 Have you ever gotten into any trouble for teasing people about the answer? Stop, you should see now you're going to get me into trouble. Something's going to happen tomorrow and I'm going to dig a big hole for myself. Liable cases and stuff like that. That's all part of the crack, isn't it? You've been bailing me out of jail. Nah. Well, sure, we have 1,100. Is it 1,000? It's not your money. That's true. It's not in your mind. Does it exist? Well, it's a number, isn't it? It's like Bitcoin, isn't it? All right, but what time do you do the early session on that? Yeah. You know, a lot of people tune in. I had a woman from Glasgow this morning. Very good. And I had a guy from Michigan, US. So it's just after half seven you do the first round, isn't it? Yeah, just the first song, you know, afternoon song. And then we do the secret session. Really? It's a bit of fun, do you think? Of course it is. Just in case people want to try it the other time as well. Ah, please do, yeah. Because the phones be hopping. All right, Lee, have a lovely day, will you? Good luck. It's going to brighten up a little later on for you. Cutting your head if you ever get round to it. All right, then I'm going to show just around the corner. Let's get a news update first, though, and say good morning. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. A Donegal deputy says there needs to be an increase in development in rural towns and villages. Deputy Thomas Pringle speaking during a motion on planning and rural housing says the current housing crisis is being exasperated by the current planning system. He says a review of policy is vital for the development of rural areas. I believe that we need to significantly increase development of our rural towns and not just our bigger towns but our smaller villages too. We are serious about repopulating our rural areas and this type of development needs to be prioritized. It is not enough to develop areas such as something called Hound and Glenties, although development here is critically needed too, but we need to be looking at further developing villages such as Thieland, Carrick and Bancon-Kellow. We need proper policy that prioritizes the development of rural areas and I support the call for this in this motion. The Micah Action Group have published 13 sets of amendments for the Draft Defective Concrete Block Regulations following a consultation with key stakeholders. The amendments cover six separate regulations and three schedules. This follows a virtual meeting between the Group and Housing Minister Dara O'Brien yesterday for a briefing on the revised scheme which is expected to be published in the coming weeks. The amendments can be read and full on our website, highlandradio.com. Meanwhile, the Dahl has heard calls for penalty-free downsizing to be included in the enhanced redress scheme for defective block homeowners. Deputy Joe McHugh says allowing homeowners to downsize as part of the scheme would be hugely beneficial. Penalty-free downsizing, which should be voluntary, is an important element and I think both environmentally and also financially, penalty-free downsizing is an important issue that should be part of the new scheme and it will make the scheme that much stronger. Much needed water rehabilitation works are set to be carried out in the Finn Valley later this year. Dahl has been plagued with a range of issues affecting water supply from Loch Morn with residents frequently left without water. Cahirluck of the Liffords-Drenarder Municipal District Councillor Patrick McGown says the works will be significantly improved the everyday lives of the needs of people. I've been upgrading pipes now from the reservoir down into Gathrop Farm and also from the main roads from Smilly Down into Gathrop Farm, plus a couple of other jobs from Keen and the McNamford National. This is all going to do because we're losing water, we're losing land right in the summer time and the winter time we're told to turn off the water because of the frost and bust and then the summer time we're turned off again and then this is issues with livestock and animals and everything because we're a big farm in the area. Looking to the weather this morning, mostly cloudy at first today with fairly widespread showers, some heavy, highest temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees with winds becoming northernly mostly moderate but fresh and gusty for a time in the northwest. That's all for now. I'll see you in the next video. Good morning to you. Four minutes past nine on this Thursday, the 11th of May, 2023. Welcome along to another edition of the Nine Till Noon Show and I do, of course, hope that you're all very well indeed and hopefully you're involved in the program today as so many of you always are. Even if you've never texted a radio show before, get your views on it. I hope that you're all very well indeed and hopefully you're involved in the program today as so many of you always are, even if you've never texted a radio show before, get your views on air here on your local radio station. Your WhatsApp and text us to 086625,000, 086625,000 or give us a call at 07491 25,000 and it's about things that are important to you as well. So if you're listening and there's something that you want to talk about, it can be in the positive or the negative. Don't think no one else is interested. Contact us and talk to us and we'll see what we can do to platform help or whatever might be required. Did I say 07491 25,000 is how you get through to Caroline and leave working on the show today and of course emails to comments at highlandradio.com. You're more than welcome to if you choose to join the half a million live minutes viewed every single month across our social media. Half a million minutes viewed of this show on YouTube, Highland Radio Islander, across our Facebook pages or by clicking live, clicking watch live on our website and get involved that way as well. It's a Thursday, so as you know, it's a bumper morning for newspapers. Let's see what's making the headlines today. Let's start with the Chicano Tribune. Micah Group forces Fianna Falls to listen up. That was the scene on Monday evening in letter Kenny when a deputation from the Micah campaign confronted Fianna Falls leading lights at the community centre and successfully forced their way to the top of the agenda. Leading Micah to the table was notable, given that a mother of three children addressed the politicians about her dire circumstances. She is not in the Micah scheme but her house is crumbling and she's got nowhere to go. She emptied her heart to out at that meeting and left in tears, Mr Diver said. Paddy Diver told the Tribune that there is no sign of the government parties making the absolute essential changes required to the defective blocks redress scheme. The Donegal Democrat reports that he has been seeking injuries for a guard in Drug Dealer Chase. A guard has suffered serious neck and back injuries while giving chase to a Donegal drug dealer who was attempting to evade arrest while in possession of over 17,000 euro worth of cocaine. Detective Sergeant Jerry Farrie was dragged through a hedge and plunged five feet into a field as he attempted to apprehend Robert Orr on April 12th last year or 2021, I beg your pardon, Orr who has 56 previous convictions Friday after pleading guilty to the possession of a controlled drug with the intention of selling it or otherwise supplying it to others. The Donegal news covers a story which has gained massive traction locally and nationally of course. A Donegal man who abandoned his partially dressed two-year-old child on a road in Letterkenny at 5 a.m. has been jailed for three years at the circuit court sitting at in Letterkenny on Tuesday. Judge John Elmer passing sentence said the father had expressed exposed the infant to extreme dangers of all kinds. The man who cannot be named to protect the identity of that child pleaded guilty to child cruelty for exposing the child to a significant risk of death or injury in what was a premeditated act. Goddard Sergeant Frank McDade had previously detailed to the district court the events of the early hours of August 8th 2020 when two men returning from a night out on hearing a child crying were shocked to find the child who was wearing socks and no shoes holding a bottle outside a construction site at Thorn Road at 5 a.m. The two men knocked on nearby doors but no one identified the child as theirs. They thought that he had just or she had just wandered out as it turned out then contact was made with the guard station. The child was collected and the mother collected the child I believe. The dairy news this morning the increasing challenges faced workers working in general practice across the foal area were discussed at an event facilitated by the Dairy GP Federation. Local GPs came together at the event which took place on April 25th to share learning on surviving this difficult time. On to the Irish Independent now and name and shame threat for profiteering supermarkets. Supermarkets that price gouge could be named and shamed under plans being examined by the government. Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney is also considering plans to force retailers to reveal specific profits they make from Irish customers even if businesses are based in other countries. It's about more transparency around who's making what margin and ensuring that major retailers not profiting from customers by keeping food prices high despite inflation slowing down. He's examining whether to introduce new reporting mechanism for companies that would require them to detail margins they're making on certain products. He's making what margin and ensuring that the customers are getting a fair deal here, he told the Irish Independent and as we mentioned on the show last week we've got the farmers who create an awful lot of the produce we're talking about, not the dry goods the milk, the cheese, the bodger, the bread and then you have the retailer that sells it but what goes on in between how much money are they making the factories making so maybe a bit more transparency would help and it might even help the farming community who they themselves, I'm sure are very worried that any reductions that the supermarkets are making at the moment we've seen milk come down, butter come down, bread coming down that it is the farmer or the producer that's going to end up carrying the can on that. On to the Irish Times now and the coalition is coming under pressure from government TDs over plans to put aside large sums of money in a multi-billion Euro fund designed to protect the economy from future shocks that's the rainy day fund okay so that's language we are familiar with Minister for Finance Michael McGraw has announced plans to channel part of an expected 65 billion Euro budget surplus into a long-term public sector savings vehicle according to an options paper drawn up for the government up to 90 billion in windfall corporation tax revenues could be put into the new fund by 2030 although the government has yet to decide exactly how much to set aside there is resistance growing among backbench TDs however who feel there should be more of a focus on assisting household struggling with cost of living pressures at present in the options paper Mr McGraw said that in headline terms it is fair to say that our public finances are currently in a sweet spot a large budgetary surplus was recorded last year and assuming no major shock to the economy my department is projecting an expansion of the surplus in the years ahead so it's not just last year this year and next year he expects this corporate tax cash cow to continue but instead of and I'm not saying it's the wrong thing to do but instead of actually maybe dragging the 200,000 children out of poverty that currently live in it we are going to be putting it away for a rainy day on to the farmers journal their lead story limousine cattle have the lowest daily methane emissions initial results from a groundbreaking Irish research project have found early results from a 3 million five euro study the Irish cattle breeding federation performance test centre in Kildare found that limousine sard cattle performed best from an emissions perspective while not compromising weight gain their farts and burps at least toxic it seems cemential and herford sard cattle at the highest daily emissions of the breed studied the pioneering green breed research project is headed by chagas professor Donna Berry and involves the ICBF chagas and the department of agriculture going on to the red top tabloids now and this is a I don't know really how much one can comment on this because it is a case that's going before the courts suffice to say I did raise my eyebrows and would have an awful lot to say on it really the Irish daily mail a guarder is to face a criminal prosecution over his driving in relation to an incident in which three men were killed in the collision two years ago while fleeing Guardian Dublin district coroners court heard the DPP has directed a guarder involved in the pursuit at the three of the three males who were members of a Tala based criminal gang that specialised in burglaries is to be charged with a driving offence the free victims were killed instantly when their BMW vehicle burst into flames following a head-on crash with a truck on the N7 between City West and Bal Donnell on July 7th in 2021 while they were driving on the wrong side of the carriageway we're going to do a little bit more on that story later on in the program to try and get a little bit more detail on that so stay tuned for that the Irish daily star Finance Minister Michael McGrath welcomed a court ruling forcing a financial services company to halve the mortgage rate it was charging a distressed borrower this is important for any of you out there I think with pepper finance to keep an eye on this because there is some good advice one can follow in fact we might chase down a PIP on this to see how if you are in this position it might be able to benefit you because there are means and ways that you could try and achieve the same outcome this couple did pepper finance will now be locked into a fixed rate of 2.5% for the next 25 years on the loan of over 280,000 euro it comes after Judge Mario Malekostlow gave the green light to a personal insolvency agreement for a couple at a sitting at Tullamore circuit court I believe that loan owners and mortgage providers should be offered fixed rate options to their borrowers Michael McGrath said he said that under the code of conduct on mortgage arrears lenders are only required to have payment arrangements and are not required to look at their options including fixed rates so this couple got a very good deal in the end 2.5% over 25 years I believe and as I say maybe we'll get an expert on this because it could be of use to some of you out there they went through MABS and they had a PIP who proposed to the company a payment structure the company rejected that and it's then through Awalia I believe it is they took a case and it's through that case that the judge fixed this rate so a precedent has been set there and as I say some people out there may be able to benefit from that down the line who is to say the Irish son this morning State witness Jonathan Doudall will have his appeal against the severity of his prison sentence for facilitating the murder of Kinehan Cartel member David Byrne heard next month the Court of Criminal Appeal will hear his case it's unlikely that the former Sinn Fein Councillor who's 44 will be in attendance for the hearing he pleaded guilty to the Section 72 offence last October after a murder charge was dropped and finally the row over the Eurovision rumbles on Wild Youth's frontman Conor O'Donnell who was blasted Eurovision organisers the band crashed out of the semi-final stage in Liverpool on Tuesday night and failed to make it through to the grand final Conor said in a deleted post they never gave Ireland a chance sorry if we let you down we tried our best you didn't let us down you did try your best I think to the organisers of that competition need to look at how it works in this day and age with social media and going viral and what have you the bands that got through even the ones that were a bit dodgy right they had huge followings and success on social media already you know how you use social media and how you try and get viral they had done that we didn't really do that we had one video of them not a very good video that was released and also the performance on The Late Late Show you know not very Eurovision-y then you have other acts who make crazy videos or something catch your viral potentially viral it does go viral and then they're known well in advance of the competition we don't do that we need to do that but talk of bringing nothing but respect for Johnny Logan and what he's achieved but to think that we could we go back to the 80s or 90s and try and get people who had success then to try and deliver success now was a bit naive as well I think but anyway 17 minutes past nine let's take a break whilst we introduce whilst we get our next guest on to introduce to you today most people say that Donegal is the coolest place on the planet but up here we know that sometimes it can be the coldest Charles Bonner & Sons Ballet Buffet is the one stop shop for all your heating needs we have a huge range of multi-fuel and wood pellet stoves and ranges spare parts for all major stove and range brands plumbing and bathroom wear all at exceptional prices so visit our showrooms where our friendly and experienced team will be ready to help you Charles Bonner & Sons Ballet Buffet www.carlbonner.co.uk where you can always do a good deal better Charge into summer with Tui secure your holiday today with savings for families and adults flying from Dublin, Cork & Shannon holiday sorted Tui live happy Do you know what I love about Lerick & A Shopping Centre? I love it because everything I need is under one roof there's fashion shopping for women and men health foods and cosmetics test schools and pennies, free parking shopping Thursday and Friday I love it because Lerick & A Shopping Centre has it all including homework, jewellery hair and beauty and revolution laundry and their free car park Lerick & A Shopping Centre so much choice and opens 7 days Highland Radio time checks with Expressway travel route 32 from Lerick & A to Dublin when you book online and travel for less Expressway bringing you the time us the time is 18 minutes past 9 we're going to go back to the issue of safety at Marrabeg School in Manor Conningham if you're not familiar with it it is a national school on the side of the road it wasn't built on the side of the road the road was built alongside it we've covered on numerous occasions on this programme about the dangers there calls for additional parking something that needs to be done before a life is lost so Speedvan is parked close to that school and now it's causing a controversy and it is there presumably designed to slow traffic down to keep children safe as I say I don't really know what to make of this because the safety of the children is paramount to me but also I suppose how the rules of the road enforced has to be fair as well so the truth lies somewhere in between all of that columns going to help us out here a hope column good morning to you thanks for joining us this is something you've an opinion on what's your review no I just I travel on that road every day just the Speedvan is parked close to the school outside a private residence and close to the wall I have no issue with the drop in the speed limit 60 kilometres an hour I believe it should be in place at the school it's just my concern precision of percentage warning you of that you know the drop on the speed limit particularly coming from the Newton Cullinum site you come around a blind corner before you actually see the sign the sign is dropping from 100 kilometres and then you have this big inflation at 60 kilometres by the time cars get slowed down they're already caught by that Red Air Van which is like shooting fish in a bar but the thing I've noticed it's on while the schools in place Greg just in the morning when the school opens they put it on it's not on all day at the school really when they're leaving the school in the evening it can be turned on again and it is there for the safety of the children at the school it's just coming from the Newton Cullinum site to drop from 100 kilometres to 60 kilometres especially at rush hour in the morning there's cars breaking there's cars that are unfamiliar with it one day I said to Caroline I've seen a left hand drive lorry actually unfamiliar with the road they actually crossed the carriageway thankfully there's no oncoming traffic they avoid colliding cars in front of them so I think if the council would move the sign back a couple of hundred yards around the corner and put the beacon on there that people have no excuse there's a sign that'll sign the two children holding hands it's actually this side the Newton Cullinum site but at what point is the responsibility of the driver though because you know yourself Cullinum it's not cars the cars that are slamming the brakes on around that corner aren't the cars that are doing you know 90, 95 kilometres their cars probably coming around that corner at 120 kilometres per hour that lorry you talk of it shouldn't be too hard for a lorry to break from 80 to 60 so what speed was he doing in the first instance as you say drivers knows there's a school there because the sign is on you know it's not once you come around the corner they know it's there but they keep the foot down and they fly around that corner and then all of a sudden they're surprised by a flashing sign you know at what point do we have to say well you know what if you're driving that fast you have to slam your brakes on you're going too fast anyway and maybe you need a ticket to slow down Greg you're not dropping from 80 kilometres you're dropping from 160 but you're probably dropping from 120 to 60 based on a couple of yards there's people coming along there at 100 they're on the road every day they know the school is there and the sign is going to be on but I think the warning sign for people is not because there's a lot of screens there's a lot of traffic on that road on the busses roads in the county but I think the situation is just to move the sign around the corner because when you're coming from the other side you're on a big straight road and if you see the sign you can see the school sign beforehand of the two children you're given the ample opportunity there you should not be going over the limit but if you're coming along at 100 kilometres around that road and there's days that sign has been left on in Kovice so you come around and it's not in place it's only in place while the school is but if you come around that corner there and you're coming along 100 kilometres an hour next you've got this light flashing 100 kilometres an hour and you've got you're caught once you come around the corner and you've got a boy, you're getting a ticket I presume there is a I presume there is a I presume there is a distance from the school that you have to locate these sides these signs or else they lose their importance like what I'm trying to get at here is say you have that 60 kilometre sign around the corner right it does leave it quite some distance then but the odd driver is going to obey that speed limit passing the school for such a long period of time in terms of distance travelled I would say if you shift it at another 20 yards which is not going to my cat which is different you know but it's beyond the straight of the road if you're coming from Newton Cullinan side you'll actually see the sign or put it by your warning sign to speed reduction ahead do you not think that when you're coming up to that corner you see the yellow triangular post with the school that if you're driving and you're concentrating on what you're doing at that point that you should not be lifting off the accelerator anyway yeah but do you want I'll tell you about it later there's what I'm saying now is to you know a ton of trees I'll listen, come here I'm not I'm not against what you're saying Cullinan just trying to tease it out going up Lergy Brack there is a 60 km flashing light as well for that school and it is for the most part covered by branches right so I do believe that Motrice deserve a fair crack of the whip I'm not contradicting you Cullinan I'm just trying to tease out all the conversation that people might be having in their head listening to us this morning you know you're saying bring the sign 20 yards this way so just the one thing I'm curious about this column I presume then that they can set these vans that the laser effectively only starts hitting the vehicle or registering the vehicle from the reduced speed limit is it because the 100 km speed limit is in the line of sight of that speed van is it the 60 km you mean but does the van have sight of the road where people might be travelling legally at 100 km per hour well if you're travelling 100 km legally you are in that until you have that sign right okay so that's what I'm saying if he's catching anybody coming around that corner they're not doing their job they shouldn't flashing a bar because legally it's from the axial sign between them two signs you have to drive at 60 km for sure but I'm just wondering if they must be able to calibrate the the detection not to go as far as where it's legally 100 if that makes sense but anyway I'm probably confusing things stay where you are column because Kevin has been a victim of this Kevin good morning to you good morning Greg you were clocked by this this speed van were you I was travelling up on the 21st of April and I was detected at 8 21 a.m. at 71 km at that corner now I came around the corner there was no flashing lights on at that particular time I have contacted the council the Gardie and I have been given conflict and information the RSA website states that we need a 42 meter reaction time in order to slow down safely I know for a fact that there's no 42 meters between that sign that was not turned on and where that van was positioned or actually sorry that the detection of my speed because I have received the GPS locations from the guards in relation to that it's unfair it's a money-making strategy that's exactly what happened there that morning if I was to break from 100 kilometers to 60 kilometers outside that school coming down that morning there would have been a pile up on the road it is more dangerous it is more dangerous to do that than when I slow down from the 1 to 71 a blind man would see that you were slowing down to be safe now Kevin the sign wasn't on at all in your case no it was not on at all that's almost separate all together when I contacted Donegal County council they were responsible for the signs the RSA were responsible for setting up the speed vans now the speed van was set up there yesterday morning he pulled up at 16 minutes past eight I'm sure by the time he does his checks and by the time everything goes wrong he's not ready to go with 20 past eight in the morning so what do you do now I mean if you don't pay up if I don't pay up it's 240 euros plus the quarter parents but this is the thing they have us by the you know what's in that you really should probably go to court and argue your point but do you want to roll those dice no I don't want to take that chance and be prosecuted then if things go but I can't see how they can if you look at the distance between the actual sign and where the van is parked if you break that fast you're causing a pile up you're actually putting the people dropping children off there in fact there's nobody dropping children off there 20 past eight because the principal himself of that school states they do not accept students under 840 so therefore the bylaw states that those speed restrictions are from 820 to 850 so there's only 10 minutes really of children being dropped off there where that's the case and it should be effective but the sign the key thing here though the sign wasn't flashing I know but this is even an extra level because effectively I would have thought if that sign's not flashing there is no reduced speed because no one could have knowledge as to when it should be on our notes and the school itself only received the notification of the bylaws on the 13th of March 2023 from Dunnegal County Council so the school's only recently aware of that speed restriction so where do we go with this I've been on to Dunnegal County Council at least six times in the past two days and I'm getting nowhere with them because they're responsible for that light going on I've asked for the GPS location on four occasions from Dunnegal County Council of that particular sign they have failed to produce it to me I have asked for the electronically logged turning on times of that light as well to see when that light was turned on that day because I was informed that that light turned on that sign is electronically logged one minute I had one minute past their so-called bylaws if I worked it out I need 15.7 seconds to break correctly from 100 kilometers to 60 and there's eight seconds I timed it this morning eight seconds from where that sign is to where that speed van was you say the RSA themselves say motorists need 42 meters it's on their website what would you say the distance actually is to react it's eight seconds right okay it's eight seconds if you do the maths with this for you to reduce your speed from 100 kilometers lower at that corner to 60 you need roughly in between 13 and 15 seconds so safely and especially if you have an article someone towing a car how many driving an ordinary car it's a tough one Kevin because maybe the fact that you can't get that information from the local authority at this point is part of your defence there's no doubt Kevin that it sounds like you could very clearly articulate your argument in front of a judge but again it's you that has to roll those dice and I probably wouldn't myself either could you put the question out did you go and talk to Joe? hey Kevin when we're talking about this that's all part of the process to get that information from them that's what we do here so we've put an inquiry in with the council and we're going to try and get to the bottom obviously we want to make sure that everyone attending that school is safe but you don't do that you don't do that by putting other road users in danger either that's not the best way to solve the problem the school itself will not accept students up until 22.9 in the morning I found out about myself so why are those lights supposed to be on a 20 past eight causing the danger and they come on a 20 past eight apparently straight away they don't because I passed it a 20 past eight last week they weren't down so why is that by-law in place at that particular region at that particular area from 20 past eight number one it makes no sense and another thing I would like to know is that by-law just for that particular road the N13 not to mention too that and I've mentioned this on this program for many years these lights continue to operate during Easter holidays often during summer holidays not necessarily at that school but at various locations I've seen at Kevin keepers updated we'll try and get some information let us know what you decide to do Colin I mean there's a Kevin I think it's really strengthened your point there because he's been a victim of it and because he has been a dig a bit deeper in terms of stopping distance by-laws what the RSA suggests definitely requires further investigation Colin then definitely does safely if the kids and the staff and the parents even at the school but also all road users using that route and say there's nobody arguing the point that there shouldn't be a 60 kilometre speed but as I said before Kevin's told me a set of electronically it's on days that the schools closed as well you've mentioned that as well the fact that these lights in different locations let up when the schools are closed the local authority sets the by-laws and they have to review that by-law within two years and then every within every five years so like putting a peel out to some of the councillors there too you know look at this especially the councillors, elected members on that area the school because it's obvious the school is concerned as well because they're just getting dup feeds of information you know but safely if everybody's paramount and say I have no objections I don't think anybody's objections with a speed limit been reduced outside the school it's just the sighting of it and the danger is causing the road users and everybody along that state's road all right good points well made Colin thank you very much for that and to Kevin as well as to say every day is a learning day and I feel I and I'm sure that means there's something of what's going on here too and it's clear that something needs to be done to ensure that we are providing a safe environment for all road users okay Colin thank you good morning take care good morning to you and Kevin thanks for that as well visit letterkennycu.ie if the medical experts get it wrong everything changes from misdiagnosis or delay diagnosis to surgical injury or even poor treatment all have physical emotional and financial consequences we're here to reinforce your leadership skills at you are offering a level 9 executive mbs in leadership and innovation call 9186206 or email donald.hanigan at atu.ie if the medical experts get it wrong all have physical emotional consequences we're here to help so if your treatment didn't go according to plan speak to our experienced medical negligence team at McElhenney and Associates find us online or call 0749175989 McElhenney and Associates solicitors Stranorle in contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement is the appearance of your staff important to your business first point of contact for customers when entering your premises at C&M and Brodery and Letter Kenny they have a huge range of clothing covering all areas of the workplace it's widely known the customers warm to and trust employees that present themselves well have your company name and brodered or printed on all your work uniforms contact C&M and Brodery on 07491 28097 and get your staff looking their best right now we're joined on the program by journalist Sean McCarrick we're going to talk about that story we referenced in the papers that a guard is to face a criminal investigation oh sorry I beg your pardon a guard is to face a criminal prosecution over his driving in relation to an incident in which three men were killed in a collision on the N7 in Dublin two years ago Sean thank you very much for taking the call this morning and what is the background to this case it is great and it's nice to remember it was a case that got a lot of publicity at the time back in July of 2021 three men Dean McGuire, Carl Freeman and Graham Taylor who were known members of the criminal gang based in the Tallah area were killed when their car while they were fleeing from Garde the BMW car crashed the truck and exploded and ignited they were all three were killed intently when they were driving down the wrong side of the carriageway between City West and Bal Donald the turnoff for the aerodrome there in South Dublin I suppose a lot of people would also be aware of the case it garnered a lot of publicity and indeed no variety a few days later at the funeral of Dean McGuire when there was I suppose at the Requiem Mass in the church in Tallah there was what I suppose might be called a celebration of his criminal lifestyle when some of the offertory gifts brought to the altar were included kind of tools used by burgers such as a screwdriver and a torch and there was a lot of shall we say colourful language used some of the usages by people in relation to Dean McGuire and it really did it was seen by an awful lot of people as I suppose just totally unbecoming conduct at a funeral and in the church and I know the priest at the time said this was just a he'd never seen he had threatened to halt proceedings if greater respect wasn't shown and he described it as the most disturbing funeral he had ever overseen so I think as I say arising out of that and because they were being pursued by Cardi at the time the case naturally failed to be investigated by the guard ombudsman and fast forward then to this inquest and did the news that the DPP had recommended a charge which we don't know yet against a guard come as a surprise because presumably you know the families of the victims were hoping that there would be answers and now this has been deferred so how did events unfold in the coroner's court here so the inquest has come up for repeated brief hearings over the past two years and the family have been pressing all the time for updates on the progress of the GSOC investigation and there was another hearing there about two weeks ago when we learned for the first time that GSOC had submitted their file to the DPP in December and so the decision was awaited on whether there would be any prosecution or not and at the time GSOC officials had promised that they'd come back to the coroner's court as soon as they were aware of any decision taken by the DPP and that's happened on Tuesday night so we learned for the first time and I suppose it is a surprise development and I certainly know it has caused a certain amount of consternation amongst Cardi and judging from the online reaction among the general public as well that a guard might face a prosecution arising out of I suppose literally an act performed in the course of their doozy but as I say we got the detail yesterday that some of the detail the notice that a guard is to face prosecution arising out of the circumstances of the DPP you mentioned Dean McGuire the other that died Carl Freeman Carl Freeman's father expressed his displeasure with the situation he wanted the nature of the charge to be made public he didn't want to subsequently read it in a newspaper but all that being said the inquest was adjourned once again Yes, and not just the family of Kara Freeman, the other two families were also represented by solicitors, and they all argued quite strongly that there was no legal prohibition why GSOC should not disclose the actual specific offense that this guard is to face. They obviously weren't seeking the name of the guard involved, but the nature of the offense. And under a lot of questioning, the GSOC official who did not want to reveal the specific offense on the basis that the guard in question had not been formally notified of it yet. But he did reveal, as I say, under questioning that it did relate to the guard is driving on the night in question. Yeah, and finally, Sean, there's quite a process to go through here. So maybe we can't even speculate as to the consequences of this, but I presume the likes of the guard of representative association and even maybe active guardie who might find themselves in something of a similar situation currently, we'll be watching on with great interest along with the general public to see what kind of a precedent this sets or even how to react to it because I presume they can't really react to it until we know the nature of the charge and what the consequences of that might be. Absolutely, Greg, I sense that, as I say, from just one or two calls last night, I sense there is a deep unease amongst guardie and maybe the guard of representative association about the precedent that they set and whether it places a question mark over what guardie in terms of pursuing criminals. And as I say, in the case of these three men there were well-known criminals and so there was a good reason to be probably stopping questioning them. I do know that there were a lot of protocols around the use of blue lights by guardie that they needed to follow. One of the incidents, one of the issues that may arise in this case, and I say it is an element of speculation, but I know there are rules about when a car fleeing from guardie goes down the wrong side of a carriageway or a motorway. There was another inquest recently where a similar situation arose and in such circumstances, guardie normally pulled back just because of the whole public safety issue that would surround a car going the wrong way down a motorway. Whether that arose in this case or not, I suspect will emerge in the fullness of time. It might be a separate issue, but if there is one area that possibly arises in the case because we do know for certain that the vehicle driven by the three men went down the wrong side of the N7 and went into a fireball after it crashed with a truck, killing the three men instantly to such a degree that their bodies had to be identified by DNA samples. OK, Sean, thanks for your time this morning. I really do appreciate it. That is journalist Sean McCarrick there outlining the details of that case, which a lot of people will be watching with great interest. The nine till noon show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from Letter Kenny Credit Union. Call us on 074 910 2126 or apply online via our app or in office today. On this week's business matters, I'll be joined by the owner of Orchard Stables at Manor Cunningham, Lisa Wallace and the head of Enterprise at Dunnegal's local enterprise office, Brenda Higary. So join me, Curio Donald, for business matters on Sunday evening after the six o'clock news. Business matters podcast is also available to download at hidingvideo.com business matters in association with the ATU Dunnegal Faculty of Business. If you're a senior manager in the private sector looking to reinforce your leadership skills, ATU are offering a level nine executive MBS in leadership and innovation. Call 9186 206 or email Donald Hanigan at atu.ie. Ready for a change or upgrade? Thanks, Seat with our wide range of award winning Seat SUV, including the bold crossover, Arona, the family favorite, Atteca or the spacious seven seater, Turaco. All vehicles come with great offers on finance and PCP options. Book a test drive today by calling DMG Motors on 074 9721 396 or visit dmgmotors.ie. Choose your new 231 Seat with confidence with a visit to DMG Motors, Clairode, Dunnegal town. Are you tired of the daily grind of commuting to work? Long for the flexibility and freedom of remote working? Then GTEC Digital Hub Term and CarryGuard may be the perfect solution. Join GTEC Digital Hub today and start living and working on your own terms. Find us on Facebook. Now, dyslexic students in junior cycle and leave insert should be given more time to complete their state exams. Despite accommodations during class time, those with the condition are not given any additional time during exams. The dyslexic association says it puts them at a distinct disadvantage. Donald Ewing is head of education and policy at the dyslexia association of Ireland and joins us on the program now. Welcome back to the show. Donald, thank you very much for joining us. Good morning, Greg. Right. This is not just a solo, although you've got the mandate to do it by the dyslexia association of Ireland. A lot of people have signed a petition backing this call. Yes, in the first 24 hours, we had 7,000 signatures. I think the total at the moment is well over 12,000. So there's a great groundswell of support for this accommodation, which is long overdue, really. To help us understand why might a student with dyslexia require more time than a child with that doesn't have it? So if you have dyslexia, dyslexia, you would have difficulties with extended reading and extended writing and also processing information. So in a pressured environment, which brings additional challenges, individuals with dyslexia often struggle to demonstrate their understanding under those conditions. And in other jurisdictions, and at third level, we have what is seen as a reasonable accommodation to give them a small amount of additional time so they can demonstrate understanding and work to their potential. So logically, then, if that's how you're taught, that should be how you're tested then. I mean, it's it's pretty simple, isn't it? Yes, the State Exam Commission's guidance around this does talk about trying to mirror the normal way of working. It uses that phrase in their guidance. And what we need is to see an enhancement to that scheme to reflect the additional time that students with dyslexia work under. And again, it is available in other countries. If you look to our neighbours, the UK offers 25% extra time, Italy 30% France 33%. It's available at all colleges and universities in Ireland. And also with high stakes professional exams, extra time is the norm. The outlier is really the second level examinations here are in not being accommodated. Is there not an argument that this is discrimination on the grounds of on one of the grounds that this might fall under? Yes, well, under Equality's legislation, the kind of legal test really is it are is the body concerned, offering reasonable accommodations. And often the kind of flip to that is, is it unreasonable to entertain this whatsoever? So we would say it does potentially, but certainly it seems like a reasonable accommodation is successfully implemented elsewhere. And it could be felt to be discriminatory for a person who has identified need, and indeed legally has an identified disability under the law. I suspect, Donald, that this is not necessarily something the powers that be are against to doing. But it's too complicated. So what we'll do is just not do it. You know, too complicated to try and accommodate a perhaps one in 10 or a cohort of students in a different way. You know what I want about I would say it's not the will I'd say it's the way. And we're just probably any other conversation is nonsense, because it probably just comes down to that. Yeah, I don't think too complicated is a good defence under equalities. No, I know. But you know, that's why that would never be said. So we'll talk about everything else, except the fact that they don't know how to administer it. Well, there was an expert advisory group that the State Exam Commission have referenced today in the National Press, and they suggested it was quite tricky to implement this. Curiously, that group met 25 years ago. So I think we can probably look at that again. It's a reasonable amount of time has passed. This was some of you that was taken in the last millennium. Also, I think if you look at other jurisdictions and look at other settings here in Ireland, how they do it reasonably, safely, with sort of appropriate checks and balances, I think it is very much something that can be achieved without too much difficulty. I think for most young people, the most stressful time of their lives is exams. And I think as we get older, then we realise how perhaps not important it is as we first thought. But for you have to put yourself in a young person's shoes, it seems to be the be all and end all. So any extra challenges or any extra pressure against any group of young people, it's unfair. It's putting them and their families through great distress. Yes, I mean, the State Examination Terminal exams are very stressful for all of us. I do wonder if we might look back at how we do this in maybe 10, 15 years and say, why did we continue to do that for so long? If you listen to yourself and colleagues in the next month or so, we'll regularly hear people talking about small T trauma in exams. And often those are people that did quite well in their exams. If you think about the recurring nightmares that many people have, what's top of the list, walking into an exam hall? If we throw in the additional challenges of dyslexia into that, I think we should make every reasonable attempt to try to alleviate some of the pressures that arise as part of a disability. Yeah, and as you probably know, Donald, much better than I, that nightmare of walking in, but it's also the weeks and months in advance, isn't it? That that that will probably hinder people's ability to learn what they need to learn as well. Yes, indeed. And I think there's some evidence from other countries that where extra time is offered, it's not always all used, but having that assurance that you won't be under the same time pressure as everybody else. And it's worth remembering, some people say, well, equality is treating everyone the same. That's a misunderstanding about equality. Equality is giving people what they reasonably need. Now, I wear glasses here for short sightedness. It's a reasonable accommodation. It's my normal way of working. No one's going to deprive me of that on an exam day. And I know I'll be afforded this accommodation. It's a crude analogy, but actually if you think about it, the types of supports that children with dyslexia need, they need to be assured about that, they need to be given what they need, and they need to be given it so that they can succeed and show off their potential. Because as you say, later in life, perhaps we have a slightly more sanguine approach to exam. And I think the fact that during the learning process, extra time is given. It seems very unfair that that's not followed through down to exam time. Macaulay says, even though my son has dyslexia, he doesn't get an automatic waiver to spell check. You have to be assessed before the exam again, which they believe is very unfair. It was stressful enough the first time round, labelling him now, we have to do it again before his junior cert. Is that something you hear from parents a lot? Yes, indeed. And we're actually meeting with colleagues from the State Exam Commission at the end of the month. And we're really looking forward to positive engagement with them. Extra time is only one of the things on our agenda. The way that we assess young people for the other types of accommodations that are currently available is not ideal in many ways also. So we need to try and improve how we have. There's been some improvement over the last decade, but we certainly can improve how we are the types of accommodations. In particularly, some of the technological accommodations that we're using on our devices and laptops on a regular daily basis as a normal way of working, some of those text to speech and speaks to text functions are not afforded to children in exams or the ones that they're used to using are not afforded to them at all in exams. So again, there's a few things on the agenda for that meeting. Yeah, I think it's very much in the state's interest that everybody achieves their maximum potential. We don't want to lose great brains for no good reason at all, do we? We end up, you know what I mean? So it's very much in the state's interest to look at this. The petition over 10,000 have signed it already. Is it still open at just the Association of Ireland's website? Absolutely, on the website and also through our social media, you can find a link to that. I think we're at 12,500 as we speak. So it's a very impressive response from our members and people who are often people who are not directly affected to feel that a fair approach to take. That's a really significant number of people doing motivated to do this. I really I think so when you think of the cohort of students and then break it down. It's a real strong representation. Thanks very much indeed for your time this morning, Donald Ewing, head of Education and Policy at the Dyslexia Association of Ireland 08 660 25,000. If you wish to get involved in that conversation, Greg, Bala Bafey is a gridlock with traffic due to the roadworks this morning, make people aware in case they need to leave extra time. And I think for the next five or six weeks, for the next five or six weeks that that is going to be the case. There's no other real way around it with the level of work that they're doing that one lane has to be shut down at the moment and at the moment outside of the peak times, the system works kind of well. But of course, there's a huge bottleneck at certain times there. Greg, you can't cut hedges at this time of the year in case you disturbs birds nests. Many chicks have just hatched at this time, of course. And it was a jokey throwaway remark to Lee just at the top of the show. I don't have any hedges and my word, if he hasn't done those hedges yet at this point, he might as well leave them next year when he certainly must have to. There's a speed van in Glenty's Main Street at least once a week outside the old limelight nightclub. I thought the speed vans were meant to be in black spots where collisions have happened at all high risk areas. To my knowledge, there shouldn't be one on the Main Street. It's tax collection, plain and simple that comes in from Charlie in Glenty's. And this one also pulls in opposite the church in opposite the church or chapel in Donningold Town. And it is, if you're looking to do people, it's a cracker of a spot because you come around a corner and both ends a sweeping corner. And I would say they clean up there. I genuinely would believe that they do. Right. OK, just time for a quick one with Roshin. Roshin, good morning to you. Good morning, Greg. How are you? Good. Thanks, Roshin. And just give us all the details of the Redress Focus Group's meeting just before 10, if you don't mind, Roshin. No problem, Greg. So the meeting is on tonight at seven p.m. and on Green Inn Hotel in Burt. And we'd really love to encourage all people to come along, whether they volunteer with the initiative or not. We'd love people to come along and feel supported and hear the updates from all the focus groups. And if you want to volunteer, of course, come ahead. We really do need a lot more volunteers to come on board and help us throughout all the 15 groups. But essentially, this is a support meeting. And that's what initially we wanted to start. And it's growing, growing. So it's going great. And then we've heard some updates from the Banking and Insurance Focus Group this week. And there will be a lot more on that. So, yeah, seven o'clock and on Green Inn this evening. OK. And where do you longer chat, Roshin? Where we can see where we're making progress in these various elements of this campaign. But for now tonight, support and update meeting at a Green Inn Hotel at 7pm. As Roshin said, it's about support and getting together and getting updates and what have you, but also to you might want to get involved in one of the strands of the campaign. There are 15 groups and the more people involved, the less pressure on particular individuals there is. OK, Roshin, hopefully there's a great turnout this evening. Thanks for your time. Thanks, Greg. Thank you. Take care of yourself. Bye-bye. OK, we'll be back with more after the news and a bit of train notices. The Stradcount double duvet set at $49.99. But better hurry, because when all the half price hotel collection duvet sets are gone, they're gone. Shop in store or online. Home store and more. A happy home. New store now open in Arcadia Retail Park, Athlone. Add a bit of sunshine to your home with easy living furniture's garden furniture sale with stunning dining sets, cracking egg chairs and relaxing sun loungers that are in stock and ready for delivery. There really is something for everyone. And with this kind of up to 25% of sale prices, now really is the time to let your garden shine. Garden sale now on. Visit easy living furniture, Crescent Link Retail Park. With July only around the corner, we would like to invite you to iMotor's 232 sales event on the 19th, 20th and 21st of May in Lettercanny, with special offers available across the weekend. Call up and test drive any of our Kia range and find out why Kia is Dunigold's best selling brand. Live broadcast with Highland Radio on Friday, free pizzas all day Saturday and refreshments available all weekend. Check out our full range at iMotors.ie. Live on air, online and on the Highland Radio app. This is Highland Radio News. Good morning, it's 10 o'clock. Donald Kavanaugh, Anthony Newsdesk, at Dunigold Deputy says there needs to be an increase in development in rural towns and villages. Speaking during a motion on planning and rural housing in the Dall, W. Thomas Springle, said the current housing crisis is being exacerbated by the current planning system. He says a review of policy is vital if rural areas are to develop properly. We can increase development of our rural towns and not just our bigger towns, but our smaller villages too. If we are serious about repopulating our rural areas and this type of development needs to be prioritised. It is not enough to develop areas such as Dunigold's Houding Glenties, although development here is because it needs it too, but we need to be looking at further developing villages such as Thieland, Carrick and Bencon-Kellow. We need proper policy that prioritises development of rural areas and I support to call for this in this motion. More than two in five older renters believe they'll be renting for the rest of their lives, as they don't believe there are any other options available to them. A new report from Threshold and Alone shows a similar number have experienced high levels of stress from renting in the private rental sector. 17% of interviewees said their landlord was reluctant to accept housing assistance payments and in some cases refused to. Chinface Housing Spokesperson Onal Brin says the government needs to urgently build smaller affordable homes to support older renters. We need an emergency response from government to dramatically increase using emergency planning and procurement powers and new building technologies. A supply of homes, particularly one-bit bungalows and normal bungalows to get people out of emergency or prevent them going in for emergency. But the most important thing then is for government to accept their social and affordable housing targets are too low are not being met and don't meet the needs of our aging population. The Micah Action Group has published 13 amendments to the draft defective concrete block regulations following a consultation. The amendments cover six separate regulations and three schedules. It follows a virtual meeting between the group and Housing Minister Dara O'Brien yesterday. They were briefed on the revised scheme. The scheme and its regulations are expected to be published in the coming weeks. You can read those amendments in full on our website, highlandradio.com. Meanwhile, the Dahl has heard calls for penalty free downsizing to be included in the Enhanced Redress Scheme for defective block homeowners. Donnie Gold, W Joma Q says allowing homeowners to downsize as part of the scheme would be beneficial on all sides. Penalty free downsizing which should be voluntary is an important element and I think both environmentally and also financially penalty free downsizing is an important issue that should be part of the new scheme and it will make the scheme that much stronger. Glenty's municipal district has been told there is a cluster of houses between Dunlowe and Duhere where a group water scheme was promised several years ago but nothing's been done. Councillor Marie Thresguller told an empty meeting this week that the water getting into the homes at present is so bad it can barely be used for animals. She said people are having to buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. She told colleagues that it's unacceptable that in 2023 there are children aged 11 and 12 who have never drunk a glass of water from the tap in their home. It's unthinkable that this is happening in 2023. You know people literally do not have water to wash themselves clean their clothes. You wouldn't wash your hands and you wouldn't use it. Like the filtration systems aren't lasting a week in the houses. So this is an emergency. It has been an emergency and the people at this stage are being failed. We know how much needed is water rebuttation works are set to be carried out in the Finn Valley this year. The area has been plagued with a range of issues affecting water supplies from Loch Morn with residents frequently left without water. The Cahilloch of the Lifford-Stranowner Municipal District Councillor Patrick McGowan says the works will significantly improve the everyday lives and needs of people. We're upgrading pipes now from the reservoir down into Gephard Van and also from the main roads from Slyny down into Gephard Van plus a couple of other jobs like King and the Gephard. So this is all going to do because we're losing water, lamin-wetting and the summer time. And the winter time we're told to turn off the water because if you're lost and lost and then the summer time we're turned off again and then this is issues with livestock and animals and everything because we're a big environment area. While the forecast mostly cloudy at first with fairly widespread showers some of those showers heavy they'll tend to become mainly confined to southern parts of the region this afternoon with some sunshine developing top temperatures 13 to 15 degrees Celsius with winds becoming northerly, mostly moderate but fresh and gusty for a time in the northwest particularly around coastal areas. That's Island Radio News. We're back with news headlines again at 11 o'clock until then from the news team have a very good morning. The obituary notices this Thursday morning May 11th. The death has taken place of Kathleen Katie McGee, Niece Sweeney, Legland, Drunkine. Her remains are opposed at her son's Charles home Lettermore Drunkine from 4pm this evening. Funeral leaving there on Saturday at 12.30pm for 1pm Requiem Mass in St Patrick's Church, Drunkine followed by burial in the family plot in the adjoining graveyard. Family flowers only please donations in lieu if desired to the oncology unit Lettercanny University Hospital care of Terence McClintock funeral director. The death has taken place of Jared Glacken, Brie, Mallon Head. His remains are opposing at his late home. Removal from there on Saturday at 1.30pm going to St Mary's Church like Mallon for Requiem Mass at 2pm with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. House open to all from 2pm until 10pm each day. No flowers please, donations if desired to diabetic Ireland care of any family member. The death has taken place of Catherine Sheridan, Niece McFadden, Valley Bows Chrysler reposing at her home. Rosary is at 9pm each evening. Funeral Mass in St Michael's Church Chrysler tomorrow at 11am burial afterwards in dose cemetery. Mass can be viewed on MCNmedia.tv. Family time please on the morning of the funeral. Family flowers only donations in lieu to the Pioneer Association care of any family member or James Harkin funeral director. The death has occurred of Bridget Mulherne, Niece Padden, Dr. McGinley Road, Glen Carr, Letter Kenny and formerly of Ackle Island, Mayo. Bridget will be reposing at the Eternal Light Chapel of Rest Mountain Top Letter Kenny today from 4pm until 6pm. Funeral leaving from Letter Kenny at 12am tomorrow morning going to Deweyga, Ackle, County Mayo to repose overnight. Requiem Mass on Saturday morning in Church of Our Lady and All Saints Deweyga Ackle, County Mayo with burial afterwards in the cemetery. The death has occurred of Margaret Harley, Niece Boyle, Chestnut Grove, Beaufort Place, Navin Meath, formerly of Glen Swilly, County Donegal. Reposing at St. Joseph's Chapel of Rest Old Johnstown, Navin tomorrow evening from 5pm until 6.30pm arriving to St. Oliver's Church Black Castle, Navin on Saturday afternoon for funeral mass at 3pm. Burial afterwards in St. Finan's Cemetery, Old Athboy Road, Navin. The death has taken place of Margaret O'Donnell, Curran, Terman remains a reposing at her home. Funeral mass tomorrow morning at 11am in St. Columbus Church, Terman. Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Funeral mass can be viewed on churchservices.tv. Family time from 11pm and before the funeral tomorrow morning. The death has taken place of John Baxter, Drimna Cary, Chrysler. Funeral mass at St. Michael's Church Chrysler where remains a reposing this morning at 11am followed by Burial in Doe Graveyard. Mass can be viewed on mcnmedia.tv. Family flowers only, donations if desired to the Lakehouse Comfort Fund, care of any family member or James Harkin, funeral director. The death has taken place of Theresa McGawhey, late of Homelya Park, Dungiven. Remains reposing at her former childhood residence, 56 Monador Road, Alton, New York Park, County Derry. Family time, please, before the funeral this morning. Funeral this morning, leaving at 10.20am for 11am Raquia Mass at St. Mary's Altenure and herment immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Family flowers only, please, donations if desired in lieu to St. Vincent DePaul Society, care of McLaughlin funeral directors. For more details, including any family health guidelines for wigs and funerals, please go to HighlandRadio.com. All right, welcome back to the 9-Till-Noon Show here on Highland Radio. Good morning, of course, as well, if you've just joined us. Now, getting to some of your comments coming in so far this morning on a range of issues. Following recent reports of what's in our mortgage contracts, make-a-home owners, I'm horrified to read my terms and conditions that damage caused by the defective blocks causes a default demand event on my mortgage contract. How have government and banks failed to address this? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Has government failed to make banks contribute to the redress scheme? That's the million-dollar question. It's a shame that stressed homeowners have to drive this initiative. Wouldn't you think banks would have held information nights to support make-a-home owners long ago? Maybe they're keeping low profile as then all the scheme won't fully fix houses or they sit back and watch their assets be returned to full value either. They probably can't lose. Greg, on top of that assessment for dyslexia during exams, my son also had a separate assessment if he gets a reader. It's very unfair. No one would ask a child with a physical disability to be assessed every time he does something. Dyslexia may improve, but only slightly. It doesn't go away, they say. Another, I have dyslexia and did my leaving cert exam. I was isolated into a room and had an examiner watching over me, which I appreciate they were trying to facilitate me. However, it was the worst experience of my life. I felt as those more pressures was added. I felt as though more pressures were added, they say. They need to chat to people with dyslexia and ask them how they'd like the exams to go. Indeed, that would make an awful lot of sense. I call it says, time to forget the Eurovision. It's madness. Flogging a dead horse. Yeah, I can see why some people might feel that. Hi, Greg. Could you wish Mary Ford a very happy birthday from all the staff at DPD? Happy to do that. And we'll take a break for the bingo numbers, of course. We'll take a break for the bingo numbers and then we'll be right back with Dr. Marie Haynesworth, who'll be joining us. She's manager of the Donegal Domestic Violence Services to talk about a couple of high-profile cases that I'd imagine are really quite triggering for people. So we'll speak to her to see what best advice we can deliver to the public. The county's number one talk show, the 9 till noon show on Highland Radio. It's time for NCBI Bingo on Highland Radio. It's Thursday, the 11th of May. Jackpot day, you're playing for the jackpot prize of 17,000 Euro on the pink sheet. The reference number is S14. It's game number 19. The jackpot number is 87. This number can come out in any position from the next 10 numbers drawn. And now, here are your daily numbers. 26. 8. 54. 40. 76. 38. 2. 49. 61. And finally, 58. Phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight. Leave in your name, contact number, and the name of the shop where you purchased your book. And we'll call you back the next working day. Get all your NCBI Bingo information at HighlandRadio.com. The Groom goes free. Yes, you heard it. The Groom's room. Evolve clothing, Larry Kenny retail park. The Groom goes free. Call in today. Terms and conditions apply. A public interest message from Dunneagall County Council. Dunneagall County Council are carrying out septic tank inspections across the county and would like to remind homeowners to check the condition of their wastewater treatment systems for signs of sewage overflows, blockages, and sewage on lawns or in nearby ditches and streams. Direct all soiled water from sinks, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines to the septic tank. But not rainwater. If it hasn't been emptied for the last few years, please get it cleaned out by a permitted contractor who will dispose of it properly. Further details on how to protect your health and environment are on our website. Dunneagallcoco.ie. Dunneagall County Council. Protecting the environment. The Ninetal Noon Show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Now offering mortgages from 40,000 to 600,000 euro with no hidden fees or transaction charges. Letter Kenny Credit Union 9102127. Now, the next conversation is going to be about domestic abuse and issues connected to it as well, but I think you are aware before we begin. And I would say most of you are aware, if you're on social media, that the wife of a prominent Irish sports person has told of how she has been the victim of serious domestic violence for more than two decades. The woman said she was subjected to numerous vicious attacks by the sportsman over the past 24 years, including being beaten into an inch, within an inch of her, or into an inch of her life, to quote her almost directly, strangled, bitten on the face by the hair along the street. Now, there's been much talk about this on social media. We are broadcast media and we are subject to much more stringent guidelines in terms of what we can say and what we can't say. And that goes for other. Often you will hear, see posts or videos that appear on social media that we simply can't cover because we'd have to infer something or draw a conclusion, and that has to be substantiated and so on and so forth. So it's not that these stories are not talked about, it's just we are very much restrained in what we can say at certain times. That's the broadcast media, social media, it seems to be a free-for-all. But Dr. Marie Haynesworth, manager of Donegal Domestic Violence Services, joins us on the programme. And I'm sure you like the many, many thousands of others read the testimony of this lady and it is incredibly harrowing and worrying and just an incredibly difficult read. That doesn't talk to what it must have been like to go through it, Marie. It is difficult, you know. And unfortunately, these are not incidences in isolation. I think most victims of domestic abuse don't put their story out there on social media. So sometimes, particularly when it's quite a prominent person, you know, the stories get read a lot more, there's a lot more distribution of the situation. And yet the case was particularly extreme over a long period of time. So, you know, I think first of all, it's important to say that, you know, I think sometimes the cases can be so extreme that people almost shut off from it because they can't take it on board. And it is important that we continue having conversations around domestic abuse, even though sometimes the details are difficult. And also to remember that a lot of victims, like we try and work with victims before it gets to that extent. So we're trying to encourage people to come forward. And I know, and I do appreciate that 20 years ago, the response would have been very different probably than what you'll get today. But we are encouraging that people do not say in relationships that length of time and try and access support. So I do appreciate they weren't probably available at that particular time. But it's not the only story in the media. You're probably aware, you know, there's been a number, you know, in terms of court reports of different situations and other aspects of domestic abuse, some often get reported such as the use of children within domestic violence settings and how sometimes when the victim has actually moved on, the perpetrator will then turn their attention to, say, a substitute almost. And in that case, then the children can become the targets of domestic abuse. And unfortunately, the case was actually in Donegal where a perpetrator of domestic abuse then abandoned a small child on the side of the road and that was covered through the media there. So there are two elements here that are coming through in the media and people might not think that they're connected, but actually they are all part of that spectrum of domestic abuse. And, you know, looking at the kind of the risk that impose is on victims, I think, you know, these are conversations we do need to have, however difficult they are. Now, obviously in terms of the severity or the actual actions that are taken place, they're going to vary case by case. But I would imagine there are victims of domestic abuse who are still trapped in that situation that will read through some of the key points. In other words, when it began, a decision maybe to stay in a relationship for what seemed like the right reasons at the time, how things progressed, the difficulty then in getting out of that situation. And then often the consequences that can come along, both personally and in your life around you from doing so. And I would say as constructive as it is to have these conversations out in public for some people at certain stages of their life, this is going to be very difficult for them to read. If you have any words for people that have found this, you know, that it's brought their own situation really to the fore in their minds? Yeah, I would encourage you to talk. You know, when I'm talking about general conversations, I think there's two different levels here. One is I think it's important the public are talking about it all the time because then there is an acceptance. Some people are, you know, they're not in abusive relationship. That's the time to kind of read upon domestic abuse and read up about what the different signs are. When you're in the middle of it, it can be very traumatic and you're not necessarily in a place where you can understand what's happening. So to have a support network around you of people who've done that work and who are aware of things and know where the contacts are and know who to speak to, that's the ideal situation that you want in terms of supporting victims. Because most victims will talk to somebody they know and trust before they will contact anybody. And then certainly in terms of public figures, the first person they're likely to talk to is a GP. So that's, you know, the kind of avenue that you're looking at in terms of where referrals come in. It gets a bit more extreme when your first person you're talking to is a guard and it's a call out and it's emergency because then you're throwing people into a situation and they're trying to make, they're not really in a place to make decisions or be able to hear what people are saying to them. So it becomes very difficult dealing with very traumatized people and getting them to kind of think through situations. So that's what I'm talking about with general conversations and why people need to have them outside of the, you know, where we're reacting to major events or where, you know, getting very emotional about the stories we're reading. We do need to have a calm space where we can have these conversations. Some of these cases which we've come across in recent times kind of hold a mirror up to organizations and society as a whole as to how this is all viewed to some extent. Yeah, and I think, you know, with agencies they have a different responsibility because, and I keep going on about this as opposed to around risk assessment and the need to review risk assessment and the fact that once victims leave, you know, I've heard a lot of our clients say, oh, well, he is a good dad. We don't have any worries about the kids going there. But the reality is he was a good dad when the victim was present or, you know, or the perpetrator was a good parent when the victim was present, when the victim's not there and they can't get access to the victim, then suddenly they are looking for another victim or they're looking for a way to harm the victim through a third party. So, you know, risk assessment needs to be redone at that point. You know, social work can't assume or anybody, really family can't assume that what happened before the separation is what's going to happen afterwards. You know, children do become the targets and do become pawns in that picture. Even without domestic abuse, you'll often see that in terms of divorce and separation, you know, but so you can imagine how much more it is when there's actually a desire by a perpetrator to control everything that's happening. So, risk assessment is a big thing that agencies need to be looking at and reassessment and ongoing assessment, you know, so that we don't get some of the scenarios that we've had certainly in the UK where, you know, children have been killed on access and victims have been killed because agencies didn't get enough information or didn't share the right kind of information. And we are going to learn more about that through the domestic homicide reviews, but we're still not good at piecing together all the bits of information and sharing it across different agencies. And these cases now are getting so complicated. Not one agency on its own can manage this. You know, we need to work together more. Yeah, well, what's kind of touched on it, but what is your message to someone listening to this, maybe, who's been reading some of the coverage of the two cases that you talk of? And they are in an abusive relationship. You know, it could be emotional abuse, coercive control. It could be a physically abusive relationship. They're just waiting for the next, I don't know, big football match because they know what's coming next sort of a thing. You know what I mean? Unfortunately, that's a sad, perhaps a sad reality of someone's life. Speak to them. What is your advice to them? What should they do first? Well, to talk to people as I say, talk to ourselves as a service and just run by the scenario. We're not looking for extreme cases necessarily, but one of the things that was mentioned in social media posts there that people might have missed is she did reference that you assume abuses will change, but they never do. And the reality is without some kind of an intervention, no, their behavior is not going to change. They don't have any reason to change. So sitting back and hoping that the situation will change and become better is unlikely to happen. And the other common myth I think that people have is that the children were not present as in they weren't in the room when something happened and so therefore it doesn't have an impact on them. And we know from talking to children who've lived through domestic abuse, they absolutely hear everything and they understand everything and they pick up on the dynamics, they pick up on the tensions and they pick up on the fear. So whatever you're experiencing as an adult victim, you can be guaranteed that the children are experiencing their own version of that and are being affected. So the longer you stay in that situation, the greater the impact it has and also the greater the opportunity you're given the perpetrator to isolate you, to cut you off from support and to even meet some of those supports like family and give them a story and a version of events that will make it harder for you to be able to disclose what's happening. So don't delay. Let's start the move. Do it safely. Choose a time when you're on your own, pick up the helpline, talk to somebody. There's going to be no pressure from us that you have to leave a relationship. We can certainly support you through it. And I suppose there is going to be a right time, but it might feel that there's never going to be a right time, but obviously the right time. A person is probably going to have to exit that scenario at some point or God forbid something very serious might happen. You know, if you can face it early before, you know, there is extreme violence or a child is put at risk because as I say, it's probably a journey someone is going to have to go through at some point in any case. It is and unfortunately there's not certainly going to be an easy way around it but I think people do kind of hold back hoping that things will change and that's unlikely to happen. So yeah, embrace it as soon as you realize you don't deserve to be treated like this. Nobody does and your children certainly don't deserve to be treated. But even if there aren't children there, you as an adult don't deserve to be treated that way. So there doesn't have to be children involved. We work with what we call families anyway regardless of the situation. So don't wait and don't assume it could just resolve itself because it won't. How important is it the public response to cases? I'm not talking about any specific cases but obviously you have people that will express their sympathy. You'll have others that say nothing and but then there is a group of people that will victim blame. That seems to be their default position without maybe thinking of how well, I don't need to extend it beyond that just to say that there does seem to be quite a large group of people who are the first thing they want to do is victim blame. And I think it's a point to understand that victim blaming is probably a defence mechanism because what it does is it puts a bit of distance between saying that couldn't happen to me, it happened to them because because if you don't do that, the other thing you have to face up to is well it could happen to me or it could happen to somebody I know. So it is about understanding that's why I'm saying we kind of need to have conversations in calm environments where we're not reacting to things, where we can actually process things and look at it a bit more kind of objectively. And the other thing is so we're not to get tied into those discussions or arguments if that's where the person's at, they're not going to be able to hear you. Yeah, you're not going to change the mind here. Yeah, but the main thing the public can do is to keep this issue alive so that like the Department of Justice that has that responsibility to fund and protect victims and protect the services that support victims that they keep this live as an issue that they need to be supporting because it's very easy in terms of government that things can fall off the agenda. Other things take priority. We just need to make sure that doesn't happen. Not exclusively, but for the most part domestic violence, maybe even particularly physical domestic violence is perpetrated by men and maybe there's some awareness amongst the general male population that this is going on, it could be language in WhatsApp groups or it could just be knowing something has happened but saying nothing. Is it important that it's called out or like what role do men as a whole do you think have in relation to calling out that kind of toxicity that type of behaviour. Is it significant or would it make any difference? No, I think it is significant and a lot of men are parents and you're going to come to situations where your child wants to play with another child who might well be in a domestic abuse situation so if you you're always going to be faced with this issue even if it's not in your own relationship you're going to have family members some people will have been grown up in this environment so I think it is important that men probably hear it better from men that you can challenge and say you don't need to be abusive to make a relationship work your relationship with your child should be parented properly there's all sorts of things that the dads do do to support other dads that can be done and challenging abuse within that is one of those things I think sometimes in the past in terms of fathers' rights there has been this kind of long old men together as fathers but actually I think it's important to differentiate there are good dads and then there are abusive perpetrators and there needs to be separation of that because children do deserve access to both parents they don't deserve to be made unsafe and have access to perpetrators if that's what they don't want so it's about trying to break down that these things go beyond gender stereotypes now we are specifically focusing on abusive parents towards children that were challenging that behaviour and not afraid to do it publicly I think in the past we wouldn't have challenged what we saw happening in a supermarket or on the street but it doesn't have to be violent but I think there is a need to take more interest in what's happening around us if an accusation was made against me along these lines and I was part of an organisation or an institution do you have a view as to how best that institution or organisation might deal with me there are lots of workplace policies coming in around domestic use in terms of instant reaction but should I be left in my position should I be suspended from my position with a presumption of innocence until such time as the situation becomes more clear is there an appropriate response from an organisation to deal with someone like me if those accusations were made against me and it does depend on the situation because some organisations you might have both the victim and perpetrator working in the same organisation so obviously in that situation you are going to have to be a lot more proactive than if you are just working with one or the other we have certainly done a lot of work with employees or employers around supporting victims allowing them time off to go to court and to go through the process that can be quite timely so I would consider the other side in terms of once a perpetrator sometimes the cases can take years to come to court so organisations are going to have to look through their policies about their public reputation and the role of the person as well like if the role of that person is a front line guard dealing with domestic violence cases you might view that very differently than if they are working in a store away from the public I understand when there are high profile conversations about domestic violence cases do organisations like yours Donagall Domestic Violence Services does that be reflected on in contacts in terms of phone calls tax emails or what have you sometimes and it depends what the trigger things are within whatever has come up I know certainly do you remember the domestic homicide that happened in Monaghan so that definitely triggered a lot of things for people because there was no physical violence in the run up to that case there was no control controlling environment into a domestic homicide and I think that really hit home and a lot of people became quite alarmed because they hadn't realised that maybe that was one of the pathways in terms of domestic homicide that doesn't necessarily have to be a precursor of physical violence before there is actual homicide so all the cases not necessarily the people are already working on those issues I would say in terms of that social media post there was an issue there and that is a huge red flag for us because that is definitely a red flag in terms of leading up to a domestic homicide so if anybody is in a domestic violence relationship and thinks well there's been no physical violence but he did try to strangle me once that is you know you've already leapt up several steps on the ladder of concern so definitely to contact the service if that's happened That's evidence and experience based as well that's why I think you've put so much evidence in that and I think it has it or is it going to be an offence in and of itself I think that law was passed wasn't it Marie? Yeah it certainly is a Northern Ireland thing non-fatal strangulation is the definition of it looking for that to become its own crime and that's the problem with domestic abuse there is no crime with domestic abuse it's either a physical assault or it's a sexual assault or it's stalking or harassment and hopefully now the non-fatal strangulation would be another aspect to it so domestic violence is very complex complicated as an issue and it's always useful to talk through it with somebody else I'll only keep you 30 seconds but this text came in and I just want to put it to you and I don't understand I don't really get it when we're talking about the experience of predominantly women and what they have to go through that men get defensive I don't understand why people think that well women do it too I mean we know that right but we're talking about the majority of this type of violence is on women and it doesn't mean it doesn't happen in reverse and it doesn't belittle what happens to those people but people get very defensive of it and people said this text says it's always the same men men men you'd think women were not capable of saying more worse but we're simply not saying that are we Marie we're talking about the largest what we see for the most part but it doesn't in any way suggest it doesn't happen in the other direction or to lessen the experience who's been through that that's you know they're not competing priorities here no and I think but when you look at statistics in terms of certainly domestic homicide reviews where multi-agency is sitting down and reviewing them in the UK at the moment the vast majority of victims would be female vast majority of perpetrators would be male sometimes particularly where you've got mental health and you've got addiction those lines can get blurred in terms of you might get victims who retaliate and actually the ones that end up causing homicide so it's a complicated relationship and what's particularly complicated I think as we move into an older population is you've got adult children versus you know against their parents you've got all the population there as well so no it doesn't it's not about saying that it's only men who are violent but the vast majority of violent perpetrators of domestic abuse are men you know and that's just statistically how it stands at the moment not that I want it to change you know we're trying to reduce but it doesn't mean that we don't recognise other things happen as well okay Dr Marie Haynes where I thank you for just finally the contact details if anyone's listened to this conversation and having a conversation with the likes of the Donegal Domestic Violence Service does not necessarily trigger a chain of events it doesn't mean a squad car is going to pull up outside the house necessarily it's about having a conversation and getting some initial support and talking things through I think I've described it correctly you can correct me where I'm wrong but if someone just wants a conversation how do they get in contact Well the helpline number is an 1800 number 1800 262677 or the landline equivalent is 0749126267 and it's available there for family as well so you know if you're concerned about a family member we have had lots of family people contact us and we've had family members from outside the country for us with concerns about family members in Donegal so you know it's there and it's available we also have the Facebook page the messenger or you can email us on ddvsrefuge at gmail.com so you know put down in writing what it is that you want to chat about Alright have a lovely day Marie thanks so much for helping us cover these issues Dr Marie Haynes worth manager of Donegal Domestic Violence Services Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at highlandradio.com 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 you know that guy I've been seeing yeah turns out my sister's been seeing him too oh really and I heard he's been seeing Siobhan at number 56 and Declan your brother yep Spec savers opticians and audiologists own their stores so your care is their business which can make them rather popular I've got something to tell you I've got half an hour with them this afternoon Spec savers your care is our business For the biggest names and perfumes and aftershaves visit McGee's chemist letter Kenny Dior, Armani and Hugo Boss Victor and Rolf, Marc Jacobs and Longcomb also Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent Prada and many more from timeless classics to celebrity favorites there's a perfume or aftershave for everyone at McGee's chemist letter Kenny and online at McGee's.ie Over recent months we've all been dealing with the reality of rising energy costs and we've all been making changes to reduce our energy use however if you are having trouble be sure to talk to your supplier as soon as possible there are a range of predictions in place for customers organizations such as maps and alone can also help for information on these and all other supports available visit gov.ie forward slash reduce your use brought to you by the Government of Ireland Neglect by successive governments has put the defence and security of our country in peril that's according to former God of Sergeant Christy Galligan who joins us on the programme now I'm going to start with you Christy good morning to you good morning to you then all right okay so expand out on the points that you're making to us a little bit more please Christy well it's really wanted to commission on the defence on the defence porters report in 2020 to show that their defences on land see in there it's rule states like what you wanted to indeed all right and we are really a very weak part of Europe should I say we're relying on our nearest neighbour the UK to thwart any threats under an agreement that was signed in 1952 which is considered today by I think Jared Crawford as unconstitutional and that should have went to a referendum for the people to decide so we are in a situation where there are defence capabilities we only spend something like 0.2% of GDP compared to other neutral countries it's a very small amount we've heard about TN conditions within the forces itself but we have big aircraft one of which is a pilot's PC-902 Eurocopters none of these have the capabilities to intercept something like a Tupeloid bomber which is up at 35 to 40,000 feet the British army are those defence forces to intercept using typhoons to intercept and they come from Scotland once they're detected on their system to come in and escort these bombers or other fighters from our international we've had three situations recently where in 2020 where two Russian Tupeloid bombers to U95 aircraft were twice entered and had to be escorted out by RAF this shows you how weak we are in relation to our own sovereignty and we also have the issue of Russian warships off the coast of Ireland which in true reflection shows how dangerous Russian has become and it could be interfering with underwater cables we don't know because we were reliant in other countries to come to RAF but in reality though Christy we are military neutral clearly we're not politically neutral any longer we've been dragged into this by the leaders of the countries but in reality no matter what we spend given the size and population of this country we could never really put any defence up if the Russians or whomever were to take a notion to launch some sort of a salvo against Europe in the island of Ireland there's no defence really that we could offer in any case how many planes would it take how many anti-aircraft missiles would it take how many boats would it take for it to be in any way meaningful to justify the expense well they're saying that from the the commission of defence forces stated that the various aircrew needs to acquire an air combat and intercept capability they would require a squadron of new aircraft like the Typhoon 12-24 aircraft to justify us ensuring the safety of disguise over Irish jurisdiction and that's what we need we have a defence capability that is virtually obsolete a RAF radar system which is used to guide the defence forces and the limited ground based air defense systems is considered obsolete we have anti-aircraft cannons RB-70s and things that got there that the defence forces say are now no longer usable and are most likely extinct so I think really when we look at the Irish naval service we have six boats tied up because we can't get the crews to crew them yet we're going to send one of them off to Libya and another problem is we have our army on the ground who are constantly trying to obtain conditions who have been under resourced for many many many years and that's from successive governments unfortunately because we use the neutrality thing as a kind of buffer for everything we see what the neutrality did or Savanty did in Ukraine we have neutral countries like Sweden or Nordic countries like Sweden that are signed up to NATO even though they were neutral they're signing up as a defence against that that doesn't stop us from doing that we're sitting on a UN Security Council which can be vetoed anything we bring forward can be vetoed by two of the one of the addresses which is Russia Russia who is the chair of the UN Security Council for the past moment in time it's absolutely ridiculous has the biggest threat to Irish airspace though over the last British military aircraft in the skies above the Republic of Ireland not Russian aircraft for growing out loud but funny enough we allowed the inclusion of a military aircraft in because of this agreement in 1952 which has been challenged in the High Court by Senator Jerry Craftwell and we have allowed them and during the troubles as we called it to come in over the border up to five miles so that has always been there there's been this agreement between both governments that the UK because we don't have the capabilities anyway we don't have the capabilities anyway to defend ourselves anyway if something happens we rely on British RAS to come in here over our skies but what they cannot do unless an officer of the Irish Air Force an officer in the defence force is very okay but they cannot do and shoot another plane down all they can do is ask is it not the case in reality in reality that we are not going to be necessarily the targets of any sort of activity that it probably would be Britain or France or whomever you know we are neutral let's maintain that neutrality in fact I think we should be exploiting that neutrality on the world stage particularly given the success of the Good Friday Agreement for the most part tooling up and aligning ourselves all the more with the likes of mainland Europe and Britain that we should actually be proud of the status that we have and if the RAF want to use RAF space to thwart off any threat to mainland Britain then let them do so but why should we be talking about it but as you said yourself neutrality is kind of aspirational for us and what you have already said is we are no longer neutral technically we are no longer neutral because we have supported Ukraine regarding defence we have supported others in relation to European policy what we could do really at the end of the day is we have Kesco and the common defence policies that as we signed up to them in relation to hybrids definitely cyber security and hybrid security is very important as well we don't have the equipment to deploy against any attacks or any other attacks at the end of the day I find it extraordinary that while the Russian warships are off the west coast of Ireland probably interfering under water cables we don't know that yet for a fact but they are being looked at that we have a naval service by all of its vessels at any one time to ensure that our waters are safe at the present moment I suppose when you pay pittons to the army whereby effectively our navy is just a training vessel where people work for a while and then go on to other things to the point where these boats are tied up because they literally can't staff them and they will claim they are in for servicing but the bottom line is they can't staff them so you have to start at the bottom pay people the right amount of money Yes, I totally agree with you Greg I absolutely agree with you there the paying conditions within the defence forces is abominable and has been for many years and these treated our defence force personnel who should be credited with the great work they are doing in peacekeeping they should first and foremost be paid proper and be treated not as second class citizens but I always said that the defence forces should first and foremost be paid not as second class citizens and a lot of those people who are deployed hear from family members who have to go to food banks etc or have to get extra social welfare payments because the payments they get from within the defence forces has not helped either and that's why you see so many people resigning from the defence forces we have people from the Air Corps who resigned after we trained up on training aircraft most of them are just training aircraft not really interceptors or anything else they wouldn't be able to withstand a MiG-29 no, certainly if it flew above 25,000 feet they couldn't so finally then obviously reading through your letter it's a state of play it's where we're at and how we got here so finally the question is Christy what do you believe should be done do you believe that we should be increasing our investment in the armed forces that we should be buying in modern plane training pilots for them increasing our naval fleet having them fully serviced do you believe that that's where money nowadays in Ireland should be spent well I listen to a minister for expenditure and also for finance they have extra money in the bin they could use that money to update and pay our defence forces but update, they couldn't that the defence forces don't have I think that's the way to go if we were to have any chance of ensuring our own security I get exactly what you're saying but let's take Ukraine for an example a former country that had an army that knew after Crimea was annexed they knew the Russians were coming back years and years to prepare for it but the reality is that if it wasn't for the Western intervention they would have been wiped out in two days I think it's 170 billion the Americans have pumped in a further 25 billion the EU was pumped in and still all it is and it's a horrible phrase but at the moment all that's happening is it's a meat churner for both young Russian and young Ukrainian men a lot of the Ukrainian men involved in this are conscripted, they have no choice they can't leave and they are sent to the front lines probably to die I don't think an awful lot of people realise that these young men fighting, young men for the most part are actually conscripts, they've got no choice they are sent to the front line and if they don't do that the penalties are incredibly, incredibly severe so it's not just the Russians doing that the Ukrainians are doing that but my point being with all the knowledge for the preparation they still would have been wiped out in a day or two if it wasn't for billions upon billions, multiple hundreds of billions being pumped in there just to keep Russia to the east so what's the point in us wasting any money and risking young Irish lives in offering any defence let's head out to Murva beach Rossnail beach and just wave our white flags or wave them across our heads and say Britain's behind us yeah but the problem the problem with that analogy is that we could like we could raise our white flags and say no we're in neutral there's nothing to be seen here does that matter I put to people like Vladimir Putin circling out you know I mean this guy has been in charge of one of the biggest defence forces in the world yes he wasn't satisfied to live in sovereign state alone he came down he demolished parts of it off the state that he wanted to take over he's demolished it he's killed hundreds of thousands there have been serious war crimes do you think he would have anything different but do you think we could really put up any meaningful defence and I think kind of we're at his tail mate there I think we're kind of at his tail mate there you know because I yeah go ahead I don't believe we can there's a moment of time when you see how bad we are in relation to our spend there's 0.2% of GDP on spend on the defence forces no we couldn't we couldn't but at least that if you have updated equipment and you have what is required under the defence force commission the report on the defence force commission we need to look at how we are going to reduce the threat from well one way we could reduce the threat is the leaders of this country who have who don't I would argue have the mandate to who don't have the mandate really to play with our supposed neutrality is to not antagonise the greatest potential threat and we got a direct threat to Ireland from Russia and because of I think it was me hold Martin's comments about a person who chose to travel from Ireland and fight for Ukraine and off the back of me hold Martin's comments we got a direct threat that if we metal then we can face all the consequences of that but I think you know threats like that we know from the Russian embassy and and Russia itself you know threats like that are we must take seriously as well but they are threats to sovereignty and if we kind of defend our sovereignty in some meaningful way other than just by words alone then we're no longer a sovereign nation I would like us to use our sovereignty as peacemakers personally speaking I don't want my sons or anyone's sons or any person from this county or this region to be dragged into someone else's war but anyway I respect your views and I appreciate you sharing them with us what do you think out there 08 660 25,000 The 9th All 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 go full-leadal for a summer of savings just like our customers we've a lot more in the fridge by the end of the week like we're never running empty anymore so it's fantastic to be able to budget this is what we're going to spend and the kids can always throw in an extra few bits here and there like our youngest girl throws and hides everything in the trolley go full-leadal today planning on renovating your garden this summer then look no further than Dalecite Garden Furniture with a full range of sizes in garden sheds summer houses, playhouses outdoor canopies, fencing and much more Dalecite Garden Furniture Lifford made to measure and one-off designs are our speciality on social media Country zombies continue at the Clanbury Hotel this weekend featuring Jimmy Buckley and his band Admission 15 Euro dancing 9-11 for accommodation packages call the Clanbury Hotel Letter Kenny on 9-1-2-4-3-6-9 Transform your home with a visit to McGinley's Furniture Letter Kenny located at the Port Link Business Park just off the Port Road you'll find a huge selection of top quality suites, beds and mattresses also slide robes and custom made dining and occasional furniture with prices to suit every budget see the great choice for yourself at our showroom McGinley's Furniture Port Link Business Park Port Road Letter Kenny click McGinley's Furniture.com OK some quick reaction to our last conversation coming in who would want to take this country we can't even agree north and south the Russian ships are only here to spy on the UK I said there is some concern they are looking to interfere with those communication lines another caller says Russia will never bother Ireland if our government mind their own business and we the people don't give our government any right to change this either another has Ireland become more paranoid there was never discussions in Ireland's war fairing a few years ago don't promote current proxy wars if required the pikemen will return I think there's always been a conversation about our position in various conflicts a lot of conversation that continues about the use of Shannon for the invasion of Iraq Afghanistan in the Second World War we allowed British planes to flying out of Ferman I believe it was to fly over Irish airspace I think for generations the conversation about our neutrality or our role either directly or indirectly in various conflicts has been there this is just the latest the latest wave of it but I think there's sort of more of a conversation now about a European army and what have you hi Greg in relation to those temporary speed limits I agree fully with column move the sign or add another flashing sign it's unreasonable the way it is which seems to be a consensus out there Ireland doesn't do well in the Eurovision because they're so far up the Brits you know what Brits are hated all over the world and Sinn Fein winning and whining and dining with people who put our Republicans in the grave they were disgraced the Irish peoples but I'm not really sure those the people watching and voting on the Eurovision are perhaps get all the nuances of politics here the sign from the Newton side is never on back to that issue we talked about earlier there was a cure 50 people at Don's today says this listener is this Don's a letter can he I was so shocked to hear what they were queuing for it's a drink they found it on tiktok it's called prime absolutely ridiculous it's a phenomenon this prime thing there's a couple of YouTubers that are responsible for it they've created this drink they are making an absolute fortune I think it's just an energy drink I've never tasted it but people do queue and pay a fortune for cans of this drink called prime it's just a regular drink there's nothing fancy in it and as I say it's got one of the Logan brothers behind it and KSI is behind it and they're pushing it on their YouTube channels that's where all the young people are unfortunately they're not listening to me I don't think not in mass although we've got some great news in that regard coming up a little later on today but anyway I can't say anything else all I know is that I'm not young anymore I don't get it but the young ones are mad for this prime drink particularly I think because of who is backing and pushing it okay back with more after the break we'll get the news at 11 for you for all occasions visit letterkennycu.ie a public information day on the preferred option for Nadunov flood relief scheme will take place on Thursday the 11th of May in Meeva family resource centre from 4pm until 8pm this will be an opportunity for the public to view the option before it goes to the statutory planning process attendees will also be able to discuss the option in person with the project team and the staff of the project team and the staff of the project team will also be able to discuss the option in person with the project team and provide feedback all are welcome and encouraged to come along anytime between 4pm and 8pm no appointment is necessary Jake's famous All American Burgers has crossed the Atlantic and is now in Kelly's American Roadside Diner always tasty always fresh and so damn satisfying call in now for a taste of southern hospitality at Kelly's American Roadside Diner Bunnigie United and Cockhill Celtic face off in the Ulster Senior League League Cup final this Sunday Cockhill are chasing several trophies in the closing weeks of the season while Bunnigie are looking to close out the year by lifting silverware kickoff at McGinn Park in Bunkranna is 4pm on Sunday and coverage from the final on Highland is in association with the dry arch complex Letterkenny, 24 hour service station shop, deli, off licence and dry arch in the county's number one talk show the 9 till noon show on Highland Radio good morning to you it's 11 o'clock let's get a news update and it's over to Donna Marie Doherty thanks Greg good morning the chairperson of the Micah Action Group says the main 13 amendments for the draft defective conflict block regulations are disappointing but not surprising they came following a virtual meeting between the group and the housing minister Brian yesterday for a briefing of the revised scheme which is expected to be published in coming weeks at Donegal deputies says there needs to be an increase in development in rural towns and villages. Deputy Thomas Pringle speaking during a motion on planning and rural housing says the current housing crisis is being exacerbated by the current planning system more in 2 in 5 older renters believe they'll be renting for the rest of their lives as they think there's no other option available to them the report from Threshold and alone shows a similar number have experienced high levels of stress from renting in the private sector Glenty's Municipal District has been told there is a cluster of houses between Donegal and Doherty where a grip water scheme was promised several years ago but nothing has been done Councillor Marie Tres Gallagher told an MD meeting this week that the water getting into the homes at present is so bad it can barely be used for animals and people are having to buy bottled water for cooking and drinking much needed water rehabilitation works are to be set out in the Finn Valley this year the area has been plagued with a range of issues affecting water supply from Loch Morn with residents frequently left without water. The here look of the Lifford Municipal District Councillor Patrick McGown says the works will significantly improve the everyday needs of people and finally pharmacies are facing major shortage of a drug that's used to treat diabetes. It follows an uptick of the use of ozone pick for a man to manage weight or treat obesity. The drug is not licensed for weight loss but many doctors are prescribing it for off license use those are the latest headlines we'll be back with more at 12 o'clock until then good morning. Hi Donegal Marie thank you very much indeed we have a really short break to take stay right where you are back with more on the 9 till noon show they might have been your best buddies since you were babies they might be the only one who knows about that thing you did they might be your boo, your home girl, your muchacho but you've just got six deliciously crisp chicken McNuggets so you have to ask yourself are they McNugget worthy served after 11 a.m. subject to availability right okay we are joined on the program now by Councillor Jimmy Kavana. Jimmy good morning to you thanks for taking the call good morning Greg how are you not too bad at all now we are talking about school safety again this time Lurkey Brack National School and I think that's at the top of the hill heading Adelaide Kenny towards Ballet Buffet and everyone would know that it it's not ideal the way it's laid out currently Jimmy what are you looking for yeah great I have to say first of all from the point of view it's not too bad it's as good as it can be they have it well managed and for dropping off the kids that's when you're exiting from their time to exit from there what's the car on to that board again as it's so dangerous and basically speeding seems to be the biggest problem Greg I was out there on Tuesday morning just to see it when it's busy at the school morning time and like the speed of cars is on the over so you know there is an intermittent speed reduction at school times to 60 kilometers but that seems to be ignored pretty much 100% so I'm looking first of all maybe to improve that signage to make it better to make it more visible if it's as visible as it could be on both sides and there's only a speed there on one side so if you were overtaking somebody for example you wouldn't see it at all yeah if there's a slow moving lorry it's obscured the whole way up and also too and I've highlighted it on this program before Jimmy as soon as there's any growth for the most part obscured by branches I must have a check in it a little later on and it's similar to another story we were talking about earlier on we have to give Moltres the best chance don't we to abide by the reduced speed limit absolutely Greg and your 100% rate that is a problem too what's been overgrown by branches until one and that was actually just cost last week out there at Loggyback to clear that problem but another issue Greg is just above the school above the school on the barber phase coming down there's room there for a proper hard shoulder at now at the moment it's just a path and once that path turns into muck so if you're walking down there with kids and I actually watched on Tuesday morning a lady coming down with two kids walking down in that direction the cars are whizzing by and it's so dangerous and they just have this rough path to work on if that could be made into a proper hard shoulder it would make things easier and as well in winter time dark winter mornings the kids are coming in to school covered in muck because of that like so it's just far from ideal so I think if we could spend some money on that making that a proper path it would be things the other thing that I saw is Greg is people even living very close by to the school still have to take their car down to the school because it's too dangerous to walk that level that level path with children so you know that adds to the traffic issues and you know so another thing maybe Greg that could be looked at and I don't know how the possible is around this but if there was maybe an extra bus or something like that that could bring more children there by bus it might ease the number of cars there as well the thing that concerns me about that Jimmy too is just particularly the way that road is laid out that if we do have a crash it could be catastrophic do you know that sort of way because there's been multiple cars multiple people standing around the place I'd just be so afraid driving past there just because if something happens you just get the sense that it could be really really bad that's right Greg and you know to go out there and there at a busy time in the morning really really really got it home to me in a way you know the cars are just non-stop and they're going fast and they're so difficult to exit from there if something did happen you're absolutely ready to be an absolutely catastrophe you know so it does need to look death now the council have agreed and they're absolutely ready that they're going to apply for funding under under safety scheme for the road and I'm hoping that something can come from that both Greg as you would realise that sort of thing has to go through a process and it takes a lot of time involved as well I presume as well it's not just the council yes it's so but I'm hoping that something can come to make it as safe as possible and I would like to see that hard shoulder done and certainly improvements on the lighting or on the signage because I presume if and when which I'm sure the T10 roads progress that would take traffic away from the school for the most part I think but we can't wait for that to happen that could be decades absolutely great that is the solution but as you know that's a number of years away we'll have to do everything we can in the meantime to try and make it as safe as possible and it's not beyond it we saw some work that was done say for instance outside Lahi I'm not sure if you've been down that part of the world in the last while there are things that you can do to narrow and slow traffic down that aren't incredibly expensive and aren't a permanent solution but they certainly can make things safer I'm not saying that's the solution here but something along those lines might work who's to say especially what I'm asking to do is to look at every short term measure that we can apply to make it as safe as possible thanks for your time this morning have a lovely day that's Finnegale County Councillor Jimmy Kavanaugh there 08 660 25000 by coincidence the Mahirabeg school safety issue and the Lurgie Bragg school safety issue just happened to come up at the same time and both important of course because that's where our young people are but also important that we keep the motorists safe using roads Hi Greg just wanted to highlight this issue again with the set up in Lettercanny Hospital since Covid started patients have to attend ED to get triaged even though in my case the ED can't do anything for me I need to be referred to the Guine Ward as I was threatening a miscarriage it was a GP sent referral this is my third time in two years and each time I had to go into the A&E last week I sat for over two hours in a very busy A&E thinking I was going to bleed out and suffer a loss in a room full of people only for my husband pushing triaged nurses to get me through I would have been sitting there hours like everyone else I then sat for another three hours before being seen in Guine Greg this needs to change the hospital policy needs to change taking away masks grand but expecting pregnant ladies who are having issues to sit in a crowded room waiting to be triaged absolutely ridiculous and this person this lady suffered two previous losses at 19 weeks and nine weeks so you can imagine the stress and anxiety and having to deal with obviously the emotional stress but the physical consequences of a threatened miscarriage as to why you might end up there in the first place needing access to toilets and what have you my understanding was in the past and we did raise this issue quite some time ago in the past we admitted straight into Guine I think you used to go in through the main front doors it was straight in because it's a medical emergency a threat to the life of the unborn child but now people have to go through ED and being triaged particularly given that where they're going to end up and where they need to go it I just would love to see that changed I really would because I was in a conversation with another person another woman who had a very similar experience very very difficult for them in about five minutes three or four minutes Caroline but I can take it anytime a caller says that this mother had a really positive experience with the hospital yesterday she broke her arm at 20 past eight yesterday morning she was with the doctor by 20 past nine and she was x-rayed and in a cast and back home by 20 past 12 in the afternoon they must be commended when they do things well indeed and we how do I put this this nothing is anti-hospital that I try and do here firstly you know it's in support of the people but it's in support of the staff and we were speaking yesterday to consultants it's in support of them it's that the infrastructures are improved so they can do their job better like they want to and also in a better environment it's not a overall criticism I hope it wouldn't come from a program like this that it's an overall criticism of the hospital just it's not and everyone who contacts us bar a minute percentage is full of praise for the staff and are generally happy when they get seen it's getting in it's getting seen it's getting the bed and as I say it's not about trying to throw the baby out with the bathwater and you know what just a indiscriminate criticism of the hospital we try and focus on areas that require improvement based off people's experience and communications we have with staff as well because we recognise any acute hospital it's going to be a difficult stressful situation for the patients and for the people working there but there must be stuff we can do and we try and highlight it here that can improve people's outcomes and experience and the experience of staff and what have you as well do you get me? So we're trying to be constructive even though it sounds like we're highlighting negative any positive experiences that you have when we read them out regularly in this program please bring them to us as well because as well as that I never want to be a part of discouraging people to attend the hospital either okay right let me take a quick break and we'll be back with our next guest shortly at Centra feel good and shop smart with great offers this week like Centra selected meats mix and match any three for ten euro Centra selected fruit and veg mix and match three for two fifty and wines we love on sure on rose only ten euro Centra live every day enjoy alcohol sensibly dust off your cowboy boots and hats for the country hold down in remelton community centre this Saturday 13th of May a native the Lennon festival there's music with Paul McCahill from nine till midnight prices for the best dressed cowboy and cow girl and everyone is welcome admission is ten euro that's this Saturday in remelton community centre we have radio time checks with expressway travel route 32 from letter Kennedy Dublin when you book online and travel for less expressway bringing you the time us okay you're welcome back to the program and we're joined in studio by two guests now we have Reverend Jim LeMond and Kathleen Daherty both of you very welcome to the program thank you so much for joining us thank you great good to have you in and we are talking about letter Kenny university hospitals annual little angels inter D nominal service of remembrance it's taking place in letter Kenny on Sunday the 14th of May do you want to talk a little to us Kathleen about this well this is a remembrance service that we hold every year for families who have we've gone through the terrible loss of a pregnancy or the loss of a baby and now we've included families who've lost their little children as well in this service this is our first service now since 2019 and it's a beautiful service and it's one way of I suppose reaching out to people as well sort of bereavement support family support the staff all come together and prepare this service for the families and we have it on the Church down in letter Kenny and it's generally very well attended every year and it was a huge loss for the last couple of years we couldn't have it even though we did do it here on Highland Radio it was a huge loss because we weren't meeting the people and it was always lovely to meet families coming back and sometimes you may have families coming back and they had a loss and maybe they might have a little baby with them you know so it's it's wonderful and that families always feel that they're not alone in their loss when they see other people and I think to particularly, not particularly but certainly in the area of miscarriage for an example, it affects lots of people in different ways and sometimes when we try and speak to someone who's suffered a miscarriage we can say the wrong things or presume that oh you can go again or you know at least it was early or you know people here really probably well intended but hurtful things but for people who feel that loss as if it were because it is to them the loss of a born child it gives them a space for their child to be recognised for their loss to be recognised as well I imagine that's incredibly important to a lot of people I think it's very very important to people and it's unimaginable how deep and how sorrowful that loss is and you see that on families faces when they do lose their pregnancy it doesn't matter what stage this little baby is lost at, it's unimaginable the suffering that those families go through the couples go through and in the hospital if families want we visit them, we visit the parents and we have a prayer service at the bedside and we would encourage families to allow themselves to grieve and to acknowledge this loss and the prayer service in some ways does actually acknowledge the life that was there even though it might have been a very short time that that life was there which is so important to a lot of people isn't it Reverend Lamont it is well I think the point is this miscarriage this child is a member of the family and I try and tell people that this is your child and they give it a name or her, him and them and they're members of your family and always will be members of your family because I remember we had a miscarriage in my marriage way back many years ago at an early stage but we didn't I got a shock in my life when I went in and they said oh your wife's had an abortion well abortion was sort of a bad word at that time and then as well as that we didn't see anything there was nothing for us at all I don't know we didn't know the sex of the baby we didn't know what happened to the baby afterwards and of home we went and that was it at least now there are there's a little funeral type service was in the church yes we have a lovely service in the hospital if the families wanted and we would encourage them you know and let them know that this big service once a year takes place and they're very open to it some families might come that year and maybe they might come for a couple of years some people never come back at all and everyone's individual I think Reverend Lamont quite right put it out that things have changed now recognised for what it is it's not just the term you reference at that time that was the medical term for what happened the pregnancy was aborted the language and what have you has changed Reverend this is open to everyone and I think that's really important isn't it that this is all denominations and none really it's just for people to get together and you have to strike the tone there too which I'm told you always do well this is the way I live and I feel that everyone is a member of the family you know the whole family whoever they are, whatever they are and the thing that was going to say as Kathleen was talking was we missed the family being here at the service but they missed meeting each other and that was an important part when I came here and I've been doing this for 30 years no not 30, 20 years and member meeting a lady at the first service I was at when we were talking to she had lost her baby 30 years previously and yet she was still coming to the service it's sad and beautiful at the same time really in a way isn't it also to and we all learnt I think through the Covid pandemic us coming together being awake or a funeral or even just calling at the house or whatever but particularly I think the wake and the funeral was perhaps part of a grieving process that we didn't recognise before it was taken from us because I spoke to people who didn't have that experience and they still couldn't even begin to make sense of the last let alone begin some sort of process of grieving so we do need to come together at times don't we I think that the wakes here in Donegal are different from other places and somewhere further down the country there would be no wakes at all or there wouldn't be a thing whereas I think it's an important part of the grieving that the people do chance to see come to the home even just say sorry for your trouble which I don't like but still but we struggle in that moment don't we to say the right thing to come just to be a present and sometimes an arm around the shoulder with words unspoken can be just as important I always not always sorry I remember in the past I would sort of say I don't want to be waked and then I can't remember who it was said to me really about you at that point it's about your family and it's about people that want to pay their respects and it might not really matter to me at that point do you know what I mean and it did change my I'm still not fabulously in favour of the idea but I know it's it's that's not what the process is it's not about the deceased and Kathleen Reverend Lamont made an interesting point talking of one lady that maybe it was you I think it was the reference that someone comes I imagine that people will attend these this mass and have in the past when it's right for them to do it because can take a while to work through losses particularly if it's of a child I've never I've never lost a child so I don't know I can't imagine what it's like for a family to go through something like this for a parent you know to go through a loss and yes it does but we're also different some people could be there within six weeks for example that we could meet somebody at the service on Sunday who sadly lost their pregnancy or lost their child maybe two months ago in the hospital and they're there and you could meet people as the first time and maybe they had their loss five or six years ago maybe ten years ago so it's all about time and it's all about whether they're able to do it and you know I've had family members who've had miscarriages and losses but they've never been able to go and that's okay too when R.W. Hodson was born the panic station started and then he ended up in the neonatal ward yes neonatal and it was we didn't know it was touch and go we just simply didn't know what was going to happen and you know that important window of time there was very little change and you know this language was changing a bit in a miracle almost miraculously then he just began to breathe independently and now he's such a beautiful and healthy boy and I never would ever take for granted that how lucky we are but my point being is that the care and genuine care staff in that whole process and how they deal with people is really amazing and I'll be forever grateful for what they did for us but the point I'm getting to is that I am sure staff feel the losses and I feel sure staff feel the pain and I would imagine staff if they can or spare the time would attend these services and get comfort from that because as I say they are us they're of the community not robots we're all human beings and you can't work with people and not have compassion and sympathy and empathy and concern for people and that's what makes it special that we are all human beings trying to do our best in situations that sometimes are very very difficult and unbelievable and like for example your situation where your child was very very ill and those moments of fear and worry and dread and then everything to come right there'll be such a sigh of relief and such gratitude and even in loss Greg people will say to us thank you so much for being so good to us and thank you so much for everything and the nurses here have been wonderful and they've got lovely lunch there it was really beautiful everybody's been so kind to me while I've been here and so kind to my husband or my partner as well and it matters when people are working together caring for each other you can't do it without emotion without feelings and you carry at least some of it with you and you can recognize and we do I think when there are major events quite rightly so we are full of praise of the first responders and what have you but I think we also have to and I'm actually going to put the clergy in this as well if you will forgive me for doing so in the people that on an everyday basis be it the fire service that turn up for fire and have to work in very difficult decisions and make very grim discoveries our ambulance and guard that might have to visit a traffic collision a member of the clergy who may have to go to a scene like that there or try and make some sense of it through religion to a family member and the nurses they're not immune I think we need to sort of maybe I think a lot of us do is to really appreciate the work that they do all of the time Reverend Lamont the problem can be that a service can be the same all the time for me a service a funeral service the service for a child it's a personal thing and the effort has to be different and I've been to certain services at times and I wouldn't know sometimes whether the person this is going to a funeral service I wouldn't know if the person that was being buried was a man or a woman because there's no reference to them but I always at least I try but I do my best that we're dealing with this family this situation this child and we're focusing in on that and therefore it has to be very personal for them and for all around it's difficult life is difficult it's not easy and that's why we get great comfort often by coming together and that's what we're talking about here we're talking about a ceremony taking place on the 14th for all families who've lost their babies through miscarriage, neonatal death and stillbirth as well as those who have suffered the loss of a child the event is scheduled to take place at 3pm on this coming Sunday it is in fact at the Church of the Irish Martyrs in Letrucanny which is located where Kathleen and Balli Rayan here in Letrucanny ok so people will know where it is stick it into the google maps and everybody is welcome it is it's the annual Little Angels interdenominational service of remembrance for everyone really effective if it's the right time for people anything you want to add Kathleen before we go no thank you for talking to us this morning allowing us to highlight this lovely service that's taking place and it'll be just so lovely to welcome people back after three years and it's a very special time for us in the hospital to those who've been preparing this service and a lot of new bonds have been forged down in the hospital and new project leaders, new project managers like for example in the pediatric ward we have people there now who are leading out on the care of families and children who might be coming to the end of life and in the maternity ward as well we've got the bereavement midwife and then in the county ward we've got bereavement people there as well so we've built new relationships and getting to know each other and this little prayer service has done that as well so we're hoping that it'll grow and evolve and develop in new ways now in the future but it's going to be really really special afternoon and sunday and I love it, I love that service it's a very emotional service it's a very yeah there's a lot of tears there's a lot of hugging there's a lot of getting together connecting with each other again this service this year so we're all getting back together again and it'll be really lovely to be part of it yes it's important and I think a very important part for this service unlike the other two we've had which we broadcast in Highland was the fact that they are meeting each other it gives parents a realisation well I'm not the only one to start with but they have an opportunity to meet with each other and little phrase that I sometimes use is that only a mother or a father who has lost a child can really understand what another family is going through who lose theirs and that mass is at 3pm this coming sunday the Church of the Irish Martyrs and all of you are welcome to it Kathleen Daharty thank you so much for your time and for all of the staff work that you do down there in this area and recognising it's difficult for everybody of course and last but not least of course Reverend Jim LeMond thank you so much for coming in and speaking to us thank you we'll be back with more shortly get your loan transferred directly to your current account why did I choose Ulster? I wanted a university who could give me the biggest possible future but also the best possible time now somewhere I could make friends and have good crack but also to set me up for the best job possible I'm planning to take up one of the study abroad options and my main plan is to specialise in media law in LA but for now NI has one of the lowest student living costs in the UK so night markets here I come learn why over 30,000 students choose Ulster at Ulster.ac.uk slash go north apply now for this September don't miss the incredible tumbling panties in the Abbey Hotel Donegal Town on Saturday 13th of May tickets are 20 euro and can be purchased online at abbeyhoteldonegal.com or you can pay at the door don't miss out on this unforgettable night with the tumbling panties are you one of Donegal's next female entrepreneurs? Ambition is an accelerator programme run by local enterprise office Donegal that helps female entrepreneurs develop the skills and resilience needed to build globally scalable ventures attract investment and create jobs Ambition is open to female founders, entrepreneurs or those with a strong start up idea with potential to be globally scalable register for the Ambition open evening on the 18th of May at localenterprise.ie forward slash Donegal Now, Dairy senior football manager Rory Gallagher has this morning responded after his estranged wife I believe that's the terminology from whom he separated posted a statement on Facebook dealing tailing over two decades of alleged domestic abuse Nicola Gallagher posted on Facebook on May 9th detailing harrowing instance of alleged domestic abuse Dairy GEA have been contacted for comment regarding the allegations and asked if they'd spoken to Mr Gallagher and if he'd be involved in a short statement a spokesperson for Dairy GEA said Dairy GEA condemns all forms of domestic violence we encourage anyone who's experienced domestic violence to report it to the relevant authorities immediately well in the statement through his solicitors Mr Gallagher said I've been made aware of a social media post by my estranged wife in which she has made a number of very serious allegations against me our marriage broke down over four years ago those closest to our family are well aware of the reasons for the breakdown of our marriage and the continued issues we've faced since that time following long running court proceedings in family courts in both jurisdictions I was granted a full residence order in respect of our three young children in February 17th of 2023 this outcome was recommended by social services Mr Gallagher said the allegations made against him have been investigated and dealt with by the relevant authorities before continuing my focus over the past four years has been to protect our children from the ongoing turmoil in our family I have left this matter in the hands of my legal team and I ask that the privacy of our families respected at this time I'll not be making any further public comment on this matter so that's it and as I say until such time as Mr Gallagher made a formal public statement on it people are seemingly whatever they wish on social media but the likes of newspapers radio stations, TV stations are bound by a different set of rules and as I say that goes for lots of things that appear on social media so it doesn't really answer the question as to his future with Derry GEAA or indeed if you'll lead the team out in the AUSTA final at the weekend the GEA said Derry GEA condemns all form of domestic violence we encourage anyone who has experienced domestic violence to report it to the relevant authorities immediately it's a very very difficult situation the original statement is still out there from Nicola and that's his response to that right how would you fancy your power going out 84 times in 8 months there have been water outages in areas of Latter-Kennie on 10 days in the last fortnight residents in an area of Latter-Kennie have experienced 84 water outages since September the frustrations are being felt mostly in Bonamie, New Mills, Conwall and Tully Gay they face constant water supply issues it's been raised at the most recent Latter-Kennie Milford Municipal District meeting and it's not the first time this has been talked about of course Graham Parker joins us hi Graham hi Graham how's it going go beyond what's already been outlined water on and off 84 times in 8 months it's an infrequent service let's say we can put it like that yeah it's something that's been going on ongoing really for the past 3 years or so but in the last 6 months it's gotten much much worse we probably only have water in the last few weeks 1 or 2 days in a week so you know you can't wash your clothes or dishes even just piles up here you can only shower really when there's enough hot water and as you say we have a neighbour here she's been marking all the days on my calendar when we felt this disruption since September and it's been 86 days which in fairness is probably over 90 at this stage is it power to a pumping station or what's going on we don't know because we're not getting answers like myself and my neighbours we'll log a ticket with irish water but in all honesty it's a waste of time all we seem to get is a reference number but this reference number there's nothing you can do with it you can't follow it up in any way like if you do log a ticket I'll either do it through Twitter or you'll have to ring the help desk but the help desk puts you through to somebody in India I have tried escalating the issue and I actually got a call from irish water yesterday now that's the second time I've heard from her I might say in the last three years but she wasn't local she was from Cork I asked her could we speak to somebody locally etc she basically said no that it would have to go through the county council and the bottom line is as you've experienced it 84 times it is irish water are aware of a problem our engineers are looking to fix it but getting answers beyond that irish water is pretty faceless and not just for normal residents but also for council official not council official but elected reps as well they are allure unto themselves in terms of trying to get some answers that seems to be the case like I do know the county council have a meeting with irish water this morning I haven't heard how that's gone so far but donal cali has been acting on our behalf and he has he's frustrated as we are trying to get answers like for example I got a text from irish water this morning and I imagine I came off that back of that phone call yesterday but that text states an inspection of the fall reported will be carried out shortly to determine the potential remediation plan required you will receive an update once the investigation is closed so I looked back and I got the exact same text on the 12th of April so I don't know and I imagine the investigation has never been closed it's beyond so really we don't know if this is a pump that's failing or if it's continuous breaks in the line do we know that much yet graham look we hear sometimes it could be leaks it could be a pump we've also heard reservoir levels have been low which is I find that hard to believe in the amount of rain we get whether that's connected or not I don't know but we hear different bits and pieces but it's always kind of second hand information we're getting we never hear something even if it is cut down to pressure or something along those lines well those are water restrictions and they should be defined as something separate to water outages I mean if that's what's happening then residents deserve to know that it's down to low reservoir levels I don't buy that one graham and I don't think you do either just try and get out and mow the grass and you'll see how much it rains here and listen we can talk to all the obvious examples and why not shouldn't we if you've got a young child in the house and you're constantly changing their vests and what have you and trying to wash whites in dirty water potentially even just using the showers you say the dishwasher the damage caused to electric showers the washing machine that's the lived reality isn't it also on top of that we have my 7 year old son's bad eczema we had him at the dermatologist in the last few weeks and she's told us please prescribe creams and she's told us that we have to shower him daily apply those prescribed creams after the shower but we're lucky if we can shower him couple of times a week in all honesty because we haven't got the water okay well listen we are making inquiries to Irish Water to see if they'll give us I mean they're gonna have to give us a definitive statement whether it's satisfactory or not I don't know you've mentioned that Councillor Kelly's been advocating on your behalf there was a meeting today actually Donal Mandy Kelly's just come out of that meeting and joins us now he might switch the radio off for us Donal good morning good morning Greg and then good morning degree in there as well right you just out of the meeting what have they said well Greg I suppose they call me speed or speed and no further forward than I have been it's absolutely what's going on here, it's for students for them residents I just got the tail end of a grain there but I've been engaging with grain and the Dufford residents there within them areas but I suppose is that the situation that is revolving there they're fully aware of it which we know because the residents and myself have been logging each and every time that this is that such a year arises which is you may say nearly every second day at this stage but they have stated that it's not it's not something that's going to be resolved in the short term but they are carrying out hydraulic hydraulic module analysis at the moment which will highlight more listen they call me speed or speed and I'm not happy one matter what they've stated today is that to have us rectified a permanent solution implemented I suppose it's going to take anything up to a year or two what is the problem are these bursts or are they struggling to pump the water up as far as these townlands the water pressure is a problem Greg my opinion infrastructure is in place is not adequate the pipe is too small and I've clearly stated that today to have each water officials also there is ongoing progress from our own side where they are going to try to implement different pumping stations to try to run from the lecture from the boreholes and that will meet the water coming down that feeds this area which is from ran and they're hoping now this is an experiment but they're hoping if the three waters run from the three different areas meet that it will increase pressure effectively is that the work they're saying is that an interim solution or is that the work they're saying could take a year no that's no the work is going to take a year Greg is they're going to have to replace the infrastructure here to have a right I've also asked today that they go and inspect the reservoir and run and if need be that another reservoir be erected there or extend the reservoir that was there because it's my opinion that the reservoir that's there I'm not I'm not I'm a local representative I'm not an engineer but listen I'm only reading between the lines you know sometimes Greg common sense goes a hell of a long way well it sounds to me like even if they combine these three water sources to try to increase the pressure if the pipe is not wide enough to accommodate extra pressure we could be talking about more leaks rather than better water that's a possibility there's no denying that but Greg we have to try something here you know and we can't sit back when Irish waters tell me that you know to get a permanent solution when it take maybe a number of years we can't sit back that long these people can't sit back and that's why I'm pushing forward to have these solutions now put in place and see do the work because I feel that the wall work and listen I have asked that they put in pumps and the lowland areas normally and Tulligay areas there as well to increase the pressure but they have stated to me that you know should they do that that they feel you're going to solve a problem one area and create a problem on another which is a valid enough point but listen go on forward this has to be rectified and that's the bottom line I mean you hear the frustration of Greg Graham sorry I raised us a Tuesday GMD meeting as well and you know I feel sorry for them residents you know on this day and age I mean 2023 I'm like a broken record Greg at this stage but that's absolutely ridiculous let's get some reaction from Graham there not too positive sounds like your neighbour's calendar could be busy for the next year anyway Graham it's not terribly encouraging it's not the fault of Councillor Kelly there it's just the realities that Irish water are relating to him here's hoping the interim measures might have some sort of a positive impact I suspect that infrastructure though might not be fit to take the extra pressure what do you think Graham well hopefully look it'll make some some form of a difference to us in the interim but look from what Donald's saying there I think it sounds like it's going to need a lot more it's going to need pipes replaced or maybe a pump more locally to ourselves to help the issue but I don't know at the end of the day it seems like he's getting as many answers out of Irish water as I am that's alright Graham thanks for that finally Councillor Kelly you know we've heard of the problem in the show and I'm sure it's not isolated there this is especially in a housing crisis where we need to be expanding and building more properties I suspect our water infrastructure our sewage infrastructure is going to be a serious issue in terms of it's not going to be inflation or the lack of workers it's actually going to be our infrastructure that's going to stop us building houses that we need by the sounds of things the way things are developing yeah Greg that's a very valid point and that's something the degree is there today by my colleague Councillor Kieran Brogan as well had asked for a detailed report on exactly what you've mentioned there my lesson that quite honest they just but they have agreed to come back with a report on that Greg just to mention as well I have been pushing and pushing for a face-to-face meeting with Irish water we were recently at a meeting until Kenny not with Irish water it was a seminar besides the point but we were told at an ALG seminar where they told us that Irish water were conducting face-to-face meetings throughout the country and you know as well as my colleagues there today put it to Irish water and I mean they've more or less bled and they turned down a face-to-face meeting which is absolutely shocking and try to tell us that this is not happening throughout the country I mean we've been told one thing by a different body and been told another by Irish water but listen now clearly there are as my colleagues there today that we are not going to shut back and let Irish water not come and meet us face-to-face and something that I am going to be pushing forward for I'm going forward because you know let the Kenny's grown and we're trying to get houses built and you know at the end of the day Irish water is the elephant in the room here and we need to get them around the table and have all these issues addressed once and for all and just going back Greg to the Balney issue there and Trolley Gay and Cornwall and New Mel's I mean these are ongoing issues dating back to 2006 and it's absolutely shocking 16, 17 years and you've seen the water there yourself Balney off 84 times since September and the last two weeks they only had water two days out of 14 days that's absolutely ridiculous and I'm not going to shut back and let us continue Greg and I do welcome that measures are going to be put in place now to try to increase the pressure within them areas and listen I hope they work but then the long-term solution needs to be replaced and that's something that I'm going to push for going forward and I'll continue to push for until they do implement the proper pipes to give everyone the proper service they deserve these people are paying their taxes they're paying their water bills they're doing everything right and they deserve an adequate service like every other individual OK listen thank you very much indeed for your time I appreciate it that's you also heard from resident Graham Parker with the life, not the life but with what they're experiencing there 086625,000 is the whatsapp and texts 086625,000 give us a call on 07491 25,000 right let's take a break The 9 till noon show with letter Kenny Credit Union now offering mortgages from 40,000 to 600,000 euro fees or transaction charges letter Kenny Credit Union 9102127 A public information day on the preferred option for Nadoonov flood relief scheme will take place on Thursday the 11th of May in Meeva Family Resource Centre from 4pm until 8pm this will be an opportunity for the public to view the option before it goes to the statutory planning process attendees will also be able to discuss the option in person with the project team and provide feedback all are welcome and encouraged to come along anytime between 4pm and 8pm no appointment is necessary it's where you live it's where you relax it's where you make memories treat your home to a visit to Coonies 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 Coonies Home Interiors letter Kenny feel imperfection at incredible value have you started your 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sick and yeah took eight years for me to get diagnosed and that was a broad yeah and did you go through the process of going to Dr Lambert and test in Germany or was yours a different route I was a different route I was pre Dr Lambert I through an English group I heard about a doctor in Switzerland and I travelled over there to be diagnosed and I had speck scans I had facial paralysis Greg so that was an obvious sign that I had Lyme disease with all my other symptoms but wasn't recognised here as my blood tests were always negative so as well as testing for Lyme disease positive for Lyme disease I had vasculitis in my brain I had a speck scan in Basel hospital which showed up that and I was at high risk of stroke and I had a co-infection as well which had just a problem micro plasma now the thing is my GP looked after me I didn't have specialist treatment my GP followed advice from the doctor in Switzerland so resulting in years of other complaints as a result of late diagnosis and some people never get the diagnosis we still struggle in this country doing not to recognise Lyme disease for what it is it seems to be if people go to certain doctors or what have you that it's anything but Lyme disease that it's in your head that it's this, that it's that and people's journey can be really really long and frustrating and there's not even sometimes any success at the end of that why is there such a resistance for the HSE to fully accept how many people are so severely affected by Lyme disease do you think? I have no idea and Dr Paul McCone from the HPSC had the articles published on newspapers yesterday but they still don't deal with the problem of getting diagnosed and the problem of successful treatment look we need we need just frontline staff, GPs and all need to be educated about what to look out for I mean I had Bell's Palsy which is one of the neurological signs of Lyme disease and I still have facial paralysis because of my late diagnosis so if we were all educated about this about prevention and about early treatment and we'd really spend a lifetime of chronic illness but are the health experts generally speaking referring people for Lyme disease diagnoses in this country or are people still having to pay hundreds of Euros to do it privately? mostly private Greg to be honest I run a little support group on Facebook, Lyme Chat and we nearly have 700 members in a couple of years and the majority of those people have got diagnosed abroad through German tests and the problem with the German tests are not recognised here which is really strange and you know you could multiply by many many factors the 700 people because there's so many people out there who think they have something else thousands of members also to, I don't understand it going back a number of years ago there was a motion passed and seconded at Donegal County Council at that point it was sent to the Office of Public Works the OPW to erect signs warning people of the hotspots in Donegal where these ticks may well be those signs have yet to appear again they have in other counties I don't know what the problem here is in Donegal it's the will of the council it's been passed to the OPW where are these signs? there haven't been in many many counties my own I'm from Kilkenny and our Lord Mayor David Fitzgerald passed the motion last year and the signs have been erected now we need the OPW on board because they have the bigger parks you know and I don't know what happened in Donegal because I'd like to say hello to all the Donegal patients that have supported our rallies at Lenster House and I know they've been fighting for awareness and signs up there and it hasn't happened Well the HSC have issued be tick aware, protect against Lyme disease this is a call done for HSC and HPSC there's advice which I'll read out if not today, certainly at the start of the show tomorrow they've accepted that there is a threat of Lyme disease from tick bites if you're going to go that far well then let's get the signs up to warn people let's get a general acceptance in medicine that it exists let's get a streamlined testing in this country let's get more awareness out to GPs and let's get people on the life saving and life changing antibiotics just as soon as we possibly can if we're that interested in public health this is one area we should not be neglecting yeah and the MEP has adopted a resolution in the European Parliament in 2018 and there has been no follow up with that either since Greg so I don't know why everything takes so long you see the problem I have is and I remember I had a conversation with Dr Lambert at a very very early stage of Covid and I just get a sense they don't want to deal with it it's going to be a problem and they're going to do the exact same with long Covid as well it's all in your mind it's something else and Dr Lambert is treating long Covid patients as well as chronic Lyme patients he understands he just knows you know he can't he's an outlier and he's not going to be in that position forever so you know the gaps need to be filled right okay and thanks for helping us make some awareness here and TikTok Ireland are having a conference in Port Leish under 27 for anyone that's interested in learning more about our situation okay TikTok alright and thanks very much indeed for that okay take care of yourself bye bye and Mahir there long trousers long see shirts and shoes wear a hat tuck in your hair use an insect repellent check skin hair and warm skin folds for ticks after a day out checking for ticks and removing any from your pets clothing outdoor gear removing any ticks and consultant with a GP of symptoms developed and if you feel it could be that don't leave until you get some sort of satisfaction we might return to that again before the end of May it's such an important issue have a lovely day we're back with tomorrow at nine