is a one-off are they being treated a particular way or is this the norm so very sadly out there um either you or someone close to you will have been diagnosed with cancer uh you'll got your treatment program a six-week wait for chemotherapy in letter kenny is this a once-off effectively a listener wants to know or is this the norm are other people going through this that's a purgatory an emotional purgatory now they'll have to endure it's tough enough but i presume they just want to get things started and to minimize um as much as they can i got another contact from a listener on facebook i have a 16 year old daughter who has suffered from uti's i believe that's urinary tract infections from the age of two has had a few operations the gp knows us very well and knows her medical history i called last monday morning for an antibiotic as she's suffering over the weekend normally the gp would prescribe one and it sorted but they said they needed a sample to test it i brought the sample in a monday after lunch i waited for the results and prescription and was asked for 15 euro i have a medical card for both myself and my daughter i then asked what the 15 euro was for and she said the gp now charges of 15 euro now charges a fee of 15 euro to check urine i said i cannot afford to be paying 15 euro and that i have a medical card for a reason is it legal for a gp to do this now we are making our inquiries of course in this regard but out there as well uh many of you have this experience um is it allowed for a gp to charge a medical card patient 15 euro to check urine now is that done in surgery i think that is done in surgery you know i think they can sample it in surgery and often then they might send you to uh the letter cutting university hospital where you can get another check but anyway as well i think the concern for this listener is is that the daughter suffers quite regularly with uti's so this might be a regular recurrence and if they need a to check the urine every time which i have no problem with because you don't want to be given antibiotics to someone that uh an infection is not showing up in the urine but it's going to be 15 euro every single time and they're on a medical card obviously for obvious reasons uh i think they're obvious reasons is that the norm now have you experienced that what's your views 08 6 60 25 000 we have a family member who passed away eight years ago and we're still getting polling cards for them we also got literature in his name i'm sure i did this in the last election um and understood his name was removed it's very upsetting for us as a family to keep getting this type of post in his name can anyone direct me uh how to remove his name and not have this reoccurring issue at each election referendum and they're coming thick and fast as well too so a deceased person eight years they've passed it's upsetting as you can imagine for the family to be still receiving literature especially from the state as it relates to polling how can you categorically remove someone's name from the register again i know for a fact people out there have gone through this and will be able to let our listener know greg do we need voting cards to allow us to vote on friday neither might neither my wife and i have received cards to date just plenty of useless flyers let me check that for you to be on the absolute certain um let me see okay there's a few on the referendum now the moratorium hasn't come in yet uh but there's a lot of no-nose messages that have come in and i'm just at pains to read them out um in case we're accused of being biased one way or another so i'll leave them to one side and hopefully a couple of yes yes's or yes no's come in and i'll be able to balance that out um hi greg any chance could you tell me where can i get my voting card as my card has not come in yet i know a few others that did not get theirs either in the letter kenny areas i always got mine but not this time i'd appreciate if you would give it a mention as i'm sure other people would like to know thanks greg that comes in from unan so a few people in the same boat union we're going to check it out to find out if i i i think i know the answer but i don't want to mislead anyone do you understand because next thing that could be a route of polling center tomorrow so leave that with me i'll check that out between now and when i come back after the news and obituary notices and hopefully have a definitive answer for you stay with us though back soon the 90 noon show with letter kenny credit union now offering mortgages from 40 000 to 600 000 euro with no hidden fees or transaction charges letter kenny credit union 9102127 are you ready for massive savings with aeg at urwin expert electrical purchase from now until the 14th of april and claim your cash back at aeg-offords.com experience top-notch appliances and enjoy the added perk of cash back delivered straight to your account within 28 days of approval elevate your home with aeg excellence and savings today don't miss out aeg cash back at urwin expert electrical letter kenny and boom chrono if you're with fbd insurance and your van gets robbed it's not a flipping bloom and disaster that's not what fbd stands for fbd stands for support we support van owners like you by covering your work tools up to the value of 500 euro if they're stolen with your van fbd insurance support it's what we do visit your local branch to talk to your fbd insurance team requires valid van theft claim excludes at ectronics and software tees and sees and normal underwriting criteria apply underwritten by fbd insurance plc fbd insurance trading is fbd insurance is regulated by the central bank of ireland for a great breakfast pull into kelly's diner and letter kenny not just a great breakfast but mouth watering burgers delicious chicken succulent steaks and so much more for kids it's not just about pancakes but a full children's menu to choose from first communion and confirmation celebrations also catered for great food and great service every time a kelly's diner letter kenny winner of best family dining at the highland radio hospitality awards in kawlehurt and a sundry clinic good morning it's 10 o'clock donal kavana at the news desk voters go to the polls tomorrow for two referenda on the issues of family and care the first change would expand the definition of a family to include other durable relationships the second proposal would remove references to a mother's place in the home and add new text acknowledging care given by other family members divorce law solicitor keith walsh who supports a yes yes vote says recognizing durable relationships won't take away any protections from married couples it's actually designed to recognize the family outside marriage non-marital families and i think that's an incredibly positive thing i think the durable relations aspect of it is a little bit of a red herring i don't believe that it will have the unintended consequences which michael mcdwell i believe it has and that's because the institution of marriage is still guarded against attack or is protected aim through meanwhile oppose both referenda letter kenny representative mary t sweeney says the government's proposals are a poorly written and amateur effort she is urging people to vote no in both the look of dunigul county council says government intervention is vital to secure the future of businesses consular martin harley says a 30 increase in running costs is forcing owners to use up personal savings to sustain their firms with growing fears that many more will be forced to shut their doors over the coming months consular harley says dunigul county council is doing what it can in terms of rate rebates but the government can and must do more through the rates that the council that will be doing the the rates repeat and it's not like it this time it will be each person will get a get a check for 50 percent of the rates but that's all they can do at the moment but i think we need to look at someone at a national level that that has come to i'm going to put someone in place for the next number of years that that keeps businesses afloat because sme sector is one of the highest employers in cross ireland so this is something needs to be done for that sme sector anarok this committee is to recommend that laws are introduced for assisted dying it would only be allowed if the person has a terminal illness and a short time to live with more detail here's stephanie rohan the joint committee on assisted dying was set up last year to consider laws around a person's right to end their life it's understood a majority of the td's and senators on the committee have now voted the law should be changed to allow someone receive assistance to end their life in very strict circumstances it would mean they could end their life if they between six to 12 months to live and would only apply to people with a medical condition that is incurable and irreversible the illness must also be causing suffering which can't be relieved to a degree that a person could tolerate it the full report will be released later this month with the issues being described as complex and sensitive professor shivon mckayle is a consultant liaison psychiatrist at bowman hospital she has serious reservations about the prospect the college of psychiatrists have produced a position paper in opposition to the introduction of assisted dying for a whole range of reasons but i think that the starting point i think we're all agreed on is the current status quo is not sufficient so it's not a case from our perspective that we say either we introduce this or else we leave things exactly as they are we actually believe that we can do better the north's education minister is being urged to visit arvalie school and resource center in oma the only school which is currently located on the school shared education campus site in the town last week the school's principal johnny gray hosted a group of political and community representatives to showcase arvalie and highlight the potential of the campus when other schools relocate there this week at the assembly in stormont west throne emily nicola brogan urged minister paul given to visit the school saying its inclusion in this true project is unique and both arvalie and the wider campus deserve support arvalie is the only school that's actually on this true um campus site at present it's also the only special needs school that is part of a shared education project hall mr gray is very passionate about the opportunity of equity the shared education can bring for all of our children and young people they come in together of schools including special learners gives those children young people who are at risk of being excluded by society a rightful presence and a voice in education so i have invited education education minister to oma to visit both the school campus and to visit arvalie the president is due to return to arson octaron today following a stay in hospital michael d higgins was admitted last week after experiencing a mild transient weakness he's expected to attend a scheduled meeting with the t-shirt tomorrow but has been told to limit his public engagements so he can recuperate well the forecast mostly dry today with a mix of cloud and sunny spells just a chance of an on-shower top temperatures today nine or 10 degrees celsius in moderate to fresh southeast to east winds stronger times in coastal areas and that's how in radio news we're back with news headlines again at 11 o'clock until then from the news team good morning the obituary notices for this thursday morning the seventh of march the dev has taken place of gene elliot ney hamilton tully gay letter kenny house strictly private police at the request of the deceased funeral service in trinity presbyterian church letter kenny tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock followed by interment in gortley cemetery the funeral service can be viewed live on charlie mclaverty funeral directors facebook page family fires only please donations in lieu of desire to letter kenny university hospital care of any family member or charlie mclaverty funeral director the death has taken place of therisa or 142 upper ardo donnell letter kenny therises remains will repose at eternal light chapel of rest mountaintop letter kenny this afternoon from four until quarter to six this evening with removal afterwards to st. union's cathedral letter kenny arriving at approximately quarter past six to repose overnight requiem asked their tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock which can be viewed live on church services dot tv in term and afterwards in new lec cemetery the death has taken place of pat porter maharamore carndonna reposing at his home with rosary nightly at nine phenol from there on saturday morning at half past 10 to the church of the sacred heart carndonna for 11 o'clock requiem mass in term and afterwards in the adjoining cemetery the funeral can be viewed live on church media dot tv the death has occurred of danny sweeney lurgan boy donnie galtown danny's remains are reposing at his late residence from 12 noon until nine o'clock today remains will leave his home tomorrow morning at 20 to 11 for half past 11 mass in st patrick's church donnie galtown with burial afterwards in clare graveyard family flowers only please donations if desired to the solace center donnie galtown with the house private please before the funeral tomorrow the death has taken place of mary duffy nay sharky knock a stoner bun bag originally of lecture calf crawly her remains will repose at her late residence today from 11 am until rosary at eight o'clock tonight funeral mass tomorrow morning at 11 in st patrick's church minowheel with interment afterwards in maharick annon cemetery the funeral mass can be viewed live on kirin roti funeral directors facebook page house private please after the rosary tonight and before the funeral tomorrow donations in louis floris please to the oncology department at letter kenny university hospital the death has occurred of tess green salpence maharick tess's remains are reposing at her home with rosary at nine o'clock tonight funeral mass tomorrow morning at 11 in st patrick's church minowheel with cremation to follow in cavern at a later date house private please from after the rosary tonight and before the funeral tomorrow and the death has taken place of seedy callahan baliar fanad reposing at the family home with removal to st mary's church fanavolte this evening arriving at approximately half past five to repose overnight requiem mass tomorrow at 12 noon with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery family fires only please donations if desired to the aged fanad day center care of any family member or a man scott funeral director for family information and more details regarding wakes and funerals please go to highland video dot com i hid it where i won that funny toy ring out of the penny drop machine which thanks to a romantic sunset ended up being your first engagement ring that's where you'll find it with the cadbury worldwide hide you can hide an easter egg online for someone you love you just need to give them a clue of where to look somewhere only they know search online for the cadbury worldwide hide arland 18 plus teas and sees apply and now in rose 2023 best local original news program the voice of the northwest the nine till noon show with greg hughes okay coming up very shortly we continue our thursday morning series called your voice your community this week we're going to speak to members of the nigerian community about coming to live in donagol about life here but also an understanding of what life for them was like in uh nigeria but i want to get to um some answers right so we were asked um can you vote if you don't have a polling card those who are on the register of electors will have a polling card sent to their registered address before polling day the card includes your electorate number the name of your polling station and a formal statement explaining what the referendum are about or the referendum now if you are on the register but you haven't received your polling card by tomorrow you can still vote so you go to your polling station and bring your id with you if the providing officer presiding officer is satisfied with your id they'll provide you with a stamped ballot paper valid forms of id include a passport driver's license or public services card now you can check the register to see if you're on it so if you're on the register but you haven't received a polling card you can bring id and you can still vote tomorrow the second question how do you remove someone who is deceased from the uh the register of electors or what is it called the electoral register far more complicated can't find any information on that so we're going to make a few phone calls to try and get a definitive answer because i understand the pain that can cause so we want to try and get an answer hi greg i'm registering clon mani and didn't get one in clon mani a voting card and the rest of the family did so again if you are registered turn up with your id and you can vote tomorrow uh just a message for greg on the voting cards having checked the register and made sure both myself and husband were registered for the current referenda it affects us as a family with child requiring full-time care and support my husband's vote card came in when i inquired this morning as to why my card hadn't come i was born in the uk raised in arland educated employed married and raising my own family in arland it turns out i cannot vote in referendums where it matters and hugely impacts on our lives i'm good enough to provide the care needed but i don't have a say when it counts and could make a difference and benefit the people of arland however i can vote for who can go into government when it benefits them a disappointed mammy and carer this morning who now will go and look into how i formally obtain my irish citizenship despite being here my whole life wow okay that's interesting so you've been here your whole life and because you're not an irish citizen you can't vote in the referendums i didn't realize that okay maybe a lot of people out there in the same boat uh greg i got this email last night it's very authentic and genuine looking however my email address while being correct has a full stop between my initials and surname i did have a macafianti virus account on a device a few years ago but not anymore i can easily see how someone could be duped by this invoice maybe others should be alerted to this type of scam so it's quite simple really it looks it looks the business it is an invoice from macafi they provide um antivirus software when we talk about um companies getting you know data leaks email addresses and all being leaked that's probably where that comes from um so macafi down the line somewhere maybe had a data breach and people's information was uh was uh taken from their databases i would say that's actually what happened the dot between the dot uh on the email address is a little bit peculiar but anyway um thank you very much for that right let us take a break it's the bingo numbers it's jackpot day so hopefully want to use going to be reveling in thousands of euro wouldn't that be nice uh you're also supporting vision arland formerly national council for the blind of arland it's time for vision arland bingo on highland radio it's thursday the 7th of march jackpot day you're playing for the jackpot prize of 9 000 euro on the pink sheet the reference number is s9 it's game number 10 the jackpot number is 42 this number can come out in any position from the next 10 numbers drawn and now here are your dealing numbers 11 55 10 83 22 78 39 57 67 and finally 19 phone your claim to 910 483 before 8 tonight leaving your name contact number and the name of the shop where you purchased your book and we'll call you back the next working day get all your vision arland bingo information at highland radio dot com this mother's day let the one you love unwrap linda irresistibly smooth melting chocolate from the lint master chocolatier give the gift of bliss this mother's day you choose the moment we'll provide the bliss linda from lint scota cars are made for exploring arland but let's add more style more sexiness more french scota fabia scala and kamek models are available in the montecala range black exterior details excuse me sports seats and bumpers and carbon nickel so chic order your new 2024 scota with more chenise aqua at scota dot ie scota let's explore your local scota dealer is dmg motors clairo dunagall town telephone 0 74 97 21 396 or visit dmg motors dot ie the 90 noon show is brought to you by letter kenny credit union with monster loans available up to 60 000 euro for all occasions visit letter kenny cu dot ie okay you're very welcome back to the program and it's your voice your community and we're talking to members of the nigerian community about coming to dunagall life and life here and just learning a little bit more about them as well we say good morning first to felicia or if you saw yes please okay lovely to have you on board and tony jewell and be more abimbola abimbola thank you both of you very much tony just before we're about to go live so start with felicia don't come to me first tony but listen come here i'm not going to be bad to you i'll i'll i'll i'll speak to felicia first but we'll have a general conversation amongst the three of us felicia how long now have you been in arland it's a long time now it's been a long time yeah i came into ireland about 21 years now yes so it's been a pretty long time did you come here with your family 20 years ago did you have your family here i actually came in with my husband but my three beautiful ones were born here in ireland okay and how much did you know about arland before coming here um it wasn't really in my read that then it was just out of curiosity it was a new uh terrain for me i just wanted to come in and um have a feel of the irish life and what was life like in nigeria um that made you and your partner decide that you you felt you needed to go to pastor's new yeah um back home it wasn't as bad as it is now as at the time i left but i would say uh the young mind we just wanted to explore he wanted to go to school i just wanted to jump into the boat to come with him and um yeah and that's been our story and at that time were you considering you know if we have a family where is a good place to raise them because obviously you know um when you make that bigger move often it you don't move back you know we've seen with with people born in ireland moving to australia america they tend you know often they can and tend to stay there and settle so there was an awful lot to go through in terms of right it's not only our futures it's potentially the future of our children as well yeah i would say that was um actually on the list raising them somewhere outside of um nigeria i just wanted the uh western world way of um actually having them here grow and also giving them both cultures i just wanted something quite different from where i grew up yeah so i would say raising them here was was part of um the plan and whilst you talk about how when you were in nigeria there might not have been an immediate danger uh at that time but it is still more dangerous than ireland or uh was it the same then or now do you know what where you have pockets or groups of people that can be responsible for you know murder or fighting what have you yes i would say even as of that time i left door it it wasn't as bad as it is now there was still unrest we were still from the region where i came from it's a little bit turbulent it's called the the niger um delta region we've got um i would say it's a bit turbulent there so i would say yeah it wasn't it wouldn't be as safe as it was or as it is in ireland so that would have been yeah another reason just to have um a more um i would say decent and safe place to raise the kids now anytime i ask a question that's wrong i want you to correct me because this is all about understanding and learning as well but i talked a little earlier on about ireish people um moving to australia or or america for an example culturally there's not that big a difference do you know what to mean between someone from ireland and australia and america but culturally is there a big difference between nigeria and ireland and how do you sort of you know become part of the community here but also don't lose yourself or you also sort of make sure your children know where they come from yeah i would say one major thing i would appreciate about the ireish culture as the family unit so i would say coming in here was that would be the first thing that actually struck me the way the family unit it's well represented here so back home and here there will be little no difference with the way the family unit is set so the importance of family yes so that will be um a plus then culturally i would say there's really no much big difference there's there's really no much um wide gap the only thing i would say it's uh the idea that back home we tend to you see there's this thing back home that i can't look at my elders at the first they see that as rude but i i came to notice here in ireland they see you if you can have eye contact is as if you're not telling the truth so that was something really major is it a respect thing at home yeah at home it's a respect i can't look at my elders straight in the eyeballs that it's rude that makes arguing difficult doesn't it exactly so but here that that was something that actually got me at the first that when you want to talk to an elder and you put your face down they tend to feel probably you lying or you're teammate that would have been the main thing that actually struck me when i initially came and it took me a long while to actually get through that just to be able to what about the climate the difference in the climate that would be tough it's still tough on me you know back home it's um we've got the tropicals i all all i love the sun and we we've got the rains but we've got seasons for the rain specific seasons for the rain but i have come to see that the irish weather it's just like the irish not too stable this minute you've got rain the next minute you've got snow i would say yeah the weather was a problem for me then and it's still a problem yes it's a problem for me yeah it's not something i would i would get used to okay uh felicia i'll come back to you in a moment uh tony as i mentioned with us tony you've been here uh longer than uh felicia you've been here now for uh 24 years in arland and letter kenny for 20 years lady kenny's by home yeah how was your journey just much of what felicia has been talking about about the decisions and what like why did you decide to leave nigeria that's a very good question and i decided to live in nigeria for a better life i decided that's the first point but getting to ireland everybody know irish people all over the world if you don't know irish people then you don't know what ireland is all about because anyway you go in this world you have you if you don't find irish people then you move so i'm here in ireland for all my life and we know about these people called irish people because the first missionary we've happened in nigeria the irish people sent by the british for them we think they are british people but they are irish missionary so we already know about irish people when they come to humanity back home when we were born so for me decide for ireland is like i'm deciding for a place that i'm going to live my life my second home so i've been living in dunagore i came here with a lot of people many people have already migrated but this is my home yeah so the you came here as a single man we heard uh felicia came with her partner um so the how many did you come with and and roughly and sort of how many stayed for a while and went somewhere else and and and what proportion of them sort of made their life here yeah when i left home come back here to ireland i was on my own here before i met my ex woman she's from here she's from here and she has a beautiful children for me i have three boys and one girl so my children my daughter is in here in the university and my son is going to quince university also okay to become a medical science for my daughter is uh north so when you first came here uh was tough talk to me about that when i first came here it was tough it was what was tough yeah the what's tough for me is that i'm in a new place no family so i have to start from the crash as a new beginner it takes me a lot of years because now if you see let the canon and there's a lot of black people but when i came here none so i fight the struggle on myself now was that how you felt or is that how you were treated no the arish people didn't treat me so it's just you yeah because i'm in a different i am in a different place a different system so i have to adjust to face this challenge of new begin which i was very very young then compared to now where i know the system of where i'm living now um another thing too about your uh our identity because we always like our our identity and we're proud of who we are and where we're from um i think sometimes often people talk of people from africa as if they're all the same that's some misogynist not misogynist i can't remember the word anyway but some group that are all the same but each country is different and within each country there are sort of you know there are differences and what have you um were you do you do you find that you were sort of just grouped in with an entire continent um and in other words did people understand that you're from nigeria and that you might have specific sort of you know cultural differences to other people in africa of course of course i find that but if i can understand what you're trying to say like the arish people the way to find me is how are you mean you mean when i get to island here do i find it difficult yeah i'll tell you no i'm not explaining this correctly but what like say for instance i'd be very proud to be irish yeah but if i went to america yeah if they if i was just sort of seen as a european you know what i would feel i'd be losing a little bit of myself but i didn't explain that question very well but we'll come back to that um in terms of of racism okay is that something that you've had to endure uh tonally at all or more or less than you would have expected um when it comes to the issue of racism my experience about racism is ignorant first thing i can say about it racism for me is a part of the nature we're living but it's a dirty attitude before i was born before my father was born racism have been existing so if i see anyone that acts i call them ignorant people if i see them or i have a conversation with them i try my best to talk to the person whoever you are you are white or i'm black i can't change it it's like i tell my children or my community for right now because we have a community in donigona the time i came in here it's more easier for me i can say would mix them with the irish people very easy the time i come to this country who are using ponds i will go to the irish bar i won't spend that ponds i'll come back home with that five ponds they will welcome me because irish people in what is called immigration yes they've been there before anyone in this Europe so what will africa go through irish people went through that so irish people supposed to be the last person to talk about racism because they've been there done it they've seen the hard time we are going through we have and have you seen a change in this country over the 20 years then yes a lot of changes and uh in terms of acceptance a lot a lot because the young generation are coming up they see themselves equal so a positive change would you agree with that felicia yeah i would i would say that uh i would say when i actually came in to the country um 20 odd years ago um the the population of um africans would be not really um of any um high rate but you can still see some people that will still look at you strangely to who's this as if sometimes i look back on myself and i wonder if i got something in my face or do i look strange but um as time goes on you see the the the kids we had or are having it's i think it's it's sort of making things a little bit easier because they they were born here that grew with them they've got their asset i would speak for myself when i was in the college at um i at ly it when i went to do my my degree then i had the problem of communication it wasn't as if they don't hear me but that some of them just won't want to accept the way i talk i could hear you but they could hear me they were in listening so that this constant uh pardon me pardon me and one day i just told myself this was it so i looked straight into his eyes and i like you don't even speak english so you don't tell me to pardon you you've got an ascent the same way i've got an ascent because the donigal ascent it's something i am struggling to even understand so you don't tell me and that was it greg that was it so it was as if it was just okay i don't like you i don't like your color i don't like your ascent it wasn't as if they didn't hear what i was saying but i would say with the kids now if my son talks and wants to talk like a donigal man i wouldn't even hear him so there's no way somebody will look at him and say okay because you've got a brand skin i can hear you if he wants to be irish he goes irish then if he wants to talk to mum he comes back to mum and say okay we'll talk the way mum mum mum will understand so i would say with time the so your children can switch between yeah they can exactly they can i've got three of their language now we're talking about accents yeah yeah it's not the language is the ascent so i've got three of them and sometimes when they want to mess they go the donigal ascent and are like are you guys singing and they will go mum so i yeah so i would say the the the racial discrimination would have lessened a bit maybe the fact that we have more children that are that are brown skin but they're irish compared to second generation second generation compared to when i came in i would okay there's a couple of questions in relation to that but we're not focusing on that because there's more to life than that but i just think it's an opportunity to get an interesting insight into it so we're with felicia we're with tony we're going to take a very short break and we're going to continue with your voice your community in just a couple of moments watch the show live now on youtube facebook and at highland radio dot com the nine till noon show is brought to you by letterkenny credit union offering low-rate car loans with fast approval apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office 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bidding available on marty dot ie via mornen auctioneers that's this saturday 9th with the auction starting at 11 a.m sharp this ad is sponsored by frank mornen kitchen and bedrooms voted highland radio kitchen supplier of the year 2023 okay this is an item on the show we call your voice your community we're in the company of two members of the nigerian community but the irish community as well haven't been here for 20 plus years and we're going to speak about the the progress and what have you and i certainly don't want to to have this feature focusing on negatives but i think it's good if we i want to get an understanding as well for all of us as how other people things impact their lives and felicia i was just thinking you know and you're talking about your children and what have you they are irish they were born here i'm nigerian i presume but you know they are they are born and bred here in ireland and i just wonder has anything changed for them in the last couple of years where we are seeing i suppose a more vocal anti-immigrant sort of a conversation that's happening and in that you know you've been here for a couple of decades but i wonder do maybe some people just blindly see you is that you've just arrived in the country or what have you or even your children in particular has that changed over the last couple of years as countries seem to be getting more nationalist yeah i would say that there's this notion that every dark-skinned person or every non-looking irish person just got into the country so yeah i would i would i would believe some of them are just not like tony will say they just ignorant you don't just see someone on the street and because i am black you assume i just crossed the border yeah there are still people that will still look at you and still think you're just that immigrant that just got in and you have no no place in ireland yeah there are still people like that and there are there are incidents that sometimes you would wonder how do we make this people understand that i'm not just one person getting into the country yesterday i've been here yes i am i am much irish as you are but and i suppose to when children are having to go with each other we sort of have to separate maybe some commentary or feelings that are actually based on race or if it's like it could be because i've got no hair or it could be because you're wearing glasses or it could be you know your someone's way to whatever it might be would words that are being used are they are are racial words but is that the actual motivation for it is it a little bit not more difficult it's not a hierarchy here tony but your children being mixed race has that been at all difficult for them yes i don't see any different i can say that they feel it tougher but one thing i let them understand is they are who they are it's what you build in their mind because it could happen tomorrow my children is going to end up back in even in africa where i'm from yes and they will face the same thing they will yeah they could go to australia but the mindset i let this kid have that you are who you are yeah i remember as a in my early 20s like i'm i've lived in arland all of my life but my accent sort of has an english tone to it and i lived in england and over there i was paddy this and mik that and irish and my life was actually really quite tough not as tough as many and then i came back here and i was a brit i was this you know what i mean and cut in between you couldn't like it was like well where do you belong but then i'd go down to dublin and they would go oh you're from donning hall and i was all chopped with myself to sort of have an identity i probably had to not be in england or in in in now obviously that's a long time of go and it's nothing really what people go through but i do have a an understanding to some extent of go ahead so that is the reason why i use the language that you can never stop this issue of discrimination yeah so it's the way the government the society we're living they tried to ridicule to take it out they've been working hard you can see it in the football piece they were in different places to stop this issue of racism the government they're trying their best so the only thing i can do especially in my community this african community would build in this town is to let these people know you look yourself you look yourself in the mirror you're born to see yourself black or white be that turning your head because the generation we live in like is more tougher than my own time technology have made things worse now so i say to my children you are whom you are discrimination will continue going for the generation unborn to come we'll always find is going to continue forever sometimes i think we find a way as humans to sort of i was to because i mean the so yeah go ahead tony you're not finished to make your part so the point is discrimination is here in this country don't get me wrong it's going on it's happening in this even though in don't go where he living here two weeks ago i was stopped on the way in the main street a guy insults me about what do they call this place i am i say yes island don't you go then he tell me fuck off but i look at him as england they don't even know what he's saying continue talking to him he's jobless so he believe i come to this country to take his job he believed that that because at when i have a conversation i try to have a conversation with him i discover that he's just living on the social welfare right so the little one he think he's having i'm coming to take it but one thing he forgot that foreigners immigrant hard more to the economy any country that have no immigrant you will not grow because not every immigrant are coming here to take that some immigrant here hard more to the economy so that's what we're building on our community make sure you have the best education if you want to be aware that be the best electrician be the best if you want to go to school be the best and hard more to the economy they accept you here not everybody's going to the door to sit on the door that's not it but some people are still using one excuse and know that believe every immigrants in this place are coming to take their houses or that's no free houses yeah the government that themselves are allowed foreigners to come into the system they know what they're doing any country look at rich people in australia they went there to walk they don't go there to call money free the last people i will believe to think that will be discriminating people be the Irish people because they're everywhere i met them in my country did you want to say something Felicia yeah i was just going to say as we get this um discrimination the racism stuff it's a mindset that's the way i see it well what conditioned that way i think is it is it Nina Cherry uh had a song seven seconds um and i believe it was as effectively the point is that you know we're not born with any we're not born seeing a difference in each other that's that's raised into us exactly that's what i was going to say greg it's it's a mindset that was actually taught to these people is it non-non you see if you if you see two little ones one is dark and the other is white they don't see the difference but it is when you start feeding that child that all there's a difference that person doesn't belong to you know it reminds me and i hope this is not in any way offensive and it's not in turn that way but i remember there was uh a young boy joined um my son's national school and uh the uh uh he came home the he came home and that's the south school today and it says uh i can't remember his name but there's a lovely brown boy came to school right uh and i in my first instance i was like oh you can't say that and then i thought no actually he's brown yeah but it was just that was he was just identifying it could have been a red hair it could have been a girl or you know and i thought actually you know what that's okay it is only when you start making a fuss yeah so i can explain it then you see so then because i well you can't say that because that might upset him and you know but anyway but my point is is it was pure innocence it was literally yeah just differentiating people from hair color or this that and other and it was just then and i said i often think on that and thought you know if he ever ended up having any racial feelings it would have been learned or what have you exactly it wouldn't have been because he was born that way i saw that he it wasn't like that right so okay then do either of you have any view on on on immigration before we move on to other stuff in terms of you talked of housing and houses that are available tony um and we have a situation where people are coming to this country they're having to lie in the street intense and what have you is there do do you have a view um either felicia or tony as to whether we should continue with our current practice or we should pause things until such time as we have better facilities or i'm just interested to get your views on what you think of arlands current immigration policy do you ever have any particular feeling on it felicia you first yeah uh i would say greg for any european nation to be able to open their borders to immigrants there are fundings and there are allocations for that uh before this um um high rise of influx of immigrants into ireland we've always had the housing issues so i would have thought when the borders were opened or when these people were allowed in the government should have at least taken into consideration housing because that's been a major major issue even before the same flux so saying immigrants coming in uh in a way stretching that facility will be to me um out of tune if i was to um have you in my house as a guest let me just use that as an example greg i would make all provision to give you a good welcome have a spare room yeah yeah and a good make your stay um as much comfortable as i would want myself to be so if the government actually are not in the same line or they know the people that are coming in they know how many people some they can't really check but others they can so if they know the people that are coming in and the facilities are overstretched and they still want them in then i think that falls on the government and not the immigrants so if we have housing issues and the government still believes we can still take people on i won't be beating the immigrants that are coming in because they left them coming i won't ask you to my house if i don't have a space for you so i would say the housing issue the government still needs to look into that and also it's it's a two-way traffic i'll say check what your capability is and also check the people you wanting tony do you ever say on that i don't have much to say on that what i can say if i compare the island i live far back 24 years ago to now the countries have improved a lot when it comes to immigration the felt part of it government continuing improving in every way of this immigrant or whatever look at the uk here so i i can say with my own experience the government are trying their best on that issue like my sister saying here the housing this thing has been existed for donkey years which everybody know but we shouldn't blame them on immigrants now i as i'm talking to you here when these people called ukrainian people come to this town i can tell you categorically i put them in the house for some time not even black green i even help them to look for houses in criminal crime here drive them with my car take them to the social welfare when they have something to do because i was in that situation when i came to this place so that issue doesn't mean that oh i have to have my own black i find immigration they can't even speak they have to do voice transfer so when i listen to it then i voice back on my phone you listen to them i put them in my house for over three weeks i can say to you and even to the family that owns the house in criminal crime they can hear me now i help them lift your team to get them houses which i don't even do for my company so immigration issue this country is it's a i can't i don't even know how to preach island is a beautiful country let me tell you for my here a lot of my friends have already go back to america canada this is my home i love this community here the people that want to discriminate me or whatever they should continue they do whatever they want like a fellow that's going up and down with a camera trying to brainwash the young generation that are coming up to say this is the island we have to think about people is that the way people in australia carry a banner or carry a um telephone and what is it called a camera and going to new zealand or these countries for new zealand people listen you Irish people don't behave that way Irish people are very interesting people i call us as respect to tony but for my experience island is a racist country like i i think if people have experiences of racism i don't think you can like you can't paint an entire country based on the actions of some you know and i think we're quite quick to do that with all different sections of society that we have a bad experience with one person whoever it might be and we sort of say well they're all the same no Irish people like i i can only go by what the people i know i walk with Irish people i don't live in any particular fancy circles no but i don't believe any i don't i don't feel that i live in a racist community but that's easy for me to say because i'm i work with Irish people live with them nightlife enjoy my life just sleep in my house i can say i'm a black Irish but you always find one one black sheep that think the direction we live in like my sister says you see all this generation the african black children or whatever the part of the world they don't see them say with color they don't see themself and when i came to this country i see the Irish people tell me about the history what they've been through some years some century ago it's exactly what we beat about back home and that's one of the reason because you asked my sister one question what is the difference with our culture with Irish culture i don't the only thing i see with our culture is the weather because what Irish people been through is what we like you are why is when the weather i see when you come to so we have more in common than me so don't forget my point you always find one ignoring in any community in any way you want right this is what i can tell you so what work is being done now it's it's only recently the african community uh that that the an african community organization was set up you're both involved on it's called different things on on on my sheets but it's the same thing so it's relatively new okay so uh Felicia or Felicia sorry Felicia or whatever no my niece is called Alicia yeah no my name is Felicia and Alicia and i'm getting confused myself here now um so what is the what what is the the the as you see the function of this this uh all inclusive african community here in in Donegal yeah so Greg um beautiful minds came came came together a couple of months back and just decided that they needed to buy a group and the group was um christened the um african community in Donegal where we have all been africa come together under the same roof so the main thing i would say we do is the coming together to empower to represent to skill to advise to give information we we we would um sort of um have everyone in we appreciate the fact that we are all africans we've got differences but with that differences we can put that together to empower ourselves so that hope will be a place for information to people that are africans that are just either coming into Donegal or uh in Donegal and don't have a bearing so that you would um it's a place we would want people to come in to get information to get empowered so like Tony said there are people that will come in they need houses they need to know what education they could go to causes they can apply for how to go about that some of them coming and they don't even know how to get their um social um pps number or something yeah you'll get them to do that then there are jobs offers you can advise people to to do courses to pick up we are in the the the midst of even doing workshops to get people to free workshops where we can for women where we can give them maybe ideas of those that want to go into baking they want to have their own personal businesses how to register those businesses how to go about um things like that so it's it's like a hub of information collaboration and coming together and Tony there are challenges within the challenges isn't that you might have someone that's uh that's come here or is living here uh there's a language barriers but also they might be uh you I think you mentioned that a lot of them might be single mothers so that creates a whole subset of of problems within good question like my sister said thankfully I've got a smile on Tony at last and a good question please shall I give you a high five you're too far away go on Tony I love to see your teeth go on this uh I love this question you bring on now you hear about our African community in Donego it's just under the umbrella of the we're coming to this system of Ireland so we are the first foundation for the newcomer here and what we've been through in the difficult side of of this country we don't want them to go through it one and secondly the generation we're living today is different than the one we live so our children are coming up our people that are joining the system we want to bring them we don't want everything to be on the government we'll be in the system we want to show them the guideline how they can be positive to the system and how we can be useful to the community we were living we want to be first of all the voice of our people so that they can have it easy than they we go through hard time I'm using myself as an example because nobody showed me standing on your shoulders because nobody no I repeat nobody tell me what to do but our community is growing we want to work with the local guide we want to work with the country just people be afraid that your community is growing because you know you referenced things earlier on that people feel that that this is a replacement that Irish people will no longer exist because they'll all be replaced by people from outside of Ireland yeah this yeah this type of things it will happen to me if I'm in my country for example if I'm living in angina I see the population of Irish people or white sorry to use the language white people is dominating it's in the human that's why I said the beginning is in the human nature you can never ever stop this issue of discrimination we put a symbol discrimination this issue will be coming up it's like intimidation it's like intimidation oh they're coming to take take over the country they're coming to do this but our african community we want to be useful to where we are living we want to be part of the system you see along the line where we are somebody like me growing up in this place it's like wealth I fell I picked myself up on my own nobody told me this is the way to go sometimes it took me years before I start working again because I believe what I'm doing is right sometimes it's not even right so that experience we want to bring into our community that's a human experience so that's something that's something if our children is going to be electrician we want them to be the best if they're going to be the carpenter we want them to be there because they're going to fall out of the track along the line we want to be there for them like my sister said if they need something they have a place to run to if the garden wants if something around in our community garden now know that we have a voice they can call our chairman they can call his secretary there something blah blah blah happening in your community leave it to us okay listen it's been really interesting I hope that you found it useful uh an informative Tony Joel Abinbola thank you so much for calling in to us Felicia uh Arafi yourself thank you so very much um it's been really you know it's been really insightful and I really appreciate both of you calling up to thank you thank you so very much indeed we'll be back with the weather after this break the nine-toned show with letter Kenny credit union simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from letter Kenny credit union call us on zero seven four nine one zero two one two six reply online via our app or in office today this mother's day treat your mom to a delightful experience at radison blue letter Kenny come together for a sumptuous lunch from 12 30 to three on sunday the 10th of march for just 34 95 per person the kids menu is also available reserve your table today by calling nine one nine double four double four make your mom's day memorable with radison blue letter Kenny treat your mom this mother's day to a bottle of perfume or a cosmetics gift from McGee's chemist in letter Kenny you'll find clarence jimmy chew mark jacob's hugo boss lacoste and many more great value for great moms this mother's day see and store our order online at McGee's dot ie McGee's for the best cost less 9 000 new farmers accepted into acres for more in your irish farmers journal here's paul mooney we reveal how the department has found funding for more acres spaces no plans for new land designations weanling prices hit an average of four euros a kilo 15 000 farmers wanted for new water scheme we answer your questions on the nature restoration law what do skip changes mean for your suckler herd and or miss our special and vacant house grants all inside the irish farmers journal you cannot afford to miss it despite low temperatures and high energy costs it's important everyone stays warm and well through the colder months it's also important to understand that saving energy where possible saves money and helps reduce the impact on our climate simple steps can make a big difference like turning down the thermostat by one degree limiting the use of high energy appliances like tumble dryers or ensuring we don't eat rooms that aren't in use government is playing its part too making a range of supports available to help ease the burden on families across the country for support and advice visit gov dot ie forward slash reduce your use brought to you by the government of ireland a highland radio weather updates with ireland west airport time to book that business trip to london fly daily to london stanstead and lutan with ryan air and london he's fro with urlingus ireland west airport don't just take off take it easy okay let's have a look at that weather forecast for the rest of today and i can tell you as soon as it opens up mostly dry today with a mix of cloud and sunny spurs with just the odd chance of a shower highest temperatures of nine to ten degrees in moderate to fresh southeast east wind strong at times on the coast with all the stories that matter across the northwest it's greg hughes on the nine to noon show on highland radio okay it's 11 o'clock time to get a news update and it's over to donal kafner thank you greg good morning voters go to the polls tomorrow for two referendums on the issues of family and care the first change would expand the definition of a family to include other durable relationships the second proposal would remove references to a woman's duty in the home and add new text to acknowledge care given by other family members divorce law solicitor keith walsh who supports a yes yes vote saying says recognizing durable relationships won't take protections away from married couples in the meanwhile opposed both referendums that are getting representative mary t sweeney has described the government's proposal as a poorly written and amateurish effort she believes this will curtail rather than enhance the rights of parents carers and women okay here look of dunagol county council says intervention is vital to secure the future of businesses council martin harley says that 30 increase in running costs is forcing business owners to use their own personal savings to sustain their firms he says the council can do so much in terms of rent rebates but the government can and must do more the north education minister is being urged to visit arvely school and resource center in oma the only one currently located in the strew shared education campus site last week the school's principal johnny gray hosted a group of political and community representatives to showcase the school and highlight the potential of the campus when other schools relocate there and rock this committee is to recommend that legislation be introduced for assisted dying in strict circumstances it would only be allowed if the person has a terminal illness and between six to 12 months to live the illness must also be calling intolerable pain and the hsc is highlighting the danger of sepsis it's a condition that occurs when the body has an extreme reaction to an infection when in five people who develop it will die from it but 39 percent of adults don't know what to look out for symptoms include confusion fever rapid breathing and body pain leading to multiple organ failure and potentially death they're the headlines back with news headlines again at 12 noon donal thank you very much indeed we'll be back with more on the nine till noon show heading into a busy final hour in fact after we take this break the nine till noon show is brought to you by letter candy credit union digital loans now available apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account at coomie's home interiors we pride ourselves on offering you the very best in choice quality and value on all home furnishings treat your home with a visit to coomie's today and choose from our large range of suites tables beds not to mention our large selection of home accessories our motto is if you see it you can buy it and we will deliver it to your door coomie's home interiors letter candy retail park style and perfection at incredible value from family feasts to cozy date nights and everything in between discover the curry cottage indian restaurant and takeaway instant order indulge in award-winning top quality food whether you dine in or order online for takeaway convenience at the curry cottage dot i with our doors open seven days a week with tasty food and a warm welcome taste the excellence at the curry cottage today on business matters this week we'll hear about how a leading figure in the internet industry in germany developed a love for dunny gall and who two years ago set up his own business here under the brand name the chocolate man from dunny gall so join me chris ashmore for business matters after the six o'clock news on sunday business matters in association with the faculty of business at atu dunny gall for a career in financial governance consider the level nine ma in governance and it in financial services call nine one eight six two zero six or email donald on handigan at atu.ie today go all haldi with 20 meals for under 20 euro that's right mighty meals every weeknight for a family of four for under 20 euro how about spaghetti and meatballs monday or tuesday sizzling vegetable stir fry there's chicken steak potato wedges and carrots plus chicken oyster thighs butternut squash mash and peas and friday's favorite fish rice and munch two two no vouchers no apps no messing follow the path to lower prices go all haldi betty morgan talks about her son emin was one of life's givers when he had a sudden brain hemorrhage and sadly died his organ donation helped two people transform their lives it's consoled us so often emin was a giver in life until now he's giver organ donors save lives make today the day you decide to be an organ donor and let your family know your wishes for more visit hse.ie forward slash organ donation from the hse on the show now we welcome collette hi collette hello greg how are you doing i'm good collette now you've contacted us because you've concerns about the clon mani road it's already witnessed some severe several collisions and and locals are actually afraid to use this road i've been told by others clets so what can you be a bit more specific for those outside the area what the stretch of road is like and describe it to us yeah yeah well the road extends from the north pole bar in drumfries outside bonk rana to clon mani the town that has about 150 000 people living in it and it's environs and or is right and that road is a ribbon road two cars making each other on the road are almost shaving each other going past and there's room for widening the road on both sides of the road and it's so dangerous with bad bends and it is a it is just um life threatening to be on it you know it's so dangerous like and like i know a man now and he wasn't an engineer and he's moved up into the clon mani uh sheltered housing village and he comes to visit his daughter the only independence he has in his car he comes to visit his daughter in bonk rana every day and she has to take another car down drive him down at night because they're all so dangerous and you know our husband collects her down in his car and like the poor man i mean it's threatening his independence and all those old age pensions an old age pensioner killed on that road along with eight young people and the old age pensions are afraid to go to bingo and bonk rana and like they have to use that road and i'm surprised and i'm shocked that the tbs patrick mclaughlin and charlie mcconnellog and their representatives jet marion the council and rena donahey and nicolas crossin and none of them has even approached or brooched the road you know to bring it up at council so that the council can demand money of the government to widen that road nobody is doing nothing has it always been the case or has it always been as dangerous or is this a stretch road that's seen in traffic now greg has been as dangerous has been as dangerous it has never changed since whenever they built that road it has never changed and i just can't believe that the politicians are sitting up there with their eyes closed and they're doing nothing for any show and you feel that you i mean obviously neither you or i a road engineer's club but you feel that if the will was there it wouldn't be uh a monumental job to widen it if the will was there greg i'd take nothing to widen it i mean they're widening that kenny they're doing x y and a z all over the place but but clon mani village has forgotten about and bonk rana you know how long did it take for them to widen that bridge cock held bridge in bonk rana sure took donkey's ears you know they had to form a committee to get it going and have public meetings well i reckon and clon mani absolutely should do form a committee to get that what road widened it's a disgrace all right okay let's see what others think thank you very much for that collette uh collette the clon mani to uh the clon mani road effectively saying it is uh there have been several collisions there sadly loss of life as well uh local people um and collette particularly talking of the elderly afraid to drive at night and believes that actually it is infringing on their freedoms she says the roads needs to be widened and has called out politicians from council to dull across the political spectrum claiming that they have not done enough uh to seek funding to get this road widened um what are our public representatives doing about it collette asked a good time to ask in the ramp to a council election i would imagine and a general election oh wait six sixty twenty five thousand if that resonates with you and if you agree with collette there i'm so happy to hear felicia and tonia just when wish when people entered this country there was a better assessment of abilities and they were allowed to work in their fields to help our country as opposed to the way the system is working what i will say and i don't want to come across as all woke and all that kind of stuff we're a platform for uh the whole community all different elements of the community the text that message presumes that uh people coming to this country have no ability and nothing to add to it and i really hope you don't think i'm being argumentative but i'll read it again i'm just so happy to hear felicia felicia and tonia i wish that that when people enter the country there's a better assessment of their abilities so in other words they're welcome because they're uh educated here and their children are being educated here and they're working but then it's presumed that all the people coming to this country and this is maybe where some people have been influenced that they're only coming in to uh sponge off the dole well tonia was quick to point out is that they're not and they they want to they have something to add and want to add all the people will disagree and i get that and will think that the numbers are crazy and we need to do something there should be a referendum i hear you i understand exactly what you're saying but uh i understand i i respect what you're saying whether i understand it or agree is neither here nor there but we also can't presume that everyone that comes here uh is is is not coming here with skills and to work greg the nigerian lady fantastic she knows what Irish people are thinking um and other to be honest not like uh today but years ago if children or even adults might have looked or stared at uh black people it most likely was because they've not seen them before in donagola indeed in Ireland we'd never seen uh people of colour years ago i remember say uh saying saving all the pennies um to send uh to Ethiopia and what have you it's not racist it's what we were told at the time deed and i don't think anyone's being overly defensive but just recognizing that um things are changing uh i'm an irish man with a British accent and donagol people treat me badly it's not always about the colour of your skin another it's funny how times have changed years ago it used to be no dogs no blacks no irish uh indeed and that was a reality and and even in my time uh when i worked in England it was not not necessarily on um it was not necessarily on posters at doors outside accommodation but you definitely could get a sense that uh it was irish uh black people asian people were all viewed as the same i think deep down people are not racist people are very angry at what's happening people are coming here and they're handed places to live free medical and dole every week whereas there are people out there struggling big time if it became if i became unemployed i'd get money for six months then i have to rely on my husband where are people coming into this country are entitled to the same that i worked hard for yes the irish went all over the world but they worked hard as many people went to a country where they knew no one and were entitled to nothing i get exactly what you're saying and it does feel unfair the system does feel unfair of course uh the difference is when we go to australia we're allowed to work uh when people come here they aren't allowed to work many of them um we were talking on various issues here uh by the way uh caroline that person hasn't um hasn't joined the conversation yet by the way uh annan burton port i did a urine sample in the doctor's surgery i was not charged i'm a medical card holder this is off a call earlier on a listener 16 year old daughter gets regular uti's um up until now they uh they got a urine sample tested and we're given an antibiotic they're on a medical card now they're being charged 15 euro each time um so that's a call to saying that they are still that's a call to saying that they still are getting them for free in inverted commons it's not for free it's paid through direct taxation which we all pay the voting cards will aid this year get on to someone who looks after the register in the area and ask them to remove the deceased from the register bring a death cert and the relative can remove them themselves another you can also tell your postman that the relative is dead and they'll put a pink sticker on all posts to say they are deceased tell people to please bring id tomorrow one in four people will be asked for id i'm a presiding officer and this is what we're asked to do you will be turned away if you don't have id read the electoral register this happened to me recently my mom passed away two years ago and last week i got a polling card for her i called the council and they put me through to the relevant section and they took my details and said they would take care of it okay because we've struggled really to be honest with you uh online and through contacts to find out precisely and in a simple way how someone removes a deceased relative uh from the register uh husband living and working here for 20 years he can't vote in any referendums you have to be an irish citizen to vote uh on referenda um it's not the same for other elections and what have you but you have to be uh an irish citizen to vote in the referenda because of course i presume it's because they uh it's it's changing the constitution which is a very important document so that's the rules unfortunately your husband might be here for 20 years but he is not uh officially an irish citizen it would seem all right let's take a quick commercial break loads to come on the nine till noon show the county's number one talk show the nine till noon show on highland radio the nine till noon show with letterkenny credit union now offering mortgages from 40 000 to 600 000 euro with no hidden fees or transaction charges letterkenny credit union 9102127 it's hard to say thanks for a lifetime of love with just one rose dinner but the mns mother's day dining comes pretty close it serves four with the choice of main and three sides for just 22 euro and if my kids are listening i would choose the roast beef with herb butter pegs and blankets beef dripping roast potatoes and spring greens cavalone era and peas please and thank you this is not just a dining this is an mns mother's day dining available till the 10th of march subject to availability selected stores teas and sees apply this mother's day treat your mom to a beautiful bouquet of flowers from annie's flowers and gifts in letterkenny call 911 7704 or order online at annie's flowers dot ie make it special this mother's day with annie's flowers and gifts lower main street letterkenny it's time to visit ireland's newest lexus dealership lexus letterkenny with 50 years of experience you can trust us in this new era of electrification experience our all electrified range including the stunning es hybrid saloon and our award-winning range of plug-in hybrid suv's and view our finance offers including the all-new lbx start your two-for-one journey with lexus letterkenny port road lexus experience amazing do you know someone who is a real life superhero in your community highland radio's community hero campaign is on the lookout for those extraordinary individuals who go that extra mile for others nominate your local hero today and they could win 1000 euros nominate someone who you believe is a superhero within your community by emailing their name address the reason why and your contact details to hero at highland radio dot com closing date for entries is the 18th of march 2024 visit highland radio for more information dr francis reese is a lecturer in law at sx law school of university of the university of sx and johnson's now good morning dr reese how are you getting on good morning greg it's lovely to hear from you yeah i'm doing well thank you busy bus uh doing right um i suppose it's not really surprising because i'm not the target demographic but i wasn't actually uh really aware that child influencers existed uh and you're calling for a new set of guidelines to be drawn up to protect child influencers this obviously to limit the harm being caused to their i suppose the development their education the dignity and the privacy so what does a child influencer look like uh and what are they doing thanks for the question so obviously in terms of uh the social media platforms awareness of the children the children shouldn't technically be there in their minds because the children would have to be over is there a theme to have an account in their own right um so what we're looking at really is uh family influence or family activities um if you see it in more mainstream social media like youtube kids for example and we see toy unboxing and play um but that's kind of spread out now across all the social media platforms like tiktok instagram etc so we're talking about parents of guardians taking control of the accounts and introducing their children through the account and brands identifying with these families and potentially then using that attention through the account to target people who might want to buy products so we're looking at brands and experiences so really it could some at least in some cases it's actually parents and guardians that are exploiting their children they are putting them to work in inverted commas it is a type of child labor so that's what i identify within the project of of taking it beyond that kind of chair the cute picture of your kid because they look beautiful or or you know they're in their communion dress or whatever it's taking it the step further where there is some economic incentive and it demands a lot of like prompting propping scripting editing you know i don't know if you're a parent yourself trying to get kids dressed and out and anywhere looking great uh can be a chore at the best times never mind a child having to do that to camera making sure they drop the problem is too and the one thing i know from from my children and they're a bit older and some are young too young but and their their peers this is a lot of them would say well what do you want to do when you grow up now and it used to be you know fireman space whatever it might be now it's like i want to be an influencer i want to be a youtuber and stuff like that there so there's there is obviously already a seed planted in the minds of some of these young children and then they're i suppose they're being assisted by the people charged with caring them to achieve their dreams and inverted commas yeah i mean there's a number of reasons why parents are doing this and it's kind of socially accepted so there's nothing saying that this is a bad thing to do i'm kind of reluctant to use words like exploitation or or you know that they're they're making money through the children there's a number of reasons why parents are behaving this way and the aim of the project isn't to be judgmental or prohibitive of that but to try and develop the best practice guidance in this area because there there aren't any laws prohibiting it and even other child labour laws like for models and actors don't don't apply um so there's a number of reasons why parents do this they might have their own story to share for example if the child has se n needs or if they've you know the same gender parents for example um we've got people who have gotten famous in this lifestyle themselves and are now having children so people have been on you know your love island or people who were influencers like zoella back in the day are now having children themselves and bringing their children into this economy and also to to that if you don't mind francis do there's there's no informed consent here either uh you know like if you are using your children uh for you know like harvesting or whatever it might be your scrolls or views or what have you i mean they're not able really to consent to that and you know when they hit 18, 19, 20 in their entire life has sort of uh is on the internet and we know once it's there it never goes away i mean that that's a big call for a parent to make to do that i mean i i can differentiate between you know family photos on social media and some people do block out the kids faces i do see that but this is this is a next level kind of stuff this isn't sort of sharing with family and friends either you know yeah i mean the consenting for child performers more generally would be an issue you know the very liquid baby didn't consent to be the very liquid baby and the milky bar kids there's always been a milky bar kids you know i mean the difference here is obviously these are real children doing real things in their real homes but they're not acting this is their lives you know the milky bar kids tough and strong but he's wearing a cowboy hat you know and stuff this is not him you know a camera following him in his every or her and their everyday life exactly and that's some of the harms that survey looks at and is trying to talk to parents about you know they might not even have thought about this in terms of a risk to their child so wanting to engage with them and have this conversation um it was a select committee here in the UK where parents wouldn't go because they felt that these sorts of words would be used about them in relation to poor judgment exploitation etc and you know look this is happening and the kids are on there so it's it's just time to start having the conversation about what it looks like to make sure that there's better safeguarding yeah and also like there's been some very high profile cases um in this area but also uh what i've seen on twitter is is going back but there was a big push on this a year or two ago whereby you know parents were being called out and i i saw a couple of the video videos on that platform and it felt very wrong do you know what i mean um and then there was sometimes when there was a couple of occasions where the camera continued to roll and the parent didn't realize it so what we saw was the video they were trying to present and then the child being told you didn't do that correctly you should have done it this way that's probably the extreme but if a few of those get leaked that's the tip of the iceberg potentially absolutely it's like when we're talking about this from a risk assessment process which is what the project's trying to do um you know and people don't throw bleach in their eyes or their face or whatever but there's a whole guidance on the back of the bottle of bleach about how to behave around bleach um so when you're talking about those kind of horrific instances i'm thinking about those extremes and unfortunately working in this area i'm hearing about the extremes so it's about talking to people across that spectrum of behaviors understanding that yes at the rough end of this there could be children who are being coerced into behaving in this way um and you know the New York Times did an expose last week around sexualization of young girls uh i was very interested to see even in that press coverage they didn't use the picture itself they described the picture i think that's an important approach as well as not calling families out not calling children out when we're talking about this issue this is all new isn't it and there's no yeah i think too there's a there's a what what parents and i think particularly parents of young girls can do it's an exercise any of them can do is look at particularly in tiktok look at the videos that are being posted but very importantly look at them beat how many times they're favorited not liked but how many times they're favorited which means if someone does that they have access to that whenever they're like and then if it's a lot maybe look at the video and say wonder why on this platform that's primarily adults why this video is being favorited it's sad and and you don't maybe sometimes want to face up to that but i think it would be a very useful exercise uh for people to say well who's favoriting that video and why are they favoriting it exactly and that's the New York Times article looked at the people who were making comments and sorts of comments they're making i think we can all imagine how horrific that might be if you've got a nine-year-old wearing something skimpy bent into a specific position so um you know they they do exist they're out there and that's one of the areas that the the survey talks about you know are you thinking about how your child's posed and what they're wearing because that can send a certain message so you know i've identified 32 types of harms endemic in this behavior uh for parents to look at this survey think about if they do this themselves have they thought about this as a potential risk and if they do and have thought about it as a risk and experience it what are they doing to mitigate it you know where are they where they look in the bleach you know how are they dealing with this as a risk assessment practice because you've effectively made your home a workplace now yeah and i think it's really um i think it's really helpful uh doctor how you're approaching this from a non-judgmental point of view there are people who are knowingly willingly exploiting children there are others that say hey it's just modern society isn't it what difference can it make uh and and they themselves you know maybe have been exploited as you say you know uh former celebrity stars and all you don't want to use the word exploit as well excuse me for that but you're saying look uh you may not realize that there's an increased exposure to identity fraud invasion of privacy you may not realize that there's an increased exposure to bullying and harassment you may not realize there's an impact on the dignity and reputation and you also may not realize there's an impact on family relations i.e different opinions on whether a child should be working as an influencer so this is about awareness and saying stop and think does any of this resonate with you you might think you're doing the right thing for your child do you need to double check yourself that perhaps maybe that your good intentions are somewhat misplaced yes exactly and having those moments of this is another thing we're going to have to check in with our child about are they okay with the content would they like it edited or removed um are they okay in terms of their own self-esteem and hearing other people's opinions about them and their behaviors do they need mental health support in moments of crisis and it is it's like behaving as if you're you're an employer of theirs now it's escalating the parental responsibility up beyond you know just keep them safe and dressed and fed into this oh okay well we've kind of got a workplace now it's a family business and i'm going to have to mind them in that way yeah and i mean you do also have to question as well you talked of the the case of what most of us would see as an inappropriate uh inappropriate representation of a nine-year-old i don't know the exact way but say that was on tiktok and someone played that a couple of times and liked it the algorithms of such that tiktok will find more similar aged girls or boys in similar retire in similar opposes opposes and actually feed that to the user that is how it works i don't think anyone would want to sort of be a part of that or to think that that was actually happening but that precisely is they will learn what the user likes and they will continue to present in this example a nine-year-old in those clothes similar clothes doing similar things that's it's kind of icky isn't it when you think about it that an algorithm will pick something like that absolutely and that's what i mean in terms of it's difficult to point a finger at parents or influencers in these situations because they really are responding to a need and a drive so we've got to get the people who are watching this held responsible and culpable in some way the platforms like you say with the use of the ai and the generative data that and encourages this uh to to fester and to manifest in numerous numerous ways and the brands you know we're looking at brands who are um providing leotards and swimsuits for these little girls to pose in and to to endorse and to sell um you know i don't walk down the street and see a billboard with an eight-year-old bent over in a leotard but i can go to social media sites uh say i like gymnastic young girls gymnastics and see a lot of those those sorts of of images and leotard brands promoting their wares um so there's a lot of people here around us who need to take accountability i mean i'm putting on parents as the kind of a bit of a cop out really so i'm just trying to make them more aware there was like you know i don't want to there was one uh dark web website that was exposed i remember reading about a couple of years ago i'm not sure what the content was but it was in this area that we're talking about and in ireland alone there were 65 60 000 um members of it i don't know how you would describe it it's a huge market in inverted commas and it's probably bigger than we would ever like to admit when we've got a small population if here if you know circa six or seven million depending how you view uh but that was one database you know that's that's troubling very very troubling and we have to protect our children that's uh the most that's the i see it's the only role i have of any real consequence uh dr francis reese uh thank you very much i know this is kind of uk based but the e you're probably watching and and i don't know you know it's definitely in area i think that there's no one listening that wouldn't think that right we need to have a look at this i think having heard your comments thanks for your time today greatly appreciated thanks ever so much for helping me on it's our pleasure dr francis reese their lecturer in law at essex law school of the university of s6 any views on that 08 6 60 25 000 don't give us a call on 07 491 25 000 watch the show live now on youtube facebook and at highland radio dot com the 90 noon show is brought to you by letter kenny credit union with monster loans available up to 60 000 euro for all occasions visit letter kenny cu.ie local enterprise week is back and 2024 is all about inspiring you to be brave when starting growing or scaling a business running from monday the fourth to friday the eighth of march local enterprise week is organized by local enterprise office donnie gall in association with their enterprise partners during the week over 20 events are taking place across donnie gall booking is essential to see the lineup with events and speakers and to book visit local 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value terms conditions exclusions and minimum spend apply highland radio are celebrating another birthday we are inviting you to join us for our highland radio birthday bash on tuesday the 19th of march in the mount erigal hotel joined by the one and only margo myself david james plus special guests brendan quinn declin ernie and patrick finney this is the night not to be missed tickets now on sale for more information visit the outlet at highland radio dot com or give us a call on zero seven four nine one twenty five thousand we'll see you at the highland radio birthday bash okay you're very welcome back to the program now as you may well be aware and if you're not you certainly will be now on friday the 15th of march highland radio celebrating its birthday and we're raising money for three charities close to our hearts jigsaw donagall the irish wheelchair association donagall and breast cancer north west this morning we're talking to one of our chosen charities the irish wheelchair association we've a number of guests and someone behind me who's that hello look you're sharing my camera don't be shy look i'm only joking right okay we have owen mcfaden owen thank you so much for calling into us it's great to have you with us great thank you very much for having me favor the microphone a little bit for me thank you very much for having us Greg no it's our pleasure owen talk to us about the irish wheelchair association and its role in donagall okay the irish wheelchair association itself was formed in 1960 by a group of paramedics that came back from the olympics since then we have developed nationally at the preliminary first it wasn't doubling but we are national now and we continue to grow and develop in 1998 the first center was open to man economy here let the kenny we started off with a center and a small a donated bus at the time we have continued to grow and develop we are now based in let the kenny and a purpose-built center and we have approximately around a hundred to ten hundred around the county donagall attending that center we range from a range of activities coming in and a lot of the work we do is based in the community as well so it's we do take members come in at the center i enjoy the day in the center but we also work with a lot a lot in the community going out and about the key where you talk to you later like surf and dining anything's on anything's on the board so and primarily we cater for a group that's a physical disability yeah nicole shardons with the irish wheelchair association don't go to nicole what's your role within the association hi i'm server support officer with irish wheelchair association i've been working there 15 years now so i help run the day centers and organize activities we do on in the community so we would do anything from as on said they're surfing botcha art yoga you name it we've given a thing ago we have three centers throughout the county we have one in malin karagart and that of kenny so our service users come from all over the county and go teach them yeah okay and owen um i'm going to speak to kiefer and martin a second but owen how important then how is how is the irish wheelchair association funded is in a mixture of state funding and fundraising that's correct greg we're part funded by the hse we also have the community employment scheme there as well uh in association with the dsp but we had make up the sort for we are actually funded uh the fund we we do to fund raising and at the present moment we are raising money there for a new bus uh transport is a big issue and you've been waiting a long time for this new bus we have if i my memory so we actually got a new bus okay and what's happening now at the moment is that one of the buses we had last year we had to take off the road because the maintenance cost yeah okay and practical it is yeah so we're in the process of raising money now for a new bus it's an ongoing bus it's an ongoing issue what do we got because we have to travel to get anywhere yeah we have lots of stuff but we do have to travel so the reason why that's important the reason why i'm talking about fundraising is that the irish wheelchair association is one of our chosen charities so next friday uh when we are imploring you and begging you to to donate into a a a a a a a a bucket in the letter kind of shopping centre or to ring in with a donation here it is that the photographer's phone that's just went off behind me was that yours it wasn't but the reason we're doing it uh we're reason we're doing is to to help and to keep the buses on the road and uh to keep people like kiva begly happy uh kiva you're very welcome back onto the program how are you keeping i'm keeping good very good it's great to see you again how important is the irish wheelchair association to you kiva well irish wheelchair association is very important to me as it helps me to socialize and meet new people and meet people and what stuff do you do that you enjoy doing with them well since i started irish wheelchair i've been able to go surfing and ross now before this i've never experienced it before and i absolutely love it excellent and um do you can you do that regularly or is it every now and again in the summertime mainly in the clever girl it's freezing up there at the moment but so you're looking forward to another season of surfing okay brilliant is there any other stuff that you do or stuff that you want to try well we're actually doing out next week yeah i love that okay brilliant and have you got a knack or you're working on it are you have you produced anything any art yet well i've done something fantastic okay you must get us some pictures in so you have a look at them if you don't mind kiva martin cassidy is also a service user with the irish wheelchair association martin good morning to you morning and i think you are in a building that you kind of you're to blame i've done a lot of work you worked building this building with yours bowl here brilliant the last great george bowl the floors the floors and and all that okay how long have you been a wheelchair user martin a little bit five years now five years you know so you kind of had to adapt to a new way of living your life how helpful was there yeah it was a lifeline for me yeah it's great now that came to the head come and pick me up whenever i can come through the covert and all that the kid called her a week yeah exercise papers and all that with them it was um before you used a wheelchair would you have been very familiar with the work of the Irish wheelchair association i didn't really know that i was asked to come up sometime and try it out and i went up and eight years later i'm still there and was that a tough decision for you because sometimes we can be a wee bit stubborn in looking for help or were you happy enough no no no that's been good that's been good and check it out yeah and for you i'm still there and what has does the Irish wheelchair bring to your Irish wheelchair association bring to your life martin brought a lot of things to my life now the funding forums and all that and they're a great help and a great organization you've been lost without them in the area yeah fantastic take it out pick it up and take it out socialize and all that and what kind of activities do you do or do you like doing with it i don't do a wee bit at times a wee bit at times sometime maybe maybe go to the cinema and out for meetings and all that and that's all through the Irish wheelchair association great organization because i think sometimes you know for those who have been in the situation or those who any of us could find ourselves in the situation is that we'd miss out or that we can't do things that we used to do or our life could be over you know a lot of though a lot of i've spoken to a lot of people that had those emotions but that's not the way with you you're living life at its fullest my life really turned around like yeah it's not to join them you know and um nicole these are just two people's experiences it's a familiar story i'm sure that you use a very clever user off-camera too which i'm not happy about anyway it's great i know nicole and you put on your nice shirt and everything but come here um the this is typical i presume of the feedback you get from service users fans sounds a little bit i don't think it's that sounds a little bit clinical doesn't it it's more than that isn't it yeah um everybody comes into the center most people wouldn't have um got their disability from birth they were required so it could have been acquired be an injury ms stroke um but there is a whole load of disabilities that come into us yeah so and in that situation it's it's a different story for those people isn't it it's a transition it's a change it's an adaptation and and user are fully equipped to help in all of that it's not simply saying and it's not simple but we can pick you up and drop you off there's much more oh yes when everybody comes to the day center um we support them throughout the day that'd be personal care um supporting with feeding anything look out there we do as well yeah um oan it must be um you know it's about i suppose maintaining what's there but always looking to the future be it uh maintaining the bus service at the same well what else can we do it all comes down to money really it comes down to money it comes down to funding and to deliver the service you need you need about the both of you know what i mean we have a state of the art building fully equipped we can get there for any disability coming into the building so we're lucky like that there a lot of organizations share that building what it's when they're about to town and all that as well so we have the facilities uh we have members sitting at home that would like to get maybe an extra day and we can't do that because we're sort of transport transport is the big one and it's through our national but it's one of many factors that's it funding is another one getting the staff coming in as well as another one so there is a few different elements costs of living have gone up so it all affects the services yeah exactly and and you see it you see the trend over over time and the bus we talk about a bus you know i could have a bus and i could say well there's a bus yeah it's not as simple as that it has to be uh potentially adapted it has to be uh very user-friendly it has yes it has to be fully adapted uh it has to be fully converted there's a fair amount of cost in that there um a lot of a lot of members now attend the center would be wheelchair users yes but not all like and the the problem is that you put one or two chairs on the bus that's the bus the fully capacity like you know so we're looking for a slightly bigger bus at the moment and carry a bit more capacity and allow more people to avail of the services we have for sure and particularly in the evenings and all that if you go out in a group it's nice to take a group watch it and the love likes to keep them there love socializing like you know and the love going out of the script maybe like 10 10 and they've got it together at their own age yeah and that's what you want to do uh doing a lot more in the community rather than being central best yeah and it's not about the bus but the bus is important and we know ourselves i think they were pricing up a bus here probably shouldn't say but they shouldn't tell me stuff if they don't want me to say it that's their problem not mine right but when you talk of the cost of the bus even for what we're doing right for outside broadcast the cost of the bus there but the adaptation cost I tell you is massive and in your case you're probably talking lifts and and all that type of stuff you know it's it's huge huge cost so then it all has to be maintained and so of course that's just not a case of happening so again listeners it's your generosity that keeps the likes of Owen and Nicole doing what they're doing that keeps Martin doing what he's doing what keeps Kiva doing what they're doing the Irish wheelchair association i've never heard a bad word about them and next Friday we're going to be calling on you to be as generous as you possibly can be and generosity can be two euro or 22 euro it's all relative okay and we're going to be helping to hopefully get the Irish wheelchair association on the road and doing through great work we're also supporting jigsaw donagall and breast cancer northwest so kiva is it all eyes on the summer now at this stage you're looking forward to the summer like me i just want the summer i don't want to wish my life away but why is it not the summer now hello is there any places other than russ now kiva that you like to visit around donagall that you go they go right we're going here and you go wahoo just go to the side say yeah because you don't realise how bang donagall is until you actually go round and say it like so yeah just seeing new places yeah exactly and we are making slight inroads in terms of things like changing spaces and there's some great work being done down in port new isn't it where and what have you so we're hopefully moving in the right direction uh martin you talked about going to the cinema and what have you uh getting out and about what all the stuff do you like to do yeah but other stuff well maybe more butch or play butch up there you know you play playing butcha potcha butcha what's what you're called butcha right what is it we used to have a team going to the balls red balls and white balls and blue balls all right okay so it's an era like uh jack is it yeah it's like balls yeah it's like the french that french game something summer to balls yeah butcha yeah two teams brilliant where a bunch of team going one team i want to take you on now i'm very competitive so we're hoping to go to slaggo shortly and play down slaggo okay right that's that's look forward to right so um listen thank you all very much uh is there anything owen that you want to add by the way to listen down through the years we i'm always amazed at the generosity of the public and how to support the awa anytime we're out and about um it's a big ask again at the moment and it's really really appreciate it the help support and the commitment they give us down through the years we're helping ourselves as well yeah it's like you know it's not like we are helping the Irish wheelchair association but it's it could be any of us at any time at any time it could be us tomorrow it's that service being there you never know it's that service being there and isn't we are open we have a center down there if anybody wants to call anytime and say hello to us if they want to get in touch with myself and Nicole or just call the main reception line we're certainly talk to them and if they want any advice on anything we have the school of moat in there as well anybody wanting to get back on the road or anything like that there we do all that as well so there's a multitude of services there from the home support as well everything it's it's it's all there brilliant stuff and long might continue and grow Nicole anything you want to add thank you very much to Highland radio for choosing us choosing us as one of your charities and we hope to work with you again in the future of course of course kiva have you anything to say you've always got something to say no thank you thank you we're just like the thank you very much brilliant stuff and you uh you you mostly spend your time with Nicole with the iwa do you yeah Nicole and I and what's like what do they like oh they're good crack I wouldn't ask you because it wouldn't be fair if you had a favourite Martin thanks for joining us it's nice actually for you to be back in the building that you helped to build with George and the crew oh yes yeah how long ago would that with that be now God's east or table remember east or table you think so it's coming up on an anniversary it also works putting up the mast as well oh really okay one down burn foot and one down more island so were you sort of did you work in that area like in telecommunications or did you just we had to do anything for George right okay brilliant George rolls and charts and a pack of kidney so you had to be jack of all trades this is jack of all trades don't say the next bit don't say the next bit okay listen Martin it's been lovely having you on the program thank you so much for calling in kiva it's always a pleasure don't leave it so long the next time no I won't all right please because I do love having you up on the show uh and also Owen McFadden service coordinator at the Irish wheelchair association and of course uh Nicole Sheridan and this mysterious person behind me with the is anyone going to give her a name that's rossing our that's rossing oh sorry kiva I did not know rossing was over my shoulder when I asked you that question you're okay I am so sorry I thought this was somebody else and it was rossing okay just all of you thank you so very much indeed we look forward to next Friday now and it's lovely of course yeah it's lovely to actually um put voices and faces and names to the people that we hopefully will all be supporting uh and Nicole keep up the fantastic work that you do and uh rossine and Owen and again thank you very much to kiva and Martin lovely to have you thank you very much thank you very much thank you back after the break the 9th old news show is brought to you by letterkenny credit union offering low-rate car loans with fast approval apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today 9 000 new farmers accepted into acres for more in your irish farmers journal here's paul mooney we reveal how the department has found funding for more acres spaces no plans for new land designations weanling prices hit an average of four euros a kilo 15 000 farmers wanted for new water scheme we answer your questions on the nature restoration law what do skept changes mean for your suckler herd and all these are special and vacant house grants all inside the irish farmers journal you can't afford to miss it betty morgan talks about her son emin was one of lifesavers when he had a sudden brain hemorrhage and sadly died his organ donation helped two people transform their lives it's consoled us so often emin was a giver in life and to know he's giver off life organ donors save lives make today the day you decide to be an organ donor and let your family know your wishes for more visit hse.ie forward slash organ donation from the hse it's mother's day this sunday which you obviously knew and already have your gift wrapped at central we've got great offers like heroes and roses cartons 290 gram half price central irish lamb leg 1.2 kilo only 999 and champagne pierre darcy's brood just 20 euro centra live every day enjoy a call sensibly common luthna scale glenn in you glenn finn ga in association with planal changa and veil tap la are hosting a 25 car drive in the glenn finn ga center this friday the 8th of march at 7 30 p.m entry is 25 euro with half the pot paid out in prizes there will be partners at tables of eight refreshments served on the night that's this friday night in the glenn finn ga center this ad is sponsored by kia cabs taxi and bus hire highland radio weather updates with arland west airport time to book the family summer holiday fly to barcelona faro melanne meorca and much more for a perfect family getaway arland west airport don't just take off take it easy right uh me and kiva want the summer but we're both going to have to wait i'm afraid uh mostly dry today with a mix of cloud and sunny spots with just the chance of the odd shower highest temperatures of nine or 10 degrees in a moderate to fresh southeast to east wind strong at times on uh coasts right um now we read on the front of the chicano tribune that and it's kind of tongue-in-cheek and it's cleverly worded that the fanard polling station is uh no no more cancer leon blaney obviously is from the area and joins us on the program now good morning to you thank you very much indeed for your time leon good morning blake right okay so uh what's the story with the the what's the story with the polling station in port salon is it off the list for tomorrow well the school that has uh hold been hosting the polling station for a long number of years um closed at the end of september last year or at the end of june last year there's no longer an axon school and the county registrar's office did make contact with the owners and obviously they couldn't come to an agreement but fortunately enough it's from that an axon school which is within the boot the area of uh the crewers an axon school and one of the crewers um both or the port salon but sorry no problem um has agreed has agreed to hold it for for um tomorrow anyway so where's it going to be tomorrow sorry i was going to be in from from fad okay no problem just in relation to the the national school the one that closed is that in private ownership or is with the hsc on that or do we know it belongs to people the parish i think the parish the priest is the person that uh that looks after and uh he made the call then potentially the register well the credit register office had had been in contact with with our priest as far as i'm aware and they had to go to hsc on it but the school has been closed as last by then of course there's been a bit of maybe work to do to it but cleaning it and heating it and everything so they took it to it was agreed to take it to drum fad them and they couldn't uh come to an agreement and you've got the local knowledge uh Liam how far is the port salon school to drum fad it is roughly about a mile and a half maybe okay so there's a wee bit more inconvenient so more convenient okay yeah i was more convenient for someone more more unconvenient for other things right all right okay that's like that's what it is and maybe if if the if the people have just decided they want to have more sound opened again we'll do what we can have open again but unfortunately this came late in the late on the day and there wasn't much time to negotiate on it okay well that's the facts whether people are in favor of other um it is just the way it is all right cancelor blaney thanks for your time all right great take care of yourself cancelor leon blaney there uh so that's the answer to that um can you find out what is the hold-up with road works on the cock hill road there's traffic light there traffic lights there for ages and was supposed to be finished at the end of january for that listener from clumb manny can you let her know the public representatives don't care about the people in rural communities in fact they've turned their backs on the people in regards to the defective concrete blocks crisis that's their view many would feel different there's a discrimination that nobody's allowed to talk about in ireland and that is against the english most of us english who live in donagol are now aware of ireland's history however this is not taught in schools in england so we really know nothing about the history when we arrive versions of history isn't there reported everywhere indeed uh i'm sure that's uh that is a thing uh as uh actually three or four people have texted in with from england saying the same thing right uh time for me actually to give a push to this it is the community hero 2024 now lots of us know people um in our lives that are heroes they work in the community they work with others they go above and beyond um they might be on the tidytowns committee they could be part of the first responders they could be uh just lifting people here and there they're all heroes okay uh so when we talk about a community hero we're not necessarily talking about oh we aren't excluding them someone who's done a heroic act in the traditional sense they're everyday heroes uh and we want to reward five of those community heroes from across the region with one thousand euro each and it's just to say thanks it's a recognition and we're able to do this thanks to a um anonymous donation to the station so we want to honor five community heroes each with a thousand euro each now if you uh believe that someone in your life deserves a nomination please don't just think about it put it in an email send uh their name address the reason why you believe they are a community hero and your contact details to hero at highlandradio.com you don't have to write an essay you don't have to write a long story you can do but you just give us the headlines and we can work from there if you don't use email and it's simple hero at highlandradio.com you can post your nominations to Highland Radio Mountain Topletter Kenny County Donegal now the closing day for entrance is just over a week away the 18th of March and hopefully we'll be able to contact the winners um and honor the winners it's not a competition it's to honor those that are nominated uh before the end of March visit highlandradio.com for more we're back tomorrow with the Friday panel that's entertainment and so much more besides so please tune in from nine thanks to all of you who listened to the show those of you who watched the program across our various social medias it's been great having you on board looking forward all