 Lots of stuff, too numerous to mention. But listen in. Yes, best artists for your breakfast show. Yeah. Well, thanks, Lee. Thanks, Greg. See you tomorrow morning. For Thursday's Naughty Alarm Clock, which I'll listen to as well. It's nine o'clock time for a news update. Good morning, Michaela Clark. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. A former agriculture minister says he believes the coalition can reach agreement on agriculture emission costs by September. Barry Coyne thinks the deal can be broken before the dull returns after its summer break. Talks broke down last night with out agreement with negotiations expected to resume this morning. Environment Minister and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan is pushing for the maximum cut of 30% while backbenchers from Finafall and Finnegeal want to target closer to 22%. Barry Coyne says a break-through can be found. I have every confidence that we can, but it has to be, as I said, an informed one. It has to be inclusive of the three parties and their members. And I am committed to a resolution here. I am conscious of the obligations that have been placed upon the farming community. At least 700 people in Danygol have been continuously on Jobseekers Alliance for 10 years or more. According to the Department of Social Protection, over 15,000 people nationally have been on it for at least a decade and over 30,000 for at least five years. Danygol has one of the highest figures in the country, along with Dublin, Cork and Galway. Rida O'Brien from the Irish National Organization of the Unemployed says some people face discrimination as they try to find work. It can depend on the community people are from. There are exclusions in our labour market. Very particular communities find it very difficult to find work. The travel community in particular can also be where people live. The community they're from post-codism is a term some people use. Smart technology is being used to monitor sustainable tourism and islands in the Northwest and West. The study will measure the effect of tourism and islands such as economic value, environmental impact, waste and water management, energy usage, access and transport, carbon footprint on the social and cultural impact. Donna-Marie Doherty reports. The Atlantic Technological University are collaborating with the total of six islands across the Northwest and West, including Aaron Moore and Tory Island in Danygol. The data collection began this week using smart technologies and will continue until the end of the tourism season. The ATU will host the data of the research on an open-source online database that is currently being developed to facilitate the dissemination of the data output. With the support of Feltia Ireland, Uruis-Nagil-Tukta and the various county councils, the ATU intends to conduct this research on an annual basis and extend the data collection to more islands off the Irish coast from 2023. Whether or not today we'll bring a few bright or sunny intervals at times, the cloud will gradually increase bringing isolated light showers, highest temperatures of 15 to 17 degrees. That's all from Highland Radio News for now. We'll be back with an update again at 10 o'clock. Until then, good morning. Attention all staff, clean up on aisle 4 please. That's a clean up on aisle 4. And Jacob who's popped in for a pint of milk has diabetes. We don't always know who's at risk from COVID-19 and other viruses, but we do know how to protect them. Keep hands clean and wear a mask. Let fresh air in. Get vaccinated and stay at home if you are unwell. From the HSC, for us all. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest, the 9th and Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Highland Radio. Good morning to you, four minutes past nine on this Wednesday, halfway through the working week for many, the 27th of July, 2022. How are you keeping? I hope you're well. A bright enough morning this morning, hopefully it staves off and we're heading towards a drier spell of weather, maybe slightly warmer, decent weekend, we'll keep our fingers crossed if that's what you're looking for. The lines are open for you right now. Emma and Donna Marie taking your calls this morning on 08 660 25,000, that's for WhatsApps and texts. Of course, if you wish, you can send your voice messages into that WhatsApp number if that's easier for you. 08 660 25,000. The lines are open for your telephone calls as well if you prefer to contact us that way, 07 491 25,000. If social media is your thing and if you wanna watch the show instead of just listening to it, get on to our Facebook page and get on to our website first and foremost, HighlandRadio.com, you'll see the link, watch live, it's in the browser there, you can watch in your browser, or go to YouTube, Highland Radio Island, or on our Facebook pages, and particularly on YouTube, if you do enjoy the program, if you do watch us there, if you give the page a like and a subscribe, it's very useful and very much appreciated. And emails to comments at HighlandRadio.com, let's look at the Innish Times front page this morning. Donegal County Council's facing substantial repairs to infrastructure in East Indochon following heavy rainfall and flooding in the Green Castle, Moville and Red Castle areas at the weekend. Heavy rainfall on Saturday night caused a number of localized flooding incidents, including the collapse of the parapet of a Red Castle bridge. The Donegal Post, Kili Bags is cruising. The number of cruise ships visiting Kili Bags this year is at record levels and the outlook for the year ahead, it looks very positive. More than 12,000 passengers and crew have arrived on 13 ships so far this year and another eight are scheduled before the end of the season. I wonder how many disembark the ship into Kili Bags in the surrounding areas. I know little, not little, but I know from time to time, if not all the time, tourism, what have you organized for them? But I wonder what percentage choose to disembark versus choose to stay on. The largest ship this year was the Pianos Arcadia, which called last Friday with over 1,600 passengers, mostly from the UK at 289 meters in length. It is almost exactly twice the length of Croke Park, its pitch, which is quite long, as we know. All right, that's a long ship. The Irish Independent this morning, a final deal to halve our carbon emissions by the end of the decade looks set to be delayed until September after the coalition leaders failed to resolve the impasse last night and used to say it won't be deferred a little bit further until it's under the stewardship of Leo Veradkar. Well, ministers continue to squabble over the finer details of the agricultural emissions targets with political business now winding down for the summer break. Environmental groups and the Green Party's own chair last night criticized Fina Fall and Fina Gales' inability to agree to higher reductions over fears about its impact on Ireland's agri-food industry, but Environment Minister Eamon Rhine and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConnell remain deadlocked. And if we're not producing this film and this food and this question has been put out there, we export an awful lot of our food to feed a lot of people. Where is it going to be manufactured? It feels a little bit like the banning of peat where we stop the banning of peat here and then we end up importing peat and it doesn't make any sense. These beef deals that they're looking at, we try and discourage farmers from raring cattle here, yet we sign deals potentially to import cattle from Brazil. If farmers are cutting down here, let's say they do and they cut down here, are emissions going to go up elsewhere and in the livelihood industry and culture lost here? Or if we stop producing food, do people elsewhere eat less? No, they don't. So I'd be very interested to find out if we reduce our outputs, who's increasing their outputs? Because there's an awful lot of very, very hungry people on this earth. So there's not an abundance or an oversupply of food, we know that. So if we aren't producing the food, if we aren't producing the milk and our emissions go down, are they going to go up elsewhere? In other words, is the only thing that's going to change is that you're moving the deck chairs around the Titanic and it's Irish producers, Irish farmers, small farmers as well, the majority are, 70 odd cows and the Rafferty Farm I think. You know, they're going to be put out of business or discouraged out of business, which is the same thing really. But where does this food get produced? Because we export so much of the food, we export more than we consume obviously. If we don't make it, who has gone to make it? And what does that mean? If this is a global situation, I would like to know that information before I decide which side I might support in this. Well, today's the last scheduled meeting before ministers, this is of the cabinet, before ministers are due to break for the summer, meaning the climate deal talks are now likely to spiral towards the budget in September. So it's, again, maybe I just woke up particularly cynical this morning, but we're told, and I don't doubt it for one moment, that climate change and the threat to the environment and the planners and our targets are, it's the biggest show in town at the moment, behind housing and what have you. But it's not so big that they can just say, right, look, it's Wednesday, lads, we can't come up with a decision here. Let's start after September, it'll be all right till then, whilst at the same time we are enduring their decisions on a daily basis as having a terrible impact on many people's lives. So is it that important? It can't be that important if they're clearing off, probably jetting off, ironically, probably jetting off many of them on holidays and we know the impact that can have on the environment. It's all hard to unravel really, an awful lot of it doesn't make sense, maybe it never will. 08, 660, 25,000, if you can help me understand. Right, where else? Overhaul of rape laws to focus on issue of consent. This is the story in the front of the Irish Times. A person accused of rape will have to show they had an objectively reasonable belief that they had the consent of the victim to have a defence in law under new plans due to be approved by cabinet today. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee will bring a memo to cabinet this morning seeking to overhaul laws and consent knowledge and belief in rape cases. Under the plans, the new legislation will change the current situation where a person is not guilty of rape if they honestly believed they had the consent of the victim. The accused defence that they believed the woman was consenting, or man, I presume, will instead have to be objectively reasonable. Effectively, this will mean that juries will take into account the steps the accused took to check whether the woman was consenting. There will also be a new provision in the legislation that self-induced intoxication will not be a defence to a charge of rape, in other words, and about time, too. Someone can't claim that they were, they were drunk and they knew what they were doing, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's gone to be done away with. Have you a view on that? 08, 6, 60, 25,000. Let's go to the Irish Daily Mail this morning. The Northern Ireland Protocol has created a feast or famine economy in the region with some businesses struggling while others thrive. A UK parliamentary report has found House of Lords Committee examined the post-Precsit Irish C trading arrangement and it found that companies involved in trade with the rest of the UK were being hampered by added red tape, whereas those more reliant on doing business with Ireland and the wider EU were benefiting. The committee stressed an urgent need to resolve the issues created by the protocol and called on the EU and the UK to re-engage in negotiations. The committee's report comes amid a breakdown in relations between London and Brussels over the UK government's controversial plan to pass legislation at Westminster that would empower ministers to unilaterally rip up the bulk of the protocol. Also, it's the UK that voted for Brexit. It is the UK that negotiated the Northern Ireland Protocol. It is Boris Johnson and his government that put it to the people that there was no one ready deal. All the responsibility, the majority of the responsibility, rests with the British government, I would suggest. The Irish Daily Star today, it's a positive story. Charlie Byrd has described donating more than 3.3 million to charities following his crope Patrick Klein as one of the most remarkable days in his life. The former RTE chief news correspondent who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year was joined by friends and family at the event in Dublin's Marion Park yesterday. Mr Byrd thanked people across the country for their unwavering support as he presented two checks, each worth 1.6 million plus change to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and the mental health charity, Pietta. And well done to many, many of you out there who supported those charities as well. Your name is effectively also on that check. The Finn Valley Voice this morning, a Finn Valley based knitwear designer and tutor is the first craft person from Donegal to be elected to the board of the design of Craft Council Ireland. So you can read more from Sleem McGinn on the front of an inside the Finn Valley Voice today. We were talking yesterday about how many more nurses we need in this country to deal with our, as we all grow old, we all will need more care. Hopefully more of us will grow older and we hope that we've contributed enough throughout our lives that we don't have to beg for the state to provide care and cover for us. And I mentioned in passing the problem is, is where are these nurses going to come from because already many nurses and midwives either potential ones are choosing different paths in life, all those that are trained end up traveling abroad to work. And it's only going to get worse because nurses and midwives are now leaving the healthcare system in droves as the cost of living crisis hits hard. That's according to the Irish nurses and midwives organization who say that many of the members are driving costly distances to work because they cannot afford a home to rental by near their place of work. Yesterday an ESRI report into public workforce requirements in public acute hospitals recommended that we needed nearly 9,000 nurses and midwives in the next 13 years. And now the INMO is calling on the government to take recruitment and retention measures seriously by providing more attractive remuneration for the nurses and midwives. And of course, I would imagine better work in an environment because the more leave, the more pressure is on those that remain. And I've heard it suggested in the past that why don't people open a pub where you don't serve alcohol and people can go out and socialize but they don't have to endure people, sometimes myself, who've had one or two. But anyway, someone tried it, it hasn't worked. Hipster booze free bar is applied for an alcohol license because non-drinkers are shunning it. Boss David Tonks opens sober five months ago after becoming frustrated by the lack of enjoyable non-alcoholic tipples. But he's losing money as tea totalers do not go out and socialize like keen drinkers who steer clear of the hangover free lagers, IPA beers, ciders, cocktails and wines in pool. Dave, who's 52, said having now a call free bar just excluded the vast majority of people. My research showed there was a market but people aren't using it. I was wrong and hold my hands up. Those who don't drink don't necessarily want to go out and socialize in the same way. But listen here, controversial. Maybe that those that don't drink want to go out and socialize with those that do. Why would a group of people want to isolate themselves? Would you go into a pub specifically that excluded non-drinkers? Well, he's learned the hard way. Hopefully he hasn't lost too much money and I hope he recoups it back. But why would non-drinkers per se want to socialize exclusively with other non-drinkers? It doesn't make sense anyway. Radio, those are some of the stories that making the papers today. If you want to raise your own issues with us, tell us your own story. 0749125,000 is the number to call or text to WhatsApp 086625,000. The Newspapers, our courtesy of Kelly Centra. Mountaintop, Letterkenny. The Ninetal 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 today. Dance the night away this Saturday night to Patrick Finney and his band in the Abbey Hotel, Donegal Town. That's this Saturday, the 30th of July. Doors open 9 p.m. DJ Stephen Doherty kicks off the night, followed by Patrick Finney and his band at 10.30. Admission only 15 euros in the Abbey Hotel, Donegal Town. Trees, grass, allergies. You won't take me down. Don't let pollen ruin your plans. Say yes to life outdoors with fast-acting, long-lasting, 24-hour relief. Tell Fast Allergy, now available over-the-counter from your local pharmacy. Tell Fast Allergy tablets contain spexofenidine hydrochloride. Always read the label. Distributed in Ireland by Clomel Healthcare. Sabrina Robb here from Donegal Hearing Clinic. If you're struggling to hear everyday conversations or find it difficult to understand people in a crowded room, you may have hearing loss. Problems like these are common and we're used to helping people resolve them. We offer hearing assessments and we'll discuss your options. You can call us on 074 91 88 470 or visit donegalhearingclinic.ie. Life sounds brilliant with Donegal Hearing Clinic, letter Kenny and Bunkrana. It's where you live. It's where you relax. It's where you make memories. Treat your home to a visit to Cooney's Home Interiors. We have everything in store to help recreate your home. Choose for an extensive range of suites, tables, beds, mattresses and home furnishings for every room. Cooney's Home Interiors, letter Kenny. Style and perfection at incredible value. The seventh annual Letter Kenny Buzking Festival is on this Saturday the 30th with musicians and singers performing all along the Main Street. Entertainment Start said too and with Buzkers performing from three to five, it's a great afternoon of street entertainment. The Letter Kenny Buzking Festival this Saturday, July the 30th. See Letter Kenny Buzking Festival on Facebook for details. All right, now an addiction counsellor says the government should be actively seeking out problem gamblers and offering them help. It comes as a national lottery annual report shows over a billion euro worth of tickets was sold in 2021. It's the first time the figure has exceeded one billion. The addiction counsellor, I'm talking of, is also a former Gaelic footballer by the name of Oshin McCunville. A name everyone is familiar with. Good morning Oshin, thanks for joining us. Morning Greg. I've mentioned the lotto regularly on this program as being a former gambling. People don't really bite on it, if you know what I mean. But I'm not fantastic at maths, but I think it's around about for every man, woman, child, baby, 100 year old, every single one of us on this island in the 26 counties, equivalent gambled 200 euro per head on the lotto last year. I think it's around about that. I mean, it's an incredible, incredible amount of money and yet it's celebrated. I heard interviews on Monon Island and it was like, yes, fantastic business is booming and it all goes back into the community. Yeah, I suppose, you know, like, whereas, you know, the first thing to say is like we would all recognize that there's a lot of people who have been helped by the National Library and the spin-off and, you know, the 90% of the money that goes back into the community. I think it's important to acknowledge that first and foremost, but also I think it's important to acknowledge the fact that there are a lot of people in this country, in society, we have a major societal issue with compulsive gambling, with problem gambling. And I think a lot of that emanates from stuff that we would have seen as normally gambling like the horses and the dogs, honestly. So I think you're right. I think the first problem is that it's not recognized really as an issue. You're talking about 200 Euro per capita spend. You know, the thing about that is that there's so many people who are not playing the National Library. So that, you know, that narrows that and obviously extends the amount of what the spend is. And I think, you know, people now are more aware of their spend around that. And I also think that, you know, a lot of the cases that I am seeing now are not coming from the traditional sporting mechanisms as far as gambling is concerned because we have so much access. Now, we have so much access as far as how we gamble, the things we gamble on, but also as I say, you know, you know, the demographic has changed in that the people who are finding themselves in problem, I mean, the biggest influx in the gamblers norm is the women between the ages of 25 and 45, which probably tells you a lot about where we are as far as gambling. Regularism and legislation is concerned. Yeah, I mean, you almost give up on, you know, online betting because it's so intertwined with sport now in between the biggest games at the start of them, not necessarily even that the ads are easily distinguishable from the coverage because it's sponsored, you know, the companies are sponsored, the coverage is sponsored, the programs where people sit down and analyze the sport is sponsored by bookmakers. You know, it's so intertwined, it's just a blur of, in other words, you can see how the likes of the taglines, you know, it matters more when there's money on it. You know what I mean? You can see why so many young people, whether they're male or female, they just feel, well, that's what everyone does. If you're watching sport, you gamble on it. Yeah, and I think as far as advertising, that's a good point as well. I think we're at the saturation point when it comes to advertising. I mean, you know, like, and again, the biggest problem with advertising is the zero regulation around us. You know, and the fact that, you know, a lot of this stuff is happening before any sort of watershed. I mean, like, you know, like it would be, it would be wrong of me probably to say that this is targeted towards young people, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that this is very attractive, you know, as you said, the taglines, the people who are advertising gambling, I mean, a lot of these people are our supporting heroes. And I think, you know, that in there lays the problem. Again, it comes back to, you know, why are we not regulating this in the proper way, the way we have regulated other industries? And again, why have we not changed legislation from the fifties? I mean, if you think about how gambling has changed, you know, as far as its popularity, but also as far as I already said, the way we gamble and consider that we are still using the same legislation as the fifties, but it just begs to be honest. Yeah, and it's been normalized. And I'm not saying it's abnormal to gamble, but, you know, going back in the day, you would slip in and out of a bookies, you know, and the windows are obscured and all that type of stuff. And, you know, now it's just, you know, you sit in the bar and they can, they'll take your bed. And I just have a concern that there's too much political interest and too much media reliance on the money coming from gambling, that the compliances has been bought to some extent, as I say, with politics and politicians, but I think particularly with the media. It reminds me of when they tried to ban smoking advertising in sport. You know, the media relied and the sports companies relied so much on it, it took an awful lot of time to change people's attitudes in that regard. And I just wonder if we're in that space now with gambling. Yeah, I think there's a fear there. You know, if you look at, you know, what is the 96 clubs in the English League, it's sort of the Premier League and the other leagues. And like I think 80 of those teams are linked with one gambling company or the other. And I think there is, there's a fear there that if that link is broken and as well, you know, with TV companies, with the media in general, you know, where is the money going to come from? You know, where is the advertising going to come from? And what I point is the formula one and how it was inexplicably linked with the tobacco industry. And a lot of people said the formula one will not survive. Not only has it survived, but it's prospered. And I think that is the thing. There's a fear there if we take the gambling companies out of sport, where is the support for clubs and different things going to come from. But, you know, we have survived worse than that. And I think even, you know, if we get to the stage where, as I say, not to keep popping on, but even if we get to the stage where we're able to regulate it in some way or educate people around what is happening, what are the pitfalls, what's the warning signs, what are the possibilities? Should you find yourself in trouble? Where is the help? You know, little simple things they got. And I think, you know, the National Gallery, you know, I think they have recognized there is an issue and they are willing to do something about it, I think that's a positive thing. Just the only thing in relation to that, Arshin, you know much more about this than I do and I don't want to contradict you, but I can't remember the gentleman's name, but I was listening to an interview he gave and it was a soft enough question about gambling. And he said, you know, we do more than anyone does, you know, you can't use the app after a certain time at night and this type of stuff, you know, but the bottom line is, you know, and I know there are people going in and they're not betting on horses, but they're going in and buying scratch cards in the service station or they're doing the lot but I think scratch cards is a particular sort of spontaneous thing because it's right there at the desk, you know, they could be doing an awful lot more. They could maybe not have scratch cards where they are. They could stop with the push notifications every five minutes as well. Do you know, I don't buy the fact that the lotto are doing half enough really than they possibly could be doing, Arshin, with respect. No, I would agree with you. I think, you know, they are in a very early stage of tackling this and having a look at this and I think, you know, there's a little bit done but there's so much more to do and I think, again, that comes back to, you know, you talked about, you know, political influence and the political hunger, you know, to do something about it. I mean, we have a gambling bill that has been there from 2013. The gaming industry themselves have said, you know, we're happy with this, you know, you know, all of the parties are in line and yes, there is no political will to introduce that and that really tells you everything you need to know about how the link is and the link is there between, we talked about the link between sport, you know, and gambling but there's also a political link between gambling and what is going on as far as, as I say, legislation is concerned. Yeah, and this is not about ruining people's phone or stop people having a bet or whatever because many, many people can do it and enjoy it and step away and what have you. This is about not doing anything to help people who becomes a problem for and particularly what we seem to be actively doing because I, and I've said it before and I'm sorry to regular listeners to hear this but from a very early age in terms of playing FIFA online or any of those sports, you know, your open boxes, you buy, you buy player cards and you don't know what the players are until you open them and there's that sort of reveal and on social media you pull down and it refreshes and it's like a slot machine, it has that, you know, so young people, we're not giving them a hand here because they're being conditioned plus being bombarded with the ads, they're being conditioned to sort of dry gambling, think it's okay and then what happens is is that percentage of people, it becomes a real problem and can ruin their lives really early on, Ashin. Yeah, and I think, you know, that's exactly the thing. I think, you know, when I started talking when people asked me to start to go in the schools and talk to kids, they were looking me to go in to talk to, you know, leave and start age. Now, you know, it's 12 and 13 year olds because, you know, as you say, they're being conditioned through different means, they might not necessarily see it again as gambling but it's, I suppose it's the gateway, you know, to gambling and I think, you know, you fit the nail in the head and that, you know, a lot of kids have absolutely no chance because by the time they get to 15 or 16, they're already conditioned and by the time they're, you know, 17, like for example, when I was 18 years old, I was already in addiction, you know what I mean? So I had, I was making no informed decisions, you know, at 14, 15, 16, 17 years old, I wasn't making any informed decisions and I used to say the exact same thing with, you know, what you're after talking about, you know, it's conditioning, it's a gateway into an industry and I think, again, it's a major societal issue that is not being tackled in the proper manner. Can you talk to us, Arshine, about, you know, not that there's no typical scenario but when someone comes to you, how are they feeling? How has gambling affected their lives and how is gambling affecting those around them and how often, for how long do people maybe, you know, get rid of everything they have before they realize I need to get help? Is there a sort of a typical type of story and I know an awful lot of people and I think particularly mums and dads and granddads might relate to this because we get contacted by them. I know you do too, whether it's a young person and they're at the wit's end. So, but for those that don't understand what we're trying to talk about and avoid here, what is an average case that comes to you and how is their life? Okay, so I'll give you a typical case around alcohol and drugs. So around alcohol and drugs, there is an opportunity at different stages to create an intervention within a family or friends or work circle or whatever it is and that's because there's telltale things. With gambling, it is of all the addictions it's the most hidden, okay? It's got the highest rate of suicide and the reason why it's the most hidden is because of the ways we gamble now. So somebody who gambles say online, I mean, it feels virtual. Like the money's real, it's from an audio account, but it feels very virtual. I think the biggest thing about the way people gamble now is that it's something that people have often said to me, it sort of sneaks up on them, that they realize they have a problem. But the biggest thing about gambling is that people only ask for help at crisis point. When I say people, I mean, 99% of people only come, only end up at my door when they're a crisis point. And when they're a crisis point, the money is gone, the job is gone, family is gone, the kids have gone. And all of a sudden, you know, there's somebody who has worked for 20 years or whatever it is, they are in a, like we're talking about people right across the demographics of people who are unemployed, right to high level executives who find themselves with absolutely nothing. And I think, you know, that is the key. Are they also being inclined to exhaust all lines of credit before they get to that point as well? Yeah, so if there's credit cards, overdrafts, that'll probably be used up and then that's when the crisis is. Huge levels of debt. Again, all relatives to where that person is, you know, what their job is, you know, what their situation is. And I think, you know, that's another thing. Another thing is that not only are they a crisis point, but they're in huge amount of debt. A lot of people only see one way out of that problem. And that is unfortunately to take their own lives because they don't want to admit it. This, you know, when I was coming towards the end of my gamma, the amount of shame and guilt and embarrassment that I had, that I was gonna have to hold my hand up and ask for help, because I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to show that weakness to any other human being, but I realized that that was my only way out of the issue. So I think the biggest problem with gambling is that it's a crisis point when people go and ask for help. And by that stage for a lot of people, as far as relationships and that, and forget about material things and money, you know, as far as relationships and kids and, you know, the house and all that sort of thing, you know, that can be already gone, but it takes people are looking for help. And a lot of time, a lot of time, families have no clue what has been going on, which is an incredible shock to bring to somebody's door. Yeah, because it can accelerate quite quickly and maybe lies can be told and excuses being given and now that job, they're supposed to pay me, but they haven't paid me and it's two months ago and that money could have been fitted away or whatever it might have been already. Then as people... So in terms of the positivity, then, Oshin, when people hit that rock bottom and we wish they didn't have to go as low as that, how well do people respond to counselling and, you know, managing the addiction and being shown a path to sort of a brighter future? The positive thing is that there are a huge amount of people who go into recovery and are getting well, but it is getting harder and I think, again, it goes back to, you know, the way we gamble and I suppose, like for me, if I wanted to go back gamble when I think about the way I gamble, I'll probably have to go to a bank machine and I'll have to take some money out. I'll have to, you know, get to a bookies, I'll have to walk in there, I'll have to write the document. So there's a lot of situations that are along the way where we'll actually, whoa, hold on, you know, that's not a good... Whereas somebody who is used to maybe gambling online using an app takes them what, 20 seconds to download an app and then two taps and all of a sudden they're where. So recovery-wise, it is that little bit tougher... There's triggers everywhere, isn't there? Because, you know, those emails might still land in your inbox, those push notifications and you can't switch the TV on. I was away, Greg, I was away from gambling for... I'm away from gambling almost... I'm in recovery for almost 16 years now and after 12 years I got an email asking me if I'd like a free bet. Now, I had, you know, self-excluded myself from all of that, but 12 years later, you know, I got an email. I've never actually mentioned the gambling company because I actually don't even think that is that important, but I think the fact that that is going on and that that has happened and if that has happened to me, how many other people have been in taste back into gambling by, you know, that free bet? So, I mean... And as well as that too, you know, gambling companies are not making the billions that they're making on us betting one euro each way at the Grand National. It is those that are prepared to lose and double up and all the other sort of techniques that have made the casinos as successful as they are. I mean, the bottom line is is they aren't successful unless they're engaging, enticing and holding on to people with a gambling problem because if you're good at winning, if you're good at winning, they'll exclude you quicker than they will if you want to be forgotten by them. Yeah, and I think you made a good point. You made a good point that there are people out there who can gamble in a very social manner, in a very responsible manner. And I think that it's important to say that this is not about them. This is about the people who gamble and gamble compulsively. Like at many stages during my gamble, I won infinite amounts of money that would have possibly set me up for life or whatever it was. But it was compulsive, so I had to go again. And I think, you know, we have a study done in America reckons that for every year, people that begin gambling, one will gamble compulsively or problem gambling. So let's say we talked that figure 15 years ago in this country. Well, it's probably quite a small figure when you consider how many people were gambling, how many people were walking into bookmakers. Now it's different, you know, there are so many more people gambling on gambling on different things. We have introduced, as I said, we've introduced a whole new demographic into that. You know, what is seen as gambling, it's the bingos, it's the, you know, it's the lottery, it's the sports, yeah, but it's also the scratch cards and all those things. So now, one in eight in this country is a huge figure. So therefore, yeah, so therefore, like, you know, and a small, it's only a small percentage of those people who ever go and ask for help. So, I mean, there's a lot of people out there who are really, really struggling and are at the mercy of gambling companies. You know, and the gambling companies have no sympathy for the market and I won't hold you much longer, but you know, they might do the tagline, you know, when it's the fun stops, stops and all that crap. But if you happen to put a tenner on and you happen to win a 10 to one and it's 100 quid and you go, right, I'm gonna withdraw that. It takes two or three days and the withdraw doesn't even really begin because you can reverse that withdrawal almost immediately, you know. How many people get an app, bet 10 euro, win 100, take the money out and close it. They know what's going on. They make it hard for you to remove your money, a lot of them. They make it instantaneous for you to lodge it and they know you don't walk away. You go back because what is the psychology of gambling actually? And you talked about having moments in time where you had enough money. You never needed to gamble again because you had that one big win. Why didn't you cash out and walk away? And I don't think that's unique to your personality. I think it's the same for even the casual gambler. They're not making money from the bookies. They're not. You know, no one makes money because if you win the 100 quid, drip, drip, drip, they get it back and they know their odds are in their favor. Yeah, big time. And I think, you know, that's again, going deep into the psychology over there because, you know, the human nature will tell you that, you know, if something comes easy, you think that is gonna be the way that it's gonna be and it's gonna happen. But also, I mean, you know, that's the issue you have around an industry regulating itself. And an industry that is as damaging as a bookmaker in industry regulating itself does not make any sense whatsoever in any world that you live in. Arshene, thanks so much for joining us this morning. And it's been lovely speaking to you and it's been very interesting indeed as well and informative and I really appreciate your time. Thanks Greg. Take care of yourself. Arshene McConville there, former GEA star and addiction counselor. 086625,000, did what Arshene say resonate with you? Be it you as an individual or you as the family of someone because we know it's partners and children and moms and dads particularly are the group that often contact us saying, look at my son or my daughter. This is happening, that's happening. I don't know what to do. I can't help them. I don't know where to turn. And I know Arshene, by the way has taken private calls off the back of contacts like that as well. It's not just when he does interviews like that there I know for a fact that he has had conversations with people to try and help them make decisions and turn them around off the back of representations made by family members and stuff. That's the type of the person that he is. If you have any comments on that 086625,000 or call us an 07491 25,000. The Ninetal Noon Show with Letter Kenny Credit Union now offering myCU current account and debit MasterCard bringing full banking features delivered with the same local trustworthy service of your credit union. Don't sleep in and miss the very latest beds and mattress offers from dfimbeds.ie Ireland's leading online bed and mattress retailer. You'll get a comfy Irish made mattress, upholstered base and headboard from an amazing 229 Euro. Check out the full range at dfimbeds.ie delivery free and guaranteed to you within seven working days. DFI beds, sleep well, live well. Give your vegetables the best start possible with Veggie Mix from Gortley Sales & Hire. Veggie Mix is weed free for three years and is perfect in a raised bed, polytunnel or to improve your soil. Veggie Mix at Gortley Sales & Hire, Letter Kenny. For big name menswear at great prices visit Watson menswear in Letter Kenny, top casual brands including Mishmash, Sixth Sense, Tommy Bowe and Penguin. If you're going to a wedding or a big event, formal wear names include Rimasimo, Andre and White Label. Also a great selection of children's casual and formal wear in stock. Watson menswear, open seven days a week on Main Street Letter Kenny and online at Watsonmenswear.com. Colin Funfair will be in Bunkrana from Friday July 29th to Sunday 7th of August. Open weekly at six to late and weekends from 2.30 to late. Come along and enjoy some family fun with Ireland's largest touring Funfair. Remember to hold on tight and scream if you want to go faster. Colin's Funfair at the Shorefront Bunkrana from July 29th. The Bank of Ireland in Letter Kenny currently have vacancies for welcome advisors. Working as part of a collaborative and dynamic team successful applicants will have the opportunity to work closely with personal and business customers and build a career with the bank. Submit your CV to Yvonne Boll in Bank of Ireland, Letter Kenny or email yvonne.boll at boi.com. I've great news for everyone who's looking for a good night's sleep. Restex Beds are looking forward to welcoming you to their brand new showroom at Mountaintop Letter Kenny. It's one of the biggest and best bed and mattress showrooms in the Northwest and has fantastic open and offers now in store. Restex is the most trusted name in beds and mattresses in the Northwest. Why don't you call in and get the bed of your dreams at Restex Beds, Mountaintop Letter Kenny. A public interest message from Dunnegall County Council. Become a museum detective at Dunnegall County Museum. Search for clues and discover more about the history of Dunnegall with the museum detective's backpack. The backpack is free to borrow when you visit the museum and contains a series of activities for children of all ages to do during their visit. There are artifacts to find, stories to create and puzzles to solve. Dunnegall County Museum is located on the High Road in Letter Kenny and admission is free. Telephone 074-9124613. Email museum at dunnegallcoco.ie or find us on Facebook. Dunnegall County Council supporting our communities and protecting our heritage. At Cherrymore Kitchens and Bedrooms, we are now operating out of one new state-of-the-art showroom in Dunnegall Town. And we invite you to visit our new 5,000 square foot Dunnegall Town showroom to discover the latest eye-catching designs. Remember, at Cherrymore, you're dealing directly with a manufacturer, which means high quality kitchens at factory prices. Start planning your dream kitchen or bedroom by calling Cherrymore on 074-9725-822. Cherrymore, 25 years delivering value, quality and service all over Ireland. Now we're joined on the program by Stephen Moffatt of Bernardo. Stephen, thanks for taking the call this morning. Good morning to you. Good morning, thanks so much for having me up. No, it's an important one too. A new survey has been carried out amongst 1,100 parents and they've had their say on back-to-school costs and it's telling us what we all know and what we're all living. And it's important these reports are done, by the way, but most of us are worried about meeting back-to-school costs. It's the perfect storm really, isn't it? You know, things are getting more difficult for us. We're all very worried about how we're even gonna heat our homes heading into the winter. Christmas is on a lot of people's minds as well. And before all of that, we have to face into really some quite big costs to get our children back to school. And very sadly, and I'm just gonna say that it is, a lot of schools are complicit in this, it's far more expensive than it needs to be. Yeah, absolutely. We've always heard the rhetoric saying that it's free education system within Ireland, but clearly, you know, these survey results and other surveys come before it have shown that it's not a free education system. Every year, parents are working at hundreds, it's not thousands of euros to get children into school. And for some families, you know, that's a huge blow every year. And particularly this year, and what parents are telling us this year is that they're having to cut out another essentials to meet some of those costs. You know, no parent wants to send a child back to school without a new uniform or without new books. And so parents are making sacrifices within the home on essentials to make sure the parents that children do have those new uniforms, new books. We just don't think that's right. We think the steps the government can do to stop that. I think the steps the government are obliged to do and morally obligated to do. All's first thing, this voluntary contribution is not voluntary. It's nonsense. You know, we feel we have to pay because you keep getting the emails and you keep getting the texts. So it's not voluntary. It's obligatory. I know some people see this voluntary. I think it depends on people's personalities, whether or not they feel they can stand up to the school on it, whether they'll be looked at a certain way, dropping the children off to the boss of the school or whatever it might be. That needs to be done away with school. Firstly, we need to know what it's spent on. I'd like to know exactly what it's spent on. I want to know how much of the school budget it makes up. Is this a surplus at the end of the year? I want to know that from my school and every other school as well. And when we have that information as well, then the government need to properly fund these schools so they're not asking parents and guardians who don't have the money for this money. Yeah, absolutely. And that's something that, you know, ourselves and other organizations have called for and said, you know, nationally, we need to try and have a look at how much voluntary contributions is raised every year to see what the gap is between funding from the Department of Education to schools. Unfortunately, the government haven't committed to doing that and it's made them, other organizations, try and go ahead and produce that figure themselves. We need to see what the gap is, you know? We need to see how much of it is going on heating on other essential costs. So the government then needs to, you know, fix that gap. It shouldn't be left for families, you know, families who are town nuts, they're going out with their essentials that are feeling humiliated having to borrow from friends and families to pay for costs for these voluntary contributions. Because as you said, a lot of families, you know, don't feel like they're voluntary. They feel compelled, they feel that stigma that would be associated with not paying for them, particularly in close communities, smaller communities in which they might know families and parents might know the local teachers, might know the school secretaries who's sending out their emails. So yeah, absolutely, voluntary contributions should not be asked for parents who are struggling. Or levies, some of them phrase it as levies. What's a levy? You know, I mean, that's, if the word contribution or voluntary is not even in the message or text, a levy is something you feel you're obliged to, so I think they need to look at the language as well. Secondly, if I'm correct, Department of Education asked schools to make a generic or cheaper school uniforms available. Schools and the schools in my area here as well need to explain why or what is the motivation for insisting or making it such that parents have to go to one particular supplier, no competition, play a particular price. Who makes the decision that we're also gonna have crested hoodies, which are not necessarily essential, but try telling a teenager why they're the only one in school without one. And now track suits as well as, you know, so it's not actually just a school uniform, a school jumper we're talking about anymore. It's this whole wardrobe of clothes. Now, tell us what the directive or the suggestion from the Department of Education was in this regard and when that was made, please, Stephen. So in 2017, the department did go out and they sent a circular letter to all schools suggesting that they make sure that there's an affordable uniform option now. They didn't go into a huge amount of details of what that is, but there's no compulsion for schools to adopt that. You know, so school principals and board school, board of management, they might have their own particular opinions on what a uniform should or shouldn't be, and they might want to have a crested uniform and look a certain way. We don't think that's right. We think, look, first and foremost, children have to be put first and families and parents who might be struggling. Make sure that there is an affordable option within all schools. So the government needs to take further measures to make sure that that happens and that schools abide by that. You know, we heard from parents in which, you know, this year they've been asked to purchase branded track suits for PE classes to an extra 100, 150 euro. When in the past, they didn't have any sort of PE uniform whatsoever. You know, don't think that's right, but it's not. If the government aren't going to do this, we need to start getting ourselves onto, like-minded people, need to start getting ourselves onto these school's boards of management and getting them to explain why. Because, you know, you can still have a crest. We can iron on crests or stitch on crests, whatever it might be, but if you allow parents to shop around, mid-liles or wherever they might be to get a generic gray or maroon or whatever jumpery it is, you know, forget the hoodies and branded track suits. I mean, that is just lumping insult, especially in a county like ours, which is the lowest disposable income in the country, Stephen. Yeah, absolutely. But when there's no reason or necessity to do it, we think, look, it's an easy way for government to come in to say that this has to be an affordable option for the benefit of children and for families who might be struggling. It's the reasoning and the justification behind keeping crested, you know, that aren't iron on crested uniforms or branded uniforms. We really don't think defeats or would overplay, you know, the benefits of having affordable uniform options has for all children. No parents should be worrying about, oh, is my child going to, you know, scrape their knee and rip their new uniforms? Where are we going to get the money for that? Oh, we're going to have to go out with some other essentials, which is what their town is, they'd have to do. And no child should be living in a household where their parents are anxious about that sort of thing. Parents should be worried or have any concerns. They should be focused on children's education and how children are being educated, not on whether or not they can afford new uniforms if a child rips them during the year. Yeah, what's the difference between free school books and, you know, book rental schemes? Some of us are lucky enough. I think half of schools provide book rental schemes. I don't know why they all don't. But does that go far enough? Is there a big difference between book rental schemes and free books? So book rental schemes are absolutely a positive thing. It's a really good step forward. It takes some pressure off parents. But we don't think it goes far enough. And we think that children should be provided with free books. And what that actually looks like, you know, there's different ways, mechanisms of doing that. But there was a national pilot. There was a pilot all day a couple of years ago that has run for a couple of years, working with a couple of hundred children or thousand children who would get free school books. You know, it means that children starting in September, they've got all their books paid for. They don't have to worry about it. It's equality across the classroom. All peers are at the same position. They all get to keep those books. They don't have to worry about, is, you know, with the book rental system, they've got to give them back. There is sort of a fee charge for book rental systems. And, you know, just that every child is at an equal footing, provided free school books. Yeah, because obviously it's about how it costs, how much it costs us. But it's also how it makes people feel. Now, whether they are between jobs or, you know, a two working parents household, it's how it makes them feel that we are struggling and off with everything, but to provide for our children and completely unnecessary. The money we're talking about here actually in the wider scale of things is pittance across the education budget or across the budget as a whole. This is a will issue. There's no will, because if the will is there, the will, the way is there. This is a really easy problem for the government to fix if they want to. Yeah, absolutely. And we've seen the government make, you know, welcome strides recently. So for example, the extra 100 euro that they found for the back-to-school allowance, really, really welcome that. That's going to help a couple of 100,000 children and over 100,000 families this year. So that, you know, That's if you meet the qualifying criteria, which many, many struggling people working, struggling people listening to this program can't actually qualify for that when in any normal scenario, clearly they would qualify for it. Yeah, no, there is absolutely some issues with the thresholds, but in terms of that, they found the 20 million to do that. So we would estimate it's about 20 million to provide free school books to all primary schools, the children within the country. So if they found the 20 million to increase the allowance, I'm certain they could find the 20 million to the free school books for primary school at a minimum, at a start. So it is an actual decision, yeah, that's being made, like, can we find the money? Yes, we believe they can find the money. And it's the right thing to do, exactly, as you say. So every child and every family, having that sense of ownership over the books, that they're at an equal footing. We just think it's the right thing to do. And the government has again shown in other ways that they are making progress, say, for around half-school meals or free school meals program, absolutely positive, why can't they do it around free school books? Yeah, Bernardo's campaign heavily on this annually. You know, it's perennial almost. Is there any indication coming from the Department of Education or government that they might say, right, you know what, this is the right thing for us to do. We need to do the right thing here. Well, as I said, I mean, the target measure that they took around by school allowance is really welcome. We think that's an acknowledgement that their preset of families are struggling. Similarly, with the further rollout of the hot school meals program, again, it's welcome indication that steps in the right direction. We believe that the uniform issue doesn't cost the government anything. There just needs to be the will to say, look, it's principals, boards of management. This is what you have to do. And we think that's the right thing for them to do. In terms of free school books, we believe that they have, you know, that there's a good positive indication that they had the pilot, that there's an evaluation of the pilot, My apologies. I interviewed Mary Coughlin about this 16 years ago. And we were going to be doing, and it was like, well, we're going to make sure that they don't change the books every year. So you have to get new books. So I'm with respect, Stephen, I'm going to believe that when I see it because, as I say, 16 or 17 could be even maybe 15, 16 years they've been talking about this. Listen, thanks so much for your time this morning. I really appreciate it. That's great. Take care of yourself. Thanks, Stephen Moffat of Bernardo's there. 08 660 25,000. If you have a view on that, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe schools should continue to certain schools, not all should continue to do things the way they're doing. Maybe book rental scheme shouldn't be extended across all schools. Maybe the thresholds for back to school allowance shouldn't be widened. If you disagree, let us know 08 660 25,000. Back after the news and obituary notices. 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 letterkennycu.ie. Are you looking to make a bigger impact at work? Join the team at Optum in Letter Kenny where we're collecting the brightest people, places and ideas to create better healthcare. As one of our claims or appeals representatives, you'll make a meaningful difference providing first class customer service and support. Come to our virtual hiring event on August the 3rd to take the next steps in a career with Optum. Register today at uhg.hr slash event. That's uhg.hr slash event. The award-winning Genesis Aesthetics and Skin Care Clinic adore now offers a wide range of skin boosters. The injectable moisturizer for under eyes that improves dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles. Also treating the face, neck, chest and hands. This amazing treatment works from the inside out resulting in brighter, smoother plumper skin. For help choosing the right aesthetic treatment for you, contact Mary Ferry, your aesthetic practitioner. You can download the Genesis app or call 0749532575. We can all see how conflict affects energy supply and prices. More than ever, we need to be mindful of how we use energy. By reducing your use, you can save money and lessen the impact. Here's how. Only heat your home to the temperature you need. Use appliances efficiently. And where possible, outside the peak hours of 4-7pm. Consider walking, cycling or public transport for short journeys. Drive at lower speeds where safe to do so. Government advice and supports are available for homes and businesses to help you meet this challenge. Find out more at gov.ie forward slash reduce your use. Brought to you by the Government of Ireland. For great food in the heart of Lettercanny's Cathedral Quarter, step into Dillon's Hotel. Using only the best local produce, Dillon's serve an extensive menu every day from 12. Perfect for a quick bite, a relaxed lunch or a leisurely dinner. Try the renowned four-course Sunday lunch with full table service. Or if you work in town, wind up pre-order and have your lunch waiting. Great food and service. Seven days a week at Dillon's Hotel Lettercanny with live music every Friday and Saturday night. Visit dillons-hotel.ie. On air online and on the Highland Radio app, this is Highland Radio News. Good morning, I'm Akilah Clark with the news at 10 o'clock. The Environment Minister says he's hopeful Cabinet can agree on an emissions reduction target for agriculture today. A decrease of 22 to 30% must be set under the Climate Action Plan. Last night's leaders meeting concluded without getting that figure kneeled down. However, on his way into Cabinet today, Minister Eamon Ryan says he's keen to do that. I hope we can close the difference and agree the approach today. This is very significant for every section of our society and we've got to make sure that change will make it for the better. Good for farmers, good for transport, good for energy, good for employment, good for protecting us against the cost of living. So it's taken a bit of time but I'm hopeful we can get agreement today. The HSC has confirmed that a nurse will return to Torrey Island over the coming week. Concerns were raised over the level of medical care provision on the island yesterday as residents have been without a nurse since Thursday last as they are currently on annual leave. Islanders wear without a nurse at Easter for a week also. The residents of Torrey Island are advised to contact their GP during surgery ired by phone and to contact NIDOC out of ired for any medical concerns. In a statement, the HSC says GPs, NIDOC and the Coast Guard have been notified of this temporary arrangement. New laws on consent will be considered by the government this morning. The proposals put forward by the Justice Minister would mean someone accused of rape would have to show what measures they undertook to ensure consent was given. Self-induced intoxication could not be used as a defense in rape cases. If approved by cabinet ministers, the bill will be published by the end of this year. CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Nolene Blackwell says the current law isn't strong enough. No matter how bizarre a man's belief was in the consent of the other person, if he could persuade the jury that he honestly believed that consent was there, no matter how odd that was, he would be acquitted of any crime whatsoever and would walk out of court and would be free to do the same thing the following day. A big crash, reward and a commission of inquiry are needed to solve Makilla McAreevy's murder. That's according to the former Attorney General of Mauritius, Rama Valadin. 27-year-old Makilla was killed on the holiday island in 2011 and no one has ever been convicted of her murder. Mr. Valadin, who's a leading barrister, is very critical of the police investigation. We have a bunch of government officials who are only playing politics rebukes, but they have never wanted, in fact, to find the truth. They have acted slowly. We have not really given any fun to the police or nominated the right person to do the inquiry. Smart technology is being used to monitor sustainable tourism on islands in the Northwest and West. The study will measure the effect of tourism on islands, such as economic value, environmental impact, waste and water management, energy usage, access and transport, a carbon footprint and the social and cultural impact. Donna-Marie Doherty reports. The Atlantic Technological University are collaborating with a total of six islands across the Northwest and West, including Arranmore and Tory Island in Donegal. The data collection began this week using smart technologies and will continue until the end of the tourism season. The ATU will host the data of the research on an open source online database that is currently being developed to facilitate the dissemination of the data output. With the support of Feltia Ireland, and the various county councils, the ATU intends to conduct this research on an annual basis and extend the data collection to more islands off the Irish coast from 2023. Weather night today will bring a few bright or sunny intervals at times, but cloud will gradually increase bringing isolated light showers to highest temperatures of 15 to 17 degrees. That's all from Highland Radio News for now. We'll be back with an update again at 11 o'clock. Until then, good morning. The obituary notice is for this Wednesday morning, July the 27th. The death has taken place of Anna MacLean, Ducro Clawen. Anna is reposing at her sister Rosie's home in Binmore Clawen. Recreate a mass in the Church of the Holy Family, Eden Infa at 12 noon tomorrow with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Rosary tonight at 9 o'clock, family time from after the rosary. And the death has occurred of Dany Gillespie, Alta Skain Road, St. Johnston. His remains are of housing at his late residence. Funer from there this morning at half past 10, going to St. Bethan's Church, St. Johnston, for 11 o'clock, recreate a mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Family flowers only please, donations in lay of desire to St. Johnston and Carrigan's Family Resource Centre, care of any family member or Kelly's funeral directors. For more details, including any family health guidelines for wigs and funerals, please go to highlandradio.com. Loading at Bally Britt. And they're all best friends, tip and bookies favourite are quick out the gate. Oh no, each way bankers been pulled up and dad's advice takes a fall. As new binoculars comes into focus, it's anyone's race. Down the home straight, it looks like a photo finishes on the cards. Selfie absorb was close, but best friends tip, nips are at the post. For our most comprehensive Galway races coverage, pick up your Galway punter racing supplement, free all this week with the Irish Independent and Independent. All right, you're very welcome back to the 9 till noon show or good morning if you're joining us for the first time, if you're still tuning in at 10. Don't forget you can watch the programme on our website, highlandradio.com and sorry if I sound a wee bit judgy or opinionated on the last two topics, just ones that I'd be reasonably passionate about and I just think there's more we could be doing than we're not doing. But anyway, my views don't really matter. Yours are the important ones. I Greg, my son start in secondary school in September. The school started back up the book rental scheme, which I thought was great because it wasn't running when my other son started three years ago. However, it's still 150 Euro that I had to pay and it was not optional. He must take part in the scheme, which does does not include his extra option subjects. Yeah, but 150 is much it's tough and you shouldn't have to pay that. But it's less than it would be without the scheme. But they go on to say that 150 is only for the books. I still have to buy the workbooks for all the subjects I've been through first year already and I feel I could get the books only for less than 150 but the school says it's not optional, I have to pay it. So, and the question you have to ask, you already talk about having another child that's went through first year, what happened to their books? I'm not saying did you dispose of them but did they not apply anymore if they changed? Morning Greg, I've just received my daughter's book list for fifth year. I have four of the books in the house from her older sister but I can't use them because they are apparently the wrong addition. And that was also part of that interview I talked of before the news that I did well over a decade ago. Why do the book companies change little bits of information inside the book? The book itself basically remains the same but certain little bits of information have changed which means that the book you had from a previous child now is not relevant anymore because it's an old addition even though for the most part they are the same. But this caller goes on to say, I would send her in with them as I can't believe they've changed that much but she obviously doesn't want to be the only one in her class with the wrong book, it's just so maddening and that's it as well. And I think sometimes they know that, that we will do our best and we will sacrifice to make sure they don't go into school embarrassed because we're so hyper about how they're feeling as well now. A caller says, higher plain uniform is all that's needed. A school tie will tell the school of attendance. Black shoes as the runners are far too expensive for some parents, let's educate not dress up indeed. And some schools would insist on black shoes for that reason. It's not all schools by the way. Primary school teacher here, schools are fleecing parents. There's no question about it. My school is significant money in its bank account yet it still insists on charging parents a compulsory 40-year-old arts crafts charge, excuse me. The money's never passed on to the class. Teacher schools can be doing more. The spotlight should be on them. That comes in from a listener in a show. Voluntary education schools need to survive. The government treats them differently to other ETB schools. Hence the shortfall needs to be made up. A principle of a voluntary educational school needs to be a great accountant. Education is extremely important and it costs money but the Department of Education seems to think that some are more worthy of being funded than others yet expect them to deliver the same quality of education coming in from Barry. But Barry, ETB schools do also charge voluntary contributions, do they not, or levies, a moment of correction on that. Greg, people can't afford uniforms at the moment. If it's affordable then drop the threshold for those less well off indeed. And I hope I made that point for you on your behalf because you know, there's a lot of people operating here and I understand that probably some of my comments wouldn't be popular with some of the local businesses that maybe rely on that industry and I really apologize for that but look for the wider population, we could do something really quite meaningful if there was a will because the way is there. Let's talk a bit about gambling here. The problem with gambling for teenagers and children, the whole thing has moved on to TikTok and social media. It's catching their attention and it's not helpful. It's very glamourized and competition launches for cars, tractors, et cetera. So that sucks people in. Actually that's another thing too. A lot of people gamble a lot of money on Facebook competitions, you know, big money as well. We didn't take account of that in the conversation. The first thing children think on when they earn money that could be the first thing that comes into their head, spending money on these competitions or raffles. The seed is planted very early now and young people are growing up with it. That comes in from Councillor Michael McClaffty. But before they've come of that age, okay, and I don't want to over-labor this point, but the Xbox, the PlayStation, the Nintendo sitting in the corner, a lot of parents' guardians are being approached by the young ones and saying, look, can I have five Euro for FIFA points? Or can I have five Euro for points for Fortnite? Okay, and when they use that money and purchase what they purchase on these games, you open boxes or whatever. You don't know what you're purchasing. Okay, there's a risk to it and that's the excitement for the young ones. So you give them their five Euro, whatever it is, then they don't know what player they're gonna get on FIFA. It could be Ronaldo or at the other end of it, it could be, I don't know, Peter Crouch or something. That's the gamble that's there for them and they get excited if it's that. You'd have heard the cheers from the bedroom, I'm sure. And on Fortnite as well, it's whether they get a certain skin or they get a certain weapon or whatever it might be. So long before they've come of age to make their own money to gamble, they're already gambling with our money. And it's not a loss, a risk of loss gamble, but the gamble is there in terms of there is great reward. In their world, they can get a great reward. And I think that lays the foundation for what the counsellor's talking about there. Right, okay, morning, Greg. I agree with you. Where is the food going to come from if the farmers have to reduce their farming business? Something similar happened to the fishermen and the peat doesn't make sense to me either, thank you. Yeah, that's just before I decide how I might vote or where I might go, I would like a conversation about if we're not producing the food, who is going to produce it? Are our emissions going to go down and someone else's go up? This is a global problem. That wouldn't make much sense if that were the case because what we'd have is, and it seems to be the way, to get rid of fishing, to get rid of farmers, to get rid of being able to eat your house from the land, that type of thing, to grow plant trees and turn Ireland into a massive Glen Bay National Park, is that the plan? Whilst we all move to the city to avail of 900 billion euro trams that probably will never get built. Let me see here. Greg, are we black and white dogs running around the dual carriageway, coming into the letter, Kenny, can you please read it out? Might be some of the houses off the road, thank you. That came in a little while ago, hopefully that's been resolved. That's about the fourth dog running on the dual carriageway that I've read out in about two weeks. So I don't know what's going on there, but be careful anyway, coming in, we're always careful I hope. Right, let's take a break for the bingo numbers because we've so much to get through on the program today. Stay tuned with us, by the way. Coming up later on in this hour, we're gonna be talking to a listener who's been the victim of a cleaning scam. We're gonna hear what's going on there. Later on in the program, we're gonna hear it from a lady who wonders why she has to pay to book a ticket for free travel. Kieran O'Donnell will be with us talking business. Our Wellness Wednesday will be focusing on services for people with Parkinson's and their family. And we'll also hear from a caller who's trying to move bank on behalf of their father and it's proving a real nightmare. All that packed into the next hour and 45 minutes. So don't tune out, don't go anywhere, you don't wanna miss it. It's your voice, your station. Back with more after the bingo number as good luck if you are playing today. It's time for NCBI Bingo on Highland Radio. It's Wednesday, July 27th. You're playing on a blue-coloured sheet. The reference number is S8. It's game number 30. The numbers are 62, 34. The number seven, 18, 20. The number nine, 61. 55. 31. And 64. Phone your claim to 911-048-33 before 8 p.m. tonight. Leave in your name, contact number, and the name of the shop where you purchased your book. Get all your NCBI radio bingo information at highlandradio.com. The night till noon show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union, offering low-rate holiday loans with fast approval. Apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today. New this week in Home Store and More. All garden wall art is half price. But better hurry, because when all the half price garden wall art is gone, it's gone. Also, all living room cushions are still half price. But when all the half price living room cushions are gone, they're definitely gone. Order online before 2 p.m. for next day delivery or drop by your local Home Store and More. Home Store and More. A happy home. A brand new state-of-the-art workshop for all your car service needs. At Shane Connolly Car Sales, we deliver straight to your door and offer excellent finance packages. Check out our social platforms or visit ShaneConnollyCarsales.com. Are you frequently asking others to speak slowly, clearly and loudly? Is listening to the TV or radio becoming harder? If your hearing is affecting your everyday life, connect hearing are here to help. Our clinics in Letter Kenny and Unlow are open Monday to Friday, where you can avail of our hearing test, wax removal and repair services. Take that first step to better hearing. Call us today on 07491 132 96. Connect hearing, connecting you to life. OK, plans for a new 3.5 million-euro visitor centre at Fanat Lighthouse have been welcomed as a great boost to the area. Plans have been launched for a 7,800-euro square foot centre that would include a café, a shop, a meeting room and an art workshop space. An upgraded car park and play area are also included in the plans of public consultation is taking place today to discuss the proposed project. At Funnavaltee Hall, it's between 4pm and 8pm. Ashlyn Leahy is director of Vincent Hannon Architects in Galway and joins us now. Good morning, Ashlyn. Hi, good morning. Good to have you with us. OK, so talk to me about what from a design perspective you're hoping to achieve here. Yes, well, I guess thank you for having me on the radio today. This morning, our brief from Uduas de Guilteca, who are our clients on this scheme, they brought on board late last year to prepare plans for the new visitor centre. We appreciate there's an existing building there at the moment, but it's very much too small for the needs of the staff of the Lighthouse but also for the local community. So working very closely with the local community group, we have been doing this since pretty much last December and we've been very hands-on process today. We've gone through four different layouts for the proposed type of building and today is what we're presenting as a preferred option for what we all feel together is a more site-responsive approach where as we won the key things we looked at when we came to Banat Haidt initially early this year was that as you arrive in Banat Haidt towards the Lighthouse, the existing is very much sat into the landscape and the key feature that you see at the Headland is the Lighthouse and we very much want to keep that kind of keeping so our design approach for this is very much to maintain that approach and where the new building sits into the landscape and that's a very important design parameter for us. Because you want to enhance the visiting experience to one of the most beautiful areas but you don't want to in any way take away from that. Absolutely, it's really a case of striking that balance between the needs for the existing but also future visitors but also then maintaining what is the key feature at the moment is just trying to keep sustainable and that's one of the key things as well that we want to make sure this is a year-round viable destination is alright where the local community can use it on the off-peak seasons but then when it does come to the peak season for visitors there's just very much application for those needs so the sustainability from a fiscal point of view as well as an environmental point of view has been very important for us from the outset. Alright, talk to me about the public consultation today. You want obviously as many people as possible with an interest to look over the plans, ask questions, have there a say, is that it? Absolutely, yeah so we're very much treating this as an open door policy so anyone who happens to be passing by is very much welcome them to Popbane. We're going to have a series of exhibition boards placed around the room and it's really for people to come in, have a look at the boards, ask any questions, there'll be members of our design team there today and we're there to listen but also to answer questions. They'll also have some personnel from Udo Aftegrilte as well as the local community group that we've been dealing with all this time so absolutely it's really a case for us to listen and to just answer any queries that are there. Okay, Ashley, thanks for your time this morning Ashley, Lehi director of Vincent Hannon Architects in Galway. Now a serving guard who carried out a four year campaign of harassment, threats, assaults and coercive control of his terminally ill partner has been jailed for three years and three months. Sentencing Paul Moody who's 42 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Judge Martin Nolan said that Moody carried out a catalogue of vile and humiliating criminal misbehaviour towards the 43 year old victim. In a victim impact statement given in court on Monday the woman told the court that Moody who she met online in 2017 once told her the only reason he had visited her while in hospital was to watch you bleed to death. I was not just fighting cancer, I was up against a monster who would take away any chance I had of surviving the woman said. In a four year period Moody sent over 30,000 messages described in court as threatening, vile and abusive. In one 14-hour period in July 2018 Moody sent her 652 messages amounting to one message every 19 seconds and the content of those messages are absolutely revolting. Now we are joined on the programme now by Dr Marie Haynes with Donegal Domestic Violence Centre Good morning to you Doctor, thanks very much for taking the time this morning. Morning Greg, thank you very much for bringing me on. This lays bare of course what people have to come through have to go through sorry it's a bit of a shock by the fact that this person this lady has cancer and she feels that her precious time was robbed from her and then there's been a reaction to the sentence what she had went through over the period of time three years and three months I mean firstly the details of this case are shocking but not unique sadly. No and unfortunately I think a lot of the cases that are making it into the court so the DPP are prosecuting seem to be at a high level as well you know you know the level of say texting you know into in the thousands that's been kind of a common one across a lot of the cases the fact that it's mixed with a multiple of different offences you know there's a lot of assaults there's a lot of threats to kill there's a lot of you know coercive control but it's not just one item at all it seems to be a whole combination the cases are incredibly complex and if you've probably seen one of the reviews there I think the pages of her statement amounted to something like 256 pages so that's an awful lot of time that she has had to spend going through documenting with the guardie and for them to collate evidence to bring this case so you know these are incredibly complex high level cases that are coming through at the moment. Yeah and what does that tell you about how we are investigating prosecuting we talked the last time we talked you did mention the fact that there was other elements it just wasn't coercive control and here we are with the case that really makes your point incredibly strongly doctor. Yeah I think we're probably now at a time where we need to do a review of the coercive control legislation I'm not sure the legislation was ever designed to deal with this level of complexity certainly when you look at the sentencing it's a maximum sentence of five years like and then the judge is saying well you know I had to take into account that he and okay I think we might have lost our connection. He said he was not guilty or he pleaded guilty in the end but the reality is that where that was something done between himself and the solicitor you know they knew it would be. So you know at the end of the day you know I think we do need to review the legislation. Yeah unfortunately the connection is just not perfect with Dr Hainesworth I'll just hold it for a moment in case it improves because I also want to um talk to her about new laws you are with me Dr Marie yes indeed is there anything we should add as it relates to that finding I mean you've touched on the complexity of these cases you've touched on the sentencing I mean people are upset that he's able to retire that he will retain his guard of pension but really I suppose that's somewhat outside the scope of the law. It's outside the scope of what I'm saying we probably do need to review at this point the coercive control legislation because I don't think it you know when it was put in place I don't think they envisaged that the amount of cases and the complexity of cases coming forward would be of this level and I don't think you know maybe especially in terms of the sentencing I think we now need to put in place a structure of different levels and yeah like you tell me for anybody if you're convicted of a crime you know there's implications in terms of work you'll obviously lose the job but beyond that we don't have any control over what else happens and we wouldn't if he was in private business or anything else so you know there are things that I suppose victims are always faced with you know the unfairness of it all of what they went through compared to what the person committing the crime is going to go through so at the end of the day I do think you know we've probably got enough cases now that we can begin to look at what is actually happening within the courts and what we need to make this easier for victims to come forward and easier and clearer for judges in terms of sentencing because they are tied at the end of the day to whatever they're down in law and then also clearer for guardies so they know what they need to do and maybe how they can make even collating the evidence a bit of an easier process for victims a bit more victim friendly and a bit more victim focused and then that the DPP has a clear way of saying yeah that's enough evidence so I think we probably do need to do a review at this stage there's a case like this encourage victims to come forward or discourage them and I know it's very personal to each individual but what would your sense be would someone who is a victim of this type of crime go you know what should I put myself through that the extent that I have to recount everything that went through for what may feel like a slap on the wrist or do they say well you know what the guards investigated a guard he got to the bottom of this and this man's going to lose his liberty for over three years do you think we could pick a pattern out whether or not people might be encouraged or discouraged off the back of something like this I think that people are more encouraged because not only are they looking at it but also everybody else around so support services like ourselves and the guardies themselves are seeing their own cases coming forward and actually being you know getting convictions out of it so that's a great kind of morale booster and it does reinforce it's worth doing this for them so they're more likely to support victims they're more likely to go out to domestic violence call out with this in mind at the back of the mind and for us as well once we know and once solicitors see that these cases are getting through and they are getting convictions you're just getting more and more people on board that will actually work around a victim to put them through the process so I think it's not just victims that are seeing it I think it is what's important is that the whole backup system is seeing that and willing to move forward I think it is good that you know people we often hear from our own clients you know all well he's a guard or he's got a friend who's in the guards or relative in the guards so we're not going to get any further forward on this and I think this case does prove no that's not the case you know I think the guards are very clear about this they are well aware that you know it's going to be some of their own that they're investigating and that that's not going to be an issue or if it is an issue within a local station that you can move to another station you know there is an understanding of that so right we also read today that the public will be kept out of court rooms for all sexual offenses trials under a series of sweeping reforms concerning rape prosecutions Justice Minister Helen McInty today will bring a memo to cabinet on the sexual offenses and human trafficking bill aimed at strengthening protection for victims the reforms will also make it easier for a jury to test whether an accused person honestly believed they have consent and will rule out any defense that a perpetrator was intoxicated at the time do you welcome these measures if adopted adopted by a cabinet and why might it be important yeah I do I mean I welcome any changes because I think we are moving forward with a greater understanding of not just the impact in terms of victims but just what what it needs to go through and rape and sexual assault cases are incredibly notorious for having low rates of reporting you know low rates of going through the courts and very low rates of conviction so definitely there's been a call for a long time that the whole process needs to be restructured and you know classic defense lines of I was intoxicated I wasn't in control it wasn't my fault you know have kind of been accepted because there's been no challenge to that on any kind of kind of legal basis so at the end of the day it's been once listed fighting another and the victim has been very much put on the front line which is hugely unfair and very traumatizing for victims and with the end result that not many victims want to go through this process and many would say that it's almost like being raped again you know going through the legal system so any reform at all again we need to monitor it we need to make sure that it does do what it intends to do and if there's any you know pointed any stage in that where we find that actually this is not actually helping victims then we need to be open to looking at that again Will this remove to some extent victim blaming in the courtroom I think it'll go somewhere to start addressing it you know and to realise that there has to be an amount of responsibility here in terms of people's behaviour and it can't just be about well the victim was the one that put themselves in it you know the perpetrator has a role and a responsibility here and I think up until now the courts have never really viewed it that way you know sexual assault and domestic violence are different crimes I think than say assault crimes or you know what the legal system was originally intended for which is very kind of black and white simple kind of assault charges so you know we're beginning to look at the complexities of what actually goes on in these cases often where there are no witnesses so you know what do you do where you only depend on two people and it's always gone on the basis of what we all give doubt to the perpetrator Do we have to be careful though because as you say often it's the testimony of two people we don't want to we don't want to switch the balance too far in another direction though do we is that a concern you might have it might be concerned way way down the line but at the moment but as I say the statistics are clearly in the line of you know very few cases actually make it to court and often times that's because it's quite a grueling process going through the evidence giving actually having to relive the situation and the guards who do the interviewing and the solicitors they're very expert at it they can tell you know what victims are saying they can tell whether it's genuine or it's not you know and by the time they've gone through all of that process to actually get it into court it's going to be challenging and traumatic experience so at the moment no we're not getting anywhere you know anywhere where victims are kind of coming forward just making stuff up on a limb and going up and standing in front of a court it's too complex a process to get to that so we don't have that worry at the moment no OK listen thanks for your time as always I really appreciate it Dr Marie Haynes worth there of the Donegal Domestic Violence Centre 086 6025,000 WhatsApps and texts to that number call on 07 491 25,000 let's take a quick break and we'll come back with a piece of music before 11 The Ninetal Noon Show is brought to you by Lettercanny Credit Union digital loans now available apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account this time of year we're all thinking about freshening up the paintwork in our homes bringing colour and vibrancy to our living spaces but the important thing isn't just the colours we choose it's the paint Fleece Wood use the highest quality ingredients for a richer colour and smoother finish that lets you wipe away the marks of everyday life and it's Irish made designed to work with the ever changing Irish light would one range of paints transform your home? Fleece Wood Wood naturally the easy living furniture summer sale is on with up to 50% off all mattresses with 0% interest free finance and turns up to 4 years available now available on our website Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood Fleece Wood turns up to 4 years available now is the perfect time to gift yourself a better night's sleep visit Easy Living Furniture presently Retail Park Derry and Sligo Retail Park Sligo Are you ready for a role or a career with one of Ireland's leading food companies? Due to a further developed business base in Donegal Glanbia are looking from milk agents to service shops, food service and door-to-door customers in the latter canning Remelton to apply for this exciting role forward your CV to P Burns at Glanbia.ie that's P B-Y-R-N-E-S at Glanbia.ie or call 087-253-054 OK you're very welcome back to the 9 till noon show please wish Eileen and Frank Coren a very happy anniversary they're 57 years married today that comes in from Gina also Katelyn McDade Coren 8 today happy birthday from Nanny and Daghlaken in Dewish they're sending lots of love into you also hi good morning could you play a very special request for a brilliant couple who got married today they're getting married today in the Cathedral in Derry the special couple is Rebecca Smith and Adam Warnock wishing them a very happy day and can't wait to see them all thank you more than happy to do so Katelyn happy 8th birthday to Katelyn McDade Coren best wishes from all the family OK we'll be back with much more on the 9 till noon show we're going to take a wee bit of break for music here is our Ultravox OK that is Ultravox there and Vienna a harrowing tweet which we saw on Twitter and it reads as follows and my uncle went to Galway four times last week looking for help with his mental health he spent over 12 hours waiting there only sorry one day only to present home because he wasn't severe enough Saturday he killed himself and our thoughts and sympathies are with that gentleman and his family and friends and unfortunately stories like this are not unfamiliar Rachel responded to this and it's good enough to join us on the line now to discuss this good morning to you Rachel good morning when someone has to lay it out like that it's words in a tweet or a Facebook post but it's their life it's devastating it's so impactful on them and those around them it is, it's around us that it comes to that the services are just chronically underfunded they're not set for purpose it's just horrendous that people have to go to that event and feel like they're not even being listened to they deserve the same care the people would get if it was as they call it mental condition I mean we Rachel the first thing we do is we encourage people and they still should by the way we encourage people to seek help to reach out to make that call go to your ideal wherever it might happen to be but when we offer that advice the expectation is that once they follow through in that device that everybody gets the care that they deserve and need at that time yes of course and like the thing is staff are so burnt out they're chronically underfunded exhausted it's just constant firefighting the services are so limited by bed numbers and services available it's just horrific and very very sad that the suicide numbers in Donegal are rather high for 2021 alone there was 399 deaths of completed suicide but that's astonishing to me there are 399 people that didn't need to die if they were able to get the help and the services they needed to make themselves better have you ever wondered Rachel before we talk about the services that are there and what needs to be improved you asked the question in your reply how many lives need to be lost before action is taken and we've seen say for instance with the recent reaction to the Covid pandemic we did so much and spent so much money to prevent the loss of life and in terms of the global response we did very well in that regard but why then do the powers that be the health minister or Nefert or whomever is there why do they not convene and say we have an epidemic here of poor mental health with terrible outcomes and an incredible loss of life we need to do something as drastic as was our response to that other health emergency what is the thinking or psychology or logic to that do you think I honestly think if it's not on their front door and it hasn't happened to them then they just don't get it they don't understand it unless you're working in the service and you see the day to day how bad it is I don't think they're ever going to get it when they're sitting up in the dial and they're just signing off on policies and laws they're not actually seeing the impact that it has firsthand do you think also there's an element of with death by suicide that it is and understandably we don't hear about them all obviously also it's a very personal matter each family will deal with it in their own way we have figures as it relates to and an awful lot of effort to try and lower the figures as it relates to fatal road traffic collisions but the government do know what's going on and the HCC do know what's going on so we can only conclude can we that because it's kind of under the radar then we can spend the money elsewhere do you get where I'm coming from yeah that's correct and also the stigma that's attached to mental health I know in the last 10 years alone there has been a lot of work put in and great work at that even with the inflammation of suicide crime nurses in Donegal they're called scan nurses I know at least there's two okay we've lost again two people sorry I lost you for a moment there but I'll have you back now can you talk to me a little bit about your experience of working across various services here in Donegal like where are we at and where do we need to be where are the failings I just think overall it's more a medical model there's not even for acute services there's not even a psychologist in acute services that can work with the multidisciplinary team to give a holistic treatment where it's more about medication and getting them better absolutely that has a critical and really really important role but if you're just medicating the person but they're not actually getting to the root of the problem it's not going to solve the fill thing and with the weightiness we have for primary care services for mental health you can you're waiting unfortunately I want to again just we had a slight drop but it's such an important issue you were telling us how long you have to wait for a service sorry it's on our end range it's not your responsibility I'm sorry about this but you were talking about the weight yeah when you know when it's six months to a year and you're waiting that long for a service some people that's just incredibly overwhelming when you're so on well already it's an uphill battle and people may just think well do they even want to help me you know and it's just people are like I've seen people begging for help and begging for counseling and therapy when they're not even they're not able to afford private care like a lot of people are not able to afford it you're coming from a place of privilege if you can afford it it's expensive you know if you're lucky to get services it might be six or twelve sessions max some people that's not enough I just think it needs to be scrapped and overhauled entirely to give a service that people deserve and it's going to work really really well with them you know and I know mental health professionals they're doing their best and you know there's been a lot of good work put in over the last number of years but it still could be better of overall you know sometimes you just feel like we're going backwards even say for instance maybe your first port of call would be to turn up somewhere now you have to go to the ED and I've spoken to people who have taken family members there and they've just got up and walked out because they're triaged and they're triaged sort of in the context of someone with a twisted ankle, someone suffering palpitation, someone who's had a brain injury do you know what I mean and I know of cases where people were there, walked out and unfortunately and it's a case in point two with the tweet I mentioned earlier on they never survived They never survived you know I do believe there should be 24-7 self-referral for people that are experienced thoughts of self-harm and thoughts of life's not worth living you know because that's just as critical as somebody coming into the heart attack at times you know they might not have the protective factors to keep themselves safe and if that's the case and they don't have that it is critical So it needs a root and branch overhaul then does it? It's not about more staff it's not necessarily about more funding do we need to to rip up what we have and implement something new all together I'm not sure if this will be this new slant to carry if this forms part of that but look at we've been talking about slant to carry for years now these are lives being lost daily as you pointed out in the figure you referenced earlier on this just needs to be treated like this is a national emergency it is a national emergency and you know there is staff leaving in their droves too I work in Derry at the moment but it's just a case of people are just so burnt out they just need out like one of my colleagues said to me the other day the only thing I look forward when I come to work is the end of the day because I just feel like I'm on edge all day because of the lack of staff and the just the sense of panic and do you know where that's felt as well too and I'm sure you're aware Rachel is organisations that you know maybe intervene rescue organisations that maybe save someone before they attempt to take their own lives or at some point in that process and what do we do now we've stopped this person jumping and I don't want to upset anyone with the language but these are the typical stories they just wait for the police to come and then the police takes them away what happens next well they've engaged with those people down the line nothing happens there is no sort of pathway there's no pathway to try that person better or it's not a very good pathway once you've actually stopped them on the brink of trying to take their own life and those are the people who volunteer the time to try and save these people it's terrible that it's come down to that people having to volunteer you know I I just feel that the services could be doing more and again I know people that are working in the services are doing their absolute best but they can only do what they have resources for you know and again we don't have the services for people that are you know needing that help immediately if there's no beds in any acute settings you know they have to go elsewhere and in some cases they just get sent home from ED and I know there is like a mental health liaison officer in ED but to my knowledge it's not a 24 hour service I think it's a you know daily service and that could be a change as well you know and have an area in ED for people that are experiencing you know them thoughts and self-harm I think it could be you know looked at and I want to talk about the families as well because you know mums and dads that do everything they can to try and get maybe their son or daughter to go and seek help brothers and sisters nephews and nieces all of these people are so severely impacted then when the person especially if they try to get help goes on to complete suicide and they're left with the loss, the grief they're also left with anger towards the state, towards the HSE towards the services that we did we did everything we could we got the person to the front door to try and get help and that help wasn't really there and they have all of that to deal with for the rest of their lives their lives have changed forever and that's a mixture of emotions, it's unbearable and that's what's left behind also absolutely like the generational trauma that causes is absolutely heartbreaking you know I have very close friends and mine I was thinking about a very close love one I said that's their story to tell but you know I was thinking to them I says you know how do you feel about it and he says it didn't have to be this way and then words have always struck with me it didn't have to be this way you know if there was help there and the person had got help they would still be here to see their loved ones grow up and do all the incredible things that they have done the trauma that has caused to the entire family circle is just astounding to me and I do think that from a very young age schools should have you know psychology services and to teach kids about mental health how to mind their mental health what to do if they're not feeling great and I know Donnie Gall's social prescribing is doing excellent work you know within schools at the minute especially secondary schools but again they're limited with their time and staff and the availability they have because they have a large area to cover but I think it should be in house in every school that there should be someone that can teach kids how to deal with it what they can do you know because I left school 15 years ago there was none of that you know we didn't even know how to go about I just wonder sometimes in our schools if we are identifying issues but not actually helping young people with them I think we've got very good in schools about talking about things and saying this might be where you're at but then what happens the child maybe go back into the house and the parents don't have an understanding you know what I mean like I just hope we're not identifying problems in children and then there's nothing to follow up and in a way accidentally and without intent exacerbating an issue yeah that's right yeah I think overall the education on mental health is getting better but you know the older generations still are not getting it entirely you know some people are fantastic and they're you know making the effort to learn but I think having a psychologist in the school that a child can go down and go hey I need a little bit of help here you know I think it would make a difference I know as a as a teenager with you know trying to figure out you know mental health issues and things like that I would have found that helpful because I only got diagnosed with ADHD at 30 years of age because I paid for it to be diagnosed but there was no services there for that help you know Rachel what stops someone like you walking away as well looking at different career paths or working in an alternative area even within healthcare I mean because you know you've talked about an awful lot of your colleagues choosing different pathways and we see it too in right across the border medicine at the moment nurses midwives walking away or leaving this country like what keeps you from not pursuing something else in other words you're trying your best in a dysfunctional system and I'm sure that has to be frustrating you wouldn't be speaking to me right now if it wasn't so what stops someone like you going you know what I can't do this on my own I don't see any change in the near future I have to look after myself and my own well-being I'm going to choose a different career path yeah I think it's just for me it comes down to the patients I I love meeting my patients and I love being able to learn their life story and some people you meet are so incredibly interesting oh my goodness you know some of the people I've cared for are incredible and have had very very interesting life but also I just I just love being able to get to know them and help them and for me that that you know if I help one person then that for me is a good week yeah and that's brilliant and I just hope that the government the governments be it north or south aware of the art aren't exploiting that they aren't relying on you seeing it as a more than a job do you know what I mean I just wonder if those that are left are those that that's what they get from the work rather than you know I mean obviously we all have to pay our bills and a mortgage but you know I hope same as with carers that we aren't exploiting the goodwill of people and the passion and care of people like yourself Rachel and that's evident yeah well that's it I think that's why in the end I went to work as with an agency because you know you were working all these hours you're not getting to see your family but you were needing to work them out to pay your bills so in the end you know I I just went with an agency because yes wages are higher which meant I had a better work life because you know you can't pour from an empty cup I've come to find out you know you've got to look after yourself in order to look after somebody else and I'm still able to I think that's important and staff getting you know a good wage I think would be a long way to help and you know some people that they're not stressed about how they're going to pay their bills you know I just have to take a break for the news at 11 I really appreciate your time this morning and helping us highlight this issue I really do thank you so much and have a wonderful day take care Rachel okay my apologies we have to take a break for the news the 9 till noon show is brought to you by letter Kenny credit union offering low rate holiday loans with fast approval apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today it's the 50% off mega summer sale at right price tiles and wood flooring up to 50% off all tiles wood flooring outdoor slabs cladding and batware everything in store has been slashed in price the right price tiles and wood flooring 50% off mega summer sale stores nationwide sale extended till bank holiday Monday is your current car ready for change if so now is a good time to visit dmg motors donnie galtown choose from their school to range including the fabia scala superb car rock kodiak kamek octavia and the all-new electric enyak now available for delivery all fitted with the latest technology scoda connect with a whole new range of simply clever features dmg motors have made buying a new car affordable with finance available on all new vehicles test drive the new scoda today call 9721396 scoda made for donnie galtown I've got the power Tesco club card is the power to lower prices and barbecue essentials like burgers and jumbo sausages 600g and buffalo style wings 500g any three for 10 euro plus coke zero and diet coke 24x330 milk packs now 10 euro each it can't stop sticky wing fingers though nothing's that powerful lower the cost of your shop with your tesco club card or app the power to lower prices tesco every little helps product subject to availability excludes express stores derg best castle derg saturday the 30th of july featuring sigma kc lights plus support acts all under the big top 10 for ticket information check out derg best music festival facebook page this that is kindly sponsored by castle glass castle derg the seventh annual letter kenny busking festival is on this saturday the 30th with musicians and singers performing all along the main street entertainment start said to and with buskers performing from three to five it's a great afternoon of street entertainment the letter kenny busking festival this saturday july the 30th see letter kenny busking festival on facebook for details okay coming up hopefully we have an hour as interesting and busy as the two that went before it it is 11 o'clock here on your number one local radio station this is the nine till noon show let's take a break for a news update and say good morning now to Michaela Clark thanks great good morning there's calls for a review of coercive control the manager of the dunninggold domestic violence center believes there needs to be an overhaul due to the amount and high level of complexity of cases coming forward yesterday guard a poll moody was jailed for coercively controlling his girlfriend over a period of three years the t-shock has refused to be drawn on whether an agreement on agricultural emissions will be struck today despite the environment minister indicating it could be the whole martin is discussing the matter once again with cabinet minister Stephen Donnelly today it comes after leaders meeting concluded last night with outneiling down a concrete reduction figure between 22 and 30 percent the health minister says a bill aimed at creating safe access so on that will cut out inappropriate protest towards abortion patients and accompanying staff health minister Stephen Donnelly will bring a memo to his colleagues today he hopes to have the bill scrutinized and through all stages into law by the end of the year the nurse will return to Tory island over the coming week concerns were raised over the level of medical care provision on the island yesterday as residents have been without a nurse since Thursday last as they are currently on annual leave Islanders were without a nurse at Easter for a week also a big cash reward on a commission of inquiry are needed to solve Makilla McAreevy's murder that's according to the former attorney general of Mauritius Rama Valadin 27 year old Makilla was killed in an accident and no one has ever been convicted of her murder and a public consultation on a new 3.5 million Euro visitor centre fan at Lighthouse is being held today the 7,800 square foot centre includes a cafe, shop, meeting room and an art workshop space as well as an upgraded car park and a play area plans will be on view at Fana Volte Hall from 4 until 8pm those are the latest headlines we'll be back with an update again at 12 noon okay Makilla thanks very much indeed okay let's get to some of your comments before we take a break and it's on a couple of issues we've been discussing so far this morning this listener says a 3 year sentence was handed out to a male who tortured a female suffering with cancer it's yet another insult to women in my opinion this is stomach churning blaming mental illness is pathetic will we ever see fair play for women hi Gregory the guard in my opinion the judge who handed down that sentence has committed a serious well I can't read what you're going to say because it's an accusation that's unfounded really but you're not happy with the sentence handed down by the judge you believe it's another I'll have to say I just have to choose my words a little bit carefully I hope you understand you believe this is adding insult to injury to this person saying something has to change yep he had at his will five years was the maximum he could hand down he handed down just over three years I think the new rape laws infringe the notion of innocence until proven guilty I think and I think Dr Haynesworth pointed to this what has to be gone through before a case goes to court is such that you would hope that you know the DPP and all have considered that there is a case to answer and both then obviously have the opportunity to tell their sides of the story mental health in this country is a joke no services should be locked up for covid or at no mental health services should have been locked up for covid I understand all surgery should have 24-7 access to mental health support every patient should be assessed by a mental health practitioner at the time of the appointment because in my experience as being a nurse a lot of people who have issues it's down to stress or emotional trauma and MRI once a year would also help eradicate the issues and alleviate the running to surgeries the MRI on would MRI pick up someone who's depressed or had suicidal ideology I'm not sure it would Greg a 6, 5 and 2 year old of weekend access with their father I presume it is he speaks quite ill of me in front of them and it's causing my children serious distress my son bursts into tears and can't sleep because he feels in the middle is there any services I can turn to to help with this okay this is an important one out there and there's lots of you out there who've had experience of this so it's a mom presumably they've got 3 children 6, 5, 2 their partner, former partner has weekend access to them and that person for some reason not caring about the children because I can tell you if this person cared about his children he wouldn't be speaking ill of the other parent in this situation in front of them and it's having an emotional impact on the son who's bursting into tears and this other parent is not able to sleep themselves because they feel in the middle what is your advice are there any services where can that person turn because it's clear they perhaps more so have the children's best interests I mean for crying out loud we can fall out we can do all manner of things that ends a relationship and as tough as it might be if we were to care about the children don't run the other parent down in front of them don't make it try and damage their relationship with them because as we get older we know and we have to think on how important it is to have a good relationship with both our mom and dad if we're lucky to have them with us we don't they don't have to be together you know and we might even prefer one than the other but no parent be involved in turning your children if you care about them against the other parent nothing can be achieved through that and it's just more reflection on yourself than it is on the other person you know if the other person is such a bad person well rise above it you know don't be running them down in front of the young ones because it's they that are damaged the parent might recover from it but the young people those are scars that they will carry into their adulthood and for many it'll manifest itself in one way or other and we don't want to do that to our children we're here to care the only one we can really do this life is have children and care for them really that's the most important thing everything else is kind of superficial are you know our money our houses and cars that all really doesn't matter the only thing we can really do that's meaningful it but not the only thing but the most important thing I think is to care for young children who look up at us and expect us to do the absolute best for them and that's as much as we can do and we need the help obviously sometimes but that's the best thing we can do so if the person who's trying to turn the children against the other partner is listening please stop think of your children even if you can't stand your former partner because it's they that you truly truly are hurting into the long term and as I say who's to say that what impact it might have then on them in later life trust worthy service of your credit union are you interested in becoming part of a dynamic sales team do you have sales experience along with an understanding of digital and social media if so we'd love to talk to you send your CV to jobs at highlandradio.com before friday 5th of august don't miss the 53rd Clomb Money Festival open air concerts including Mike Denver on Tuesday the 2nd of August and on Wednesday the 3rd it's Derrick Ryan don't miss these and many more open air concerts at this year's Clomb Money Festival from Sunday the 31st of July to Sunday the 7th of August for a full program log on to clombmanifestival.com this ad is sponsored by Joyce the Central Clomb Money the Lotto Jackpot is an estimated 4.8 million euro play responsibly in store in Acre at Lottery.ie the National Lottery it could be you Donegal Tunnel Tigers Dinner Dance takes place on Wednesday the 3rd of August in the Waterfront Hotel in Dunlop with music by Mick Flavin tickets priced at 45 euro and are available from the Waterfront Hotel Reception Country Dry Cleaners letter Kenny or Donegal Tunnel Tigers on Facebook quick write this number down 91 48 234 Fleming Doors you know industrial doors, garage doors agri doors, insulated doors milking parlour doors Fleming 91 48 234 the Donegal Hurling Finals will be played this Saturday at O'Donnell Park in Letter Kenny in The Senior Decider Old rival Satanta and Bert will go head to head for the Monster Cup the full game will be live on Highland this Saturday from the 4pm start with Oshin Kelly and Eugene Organ Highlands coverage from the finals of the Donegal Hurling Championships is in association with the North West Premier bathroom and tile store bathroom and tile boutique Brejand mcsports.ie thanks for joining me good morning to you Anne it's great to have you in thank you why did you come to be involved with the Parkinson's Association of Ireland well many years ago Greg a friend of mine was diagnosed up here with Parkinson's and she was quite young and when we looked there was no support services we didn't know enough about it I certainly didn't know enough about it so we looked around there was nothing so we set up a support group in Donegal and over the years it has spread now to become the North West to include Sligo and Letrum and there was nothing there beforehand really no nothing in our area like and what is there now there is the local support group where we hold meetings information meetings we provide services now because services while it's a progressive disease it can be treated and managed and a lot of it is through services mobility would be a big issue for people with Parkinson's so we would provide physiotherapy classes we would provide chair yoga and then at national level they would provide ask the dietician for a clinic every week they would also provide the nurse Lisa is a permanent nurse now in head office and she does a clinic every week ask the nurse and she would go through areas that people find difficulty with it could be with anxiety, it could be depression, it could be bowel movement all of those and she will deal with those on a regular basis for us can you talk to us a little bit about what Parkinson's is and you know who how many people get it well Parkinson's is a progressive disease and it's caused by lack of production of dopamine in the brain and then this causes the body to react maybe people will notice a tremor on one side of the body they may notice a weakness and then they get their diagnosis from a neurologist as I say it's not curable but can be treated through medication and preventative measures can you stall or stop the progression early treatment, early diagnosis and early treatment will help to stall probably is not the right word slow down and then other treatments can help with the slow down of it as well so early diagnosis is really really important so even if we're putting it down to something else so we don't want it to be something serious we have to try and overcome that if we can and get an official diagnosis as soon as possible absolutely if you notice any of those things a tremor, a weakness on one side of your body a lot of people think a tremor it will go but it won't so you're better to go and get it an early diagnosis so you can start on a treatment program that will help and it's a diagnosis that takes some time to come to terms with it does and this is one of the things we find you get your appointment with your neurologist you get your diagnosis and then you go away with these questions and concerns and you might not meet a neurologist again for six to twelve months and it's a long time and I mean if you asked a hundred people in the street how does Parkinson's affect you you would get one or two or three things, the headline things you know what I mean but what you were dealing with and what the supports are there for are the other realities of life the other knock-on effects it can have and how your body works or doesn't work absolutely and you know the phrase use it or lose it so we would always say to our patient go to these classes take as much exercise diet take your meds on time all of that kind of thing to help with the treatment of it to slow down the progression of it Greg and in terms of any advances in terms of the medical side of things and we'll talk more about the physical dietary side of things is it one of those diseases that affects people in many different ways so it makes it more complex to target a treatment it is there are no two patients really the same so therefore the medication for patients can be different and there's a lot of research going on which we as a national office are involved in as well with UCC but as I said there are no two people the same so it takes a while for the medication to take effect it has to be refined tweaked to all the time now so talk to me then about some of the complications for a person with Parkinson's you're going to talk a little bit about them but what are the most common complications of Parkinson's one of the things we find Greg is falling very common and when medication is working really well they have a good on time and then there's an off between the first medication and then your next dose there's that off period and that's where people say I have difficulty with getting up off the chair walking or freezing which that in itself is incredibly difficult emotionally it's like I could yes I can't today or maybe they will stand up but they can't move forward yes and this is where the physio there are little tricks and things we can give them to help them walk there's a very good one out there at the minute it's a laser cane and it puts a laser point on the floor that they can aim for and that can help there are other tricks and tricks it's like playing a Wii game on the brain the body wants to do it the message is not getting to the brain so you have to sort of try and find a way re-networking or re-wiring and that visual of the laser can be enough for some sometimes they may want to walk and then they can't and then they get this burst and it's kind of a shuffle and that's where a fall can occur now in terms of the age demographic are we seeing any changes in the pattern of Parkinson's and who it's affecting and there's a big conversation at the moment of course in relation to sports people who've played impact sports we're only really properly having that conversation now but more generally in the wider society are we seeing any changes in the behaviour of Parkinson's disease and who it might and might not affect I think prior to my involvement and my early stages of involvement it seemed to have been the older cohort but now I'm seeing younger people contact me to say and I've got a diagnosis so it is getting to that level that there are younger people now coming on board with Parkinson's and that could be down to awareness as well it could be down to a number of factors absolutely awareness is key awareness and education are key and that's what Head Office are trying to promote all the time to give them the supports they need is there a lag between and we had this conversation not too long ago as it relates to multiple sclerosis is there a lag between someone getting this diagnosis and maybe reaching out for help in other words saying I need help or I don't need a support group or I don't need this you know is there still or not still is there sort of a not everyone we're all different where people sort of go I wish I had made that contact six months earlier or a year ago is that a absolutely because I think when the diagnosis is given by neurologists in Galway, Dublin or wherever it takes time to process that and some people would have said to me I didn't want to talk about it I didn't want anybody to know so there was that lag as you say but I suppose part of that is shock and so understandable and so understandable I would say I would say I'll do it in six months and you have to come to terms with it yourself first and once you come to terms with it then people aren't trying to reach out because they won't see a neurologist again for six to twelve months and they have questions that they need answers to they could be simple questions like can I drive, can I continue to work and that's where we see now the young people that's their concerns can I work, do I need to tell my boss? It's my life effectively over as I once knew it or can I continue on work with this do I tell my boss whom do I tell like and there is that fear around that and that's where education really in What an amazing group in the Parkinson's Association that you can even just bounce that off because you can't tell someone can you still do but you can have that conversations and the more people you talk to it's like a sponge the more information you have because we're all individual but there's an awful lot of overlapping in our experiences even in something as diverse as Parkinson's Absolutely Greg and we have in the Northwest a buddy system so if somebody rings me and says I'm newly diagnosed on I will say well I have a couple of people here whom you might like to talk to that will talk you through and give them, give you information on their experience and you know while it is not a nice diagnosis it's not one of the worst that's why I always say to them of the neurological diagnosis you can get In terms of how we engage with people in their homes to maybe do some exercises and stuff did we make some gains ironically through the lockdown in that you know in other words those that might not come physically to a centre or something or maybe didn't want on the phone that maybe we caught people that are happy enough to engage via video call for example or that type of thing. Yeah because that was one of the things we were concerned about with Covid that isolation would set in because they were a lot of them were at the cohort that were supposed to be if you liked the word cocooning and we thought how do we get round this so zoom well we're probably fed up of zoom now after two years but it worked brilliantly for us because we were able to provide the classes through zoom and does that mean now going forward you have a blended approach we have a blended approach now so the people who feel there's still a cohort of our group that are still nervous 100% I can understand that and I think they're they don't have a voice that you're giving them a voice today but like you still see you actually see people putting videos up online shouting and abusing people walking down the street with a mask on rather than just saying you know they're not compulsory now let people get on with their life that's how they feel stop trying to tell them how you know yeah and I would have said the same to my own group I said if you're comfortable wearing a mask wear it you don't need anybody to tell you whether you should wear it or shouldn't it's up to yourself people shouldn't become what they oppose no it's a personal choice right so I contact you for the first time I contact the Parkinson's Association of Ireland the Donegal branch right so we're going to talk then are we about I'm going to ask some obvious questions that you talk of maybe about work and what have you and will I be able to lift my children I'm sure people ask questions like that there as well and then we start talking about the importance of physical well-being and what we consume so is the diet element of it that certain foods are thought or known to slow things down or is it about just you being generally healthier it's both I suppose Greg it's about being generally healthier but it's also about foods that may prevent your medication from working effectively so when you take your first medication in the morning should I eat this that to make sure that the medication is taking the best effect for you and therefore this is for the dietitian and your diet and it's not right the dietitian doesn't go right cornflakes in the morning, ham sandwich at lunchtime, beef stroganoff in the evening the dietitian will speak to the person and work out what the medication is, what's best for them and almost design a plan for each individual absolutely and maybe there are certain foods out there that she may say you should avoid those depending on what you're saying is happening between your first dose of meds and your next dose she might say well if you're eating XYZ maybe you should not do that because it's not helping the medication get through the system does Parkinson's affect us emotionally or do we have an emotional response to Parkinson's you know in terms of maybe anxiety anxiety and depression are two of the things so is that our response to it or do we think Parkinson's creates that I'd say it's a mix of both it's our response to it and it's I suppose Greg when you're told something as major as that from the point of view of anxiety you start to worry what can I do what's the next 5 years what's the next 10 years as you say can I work can I continue to drive the car can I drop my kids to school all of that kind of thing will I be as supportive in my family as I have been and then the anxiety of other people knowing is a big one there are people out there who just don't want anybody to know I've talked to people who have said they worry about shopping because when they go in the cash register maybe they have the tremor in their hand and they're trying to get their money out and they get very nervous and they're conscious of people behind in the queue so that in itself brings an awful lot of anxiety and then you worry that they will isolate and say I won't do that anymore but we're saying don't worry about the queue behind you do you mean you just do your own thing at your own pace yeah there's a person texting and I'd say they're either up to high door about themselves or someone close to them I kind of know how that feels so I hope they get it what they want to know is you're talking about Parkinson's disease is shaky writing could that be an early sign it could be it could be something else so this is a person that's probably been dealing with this for 6 months and just worked up the courage to call in when you were on and they might have wasted 6 months either of knowing what the story is not having to worry about what they don't have or their loved one doesn't have you just can't base it on one thing like shaky writing writing can become an issue because of a tremor but in that case I would be saying to that person to reach out because it all depends on their age absolutely so they should look to their GP maybe ask them to get a referral to a neurologist not assume I suppose it's confirmed and even maybe the first protocol the GP might be able to absolutely because there could be a medication that's causing it it could be anything or it could be it but you're not going to know by texting us in and I say that and I'm speaking to myself I hope the person understands that I understand I think I understand exactly where they're coming from I take pro-pap and null 40mg to daily are these the best tablets are they knowing about my Parkinson's for four years now are you comfortable commenting on that because I'm not a medical professional I would be suggesting that person talks to her GP, her neurologist or can ring the head office on the free phone number 1-800-359-359 and ask to speak to Lisa the Parkinson's nurse that is a perfect example I think of a caller with Parkinson's that perhaps is not fully aware of the services that the National the Parkinson's Association of Ireland provide and this is why these conversations are important this is why we do it because it only has to affect one or two people and that's a lot for me we've talked about the physical progress of Parkinson's what is the impact on one's mind I think there are a couple of questions and I'm going to use the word mind so how can it impact people's in terms of conversation their clarity of thought that type of thing there's there's clarity of thought is is still good but it's their voice can the mind wonder can I put it like that? the mind at times can wonder yet because they're trying to the way to you might say the mind can wonder or attention or concentration might be affected yes and a lot of that is because maybe their voice has become affected at a later stage and they're trying to get their thoughts and then get it out and it can become frustrating there's a traffic jam so that requires patience not from the person they have the patience of but it requires us around them to have patience then as well because our reaction or finishing sentences will try and help that possibly could exacerbate precisely what you're talking about make them become frustrated because it's like anybody who's trying to say we would have no clue what people would stammer maybe you would try thinking I'll help them out but no we should give them the time and space to say what they have to say because what they have to say is every bit is important is what you or I have to say and who knows better how they're feeling than themselves why are there no support group meetings in Letter Kenney there are a lot of Parkinson's sufferers in northeast Donegal it's not always convenient to go to Balai Shannon or Sligo Balai Shannon is a long way away is there a gap in terms of supports up here and if so why it's difficult because the county is so big and because we deal with Sligo and Litra as well Balai Shannon was our best for everybody now if there is somebody in Letter Kenney still we provide transport to those meetings but it is an inconvenience there are people that aren't going to make that trip that if there were something more locally they'd be there and I know you can't feel things all people but what would it take to then maybe sort of have something in say Letter Kenney? We could have a meeting in Letter Kenney if there was a demand for it but a lot of our members we're going from Mallonhead literally over to Ghidor over that area and as I said that's why we do provide transport if people want to come there is no reason that I couldn't organise a meeting in September for Letter Kenney to see what kind of numbers turn up but it was Balai Shannon was just picked from the point of view I'll tell you if you are going to do that in September please let us know and I'll give a good plug in advance and then you will be able to find out at that point and it doesn't mean it's a pathway to regular meetings but look at sometimes people don't know when I will do all I can to promote it for you and then you can see where you go from there That would be brilliant and part of it I will tell the people out there in Letter Kenney and the surrounding areas now that we will have an information day in Letter Kenney in September We'll see where we go from there Do they do deep brain stimulation operations in Ireland for Parkinson's patients? That has come online now in the last couple of years we do it now in the matter people had to go to England for it and that was quite cumbersome because you had to go back for their checkups and all that so now it's been done in Ireland Can a person with MS atrophy get support from the Parkinson's society? I haven't known that to happen but I don't see a reason if somebody is out there and is isolated and would seek help that we could see what we could do I know there is an MS society which does very good work as well Thanks to Ann and the Parkinson's organisation for your support when I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's it's very important to get as much information as possible. Thank you Ann that comes in from a listener called Jimmy You're welcome Jimmy My father is Parkinson's and his mind is wandering but it is more progressive he's on different tablets now and he can walk and go out of the house and stroll but when he's out for a certain amount of time the body just gives up and he can't walk my sister has to go behind him when he rests the power comes back again and then he can go so far so is that an energy situation? Is that something that could be improved with exercise or is that just how Parkinson's is affecting this gentleman? It could be just how the Parkinson's is affecting him it could be to do as you say with energy levels or it could be something to do with his meds and again I would say contact Lisa It could need a tweak it might be that one of his meds needs a tweak that would help in that situation and again I would say contact Lisa the nurse in head office Do your batteries drain quicker with Parkinson's? Do you know how we build up our reserve of energy and it depends on it can depend on our fitness Yes and that can happen between your med time like your first and your second and your third dose that can happen OK One other thing in terms of not your supports but the state provided supports is it still dependent on your air cold as to what you have access to in terms of neurologists or appointments are we disadvantaged in the northwest versus obviously the universe to which we all rotate around County Dublin Yeah from the point of view Parkinson's Association of Ireland is not funded we get no government funding so all our funding is fundraised our donations and there is we're talking about 12,000 people probably more Greg and we've only six nurses in Ireland four Dublin based now we have made a submission this year that we would get more nurses and we're hoping that the upcoming budget will do that for us in the northwest and we would love one Donegal is such a big county and not to have a Parkinson's nurse in Donegal is just awful for us and a nurse can be hospital and community based and if you have a nurse on the end of the line or she gets to know the patient so well she can visit them see what their needs are and it would be a vital support for us up here Right OK well listen if you're making another concerted effort in that regard again come back to us so we can back you on that there's so much there Ann I suppose we'll conclude do you people contact the Parkinson's Association of Ireland on a central number and then they're referred to the Donegal branch or how does contacts work a lot of the time it is done that way they ring the free phone number and say I'm in Donegal or I'm in Sligo and you know I'm just wondering is there a branch or any support up here the head office will give them my contact details and then they'll contact me and I will send them out there and I think something also we learned today is that there are people even with Parkinson's that perhaps aren't fully aware of the type of supports that are available from the Parkinson's Association of Ireland and the simple thing to do is to call and say this is my situation what shall I do because at the very least I presume there's a sign posting you know if there's something can't be done you can say well we've had that call for them OK listen Anne it's been educational it's been interesting and I appreciate your time, thanks for calling in Thank you very much Greg That is Anne Fox National Chair of Parkinson's Association Ireland and Secretary of the Donegal branch We're going to be talking business use and other matters after we take a break The train calling at platform 3 is the 1959 service to Cork calling at Charville, Malo and Maria in seat 32A starts chemo next month We don't always know who's at risk from Covid-19 and other viruses but we do know how to protect them keep hands clean and wear a mask let fresh air in get vaccinated and stay at home if you are unwell from the HSC from the HSC for us all Park Run has taken my run into the next level it's a good opportunity to catch up and meet friends and make new friends as well it's how I got introduced into the local running club just known it's there every week no matter what stage you're at I find it's a much healthier approach to running I'm Dave and I'm a park runner VHI believes Park Run is more than running that's why we're their biggest supporter Join us every week for more information that's why we're their biggest supporter Join us every week at your local Park Run 7-7-5-971 old garden wall art is half price but better hurry because when all the half price garden wall art is gone it's gone also all living room cushions are still half price but when all the half price living room cushions are gone they're definitely gone order online before 2pm for next day delivery or drop by your local home store and more home store and more a happy home with 0% interest free finance and turns up to 4 years available now is the perfect time to gift yourself a better night's sleep visit Easy Living Furniture Present Link Retail Park Derry and Sligo Retail Park Sligo gonna be a great, gonna be a gonna stand in love getting value on your shopping has never been more important that's why at Super Value we have great offers like Super Value Fresh Irish Cowboy Steak save 33% selected personal care Trezumé and Lynx save 70% and get new weekly money off vouchers on the real rewards app for low prices that compete with anyone it's got to be Super Value Business Matters in association with the Faculty of Business at ATU Donegal the part time level 8 honours degree in business is delivered through a mix of online and face to face lectures email execedbusinessatlyit.ie that's exec, ed business at lyit.ie or call 9186206 Good morning Kieran O'Donnell Good morning Gregie Great to have you in studio because it is Wednesday and it means we have another edition another episode of the business matters podcast the business podcast from Highland Radio compiled, put together, presented by the man I mentioned Kieran how are you keeping anyway? Good Greg How's your summer going? Are you enjoying the weather? Is it too hot for you? Getting shades the issue isn't it? Yeah, hopefully the weather's gonna stay good today We'll take it a day at a time We'll not look too far ahead of ourselves We're gonna have good weather for the rest of this week Good, relatively speaking The extremes are kind of crazy we had a seriously warm couple of days and then we had the floods But even within the county those days were very like the further north you went the shorter those days were in terms of actually them being summer days Right okay, that's the weather forecast for this episode of the business matters podcast moving on to business Initial works beginning at the Donry Visitor Experience I like to hear this because you know we need to be maximising the visitor experience and the parking and the facilities and everything for some of this amazing stuff we have and enhancing it, so talk to us about this one because this is one of the bigger projects of the last 100 years Very much Greg Donny Golcotty, council, Fadja Ireland and Fort Donry Military Museum officially commenced initial work on the new Fort Donry Visitor Experience so the development of Fort Donry Visitor Experience was allocated 9.3 million by Fadja Ireland with an additional 3.2 million in match funding come out of the Donny Golcotty council so the project is due to be developed over the next 18 months with construction expected to commence in late 2023 or early 2024 and it's going to be a huge asset to the county and to the peninsula of Anisone and Soboron There's your property tax folks, that's the kind of stuff that's used for these type of projects in the match funding that's required Right, okay Now What's this? Yeah, the official opening of the GTEC Yeah, at Carey Gert It's a new digital hub on Carey Gert's Main Street It was performed last Thursday by the Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphries So the hub has 18 desk spaces and newly refurbished 1800 square foot building So GTEC Carey Gert is part of a brand of digital hubs in the Celtic region and this development offers a smaller opportunity for businesses and individuals in the community to work remotely while still supporting the local economy Hmm, it'd be interesting to see how many of those desks are taken up Yeah In time Yeah, but again, it's half an hour from there to Carey and that's That's if you go and overlock salt now 45 minutes through Milford Yeah, look, that's another Maybe if the foot down are you heavy footed Definitely not Definitely not But yeah, it is Look, the point you've made is we have to see what sort of business gravity is towards there and I suppose we'll have to go back to say maybe this time next year It's not something I have a great insight into and I think maybe actually going to visit one of these hubs down the line would help because it's a different type of thing but it was out at the Goodall Business Park and it was amazing to see businesses that were formerly located in the United States operating there with teams of people and stuff I would love to actually go in and have a look and get a sense of who is working in these places and how it's advantaged to them not to try and expose anything but to satisfy my own curiosity Look, I pay a visit to the Craven Centre and I think the Craven Centre are going to manage this centre You probably need to go in and see it for yourself and appreciate what's done and I think the thing that struck me was the diversity of businesses and the one roof Right, and it's a workspace outside of the home as well even though there might be good broadband in the area it's a workspace out of the home for those lucky enough to be able to do that, it would be a lovely balance to have and the local businesses benefit Yeah, of course, Carrick now, regeneration What's planned for Carrick? Plans are afoot for the regeneration of Carrick and two surveys are taking place this week to assist those tasked with shaping the future of the South-West Onigawa village and its surrounding areas in the care park in front of the old school between 10.30am and 1pm and an online survey to help identify what aspects of Carrick and this invariance could be improved in order to enhance the public realm for both residents and visitors has also been drawn up In a way, home owners are lucky because we don't know where things are going and people might be lucky enough to be able to fix their mortgage if they have a house in such a condition that that works for them too and that enters an uncertain future for them because they're at the whim of the landlords and the markets What are trends telling us as it relates to rent? More certainly with mortgage holders than people who are renting Rent for tenancies increased by 9% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same time last year that's according to new figures from the residential tenancies board and economic and social research institute The national standardisation average rent for new tenancies was 1,460 euro between January and February that represents a 3.3% increase or 46 euro on the previous quarter So rents for tenancies in Dublin were 2,015 euro per month and outside Dublin they were 1,127 And latest figures show that more and more of us will be renting So the prospects for people now 20, 30 or 40 or in the 20, 30s and 40s to own their own home is dwindling all the while less and less people will own their own homes into the future unless something is done but that creates its own problems then when people head towards retirement age and the knock-on effect there as well I'd love to see something really proactive at a government level to try and address that issue Something completely different here John Couture has signed a strategic partnership deal which was founded by Elton John as a lead brand partnerships agency in the UK and Europe John Couture set up by Moncranaman, Troy Armour in 2010 as a television fashion competition for secondary school students where participants design, create and model fashion made from recycled items We had Troy on the show back in December Greg and I do know that he was on the hunt for a deal such as this so I would say this is a major game changer for himself and this business Nice one, great news Let's take a quick break We'll come back with a look at this week's podcast Are you worried about trees on your property? Northwest Forestry Services Bully Buffet are fully insured and have over 40 years experience in dangerous tree removal, tree felling surgery and stump grinding For peace of mind call Northwest Forest Services Bully Buffet for no obligation quotation 033 Dance the night away this Saturday night to Patrick Finney and his band in the Abbey Hotel, Donegal Town That's this Saturday the 30th of July Doors open 9pm DJ Steven Doherty kicks off the night followed by Patrick Finney and his band at 10.30 Admission only 15 euros in the Abbey Hotel, Donegal Town Book a private VIP screening at Century Cinemas Perfect for celebrating birthdays featuring a private VIP screening with luxury reclining seating delicious popcorn and a brilliant choice of movies For further information on our VIP packages call Century Complex Letter Kenny on 07491-21976 or visit CenturyCinemas.ie The Donegal Hurling Finals will be played this Saturday at O'Donnell Park in Letter Kenny in The Senior Decider Old rival Satanta and Bert will go head to head for the Monster Cup The full game will be live on Highland this Saturday from the 4pm start with Oshin Kelly and Eugene Organ Highland's coverage from the Finals of the Donegal Hurling Championships is in association with the Northwest Premier bathroom and tile store Bathroom and tile boutique Bridgend The 9 till noon show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union offering low rate holiday loans with fast approval. Apply online at LetterKennieCU.ie or in office today. Alright there was a genuinely innovative handbraking event that took place this week Darylicton Donegal and beyond talk to me about it Kieran Talking about it and this week's podcast we'll be chatting to conference organisers Letter Kenny Cathedral Quarter Secretary Don and Harvey, Letter Kenny Teddy Towns Co-Chairman and owner of McGee's Pharmacy Jeremy Cormack will also be getting the views of property owner Lee Gooch from Highland Donegal Cuddy County Council's heritage officer Joe Gallagher an architecture officer with the Heritage Council Colin Murray and this clip Highland Reader presenter Lee Gooch talks about buying and renovating No. 2, Tourist Lane and Letter Kenny and they also talked about what he said during Friday's conference So I talked them through the different pitfalls and hoops and about the funding that I got in and about the guidance that I got along away and the different things I learned about renovating or bringing back an old building that's been Darylicton for 25 years bringing it back to life So six years as a long project but I'm sure there's a great centre of satisfaction once you've seen the finished product Yeah well if you said to me back in 2016 when I bought the property right if you said Lee in six years time you're going to have a fabulous one bedroom bespoke house in the heart of Letter Kenny how would you feel I would say I would be the happiest man in the world and I am the happiest man in the world because I never thought I would have it done in that time because I bought the property 2016 I had Noah my son at that stage and he was one years old so I had a lot on my plate Yeah but if you have the will and the means you can get there Ciaran Yeah look he's one of six or seven people who took the as most took a So what does his story tell us Ciaran is that you know maybe is it really about you know having the vision and the drive but seeing these properties in town centres maybe former commercial properties I'm not saying that's the case here and you know turning at least parts of them back into sort of residential what are we learning through a conference like this Well there are a lot of aspects to the conference last Friday and a lot of very good speakers Lee was one example of a person who decided to sort of enthest and turn the property around in terms of heritage there are a lot of spin-offs from heritage in terms of a lot of employment opportunities for example a specialist in heritage then you've got the builders then you've got the building providers then you've got the designers so there's a very much a sort of rippling effect and a very positive effect and I was very enlightened and very informative as well the conference and I suppose Lee we referred to the fact that it was six years from probably start to finish but he's also undertaken a second property in Remelton the Guildhall development but obviously he has been sort of taken by the process he enjoys that as a long-term project as well but obviously the sense of satisfaction when it gets over the funnest line must be huge Another interesting speaker was Colin Morrie, talk to us about him Colin is architecture officer with the Heritage Council and he gave those in attendance plenty of food for thought in his presentation here he recalls a previous occasion to come back to Lederkenny 27 years ago This is not my first time back in Lederkenny in 1995 I spent a summer here looking at every single building in the urban area for the national inventory of architectural heritage and that was an education in itself looking at every single building up and down the main street what style it was I went into the valuations office and I found out how all those buildings were so I could make a kind of a date map of history of Lederkenny and find the oldest building on the main street and things that were hidden behind walls and so on What was the most fascinating for you? I'll tell you, it was Kellys on the lower main street it's closed up now the hardware shop is closed but in the yard be cited from the street you can see Lederkenny March 1859 I think it says and in behind it is the original surviving stalls in a kind of a U shaped or circular courtyard with places for people to buy and sell things way way back then in the 1850s and that still survives I hope it still survives in there at the bottom of the main street and let's say one of the very first moves in business shall we say in Lederkenny a place for people to buy and sell things and it's still in there behind the walls on the lower main street Alright you can get the full interviews with Don and Harvey who's been really key in enhancing and developing and passionate about that area Jared McCormick Lee-Gooch as you mentioned Joe Gallagher, Colin Moore who we've just heard a clip of all available now at HighlandRadio.com or if you get your podcast they're all important I think this is a particularly important podcast to archive to archive that conference from a media perspective Yeah I suppose the other thing I forgot to mention earlier on there Greg was Colin posed the question what is a town? A town brings commerce together and brings people together But what a town was five years ago is very different to what a town will be in 2040 which the Lederkenny plan looks toward isn't it? And it wasn't necessarily talked about Lederkenny but on the main through his work for the Heritage Council a notable decline in small shops small pubs small creamries and hardware stores. But they are heritage Yeah but at the same time you know should we be worried about that trend and the answer and one word is yes If we keep giving planning to add to town developments I mean this is that's not happening by accidents it's quite literally happening by design you create little business parks half a kilometer outside a town what's going to happen? You know the town's going to be emptied Right okay anyway it's a very interesting conversation and I get a sense we're really at the beginning to the organizers you know it's the first conference of its kind the more questions that were posed as most the more answers one was looking for but I think it's the start of a very meaningful conversation and it did create awareness when I come out of the conference the first thing you start to do was look around and say well what sort of conditions are the buildings around where we are Of course and you know if you drive say to you know if you drive from Balai Shannon to Dunlowe if you me under the west coast or if you drive down to Nock or Galway you pass through once thriving villages you can see the old pub you can see the old hardware store you can see where the shop used to be and these towns are effectively just derelict main streets with two or three residential buildings or one shop hanging on for dear life what are we going to do there that is who we are the other point that the column and the story ties in with what you're saying yourself very great if a business is going to set up tomorrow they still need the services of of a town to make it successful so and it can't be successful on its own yeah well why don't we put some of these hubs in town centers then for starters convert some of these buildings into these work spaces but we have a lot to do but hopefully as a start of a process that will yield good results it's all part of an interesting conversation which is fully covered in this week's Business Matters podcast it goes out on air on Sunday evening just after the six o'clock news if anyone wants to get in touch with you the program comments or suggestions Kieran or further information how do they get in touch with you yeah just drop an email please Greg BusinessMatters.com super stuff it's available and there's a backlog of 101 other podcasts there for you to go through if that's your thing but it's not just about business it's about us our community our heritage it crosses all over they're all intertwined and it's businesses of all types and the people most importantly behind them because without the people what is there all right Kieran see you Wednesday good morning Greg go to our website the on demand section if you want to thank you very much to all of you who engaged with us today those of you who listened to the show if you chose to watch it on social