 under the defective block scheme will be fully mortgaged and insurable. Minister Charlie McConnelogue said that government will be insisting on cast iron guarantees from banks and insurance companies to see this as the case. However, the focus group says those guarantees will be given, dependent on whether or not the work is certified by a registered engineer, and Engineers Ireland are considering that ahead of the next meeting in February. They also say it's not a matter for political demands or grandstanding. The script member, Seamus Devaney, says if engineers don't sign off on the work, then government will have to revisit the scheme, and with foundations not being replaced, he believes that's very likely. Engineers Ireland effectively have gone away for four weeks now to hopefully come back to us with a definitive, clarified position on this issue, and that then that we can take to the banks and say, does this make these homes mortgageable or not? I don't want to jump ahead of that and say that, of course, it doesn't make them mortgageable because they still contain delirious materials, and that would include a risk that the banks have no appetite for. Banks don't loan on calculated risk. Maydown tactical support group officers have been conducting rude safety operations across Derry City and Sturban District, the results of which found a driver speeding almost 30 miles per hour over the speed limit and the seizure of suspected drugs. Sean O'Regan reports. The team were assisting district colleagues with the vents as well as carrying out road safety checks. On Thursday last, the officer on patrol recovered suspected class B drugs from a vehicle in the waterside area of the city. As a result, the vehicle was seized and a teenager was arrested then charged with offences. The following day, a driver was detected travelling at 79 miles an hour in a 50 zone. The PSNI is urging the public to adhere to the fatal five. Don't drink or drive, slow down, don't drive carelessly, wear a seat belt and don't use your phone while driving. It added that it's a shared responsibility of all road users to keep themselves and each other safe. Some people with disabilities are experiencing financial abuse. The National Advocacy Service reports that this is despite new laws which presume every adult has the capacity to make their own decisions until proven otherwise. In certain cases, people are facing banking and digital exclusion, while others had their money restricted or limited by family members. The report shows that people with disabilities can face increased pressure and resistance when they attempt to exercise their autonomy and independence. Looking out for weather, mainly cloudy this morning with outbreaks of rain and some further falls of sleet or snow, transitioning to mostly rain by mid-morning. The rain will become patchier through the afternoon with some sunny spells developing. Highs of 4-6 degrees with mostly moderate south-west to west winds fresh at times in the northwest and a yellow snow ice warning remains in operation until 11am this morning. That's all for now from Highland video news, back again at 10 o'clock. Hello, very good morning, it's four minutes past nine on this Tuesday the 16th of January and we welcome you to the 9 until noon show broadcasting live across the region on air and across the world from the northwest of Ireland online. It's great to have you on board and we want your views and comments, your stories into us right now. Our phone lines are open for you, WhatsApps and texts to 086 60 25000, 086 60 25000. If you're outside the republic it's 003538 660 25000 and you can give us a call in 07491 25000 with that same international dialing code if you're outside the republic. Emails from across the world to comments at highlandradio.com and of course you can comment on our social media. If you choose to watch the show that option is there for you. We are on YouTube so you can watch us on your smart TV or your fire stick Highland Radio Ireland is the URL there or the name of the channel. We're across your mobile devices on that app as well as Facebook, Highland Hub, Highland Radio News and Sport and broadcasting live on X. OK, the newspaper is from the regions this morning. It's just one this morning. It's the Donagall Democrat and there's been a warm welcome by Donagall Municipal District Councillors to the news that work is to commence on January 22nd on what will be an upgraded Diamond Central Civic Space Area for Donagall Town. The announcement was made at this week's monthly meeting of the MD in Donagall Town where it was also revealed that 97 buses a day pick up and drop passengers off at the bus stop located outside the Abbey Hotel and that did not include tourist buses which arrive in the summer and at other times of the year. So just can feel that figure again. 97 buses a day and that doesn't include summer buses as well at a previous meeting on analysis of the number of users and their specific time frames for utilizing the bus parking facilities outside the hotel was given. It was said that discussions had commenced with a local landowner who's developing a site some 400 meters from the existing bus stop, which may help resolve the congestion. I would argue there isn't really bus stopping facilities there at all. Yes, they can pollinate outside the Abbey Hotel, but there's not facilities or spaces and that's not questioning the reporting in the paper. By the way, it's just they're only reporting how it was described to them. The Irish Times this morning. Guardia examining a warning that the hotel at the centre of a standoff over accommodation for asylum seekers could be burned some 17 international protection applicants entered Rackett Hall Hotel yesterday mid scuffles between Guardi and prosecutors, which saw one person arrested yesterday. Fina Ford TD for Tipperary Jackie Cahill told RT that he'd reported to the guard a warning that has been made to him that the hotel would be burned down. Now, I've seen myself numerous, well, when I say numerous for threats, the same of the same caliber, he said it was a very isolated incident, but that you only have to love. Sorry, you only have to have one person to have an arson attack. You don't have to have everyone agreeing with it. A full investigation of the matter has not been launched in response to queries. A spokesperson for the guard has said that while it does not comment on specific conversations with third parties, the force can confirm information was received and it was now being assessed. So there's a huge controversy outside that facility in North Tipperary. People have protested overnight and where what we're seeing is is more and more of these protests are taking place. It was very clear that a decision was made that these people were going into that hotel, which is the last hotel in that town in which it's located. They were going in by hook or by crook because there was a large guard presence there. Not really nice to see that the young children, people will say it's the guards fault, people will say it's the protesters fault. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but it's sad to see the younger ones having to see that as they went in. As I say, some of you will blame the guards, some of you will blame the protesters, but still they did have to see it. Some good news yesterday, carrying it in the papers today about your electricity costs going down. Gas and electricity prices may fall by 15% amid a return to normality. Households can expect more energy price cuts this year after Electric Ireland announced a second reduction in its tariffs in the past few months. Consumers could be in line for another 10 to 15% decrease in electric and gas prices, according to energy scientist Paul Dean. He said this would bring the cost of electricity for a typical household down to around 1,500 a year. This is in contrast to the cost last year of around 2,000 per household, 2,000 sounds about right, very, very expensive. However, before Russia invaded Ukraine, the annual cost of electricity for a year was around 1,100 euro. Asked about the latest announcement by Electric Ireland that it was cutting electricity prices and the standing charge by 8% in March. Dr. Dean said this is the start of a return to normality for electricity prices, but there's an awful lot going on around the world that could see an uptick again very, very quickly, I'm sure. On to the mail this morning. Disabled people do not want to be pawns in the assisted dying debate, advocates say, as they also warn against arguments around new legislation in this area, sparking commentary with eugenic overtones about who's worthy of support to live. The Independent Living Movement Ireland organization will today warn politicians that disabled people do not want to be political football in the debate around assisted dying in Ireland. The Special Arctus Committee on Assisted Dying will reconvene this afternoon after the winter recess to begin its final weeks of debate around assisted dying legislation and whether it should be introduced in this country and what are your views on that? We have discussed it here and there in the past, but we're getting to the point now whereby, you know, decisions may actually be made on the national level as to whether or not it can be introduced here or not. And, you know, the conversation is going on all the time. I mean, there's a storyline, I believe, in Coronation Street, is it at the moment, about someone who has been diagnosed with MND. I believe it's MND. And they're teasing out the conversation about assisted dying. So I was going to say, you know, normally the soaps follow what's being talked about because to try and stay relevant, I suppose. But anyway, my point being is, is, do you believe that assisted dying should be introduced into this country? If you do, why? If you don't, why? What are your concerns? Peter Kearns of the ILMI will say, the Eroctors prioritising a committee on assisting people to die as opposed to a committee examining how to improve services to allow disabled people to live in dignity is a worrying development, which is a really, really good point, actually. And a little later on in the programme, I'm going to mention it to you now. We're going to be carrying a story, and it's really quite a worrying development, but we can't access the speaker until after 11. But we can have the conversation between now and then because Donegal's only child and adolescent counselling service is having to close, which is really quite shocking and has triggered a great deal of upset. Amongst people who have used the service, and a lot of people have used the service, 15,000 people have accessed counselling. These are young and adolescent people, sorry, you know, children and adolescents that have accessed the services provided by the Raffaul Dyson Centre. They have a centre in Letherkenny, which was very useful for people in Letherkenny, but what also was excellent about this service, and I say it in the past tense, I hope this can be reversed because they only need 60 grand to keep going, right? Now, I don't understand how this can be allowed to happen. There are people with great influence in this county, be it local representatives, councillors, TDs, ministers, you know, government TDs, opposition TDs, that hopefully are going to be all over this to try and get the funding from the HSC in Tuesla or wherever it might be, the 60K to keep this service going. There are 26-odd councillors that are offering supports to people, not just in Letherkenny, but also at Donfana East, Rinala, Chrysler, Bonkranagh, local community-funded projects at Huey's Corner in Carrandona and Gemesie's Legacy of Hope in Dunlowe. So, right across the county, with the exception of the south of the county, but be that as it may, we're going to be discussing this on the programme later. Have you used the Raffoldeising Centre services? What do you think of the news that for the sake of 60,000 euro, these services are being fully withdrawn now, being closed down? And I think if that's allowed to happen, all the connections with the people that work there, the councillors and all what, it'll be very hard perhaps to reconstitute that if someone changes their mind into the future about funding it. We have a mental health crisis. We have an awful situation with pressures on our young people and our adolescents. We know how hard it can be for them to get support and counselling and we have the only dedicated service for that that is on the brink of closure. They've announced the closure effectively. They told their staff, can it be reversed? Well, we'll speak to the head of it a little later on. But I just hope that those that might have influence in this county will see this as an emergency and also realise the positivity that could come from a really small financial announcement and get on this today and get it sorted and get this reversed, get them funded. We'll be talking about it later, but we want to hear your views as well. Are you upset at the news that this service might be closing? Maybe you've had young people in your life or maybe you were that young person or are that young person that have accessed their services, their counselling services? Let us know why you believe the centre should not be allowed to close. An interesting development in the Irish Daily Stardust in terms of what you can and cannot sue for. Radio DJ Dave Fanning has launched defamation proceedings against a Hong Kong news site and Microsoft over the publication of his picture alongside an article stating an Irish broadcaster had gone on trial for alleged sexual misconduct. The article was published by an online news network entity called BNN of an article on October 11th, last accompanied with Mr Fanning's image entitled prominent Irish broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct. It was written by a person whose name, well, Casturi was their first name, Char Caborte, their second, the defendant, the defamatory article which states that the broadcaster's identity was being withheld due to legal restrictions and that he faces trial for allegedly engaging in sexual activities with a child under 12 was also allegedly republished on Microsoft's news service MSN on the same date it had been published by BNN. So he's taking the case in that regard. And Microsoft, I'm sure, through their news network just pulled it automatically from the offending website. There's a good call. I think a lot of you would back this. I think it's a bit late in the day because I wonder now if the government might be inclined to do this because there's been a big uptake of zero, zero alcohol. But the government should slash taxes on non-alcoholic beers and wines to boost the spirits of people taking part in Dry January, Dry January, a former Minister of Claims. This is in the sun. Finnegales, Charlie Flanagan is taking part in the trend that sees people give up booze for a month. But he's raging against the price of non-alcohol beers in our pubs and shops, which cost the same as regular tipples. The Lee Shuffly TD has written to Finance Minister Michael McGraw, urging him to slash the 23% vat on non-alcohol beers and wines. Let's just say, I think they make up a decent proportion of sales now. So the government might be might be against losing out on that revenue because I think the fight to sort of get them into bars has been won. But we shall see, what do you think? Would you like to see vat rates on non-alcohol beers cut so that they're cheaper and encourage more people to drink them? And the pubs wouldn't be at a loss because they get the same level of profit with the state that would lose out. And the Irish Daily Mirror, more than a quarter of a million calls for help were received by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul last year. That's a 10% increase on contacts in 2022. And just over a third of callers were requesting help with food, close to 30,000 people who sought help from SVP last year were doing so for the first time, some 20,000 calls relating to those seeking help with energy and utility bills while another 33,000 were from people struggling with both food and energy costs. And I know many of you out there support St. Vincent de Paul and the work that they do. And we are pleased to be able to platform them whenever they need to speak publicly. And I'm sure the money that you raised was well spent in helping those people who called seeking assistance there. The newspapers are courtesy of Kelly Centra Mountaintop Lettercanny, the Seastore National Large Forecourt of the Year for 2022. The nine-till-noon show with Lettercanny Credit Union. Simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from Lettercanny Credit Union. Call us on 074-910-2126 or apply online via our app or in office today. Discover the ultimate experience in the Spad Orchids at the Hollywood Hotel Bundorn with our tranquil Japanese-themed garden, rejuvenated in massages, revitalizing facials, luxurious spa baths, pampering body treatments, not forgetting the outdoor hot tub and sauna in our secret garden. Visit on a luxury spa day, popping for some me time or buy the perfect present with a gift voucher. Relax and let the Spad Orchids transport you to another world. For more, see hollywoodhotel.com. The Massive January Sale is now on at Patterson's Kitchen, the Halllifer. Massive savings on kitchen beds, sofas, dining sets, and gift ware with up to 50% off selected mattresses, hundreds of products in stock and ready for delivery or collection. Open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m. Get yourself down to Patterson's Massive January Sale. When it comes to electrical waste recycling, we're pretty good with the big items, like tumble dryers, fridge freezers, and cookers. But what about your old broken power tools and gardening equipment? Those drills and electric lawnmowers end up in the shed beside that damaged solar power garden gnome. The good news, you can recycle anything with a plug, battery, or cable for free. And it couldn't be easier. For a list of drop-off points and participating retailers, just go to mywaste.ie. Brought to you by the Government of Ireland. At B&Q, get four for three on flooring and 20% off wall and floor tiles. Sell from perfect porches to chic showers. Transform your home for less. Shop in store or online. You can do it. Exclusions apply. Value of every fourth item per single transaction and descending price order deductive ends 31st of January. C-D-I-Y.ie. Highland radio time checks with Expressway. Travel Route 32 from Lettac, entity Dublin when you book online and travel for less. Expressway, bringing you the time, Art. It's approaching 20 minutes past 9. Murray joins me on the programme now. How are you? I'm fine, Greg, and yourself. I'm OK. We had Minister for the Environment, Aiman Ryan in here last Friday. I had an awful lot to get through. I didn't get to talk to him about one of the traditions in this part of the world and elsewhere, and it's not just a tradition. For some, it's the only way to heat the house, and that is turf cutting. And even though he says, look, we're not going to stop the tradition of turf cutting, we just don't want people selling it and what have you, you wouldn't be convinced for the future of, over the future of turf cutting, would you? Well, I'm not sure about that, but I'm just saying, for a lot of people, this is our tradition. And in my house, that's all I use is turf. I have a range. It heats all the water through the house. I do my cooking, my baking, everything. And it's so economical compared to having to be buying oil and gas and all that stuff. So I don't think it's good for Amy and Ryan to be coming around here, especially to Donegal and telling us what to do. And I'm thinking that they just give us another three years for the turf cutting, but I'm going to continue to cut turf every year to supply my house with heating and everything else. And Amy and Ryan, he comes to our county, but he doesn't care about anyone. And I'm just saying that because he seems to be chipping away all the time of our tradition. And what about the environmental argument to it, though, that it's a dirty fuel? Yes, no, it's not. It's not a fossil fuel. The turf cutting is not a fossil fuel. The oil is worse than the turf. And Amy and Ryan doesn't think about other things that I don't believe it's an environment thing at all, honestly, I don't believe that. They're just pushing all of us out on top of us to stop us from doing whatever our traditions and everything is. He was given a bag of turf. Wasn't he during his visit to Lyford by Councillor Michael McClafferty? He's not happy. Do you support Michael McClafferty in the point that he was trying to make? He said that older people in Donegal, who do not have home fitted for oil and dependent turf being cut locally to heat their homes, he says that needs to be retained. And that's pretty much exactly what you are, that person. You rely solely on turf. Yes. And it's not just me. It's a lot of people out, especially out through the countryside. You know, it's all right in towns and cities where they can't get turf or they have to just do whatever they get like. If they get stuck to the situation whereby you can cut your own turf but you can't sell turf, right? Would you be happy enough for them? No, not at all. I believe there are a lot of elderly people in their homes and they can't go out to cut turf but that's what they're relying on too. And they need to buy turf. They must buy turf. And there are people supplying people, you know, people like this, with turf, which is great. You know, it's whatever the choices that people want. Yeah, and I don't want to sound cynical but there are people out there that believe that this was deferred last year until after the next election. You know what I mean? Because you don't want to be peeing off the people of rural Ireland and taking the turf from them running up to election. And that whilst it has been deferred that very soon after the next election, they might crack on with plans to stop you using your turf, Marie. Yeah, but I wonder then, how am I going to heat my house? I could not afford that if it was oil or whatever else and that's what I am, that's what I have. It's thirst and that's all. It's so economical for everything. Like look what it's doing for me in my house. One of the buzzwords with the climate crisis and what people need to do is just transition. So it wouldn't be a just transition because you'd be left high in drive, you couldn't burn turf. How could you retrofit your home? How could you change how, you know, water is heated. You'd have to put it, where would you get another, you know, you'd have to get another cocker or another oven or what have you? Marie, you know, so that wouldn't be a just transition if you'd be taking your way of life from you and burdening you with a massive debt to change the way you operate your life. Yes, and our electricity bills looks how high they are as well. And Greg, I believe, see all this climate change. I think that is to cover other things up. I do not believe in climate change. Look what China is doing. China is, they're making everything. Plastics, everything goes to China and China is selling to the whole world. So governments around Europe or any of these are not saying anything to China? Why is that? Well, China are building coal mines, not coal mines, sorry, coal burning. But is that another argument that climate change is a thing that, you know, you're burning turf and heating your home, Marie, probably not having that great of an impact. But then you have a nation the size of China, which as I say, is doubling down on coal to some extent, they're cutting down the rainforest. But we are seeing extremes of weather though, Marie, do you not think that there's something that man is doing has to be influencing? Since industrialization, the world has changed dramatically. Areas never flooded before, you know, heat that people can't tolerate and they happen to move from certain areas of the world. Do you not think that is a thing, even if maybe the cause, you might say, well, it's not you burning turf. Do you not think there is a thing that the atmosphere is changing and it's making life very difficult for people in different parts of the world? We're lucky here. Our climate is just what it is and probably will stay the way it is for quite some time. But there are extremes of weather elsewhere in the world, Marie. Yeah, I know, but no, I am not fully on this climate change thing at all, very little, you know, because I don't, yeah, I think Amy and Ryan and all are just trying to chip everything away from us and our history and everything. And it's just not right. So, I don't know. That's all right. If Amy and Ryan came around to my house, if Amy and Ryan came around to my house, I would have a nice con of bread on the table. I would have some, I guess, heated. And, but I don't know what he's doing. Sure, he's flying jets and flying planes here and there. So he's doing a lot of traveling themselves. Yeah, but he said last Friday, you can't blame the individual, you see. But then I can't blame you for burning turf, Marie. If we can't get down to blaming the individual, then I can't blame you for heating your house with turf. No, yeah, that's true. You're not finding it very messy. It's a messy enough fuel though, isn't it? A lot of ashes, Marie. Do you not find? And you spend the whole day just, you must be like feeding a steam train. You must be constantly just throwing turf into the stove all day. Oh, not really. I just put the turf then close up the range. And if I'm cooking, I open it up. And that's what I do. All right, okay. Lovely, it works for you. Okay, it sounds like a lovely way that you live, Marie, to be honest with you. I'm not saying you're off the grid, but you're very self-sufficient. Okay, listen, we heard you. Thank you very much for your time this morning. Okay, thank you. Have a lovely day, Marie. Take care. Okay, Marie is not going to stop cutting her turf. Let's see what some of you, others think. Greg, I'll cut turf and sell turf as long as I can. Aime and Ryan, oh, nobody else will stop me. And I can't understand why Aime got over Lifford Bridge. Well, everyone's different views. And some are moderate. They might disagree with him, but they wouldn't necessarily say don't come to Donagall. I totally agree with Marie. My granny and granddad only use turf as well and really don't like using coal or oil. Indeed, the smell's lovely too. I personally believe. Greg, I agree with this lady, Marie, 100%. Another caller says, Pity, you didn't ask Aime and Ryan about the big diesel chargers for having charging all the buses, just another scam by the government. I think really, I know what you're talking about. And then you sort of get into the fact that if you're on about electric cars as well, like, you know, an electric car, if someone forgets to charge and they break down, you get, they tell a generator and they charge it. And that's crazy and it's ridiculous. I mean, I don't think picking little obvious flaws and arguments for or against is gonna change anything at this point because people have their views and it's gonna take something bigger to change them. I see a lot of people that would say, look, electric cars, fantastic. If you're gonna talk about the environment though, they should only be run on electricity generated on the green, you know, like wind and what have you, wind and solar and there's an irony to charge them with coal-generated electricity and so on. So you could get into the argument and never get out. Good morning, Greg. I for one would agree with assisted dying. If there's something wrong with you and you're not going to get better, it's your body and I think you should be allowed to make that decision if you want to end the pain. Okay. In my opinion, once you start taking morphine or it's been administered, then you're assisting death and that's because of the sensitive nature of it. That's a point that I've sort of tried to make on this program before that to some extent, there can be some level of that situation but what we're talking about, you know, and I've spoken to someone who works with people in assisted dying in Belgium. Like we're talking people who are diagnosed a year or two of disease, of conditions and they're like 38 and I mean, I'll show you the signs of their condition but are still walking around and could work and all that type of stuff and they're saying, you know what, I don't want to go through this. I'm ending my life. I think we often think of it people who might be, and I don't mean this insensitively, you know, writhing in agony at the end of the life anyway, but assisted dying in other countries permits people once they are diagnosed with a terminal illness or life limiting illness that they can just do it then and there, within reason, do you know what I mean? So it's not just right at the end of life. We're talking here where it can happen much earlier in other countries. Hi, Greg, would it be possible for you to read The Guard of Oath, what the Guard of Oath is so we can understand the behavior in Ross Creek yesterday. I understand where you're coming from. And I'm familiar with The Guard of Oath as well and how it can be argued in both ways. Government keeps talking about communication with the public, but if they don't convince the public with waffle, they send it in an army of guardie, that's the government style. I think in terms of, I think the horse has bolted in terms of trying to articulate what they're doing. I think that's long past. I mean, we were talking about communication on Friday panels two years ago about communicating with the public about what's happening. And now they're talking about, they're still talking about doing. I think that horse has bolted. I think really it's policy change is the only thing that is an articulate and what that change might be and how it might improve the situation is the only thing that might benefit them at this point, but I'm open to correction on that as well, of course. That's just my reading of it. Donagall has no services for children as we are and now we're taking the only one there is. I demand to know where all the money in this country is going. It's no wonder people are feeling so much anger towards our government at the minute. 60,000 euro. I believe that's the figure of Caroline, isn't it? That would have retained or kept those services going at least for now. It is a decision that has to be reversed. Funding has to be made available and I hope it's not too late for that to happen. But as I say, there are people with influence either listening to this program or told that we're going to be talking about it that surely, surely can intervene at an early stage. If this is dissolved, getting all of those people back together would be very difficult. I would imagine, again, I'm open to correction on that, but that's my gut feeling at the moment. Right, Margaret joins us now. Hi, Margaret. Hi, good morning. Good morning to you. How are you keeping, Margaret? It's good, very much. Weather wise, it might be so good, but... The funny thing with our County, Margaret, it's like six degrees in the south and it's zero elsewhere and up a hill, it's freezing and down a hill, it's raining. It's a crazy old County we live in. But what's your point, and it kind of is connected into the weather, Margaret? Yeah, I tell you that's my point. I was, I drove my grandchild home to the bus this morning. They're both attending two separate secondary schools downtown here. And I was given out about the coats. It's a little better coat than that. We skimpy things. Oh, that's a school coat. And that's all we're allowed to wear. And that's as well, surely on a day like this, you would be allowed, oh, no, to say that this has to be worn. This is a school coat and that's it. Nothing else. But I don't know if that is policy or not, or does it bother anybody else? But on a morning like this, we'll frost, snow, rain, wind, everything. I mean, like the way I look at it, if a child is not dry and comfortable starting off their school day in the morning, how are they going to have a positive day in school? You know, I was just listening to Lee this morning. He was explaining all the layers. Yeah, he's wearing, yeah, no, exactly. Well, he's wearing this. Well, he's grand. That's he's an old man, Margaret. That could be his age. Oh, that doesn't matter. I can't see the cold too. What age are your grandchildren ish? Like, are they single digits or teenagers? 14, 14, 14. You see, I wonder, are they spinning you a line like I get spawned by my young fellow who would never put a coat on? I don't know if it's about being cool or whatever, and I don't mean cool in the temperature sense. Because even driving to work, you see lots of younger ones on the side of the road with no jacket on at all. I don't think it's school policy, Margaret. I just wonder, is it a fashion thing? No, I'm well aware of this coat business. It has always been an issue when my own kids were at school about the coat and then the brother in the school coats. And so I don't know if it's a case of an, I would like to know if they are able to wear a heavy coat, you know, just for these weather conditions or if that's, you know, like standing out getting wet in the morning and cold all day, it doesn't make sense. So I would just like to know if that is the position or not. OK, so the question as clear as this, Margaret, is are schools dictating to children what actual coats they can wear into schools really effectively? And if they are, well, that's a problem. Are you saying there's a designated school jacket, a light jacket that the children are being told they must wear rather than they're... Yeah. OK. Yeah. Right, that's definitely something worth looking at. I know they're fashionable, but fashion and weather just don't match. And there's loads of acceptable winter coats available in town. But, come here, going back to when your children were younger, Margaret, and I'm just wondering if it was the same with me, did you not have the battle in the morning to get them to put a coat on, even when it was terribly cold weather? Because I've had that, but, oh, I don't need to wear it, the school's warm. And I concluded that it must be because wearing a coat is not cool. Did you have that issue with your young woman, Margaret? Yeah, there always was an issue where I don't like... You know, there has to be... They would like to wear what they want to wear, but from the school jackets, I thought, well, that's good. At least they're wearing a jacket. But it's just specifically they are fashionable, and the school jackets are grand. OK. But on a wet day and a cold day like this, they should be able to wear a heavy coat. 100%. Yeah. OK, so we want to know if any schools out there are precluding children from wearing their own heavy jackets or what have you. Margaret, listen, lovely to chat to you. Hopefully you're nice and warm wherever you are, and we appreciate your time, too. Well, all good around, no, Saint Granny. What are you chatting about? HE LAUGHS Good morning. They don't know who you are. All right, good morning to you. Take care. Bye-bye. Back with more after the... Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at HighlandRadio.com. The ultimate ABBA sensations tribute comes to Anchorage Hotel Ghidor on Friday, January 19th and the Villa Rose Hotel Bali Buffet on Saturday, January 20th. Tickets available from hotel reception and online at Eventbrite. Step into style with green shoes. Stocking the latest styles from all your favourite brands and footwear. From Doc Martens, New Balance and Echo, to Ryker, Birkenstock and Bugatti. Shop in store in Green Shoes Market Square, the McKinney Shopping Centre and Fulcara. Or shop from the Comfort of Home on GreenShoes.com and have the latest styles delivered right to your doorstep. Shop LK and one for all gift cards accepted in store. Green Shoes, the perfect fit for every foot. Hi, Paddy here at Shane Conley Cars in Donegal Town. Are you looking to upgrade your car? With Shane Conley Cars, you'll find mix and models for every budget. Great finance options and may also accept ratings. Check out ShaneConleyCars.com Or call on to us at ShaneConleyCars.com from down on her road, Donegal Town. Or McCullough Jewelers in Letterkenny are synonymous with fine jewellery, quality watches and gift ware. With stores at Main Street Letterkenny and the Letterkenny Shopping Centre or online at ormacullough.com, you can choose from their quality product range in a relaxed atmosphere and their sales staff will be happy to help you make the right choice whatever the occasion. Or McCullough Jewelers, making moments magical for generations. Make five dinners for under 25 euro with Done Stores. Save in the aisle with everything you need for a sausage pasta bake, chicken burrito bowl, Thai red curry veg soup, tasty pizza wrap and fresh cod tray bake. All for just 24 euros 73 cents when you save with a five of 25 grocery voucher. Download the app and get your voucher today. Done Stores, always better value. Terms in addition to supply voucher could be used on extents or grocery shop of 25 euro or more. The Ninetal Noon Show is brought to you by Letterkenny Credit Union. Digital loans now available. Apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account. OK, you're very welcome back to the Ninetal Noon Show here on Highland Radio. And we've talked about turf a little earlier on and someone decided to send the picture of their turf stove into us. So if you're watching the show there it is. What do you think about that? It looks cozy. And they even send a bucket of turf. Two buckets of turf they've got in. So they're well sorted for the day. It does look cozy, hopefully. Whatever you do, you have us all in the background anyway. Right, OK. We are joined on the program now by Adele Daherty, PRO of Mountain Rescue Ireland. Good morning to you. Thank you so much for joining us. No problem, Greg. How are you? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Right, OK, so we are seeing a consistent, if not increased level of mountain rescues. And maybe our beautiful landscape, it's sort of becoming a victim of its own success, if that makes any sense at all. Because those seeking that perfect Instagram picture or that TikTok are finding themselves getting caught out, which means that you get called out. Yeah, well, it's kind of the case that we get called out for all sorts of people. So it can be the person who's very new into hill walking, and maybe they've only gone a short distance. Or we can also be called out to very experienced mountain rescues, or sorry, mountaineering people that have, you know, very experienced. It's just the case that slips and falls and accidents can happen at any time. So we really respond to anyone really that needs our help. So we don't really judge people. We kind of like the idea that everyone's using the outdoors more and kind of using what's on their own doorstep or maybe travelling to different parts of the country. So in a way, I think it's just great that people are out and about more often in a way in our own hills. Yeah, Donegal has seen an increase in callouts in the last fortnight. There's been five callouts. We're not getting into specifics because we don't want to embarrass anyone. But generally speaking, I presume there are quite a number of callouts to those who haven't planned correctly, haven't checked the weather, don't necessarily know the terrain, don't have the right gear on. Is that the kind of problems that we're seeing Adele? Yeah, that's pretty much it. So it can be a flip of a coin. Sometimes you can still be very prepared and if you break an ankle, there's no way you're walking yourself off that hill anyway and you're going to have to call us for help or if you get lost, possibly. But you're right in that. A lot of our callouts, a lot of them could be prevented if people just take a little bit more time to make sure that, you know, the weather's okay for them. They're heading out at the right time of day. They have the right boots with them. They have the right clothing. So you might start in a sunny day at the bottom of Mukesh and by the time you get to the top, it could be hailstones and you're thinking, well, I should have brought that coat that was in the car or I should have brought those wet pants or a warm layer, whatever the case might be. So it's just about trying to be prepared as much as you can for what the day might bring when you go out in the hills. And if you're not used to it and don't have the right gear, it's not something really you can do spontaneously because you do need, you know, a good pair of boots with proper ankle support. You don't wanna be going up there in your favorite runners that you walk or jog in because that's not good enough for you. You need, you know, a decent jacket light but it's well insulated and all that will, you know, protect you if the temperature drops. And as you say, you know, the weather can change really, really quite quickly. You know, you can't do this stuff. I don't think on a whim unless you already have the right gear at your disposal. Yeah, it's kind of the case that even for ourselves if we head out in the hill on kind of a whim, if we say, you know what, it's a nice day. I have the day off, let's go to the hills. You're still checking your bag before you go. You're checking the weather. You're making sure you're not waiting too late in the day before you start because there's nothing worse than coming down a hill when it's getting dark because you start to kind of panic and you start to rush and that's when things can kind of go a little bit wrong for you. So it's just about kind of being organized and sensible and making sure if you're heading out in a group that everyone in the group is gonna be comfortable with what you're doing because sometimes you'll find friends that will come along but then realize halfway that they're like, you know, I'm feeling the pressure here a little bit but I don't want to say anything and they'll push on and it's just, you know, you don't want people tired and hungry and cold and wet up in a hill. And our mountain rescue teams are absolutely fantastic but, you know, they want to be there, they want the calls, they want to get people down safe where possible but unnecessary callouts are really what we're trying to avoid here, aren't you? These are people that often are, you know, in full-time employment of other things to do, so it's the unnecessary callouts here that we're talking about. Yeah, and something else that can play a lot sometimes is having a properly charged phone. So people will generally head off with their phone charged and they may take some videos, take some photos, maybe FaceTime someone from the top. They might be using an app on their phone for their mapping and getting their direction of travel, which is great, there's no problem with that but you just need to be prepared for what happens if your phone battery starts to drop as it can be affected by the cold weather. And it's something that a lot of people don't really think about, but when you call for mountain rescue, so if something happens you and you call, regardless of maybe how close to the road you are or anything like that, it can still take a couple of hours for a mountain rescue team to get you just with the nature of the time it takes to get to the mountain, they have to hike up the mountain after you, they might have to take up equipment. People think the helicopter might always come in and rescue them but if the weather's bad and they're busy elsewhere, it may not be an option either. So I think people are always generally shocked when we talk about how long it can be from when we get the call to when we actually will get to that person to be able to help them. So it's about making sure you have kind of your phone charge for all of that time. It's the last thing you want is your phone to go dead while you're waiting on mountain rescue to find you. Yeah, exactly. And the battery can drain very, very quickly if you're taking pictures and videos all the way up the mountain, you can find yourself ill resourced with power when you get there. So it's about three packs, things like that very useful, I'd imagine. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, having one in your bag, a few Ziploc bags or kind of dry bags to keep things dry is also very helpful, even just for your own jacket, if you've a spare jacket in your bag, keeping it inside another plastic bag will keep it safe from getting wet if you're out in the rain as well. What's going to help? Yeah, all right. Okay, it's a solid advice. And if you're chasing that picture for the ground, just to make sure that you know what you're at. Isn't that it? Yeah, that's pretty much it. If you ever end out, I mean, this can happen to anyone in any situation, you can call Mountain Rescue, so you just call 999 or 112, ask for the guardie, and then when you're put to them, just ask for Mountain Rescue, and then the system will kind of start from there. Yeah, and also I'm not sure if you mentioned it too though, but even letting people know, because sometimes cars can be found in car parks, and it's not quite clear, there's no note been left or no information been left, people don't know how long the car's been there or what the people might be doing. So it's a little bit like kayaking, you wouldn't just leave your kayak lying on the shore, because someone might think you fell out of it. Common sense stuff that would help the emergency services at a time of need. Yes, and something that can really help there is leaving kind of your plan with another person, leaving where you're going, maybe what route you're going to take, what time you expect to be back at, and at least then if, say, a call does come in that someone finds a car, they may search the reds of that car, the guardie can look that up and contact the home address, and they could say, well, actually, they're gone out overnight camping, and we're sure they're totally fine. If they're not back by 9 a.m. tomorrow, like they said, then we'll think about maybe seeing if they need help, but you can do little things like that just to be organized as well. A lot of it is common sense. Okay Adele, thank you very much for your time, that's Adele Doherty, PRO of Mountain Rescue Ireland, 086025, nice and busy on the phone lines today, thank you very much for that. Has Turf Cotton Lady ever studied science? I don't think so, but lack of consultation and listening to the people by government is the root of the problem, same as the migrant crisis. It's the big industries that are causing a lot of our problems with climate change, go after the wee man, tax them to the hilt, leave Mr Big company alone to do what they want, says the listener. Byrne Timber instead of Turf, Timber is a renewable source, says the listener. Aiman Ryan hasn't got a clue about anything all you need to do is just look at him, he doesn't strike me as someone who's in the present, just look at Radcar using a private plane when the government plane was available. I think it's about time this government was kicked out, believes the listener. Aiman Ryan's a funny character in that he's derided here in this country and gets an awful lot of shtick, but internationally he's incredibly highly respected, I'm sure you might be well aware of that, but he's got some really big positions on certain boards and bodies and what have you across Europe and the world, he's very highly thought of outside of Ireland. Climate change is a hoax, says the listener, just makes plenty of money for the elite. Fair play to that lady that says it as it is. Good on that lady, I'll be doing the same, cut and turf as I have no other way of heating the house. Okay, keep them coming into us back after this break. The 90 Noon Show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union with monster loans available up to 60,000 euro for all occasions. Visit letterkennycu.ie. Enter the Virgin Media Playhouse for unbelievable value from Ireland's best broadband. Get 500 meg super fast, reliable broadband for just 35 euro a month for 12 months and no activation fee when you act now. Switch in store or at virginmedia.ie. Virgin Media, it's playtime. Teasonsies applies to virginmedia.ie subject to location and availability, new customers only, 12 month contract, 500 meg broadband, 70 euro thereafter, Ireland's best broadband awarded by Umlaut, see virginmedia.ie forward slash proof. If the medical experts get it wrong, everything changes. From misdiagnosis or delay diagnosis to surgical injury or even poor treatment, all have physical, emotional and financial consequences. We're here to help. So if your treatment didn't go according to plan, speak to our experienced medical negligence team at McElhenney and Associates. Find us online. Our call 074-917-5989. McElhenney and Associates solicitors, Stranorla. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. Well, Grace, how are you today? I'm good. I've just been down to the mid to measure fireplaces, Shoreham and Chrysler. They have an incredible selection of over 40 colors for kitchen work tops. And guess what? For a limited time, they're offering a 40% discount on any electric fire when you purchase a work top there. 40%? That's an amazing deal, Grace. Absolutely. And trust me, if the discount alone doesn't sway you, there are a huge selection of fireplaces, stoves, wood pellet burners, beams, and stone cladding certainly will. Contact mate to measure fireplaces, Chrysler on 074-9138-365 on Facebook, Instagram, and on mtmfireplaces.ie. Do you need a UK address? Save hundreds of euros on custom charges, shopping online with Space Hub Dairy. We provide a full virtual address mailbox service for all your business and personal use. Save hundreds, possibly thousands, on custom charges with Space Hub Dairy. Call 048-71-87-8077 or online spacehubdairy.com for more details. Highland radio weather updates brought to you by Grant. Building a new home, choose grants a triple-plus rated air-owner, air-to-water heat pump and you flex under floor heating. Visit grant.ie. So mainly cloudy this morning with outbreaks of rain and some further falls of sleet or snow, transitioning mostly to rain by mid-morning. The rain will become patchier through the afternoon with some sun exposed developing highs of 4 to 6 degrees. Now, the CSO, the Central Statistics Office, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of its new household budget survey where households will be asked to track their spending over a 14-day period. Jared Doolan is head of social data collection with the CSO and he's with us on the programme now. Good morning to you, Jared. Good morning, Greg. Thanks for having me on the show. I'm good. I'm good. Right. Now, what's the... No, it's our pleasure. What's the initiative here? Is 14 days enough, do you think, actually, by the way, to do an effective track of people's household spending? Yeah, so I suppose the household budget survey was previously carried out once every five years and the CSO has now moved to a continuous or continual collection of the data. The 14-day spending notebook that you mentioned there, Greg, that's a tried and trusted method that financial advisors and I suppose people who are struggling financially and need guidance and support. One of the first things that financial advisors will ask their clients or the people who come in to see them to do is to track their spending for either a seven or 14-day period and that gives that person a sense of where the money is going. It brings an awareness to the individual who's doing the work and I suppose with that awareness and with that information, they can then make changes in terms of their spending patterns and make savings and I suppose that... What do you think we might learn from this, particularly given the fact that it's sort of like a rolling survey now? So I suppose there's two... I suppose from a CSO perspective, what we're going to be doing is we're going to be getting more timely and more relevant data. So what the detailed expenditure that's collected in the household budget survey, we use that to make up the basket of goods that measures CPI, which is of course the measure of inflation. So inflation over the last 18, 24 months, it's very, very, I suppose, topical. People are all aware of it. We cannot see prices rising in shops and all the things that we buy. So the CSO is going to get better quality data for our users, which will inform policymakers. From a participant and from a household perspective, they're going to get a spending awareness in terms of where the money is going. I'm sure we've all been in this situation where coming Friday we open our wallet and we say, geez, I'd 50 euros there at the start of the week. Where's that gone? I suppose we know when we speak to previous participants in the survey, we kind of do testimonials and we see how we can improve on things. Some of the information that we get from people is they get that awareness, they get that understanding. And an awful lot of the time, I suppose, with the best will of intentions, we all try to make the most of our money and spend it sensibly. But you'd be surprised, I suppose, if in terms of let's say buying that cup of coffee every morning, buying the newspaper, buying an ice cream, buying a sandwich or a lunch out, et cetera, it can all add up. And I suppose it is certainly from the information that we've gotten back from respondents, it's that awareness and that knowledge and it informs them to make the decisions as they spoke earlier and make the changes in their spending. Yeah, and I mean, you've balanced the strike here, aren't you? Because you want as many people to use it as is possible and for it to be as easy to use as possible. But you also need it to be thorough. You don't want things missed out. I mean, it's important that the data is accurate. Salute. So I spoke earlier about a basket of goods for the consumer price index. So the data that's collected in the household budget survey, it's not sufficient that we know that you spend 100 euros on your grocery shopping in one of the supermarkets. We need to know what that 100 euros is broken down by. So it'll include everything from your meat, your fruit, your vegetables, your breads, your utility bills, your children's activities, gym memberships, your cup of coffee and a newspaper on a Sunday morning, your ice cream on a sunny day. It includes every single item of expenditure for those 14 days. Now, we'll be sampling 6,000 households right around the country. And those 6,000 households are representative of all of the 1.8 million households. So I suppose some people might think 6,000 households is a big sample, others might think it's small. We have a team of about 150 interviewers all around the country and they will knock on the doors of more than 60,000 households and asking them to participate in household surveys. So the household budget survey which we're launching this week, it's not the only survey that they collect. They also collect things like the labor force survey, surveying them in living conditions. I suppose we don't often knock on your door because there is 1.8 million households that we can draw a sample from. So if we do knock on your door, it's important I suppose that people take the opportunity to participate. The CSO is a trusted provider of statistics. We've been doing this for 75 years. A lot of our surveys are not compulsory and I think they don't need to be compulsory because people recognize the CSO, they know the brand, they know what we stand for. When people supply information to us and they do supply very sensitive confidential information and in the household budget survey it's financial information they're providing. We anonymize it, it cannot be traced back to an individual. It's used for statistical purposes only. We don't share it with anyone and I suppose a big thing for us is that we are totally reliant on participants in our survey. We need them to give us the data and in return they can count on us to provide independent impartial statistics and inform everybody. So how do you select those taking part or do people volunteer to take part or is it a mixture of both? No, there's no volunteer and take part. So what we do is we have a register of households and we will draw a sample from that. So as I said, there's 1.8 million households but we need to pick a sample of 6,000 households spread all over the country and as I said, each of those households is representative of the different household types. So when I speak about household types you can have obviously lots of different household types you might have a single person household, you might have a retired couple, you might have a single parent household, you might have a household with two adults, two children. So if your household is selected you're probably representing a similar type household of maybe let's say five or 600 different households all around the country. So that way then we can, by doing that we know that if we can collect the sample of 6,000 households that's representative of the typical spending patterns all over the country. Radio licensure figures or surveys but it's a high sample rate so it will be very, very reflective of the reality of the people in the country. Okay, Jared, we look forward to digesting those figures whenever they become available. We do appreciate your time. Thank you for that. That's Jared Doolan, head of social data collection with the CSO, 086025,000 is the WhatsApp and text number or you can give us a call too of course on 0749125,000. Coming up after 10, we have community guarded information where we have the latest appeals and information from on guard of Chicago here in Donegal first. Your assistance in that item does help to solve crime and prevent crime. So make sure to listen in, make sure to have an input if you can. Right, back after these. The 90 noon show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union with monster loans available up to 60,000 euro for all occasions. Visit letterkennycu.ie. The big shop just got bigger with the little XXL range. Get 25% extra free with board B approved XXL skinny beef burgers, 379. Pick XXL Irish carrots with 33% extra free, 115. And 33% extra free with XXL frozen fruits, 299. Go on, shop without compromise. Go full little today. Attention school leavers, join us for Southwest colleges full time and apprenticeship open days. Visit our campuses in Donegal on the 23rd of January. Ennis Gillan on the 30th of January and Uma on the 6th of February from 3 to 7pm. Participate in workshops and demonstrations and meet your future tutors. Whether you're passionate about business, engineering, healthcare or the arts, we have something for everyone. Study near GoFar at Southwest College. Visit swc.ac.uk for details. Harkins have been providing customers with quality fireplaces, stoves and electric fires for over 30 years. And now you can experience the elegance of luxurious worktop from Harkins. Their experienced craftsmen can fabricate marble, quartz or granite worktops, cure specification. So if you're planning a new kitchen or bathroom or upgrading your existing work, Harkin Fireplaces can provide a quote for your quartz, marble or granite worktop. Visit their showroom in Ballywogan-Lifford or call 911109 or visit them online at harkinfireplaces.ie. Britons that house the home interior is brigeant and Britons furniture mobile, January sale is now on. The price is not to be repeated in our biggest sale yet. 311 sofas starting from 10.99, flooring starting at 7.99 a square yard, mattress is starting at 1.99, slide ropes from 3.99. Dining tip is all reduced and starting at just 1.99. So call in to any of our stores this January in Cooley Moville or in Bridgend. Brian Adams is back on tour in 2024. Join Highland Radio One or trip to Dublin to see the man himself at the three arena on Tuesday the 21st of May, 2024. Your trip includes luxury transfers, bed and breakfast at the four-star Carton Hotel Blanchestar, your standing ticket to the show and a shopping trip to Dublin City Centre the following day. Find out more on the outlet at highlandradio.com or call us on 074 91 25,000. Live on air online and on the Highland Radio app. This is Highland Radio News. Good morning, it's 10 o'clock. Donald Kavanaugh at the news task. The banking and insurance focus group says it's eagerly awaiting the next meeting of a subgroup established by the Department of Housing to see that homes remediated and rebuilt under the effective block scheme are fully mortgageable and insurable. Minister Charlie McConnelook said after the first meeting that the government would be insisting on cast iron guarantees from banks and insurance companies that this will be the case. However, the focus group says such guarantees will only be given if the work is certified by a registered engineer and Engineers Ireland are considering that ahead of the next meeting in February. They also say it's not a matter for political demands or grandstanding. Seamus Deveney is a member of the focus group. He says if engineers don't sign off on the work, then the government will have to revisit the scheme and he believes with foundations not being replaced, that is highly likely. Engineers Ireland effectively have gone away for four weeks now to hopefully come back to us with a definitive, clarified position on this issue. And that then that we can take to the banks and say, does this make these homes mortgageable or not? And I don't want to jump ahead of that and say that, of course, it doesn't make them mortgageable because they still contain two laterious materials. And that would include a risk that the banks have no appetite for. Banks don't loan on calculated risk. The PSNI say made on technical support group, officers have been conducting road safety operations across the Dairy City and Sturban District. The results of the patrols included a driver speeding at almost 30 miles over the speed limit and the seizure of suspected class B drugs. With more, here's Sean O'Regan. The team were assisting district colleagues with events as well as carrying out road safety checks. On Thursday last, the officer on patrol recovered suspected class B drugs from a vehicle in the waterside area of the city. As a result, the vehicle was seized and a teenager was arrested then charged with offences. The following day, a driver was detected travelling at 79 miles an hour in a 50-zone. The PSNI is urging the public to adhere to the fatal five. Don't drink or drive, slow down, don't drive carelessly, wear a seatbelt and don't use your phone while driving. It added that it's a shared responsibility of all road users to keep themselves and each other safe. Some people with disabilities are experiencing financial abuse. The National Advocacy Service report says this is despite new laws, which presume every adult has capacity to make their own decisions until proven otherwise. In certain cases, people face banking and digital exclusion while others have their money restricted or limited by family members. Main's repairs may cause supply disruptions to water in the Kero De Hardie Avenue, Krana Road and surrounding areas of Bunkrana. Works are scheduled to take place until three o'clock this afternoon. Police in Straban are seeking witnesses to a burglary on Peacock Road sign mills at 20 past six on Sunday evening. Two men entered a property and left a couple of minutes later. PSNI said they're keen to speak to anyone in the area who witnessed anything suspicious around this time, particularly the driver of a white car with a black roof, possibly a Citroën DS3, who had to break abruptly to avoid the men. The driver of the car is not believed to have been involved. A planning system that's fit for purpose and a stronger electricity grid are required if our renewable energy sector is to flourish. That's the view of Wind Energy Ireland, which says wind farms accounted for 35% of all electricity generators on the island of Ireland last year. They say wind farms also cut gas spending by almost 1.3 million euro in 2023 and the sector employs around 5,000 nationwide. CEO Noel Culliff says further investment is a no-brainer. Renewable energy makes so much sense for the people of Ireland. We have one of the windiest countries on the entire planet and we really have a world leading wind energy sector here in Ireland, it's providing us with cheaper sources of electricity, it's keeping money at home, it's providing jobs at home and ultimately our country will be powered by renewable. That's our natural resource, that's what we should be harnessing. And Donald Trump has scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses, a victory that's strengthened his hope of the Republican presidential nomination. Forecasts give him over 50% of the vote, more than double his two nearest rivals. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished a distant second, just ahead of former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley. I voted for Donald Trump twice. I was proud to serve in his administration. But when I say more of the same, you know what I'm talking about. It's both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Mainly cloudy this morning with outbreaks of rain and some further falls of sleet or snow transitioning mostly to rain by mid-morning, that rain would become patchier through the afternoon with some sunny spells developing, highs of four to six degrees with mostly moderate south-west to west winds, fresh at times particularly in the northwest, a yellow snow ice warning remains in operation in Donegal for the next hour. And we're back with news. Headlands again at 11. Check all of today's news, of course, on our website, highlandvideo.com, but for now from the news team, good morning. The obituary notices this Tuesday morning, January 16th. The depth has taken place of Ailish McAteer, Ormond Road, Rathmines, and formerly Grain and Park, Bunkranna. Rakeway and Mass will be held for Ailish and St. Mary's Church, Cockhill, Bunkranna on Thursday morning at 11 a.m., burial afterwards in the adjoining graveyard. Family flowers only please, donations in lieu if desired to Bunkranna parish, care of any family member or McAteer funeral directors. The Rakeway and Mass can be viewed online at churchservices.tv. The depth has taken place of Margaret Doherty, Paddymore, Middletown, Mallon Head, reposing Adderlate residents. Funeral leaving there tomorrow at half past 10, going to the start of the C Church Mallon Head for Rakeway and Mass at 11 a.m., and termined afterwards in the cemetery Mallon, family time please, from 10 p.m. to 11 a.m., family flowers only. The depth has occurred of John Quinn, Conlin Road, Kelly Begg, Stoney Gall, removal from his residence this morning at half past 10, to St. Mary of the Visitation Church, Kelly Beggs, for 11 a.m., funeral Mass, burial afterwards in the local cemetery. Mass will be streamed on MCN media. The depth has taken place of Ann Hotton, Ella Begg Bridge End. Ann's remains are reposing Adderlate the family home in Ella Begg Bridge End. Family time please, from 10 p.m. to night. Funeral leaving the family home tomorrow at quarter past 11, going to St. Patrick's Church Pennyburn for Rakeway and Mass at 12 a.m., and termined afterwards in St. Mary's Cemetery Fawn, family flowers only please, donations in lieu if wished to the Foyle Hospice. The depth has taken place of Robert Moore on McCram, early Heron, Fannard. Robert's funeral service will be held at Christ the Redeemer Church in Rossnack Hill, Fannard at 1 p.m. this afternoon, followed by burial in the adjoining graveyard, House Strictly Private, Family Flowers Only Please. The depth has occurred of Paul McGown, Severn-Admiralon Park, St. Norlor. Mass of the Resurrection is at 11 a.m. this morning at the Church of Mary Immaculate, St. Norlor, and burial afterwards at Drumbo Cemetery, St. Norlor. House private before the funeral to family and neighbours only please. Flowers welcome, donations in lieu if so desired to the Irish Cancer Society, Johnny Gall Branch, care of any family member or McGown funeral home, Drumbo Avenue, St. Norlor. The rakeway and mass will be streamed live via the parish webcam. For family information and more details regarding rakes and funerals, please go to highlandradio.com. Mopping in store at Aldi, with loads of your favourites getting the price drop treatment. Like high protein mousse, 200 grams was 175, now 149. Melt in the middle fish cakes, two-pack was 349, now 299. And Irish lean beef burgers, two-pack was 289, now 249. Ooh, lean burger, lean price. Follow the path to lower prices. Go all Aldi. Prices checked, 8 to the first 24. Details Aldi.ie forward slash save. And now, Imros 2023, best local original news programme, The Voice of the Northwest, The Nine Till Noon Show, with Greg Hughes. And you're very welcome back to the programme, coming up very shortly, so don't go anywhere. Garda Grania Daharty will be in studio with me, bringing you the latest appeals and information from on Garda Shia Karnas. That's coming up for you live right now. That's another item you can watch on the programme, if you want to. On YouTube, on your smart TV or your fire stick, you can throw us up there. Got a picture yesterday of, it was so cozy, except for my ugly face on the screen. The lovely curved flat screen TV, you know that curved one, I never really had a go at one of those. Above a lovely open fire, sitting on the couch, watching the show, which is great. And I hope you're with us again today. We're on Facebook as well, Highland Hub, Highland News and Sport. And on X as well. Right, so I was going to say, Garda Grania is going to join us very shortly. Regarding school coats, my son is in second every school in Milford, and what that lady said is true. They have to wear school coat only. If they don't, they get a bad note, and so many notes lead to a detention. It's even the same with the PE gear. Can't wear a regular tracksuit, has to be the crested one. Some parents can't afford the coats or the PE gear. If you have the crested gear, you can wear it all day. If not, you have to change before and after. It's not fair to be expected to pay the price for coats when they can only wear them to school anyway. Well, that's a turn up for the books. I've long been against, purely because of struggling to find the money in the past, long been against being compelled to buy certain jumpers at certain prices and then the PE stuff at certain prices and so on and so forth. I didn't know they were doing it with coats in certain schools. Margaret was spot on in what she said. This is from my son's school policy. Had to buy the coat yesterday at 75 Euro. What I mean, like, do people not realize that we're struggling here? We've got the lowest disposable income here. We've got some of the lowest wages here. We've got some of the highest unemployment here in the country. We're in a cost-efficient crisis and parents are being forced to spend 75 quid on a specific coat when they can get down the road to a store in Letterkenny or wherever you happen to be listened to us from and get a really good warm coat for, you know, for a 10 or 15 Euro. My child's school has a policy where they need to wear a black coat or a school crested coat to try and stop the competition of style, but it's still there with certain brands being requested by the child that they'll only be able to wear a school from the bus to the door. Plus, as Greg said, they don't wear coats 99% of the time. Greg, the Royal Pryor has this policy. Another you need to have a school policy on uniform and coats because it gets out of hand otherwise. Well, that's the flip side, but you know, I would say what parents are finding, if this is the rules, you know, and you can wear black coats and someone gets, you know, your North Face coats or your Nike coats or whatever, just have your seven degrees coats or whatever happens to be in trend at the moment. And if you can't run to that cost, like your child might say, I'm not wearing a coat today. I don't want to wear a coat. But it's not why some kids aren't going to school with coats because their parents can't afford to match the style even if there is a policy in relation to this. So the children are preferring to go in cold rather than be shown up because of their jackets. That's awful for the parents to be put under that pressure. I mean, is that happening out there? Because this is news to me. My only exposure is to one school, you see. So it's not that I'm out of touch. It's just it's not the case in the school that Aaron attends. Now, there are no telling lies. No, no, no, no, they weren't telling lies, of course. My two go to cloudy school and get in trouble for coats. They actually panic about it. OK, this is something we need to talk about more. The Guardian have now deployed the riot police to areas that have protests outside housing immigrants instead of listening to the people. Guardian are stopping these protests with force. Anthony and Facebook, the government have changed their approach to bringing refugees. They've deployed the riot squad. So the views of local communities don't matter. And the government have responded by sending in the heavy mob. This shows the contempt they have for the Irish people. A bit unfortunate for the Guardi, too, who are instructed in what to do. Other countries have gas installation and it's ready available to them here in Donegal. Gas is not available everywhere. That is why turf burning is so important, especially for those who don't have other heating options. You can get a tank of gas, too, though, can't use similar to home heating oil. I think quite a few do have that. Greg, can't keep services open, but look at all the money spent housing illegals. They're not illegals, but I'll take your point. They're only illegals once they're officially, according to the government, once they've been refused right to stay here. Last one, just before we take the Pingo numbers. I 100% would love if assisted dying was allowed in Ireland. My husband had been told to take me to Sweden or Iceland in case I'm ever unable to function, but my mind is awake. That, to me, would be living hell. I've watched my mom suffer in death. She had cancer and it was a horrible way to die. It's inhumane and a dog wouldn't be allowed to die like that. I think if there is 100% no hope of her life, then let them get a wee injection and save the pain of family watching and the dignity of the patient as well. And in some countries, it's actually a vial, effectively, that is consumed. My thing is the protections. As we were sort of saying yesterday, that sometimes people feel they're a burden when they're not. Or there are people, it's just a very tough one. I can't formulate the words to do the topics of justice, to be honest with you, just at this time. I'd have to think a little bit more about it, but I just hope it is, if it is introduced here, that people don't feel compelled to go down that route, not because they don't want to need care, but because they don't want to put pressure on their family to provide that care. Things like that, it would break my heart if people were choosing to do that, or maybe that's their right as well, I don't know. But it would be very saddening to me if people felt that they were a burden or they were trying to do other people a favor and had this option and were starting to take that option. That would just be one of the issues that would be there for me. Again, though, as I say, I am just like presuming an awful lot of people out there. I'm just working through it in my own head at the moment and dependent on the conversations that you have and the compelling arguments that you hear, my views are very open to change right across the board. And certainly in that area, I would trust those that know more about it than I would. My only initial reaction is what I feel inside. But as I say, like most issues, if I speak to the right people and get the right sort of information, those views can change as well. All right, live with God, God, and Granny. I'll hardly after these. It's time for Vision Ireland Bingo on Highland Radio. It's Tuesday, the 16th of January. You're playing on the brown sheet. The reference number is S12. It's game number three. The numbers are 24, 30, 74, 63, 52, 81, 43, 38, 53, and finally, 58. Phone your claim tonight, 104833 before eight 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 Vision Ireland Bingo information at HighlandRidio.com. Oh, Kira, congratulations. Look at her tiny fingers. She's beautiful, just like her mommy. Oh, thank you. Have you got a name yet? Well, we're thinking... She's going to call her Brooklyn. Brooklyn, Massachusetts, Phoenix, Arizona. Your vote is your voice. So if you don't speak up, someone else is deciding for you. Baltimore, Kentucky, Moffie, El Neal. Who's that? Hospital porter. Just back from his American road trip. Make sure you're registered to vote. Go to checktheregister.ie and be a voter so that it's your voice that's heard. From Omkommission Taohon, Ireland's independent electoral commission. Oh! Brooklyn, Massachusetts, come to Antihana. iMotors are your main Nissan dealership in the Northwest, a trusted Japanese brand for generations. Contact iMotors to find out why people who make the move to Nissan never change. To check out our two phone offers, visit iMotors.ie. Backstage Bar and Grill is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. If you're looking for healthy options this January, we have a great selection of delicious salad, sandwiches and more. Call Century Complex on 074-912-976 to book your table. Call today and get your zero-wire alarm system from 299 Euro. Sheridan Security, 911-26025. OK, you're very welcome back to the program. It is Tuesday, the 16th of January, 2024 and it's time for Community Guard Information and we're joined in studio today by guarda Grania Daugherty from the Latter-Kinney Guarda station. Good morning, Grania. Good morning, Greg. It's good to have you back on the program. OK, well, we'll start with appeals and it's a situation in Bridgen Guardi is seeking the public's assistance in relation to. Yes, so Guardi are investigating a number of incidents of criminal damage and an incident of the hijacking of a car. This car was a grey sea at Altaea, Northern Irish Registration, it's a 2012 model. This occurred in Bridgen Village on Sunday the 14th of January and these incidents occurred in around 8.30 p.m. So investigating Guardi are appealing for any witnesses to these incidents to come forward. They're particularly appealing to anybody who was in that area with a dash cam from the Bridgen area between 8.15 p.m. and 8.45 p.m. to make contact so it will be within Bridgen itself, within the main thoroughfare of the village itself. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Burnfoot Guarda station on 0749368194. The Guarda confidential line is always in relation to any of our appeals can be contacted on 1800 666111 or of course any Guarda station, if you wish to call in. Guardi investigating Berglary for business premises in Caldaf. Yeah, so this Berglary happened at a business premises at Main Street, Caldaf. This happened in the early hours of Tuesday, the 9th of January, in and around between midnight and 6.20 a.m. So the rear door of this premises was forced open and entry was gained. A substantial amount of cigarettes and cash were stolen from this premises. So repealant to anybody who may have been in that area, they've seen something untoward out of the ordinary to give us a buzz. If anybody is offered cigarettes maybe in bulk for sale or bulk packets of cigarettes, we'd like to know about that immediately. If anybody was in the area, if there's any information residents in that area also, if they noticed any suspicious activity, any relevant information can be passed on to Guardi in Bunkrana on 932 0540 and as always again, the Guarda confidential line 1800 666111. An investigation launched into a Berglary in Malin. Yes, this happened in and around the same dates, I think yeah, this Berglary happened at a yard at Priestfield, Malin, between 3 p.m. on Monday 8th of January and 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday the 9th. Entry was gained to this yard. The gate lock was forced open. When entry was gained to the yard, a lock then on a shed was forced open within the yard and a Honda power washer and approximately 1000 litres of diesel were stolen. So we're appealing again to anybody who may be able to assist with relevant information in relation to this incident to make contact with Guardi in Bunkrana on 932 0540. All right, Anna Thiff from Macquarie Moff now. Yeah, so this happened in the area of the Springfield Estate in Moff between Friday the 12th of January at 4 p.m. and midday on Saturday the 13th of January. So a resident in that estate parked their car at their house and discovered the following day that both the front and rear registration plates were stolen from the car. And this has been quite a common theme recently. I think over the past few weeks we've had incidents, similar types of incidents where number plates are being stolen from cars. If anybody observed any suspicious activity in and around Springfield Estate in Moff between those dates, we asked them to contact Guardi in Bunkrana on 0749320540. And should anybody have this happen, should somebody go out and even their front or rear registration plate is stolen from their car, we would ask them and advise them to contact Guardi and make us aware of it, just in case those plates were to be used again in a serious incident. It is an interesting one because I think maybe if it was one, maybe someone might think it's fallen off and not be minded to contact Guardi, but obviously in this case, the front and back. And it is likely, I don't think we're giving anyone any ideas, that these number plates then are used to conceal the true identity of a vehicle. Well, that would be the worry really, that that would be our worry. So anybody that somebody may think it's not really relevant, I don't want to be wasting the guard's time, it's most certainly not a waste of our time and we do want to hear about it. Most especially as you said, if your front plate was missing, you would think maybe it hit a bump and the plate fell off. But the fact that both plates were stolen, there's a more sinister element to that. So keep an eye out for that as well. And as well as that too, once you've flagged it and reported it, presumably then the Guardi, have it flagged somewhere or other, that if it's involved, it can quickly eliminate you from being tied into anything or something. So it's very much in the victim's interest to let the Guardi know, even if they suspect maybe it fell off. Right, Guardi looking for information in relation to a road crash in St. Johnston. Yeah, so this collision happened on the Derry Road out of St. Johnston on Saturday 13th of January in around 8.45 p.m., so a blue BMW with partial registration of RNZ, it was travelling from Lifford towards St. Johnston when it struck a car that had been travelling in the opposite direction. The driver of this BMW didn't remain at the scene and thankfully the driver of the car that had been struck wasn't injured. We believe that this BMW was then driven across the border, following the incident. We're appealing to anybody who may have travelled in the area of St. Johnston or on the road between Lifford and St. Johnston between 8.15 p.m. and 9.15 p.m. who had a dash cam particularly to make that footage available to Guardi. If anybody witnessed this collision also, of course we ask them to make contact with us in letter Kenny on 9167-100. And it's kind of a reappealing relation to an incident in December in Bunkrana now. Yeah, so this incident happened at our drive-in square in Bunkrana on Monday the 18th of December and Guardi and Bunkrana have just asked me today to re-issue this appeal. They do believe that there were witnesses in the area who perhaps haven't been in contact with them yet, so we're just making a reappeal today in relation to it. Female youth, she was struck by a vehicle at that location. She did sustain injuries, none of which thankfully are life-threatening in nature. We're appealing firstly for the driver off this car involved to make contact with Guardi. It's believed that this driver did stop at the scene for a short period of time and then left the area again. So the vehicle has been described as being a dark-colored saloon-style vehicle, possibly an Audi. And we're asking again, we do believe that somebody did witness this incident and we're appealing to them to make contact with us. The area would have been very busy at the time and if anybody was in that area with the dash cam, that would be invaluable to us really. If anybody could make that footage available to us, Guardi and Bonkranek could be contacted on 9320540, if anybody has any relevant information in relation to it. I presume the person involved in that, obviously they knew it happened, it burdened with that to some extent. You know what I mean? I'd say it's been sitting on their head now for a month. They know the Guardi is still actively investigating it. You know, maybe they can relieve themselves of that pressure and that guilt by making contact themselves. Of course, and yet the driver, we do believe the driver did stop to check, you know, was the person okay? So we're just appealing them to come in, you know, come in, speak to anybody in Bonkranek or even if they're living in a different area, call to your local station, just make them aware that it was you. And you know, CCTV from the area also is being viewed and it's very possible that the car will be identified and then Guardi will be arriving at the door of the driver at some stage. So rather than have that happen, we would rather they would come to us. Yeah, okay. Right, now I could be a colleague of yours next. It's not too late. I was just going to suggest that to you. It is not too late. What do you think? I don't know. Yeah, considering a career change. Publicjobs.ie Yeah, this recruitment campaign started yesterday, January 15th. I'm back in. You're back in. You're in there running. We could switch positions yet. Definitely. You could be here given the community guard I thought now could be interviewing in a few years. So yeah, the recruitment campaign kicked off yesterday, January 15th. People possibly have seen the adverts already. They're on the radio. They're on TV, newspapers. This competition will run until 3 p.m. on the 8th of February. So to apply, you go to www.publicjobs.ie, create an account there and that's where you apply to take part in this campaign. So the age limit, following a government decision, the age limit to apply to become a Guardi trainee has increased from 35 to 50 from this competition onwards. So this is the starting point really now. If you're up to age 50, you wish to join. Now is your chance to do so. Maybe some people might have thought the opportunity had passed by or maybe they're already considering a career change. So we're, do you know what? People call in the station. I did say this a few weeks ago and they're more than welcome to do so. We would have trainee Guardi in the station in any of the 24-hour stations, Bally Shannon, Milford, Bunkranna and Letterkenny. We would have student Guardi. We've probationer Guardi who are not too long out of the Templemore system. I mean, in terms of asking me, I'd be considered a dinosaur at this stage. Yeah, you're a veteran. Well, the whole training process has changed since I was there. I mean, of course, I could advise people in relation to my experience of being a Guardi and I have no problem with that. But there are videos actually, you know, because it's always been the case so it's not specific to this that the fitness exams and what have you are variant already dependent on age and gender. So there's nothing new there and they are being adjusted for this cohort. And there are videos available that people can practice them and see how they'd get on or if they're capable of it as well through that website. If I'm not mistaken, or at least through the Angala Shiaqana website. But that being said, if you join the Guards, there's no fast tracking here. You do end up doing what everybody else does, which is the probation period. You're on the front line. You're out there. You'll be expected to work nights and weekends and what have you. Of course, yeah. But that being said, there is a start in salary and then there is progression within that and there's uplift through overtime and allowances and what have you. So, hey, it might be there for someone. And I think too, people might go, but people might wonder, well, do we really need older Guards? But different people of different ages and different backgrounds and I know the Guard are keen for the force to represent the population as much as possible. But they bring different, you know, after the probation is finished. They bring different life experiences to the job as well. So I think there's lots of advantages for the force as well as for those who might be inclined to apply. Maybe sometimes in a way, somebody that's that bit younger is about, should I say, wet behind the ears, you know? And often people, maybe in their late 30s, 40s, have had a lot of life experience and they can bring a lot of positive experiences that they've lived throughout their life to the job and we would ask everybody to consider people from different backgrounds, no matter what your situation is and if you're doubting it, if you're on the borderline and you're kind of considerate and you're not sure, call to the Guard of Station. You can speak to any of us, maybe that have experienced, you know, years of experience within the Guards. Talk to the probationer Guards. They can go through the training process with you, the fitness test. They can explain each step to you and then maybe you'd be better informed then, really, to make your decision before you apply. Sure. Right, okay, text alert meeting, it's already taking place. It did, yeah. We had it last night down in the Station House Hotel. It was held for the coordinators of the text alert schemes from within the Letterkenny District. So we have 12 text alert schemes within the Letterkenny District. Before you go on, there used to be an awful lot of talk of that stuff, right? And then you would see these texts there done social media or whatever it might be. Is there still a very active text alert system across the county, or has it lost a bit of momentum through COVID or maybe volunteers moving on or something? Like, is it a area that needs a rejig and rejuvenating, sorry? It is, and this is countryway. This is not just within Letterkenny or Johnny Gull. You know, and unfortunately, that is the case. That's the reason, the main reason why the meeting was called last night. We're trying to rejuvenate the scheme, really, within the Letterkenny District. We're trying to get it back up and running as it was maybe a number of years ago. And because of COVID, as you said, there's a new call system in place also within the Guards. But for various other reasons, the scheme has started to slip in ways and become fairly dormant in some areas, really. So we're just keen to get it up and running. The groups are keen to get it up and running. And we, and in Garda Shea Conner, we're keen also. That scheme is of great benefit to us, to the local communities. It's of massive benefit to us also to receive the information as a result of these texts that are going out. So we had Superintendent Gretty Sherdon from the Letterkenny District. She was there last night. Councillor Patrick McGowan. Mr. Nile Garvey also travelled up. We're thankful to him. He travelled up from Clare last night. He's the CEO of Muncher-Nachira. So, and various members of in Garda Shea Conner were in attendance. So he, Nile Garvey, gave a presentation last night. There's a new app, Carja app. Many text alert schemes throughout the country, I should say, are using this app and have been using it for a long time now. So he explained this app, the benefits of the app. So each group now has gone away. They're discussing it with their membership. They're deciding whether or not to take this app on board. Listen, it's a matter of... We all have to get our heads together now. We have to sit down. We have to try and rejuvenate it anyway. We can get it up and running. I think a lot of people, too, depend. You know, they get a lot of peace of mind from the text alert scheme, you know, to be kept in the loop, to know what's happening. And as I said already, it's a massive benefit to us to receive the information from them that we depend on the eyes and ears on the ground. You know, we depend on the public. So we are just letting people know. We're very thankful also. I just want to say to anybody, any of the groups, the people who came to the meeting this night, the roads weren't great. And we'd like to thank them for braving the weather this night and coming out. So we are going to hold a further meeting now in the very near future. We're going to circulate details of that to all the groups. And we're all going to sit down in the meantime, get our heads together and come up with ways that we can revamp it and get it up and running as smoothly as possible. So I would just like to thank everybody again that came this night. If anybody's interested actually in setting up also a text alert scheme within their own area that hasn't already got one, they can contact me even at Letter Kenny Station, even if it's not within my area and I can then put them in touch with the coordinator from their local. They may possibly have a group set up already in their area that they're not aware of. Or if they want to set up, I had a man contact me yesterday, wishes to set one up in his area. There's none up and running there already. And so I'm looking into that for him at the minute to get that. All right, okay, keep us up to date as things move forward in that regard. Okay, some questions. This one regarding firearms licensing. Is there any plans to reform the application process as it seems to take a long time to process and it's not consistent from one application to another? In particular, substitution applications could be slicker. I know the process in Northern Ireland could be processed on the day by a registered gun dealer. A reform could save on Goddess Yhekarna resources and be more accommodating to the applicant. This caller is possibly very right that a reform could maybe solve many of these problems but there are no plans at present that I'm aware of and I have checked to reform the firearms application system. Sometimes when applications come in, there can be a holdup. There could be these forms, there's a lot of boxes. Passports, is it? Well, no, some of these. You know what I mean, how we keep messing up the passport applications, is it like? Yeah, kind of like that sometimes. Sometimes people maybe forget to update the information. You know, if they're using a certain land and the land owner's details and that needs to be changed and maybe that's not changed, that could hold it up then, the confusion involved in that. Sometimes people forget there could be the smallest box they haven't checked or they've left out vital information in the firm and then that causes a holdup. We would ask everybody when you're submitting your form, please go through it with a fine tooth comb. Make sure you have no errors. You're not missing any vital information on it. This can hold up the process. Of course, loads of relevant checks have to be carried out on our side too before it can be processed. We would say also, if anybody has submitted a firearms application, if they're waiting and they feel that it's a lengthy period since they submitted it, please do ring your local station or ring, you know, your local district headquarters and we will check it out for you. Okay. Greg, could you ask Grania about the lane setup at Lifford roundabout? What lane do you use if you are coming across Lifford Bridge, heading to Lettercanny, what lane do you use? Okay, so I know what they're talking about. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, so the golden rule, listen, I will talk about Lifford roundabout in particular in a second. So this golden rule should help all motorists to drive safely at any roundabout, regardless of the number of exits in that roundabout. So you have to think of the roundabout as a clock. If taking any exit from the six o'clock to the 12 o'clock position, motorists should generally approach in the left-hand lane. If taking any exit between 12 o'clock to six o'clock, you should generally approach in the right-hand lane. So if there are road, many of the roundabouts now have the road markings what the arrows tell you exactly which lane you should be in on approach to that roundabout. And if there are those markings, of course, follow those directions. So in relation to this roundabout in Lifford, there are no specific road markings or signage to tell you specifically which lane you should be in, you know, sometimes you see maybe Letter Kenny and one lane on the ground, you know exactly Sternardler and the other lane. This isn't the case at that roundabout. So when you're travelling in Lifford from the bridge, I think that's what the question says, from the bridge, you're heading towards the roundabout. There are only two options available, to have the left-hand turn and stay in the right lane or take the left-hand turn towards Sternardler. So based on the 12 o'clock rule, if you wish to travel to Letter Kenny, you should remain in the right-hand lane because the exit to Letter Kenny is between the 12 o'clock and the 6 o'clock position. Well, now, Granny, I don't want to fall out with you here and you are the guard. Seriously? Yeah, well, now, I have checked this with my colleagues that are in the station. And this is the... Oh, he's one o'clock. I am open to correction now. No, I'm not contradicting you, but, oh, no. I'm going to have people cut me up left, right and centre now. Oh, no, I know, no. And the general rule at roundabouts is, you see, when you're in the left-hand lane, that's the first and second exit. But you need the right-hand lane, you need the right-hand lane to go into Lifford or to return back over the bridge. And you need to leave the left-hand lane for... It's close enough to 12, Granny. It's a little after 12. It is after 12, I guess. It's a little after 12, it is. This is the general consensus. I have checked it out. I hear you. Oh, no, I know, and listen, I've read up on it as well. And I know, generally, rules can vary depending on the type of the roundabout, depending on whether or not there's markings on the road. There's these markings that you see. You see them at Toly O'Randabout and others whereby there are two lanes, but there's no direction. They've got these strange-shaped triangles. So, that means take your pick. That is the case, actually, at the Lifford roundabout. It is the triangle. Shape is on the road. There's no, you know... So, maybe it's just one of the best for the movement of traffic, then, really, at that point. Well, I would imagine so. People coming down Lurgie-Brack, this is completely separate. People coming down Lurgie-Brack and using the right-hand lane to turn left to Leatherkenny does my head in. Yeah. You know, I would love to do it, but if we all did it, then it would be a disaster. Because that leaves three lanes of traffic into two lanes of traffic in towards Leatherkenny, which I think has been the result of a lot of crashes at the time. But if people think they can save three or four minutes, they are going to go into the wrong lane, unfortunately. Yeah, well, listen, I think that the issue probably would be resolved with the proper road markings and the proper signage, you know? 100%. Because I know, look, there is... There's a lot of confusion around that and many other roundabouts also, not just others. But even when there is proper signage? Yeah, well, I'm only basing... People play fast and loose on roundabouts. They do generally, unfortunately. Indicators are so important on a roundabout. They are, of course, yeah. They're so important on a roundabout. And I think, look, there's a lot of confusion generally in relation to roundabouts, big roundabouts, whether there are many roundabouts, like the one in Lifford. But it's just based on the 12 o'clock rule, that when, you know, if it's after 12 o'clock, you know, that you stay in the right-hand lane. If there's no other turnoff before 12, though, other than the one out towards Balabafe, Grania. Yeah. We're going to have to do a poll here. We're going to... Yeah, I am open to correction, but this is... You're the letter of the law, I mean, that's it. Yeah, well, I have asked colleagues of... You do your research. That's why you should be here, and I should be a trainee guard over there. What do you see? That could happen yet, too. Listen, I don't think they'd accept me. All right, listen, of course they would. Why would they? All right, Grania, thank you so much for your time. No problem. That's Garda Grania Doherty with the letter Kenny Garda station, and that was Community Garda Information for this Tuesday, the 16th of January. The item's back for you live after 10 o'clock next Tuesday, and we'll recap this on our Facebook page and on Garda's here Kana Facebook page a little later on in the day. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook, and at HighlandRadio.com. It's good. Yes, of course. Is it fun to drive? Yes, of course. Is it packed with smart tech? Yes, of course. Can I test drive it right now at Heron Auto Opel? Yes, of course. The new Opel Corsa, now available. Hybrid and electric coming soon. See heronopel.ie for details. It's time to transform your smile. What's the help of Blue Poppy Dandel, letter Kenny in Donegal Town? Their expert team offer orthodontics, teeth whitening, implants, and composite bonding all in-house. 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Remember at Crawford's we've got it covered for you. That's Crawford Tiles and More Castle Fin. 9143942 Hyundai's big offers continue at Hyundai dealerships nationwide. Test drive the 2024 Hyundai range, including the all-new Kona, Ireland's best-selling car of the Tucson and winners of World Car of the Year, the IONIQ 5 and the IONIQ 6. A veil of the big selection of offers when you book your Hyundai 241 model Hyundai. A class apart. Your local dealer is Divers Hyundai Canal Road Letterkenny called 911 22600. Now we mentioned this for you yesterday. Oxford, Oxford, Oxfam a big pod and Oxford, Ireland have put together figures which shows that Ireland's richest 1% own 35.4% of Irish financial wealth. The director of Public Affairs at Oxford, Ireland is Breed McGraw. Good morning, Breed. Thanks very much for your time today. Good morning, Greg. Not at all. It's hard to get your head around, isn't it? 1% of the population, the richest hold 35.4% of Ireland's financial wealth. It's a huge number, but a small amount of people. And it's even worse when you consider that Ireland's two richest people, right, who are billionaires, have more wealth than 50% of the population. Combined. The two of them combined, yeah. Yeah. Or sorry. The two of them combined and the 50% of the Irish population combined. So, yes, like half of us equal two of them. Yeah. And in terms of, you know, people paying the fair amount of tax, these people are kind of somewhat insulated about it because our tax system is set up, isn't it, right? So you tax income, but you don't actually tax wealth as such. Or perhaps we don't tax it effectively to ensure that it's a fairer country. So that's exactly right. Ireland to be fair to us and has a comprehensive tax system when it comes to taxing income or earnings. So it is greater at the top and it is somewhat redistributed to people, the people most in need. So in that sense, we're not the worst country in the world by any manner of means, but where we are actually quite bad in global comparative terms is on taxing wealth. For some reason, we have let us go in Ireland as an opportunity not just to draw in money into the public purse, which is important, but also to understand that everything has to be about your fair share. So a lot of these guys can kind of move money at the flick of a switch, but they also pay serious money to lawyers and professionals to do what's called aggressive tax planning. Some of us might call that tax avoidance, or there might even be another word for it which is even less legal. But I think all of us understand why are there these people at the very, very top who have billions at their disposal, and it turns out in some ways they're paying less tax than their secretary. Like, there's something very wrong there. Yeah, and as well as that too, and it's nationally, but it's also globally that we have a situation whereby the poorer are getting poorer. You know, people are literally starving, and yet we have a small group of individuals that have not only a ton of the world's wealth, but it's actually growing and growing to the point whereby we're going to see our first trillionaire very, very soon, and you can compare that to how destitution is spreading around the world and people are getting richer and more people are getting poorer. So that's exactly right, Greg. And it's a sad fact and I suppose it takes reports like this big global reports from Oxfam that they do every day to really point it out to us because maybe we don't live in these worlds so we don't know. But the world's five richest men as you said, and they're all men have seen their fortunes double since 2020, while five billion people got poorer. So and exactly as you say, Oxfam are saying at the current rate, so if nothing changes and we stay exactly the way we are in a decade, the world will see its first trillionaire. I don't know about you, but I find it... That's a billion, isn't it? It's really tricky to figure out what does that look like all stacked up in a room but even more worryingly it will take 229 years to end poverty. So... That's if there was any will at all to end poverty but there isn't. And what annoys me a little bit too and I'm not being critical of people but one of those billionaires the free thinkers or those that see themself as free thinkers and might call other people sheep they hold some of these people up to be gods. You know and they are sitting on this massive, massive wealth while children are unable to feed themselves dying of starvation and a lot of them are making the money off war as well and all those type of things but we could get into that because we're blue in the face. Either way you think, or not you personally but you probably hold the view as well that the government needs to look at property tax, not necessarily an income tax as such but not a property tax but a wealth tax. A wealth tax. Because it could raise an awful lot of money but then you have to trust that that money would be evenly distributed as well and that's another story altogether but a start would be that everyone pays their fair share. Yes, because we're all expected to pay our fair share so again I don't see why these people can somehow avoid it and the other thing is their wealth I think like you say I think we somehow have stars in our eyes about these billionaires and we think in some way that it was purely genius that got them to that place that is the case for some folks but mostly as the report shows wealth begets wealth so if you sort of start wealthy you can continue and build that up. A lot of wealth is inherited wealth also but there are a group of billionaires or millionaires called patriotic millionaires and one of those people is called Abigail Disney now again hers would be inherited wealth and she's not short of a few bob as they say but Abigail Disney has set up this group of patriotic millionaires they're actually telling in her case the United States but they're from all around the world and they're saying look we are willing to pay our fair share but you have to tax us and what she says is there's more than enough money in the world to solve the world's problems the problem is it's held in the hands of the few so like that's a really sad thing to think about it's also true when you think about food like there's more than enough food in the world for people not to be hungry the problem is getting it to them so I think we can't let these moments pass us by and that we are living in a world where inequality is getting worse I don't know how people listen I'm not on about moderate wealth because those people are most likely to pay their share and that's fine and people should be encouraged to accumulate wealth and fair play to them but I just would struggle to understand how people could have more money than they can even comprehend or whatever or even flutter away and sleep comfortably in their bed at night knowing that that money is locked away somewhere doing nothing except gathering more money whilst there are people that are completely and utterly destitute in other areas of the world you would have to be assured that that money would be spent in a way that would lift those other people but I still don't understand how I struggled to sleep at night because of lack of money sometimes I think I would sleep more difficultly if I had that amount of money and simply just slept on it ok listen it's food for thought breed thank you so much for your time and take care of yourself it's been lovely speaking to you love to thank you very much breed McGrath director of public affairs at Oxfam I do have to take a very short break back with our next guest after these thank you so much for watching what features do you like in a new car? good tech a big screen for playing music and putting up maps comfort the car has to be comfortable I like good bright LED headlights I like a reversing camera and sensors I look for a good warranty and a decent price well the new Citroen C4X new edition has all these features and more test drive the new Citroen C4X at Highland Motors mountaintop Letterkenny oh and the price? $2,999 on the road do you need a UK address? save hundreds of euros on custom charges shopping online with Space Hub Dairy we provide a full virtual address mailbox service for all your business and personal use save hundreds possibly thousands on custom charges with Space Hub Dairy call 048-71-878077 or online spacehubdairy.com for more details thanks for watching today's episode we'll see you next time on Space Hub Dairy .com for more details Highland Radio weather updates brought to you by Grant building a new home choose Grant's a triple plus rated air owner air to water heat pump and you flex under floor heating visit grant.ie mainly cloudy this morning without breaks of rain and some further falls of sleet or snow transitioning mostly to rain around about now the rain will drop right there was some confusion as it relates to check the register .com whether or not you're registered or not registered and what information may or may not need to be provided Councillor Nicholas cross and joins us on the program now good morning Nicholas Good morning Greg right so there was an error on the website so what was the error Nicholas the error and I checked it out with the custom source yesterday yesterday the word was it could be interpreted in a very few various different ways but it was as far as a lot of people concerned it was very clear that you must if you're registered you must include now your PPSN number your date of birth and your aircode so just at the outset Greg I'd like to tell anybody that is on the register at this present month in time there is no need to do that and I can have that confirmed that there is no need to confirm your PPSN number or your date of birth or your aircode if you're on the register if you're registering for the first time yes you're going to have to provide your PPSN number but there's huge confusion throughout the whole of Ireland yesterday and why is it controversial that even if you were on the register and you were trying to check that you would have to include that information pardon my ignorance Nicholas why was that why was that controversial some people some people and I can see that they're point on it that they don't like to give away their information to different bodies and I can see that and to when I heard about this yesterday Greg I went on myself to and it's very easy it's check the register.ie I went on to that it says you must up you must upgrade your date of birth and all that so I put that I put those details in yesterday I have no problem with it but what I'm saying there are people who have a problem putting on date of birth or their air code but they would have to have done that already to be on the register would they not they're just re at the very at the most reaffirming I don't think the air code was on it okay Greg you see the old way you still can go to the Gardner station with a form understand and go down and get identified at the Gardner station if you don't want to go online you could still go down to that and you do not have to give your PPS number is the best of my knowledge and on that particular form but I'm what I'm saying is that the the local authorities at parlor example Donegal County Council are in charge of ensuring that the register is accurate and correct it's the people's own responsibility to register to vote and I think that's what happened there's not a lot of people okay there's a referendum coming up in March and there's the local elections coming up in June and they want to make sure that they're on to vote for that and that confusion yesterday so I would say that it'll probably have nationally today that that it is coming out as your PPS number data board to their code at this present moment in time but what I could change the website already but people have already received documentation through the post with the misinformation on it so what you're giving people is the up-to-date information they can disregard that area of the information on the pamphlet that might have been put through their door important to I suppose with democracy that everyone is on the register or ensures they're on the register because as you say there's a few important votes coming up this year and you know it's good if people have their say it's good that the people have their say but there are some people who are registered twice because they've moved from one place to another within maybe within a local area or a different part of the county or even out of the county but the thing is Nicholas what's frustrating about that is I can't remember when the last local elections were but I remember saying 2019 I remember saying on the on the next day back or the week back I said at the time that you know coming up to the next election we're going to be talking again about this register and that people are on it twice and there's going to be postmen that will contact us and say you know that people are getting two cards and all this kind of stuff and back in 2019 2020 that was the time to go through all of this to tidy up the register to change the system and yet here we are again in the mouth of referendum and elections and we're kind of having the same conversation it can be frustrating little country we live in this it is at lastminute.com and I agree a hundred percent but you're saying Greg just it's not to say local elections actually are are are 125 years old in April of this year so we're looking forward I'm looking forward to celebrate them some way that women voted for the first time local elections as a hundred so it's not only 2019 it's 1899 since the week they had plenty of time to sort that out Greg. Listen thanks very much for your time I appreciate that and good advice councillor Nicholas Crossen there news on the way. The 90 noon show is brought to you by letter Kenny credit union with monster loans available up to 60 000 euro for all occasions visit letterkennycu.ie. 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services we're going to be speaking to the director of that service after we get the news headlines now from dona marie dot hearty good morning dona marie thanks greg good morning garady are asking for the public's assistance in an investigation related to a number of incidents of criminal damage and a car hide jacking in bridge and village on sunday evening the car in question is a 2012 grey seatt althea with a northern irish registration plate they're particularly appealing to those with video footage including dash cam who were in the area between quarter past eight and quarter to nine to make contact the banking and insurance redress focus group says it's awaiting the next meeting of the subgroup set up by the department of housing to see what homes could be remediated on the defective block scheme that they will be fully remorgasable and insurable guarantees will only be given if the work certified by a registered engineer focus group member shea mistivani says if engineers ireland decide against the move the government will have to revisit the scheme garady are appealing for information after a car is believed to have crossed the border after a collision on the dairy road last saturday evening it happened at around quarter to nine when a blue bmw partial registration of or n zed traveling from the lyford area towards st johnson struck a car traveling in the opposite direction the driver of the car that had been struck was not injured meanwhile garady are investigating three thefts and in a show between monday and tuesday last cigarettes and cash were taken from a premises in cultaf while a power washer and diesel were taken from a premises in malin registration plates were taken from a car in moth between friday last and saturday also the ps and i say may down tactical support group officers have been conducting road safety operations across dairy city ansterban district the results of which included a driver speeding almost 30 miles per hour over the limit and the seizure of suspected class b drugs and a statement they say road safety is a shared responsibility for all drivers and finally some people with disabilities are experiencing financial abuse a national advocacy service report says this is despite new laws which presume every adult has the capacity to make their own decisions until proven otherwise in certain cases people facing banking and digital exclusion while others had their money restricted or limited by family members that's all for now back again at 12 o'clock good morning don marie thank you very much for that okay take the next right sure not this right the next right this is the next what i meant the next right after this right what for when a right turn becomes a wrong turn get car insurance you can be confident in with on post insurance go to on post insurance dot ie or call us today acceptance criteria terms and conditions apply one direct island limited trading as on post insurance is regulated by the central bank of Ireland one direct island limited as a wholly owned subsidiary of on post best price online hi Greg it's the same in school more they have to wear a school issued coat which is expensive they also have to wear crested pe tops i think this policy is scandalous particularly in their current financial climate we all find ourselves in these days another these parents make me laugh they complain about the cost of a school coat but they'll play twice that for a branded coat another yes our college is a very strict school coat and uniform policy even in the hot weather last year the children couldn't remove their jumpers we need a bit of common sense don't we uh my children attend the community school they must wear only the school crested coat approximately 60 euro abort these and they don't want to wear them maybe first second year but afterwards no wind rain or snow recently the school introduced the pe uniform students have the option to purchase the school crested kit or buy their own plain black unbranded gear i went with the latter as it was less expensive just like to add i was bullied for star by children when i was a kid called names and put down that was the 90s don't think that it's any different uh at that time the secondary school i went to had uniforms and it stopped completely it's more stressful than you would think the coat can last a long time indeed i get you um but if it is the coat i suppose everybody has to have the same coat wouldn't they um let me see here uh some more of your comments coming in this morning ryan aamon ryan is not respected anywhere he's a globalist yes man him donahoe and all other cronies is respected internationally is the point i'm making hi greg i'm 66 and when i go to visit my mom the first thing she says is why you're not wearing your coat because i hate a heavy coat only if i really have to wear it uh another regarding the school jackets matter uh what doesn't matter what the weather is the loretto girl's school in it or kenny has to wear the school jackets it's okay on a normal day but when it's extra cold they should be able to wear a warmer jacket and on it goes uh thank you so much keep them calls comments coming in we'll get to more of them as the morning progresses but i want to say good morning now to liam cannon director of counselling at the refoe dice and centre in letter kenny thank you very much for joining us and calling up to us today liam good to have you on good morning greg right okay so it is the county's only adult and child counselling service just to give us a sense of the work that it did and where it did it and how many um i suppose sessions of counselling have been delivered in recent years please okay uh okay well uh to start off uh the service is in existence for 34 years and i joined that service uh back uh almost 14 years ago and uh when i joined the service my role was director of counselling uh we had five counsellors and we were delivering an adult service now over the years that service has grown and developed and in 2016 we launched a child and adolescent service simply because we were getting a lot of parents looking for support for children and young people and there wasn't anything available in the county so um uh a lady in in caron donna who had lost a child did a bit of fun did a bit of fundraising and from that i launched a child and adolescent service on 853 euro so that's the start of it uh currently we have a team of 26 counsellors uh we have extended the services out again to uh seven outreach centres and again that's all down to uh need uh people contacting us looking for support for children and young people so uh that gives you a picture of kind of you know how the service has developed and grown over the years and um i mean 2023 uh we uh delivered approximately 3000 sessions that's individual sessions now you're speaking to children and adolescents you know dealing with a range of of issues can you give us a sense of what you're helping our young people with well you know we're dealing with practically anything you know you have a lot of anxiety out there and particularly you know post-covid uh you know if you think about it Greg young people that were maybe nine or ten uh and had three years of kind of isolation uh and now uh you know expected to kind of uh move back out into the world uh and they're finding it hugely challenging you know so social anxiety depression self-harm uh you know whole range how are people finding their way to your services uh were parents aware and called up with our signposting or reference referrals yeah well our services are open to everybody so uh you know a lot of parents will contact us and refer self-refer we take referrals from um HSE services as well you know psychiatry i think that's a very important uh a very important part which we'll come to in a moment so this is a service that the HSE themselves refer people to yes this is a service that we take referrals as i said from psychiatrists uh GPs psychologists social workers uh so we cover basically you know a lot of the state services that are probably overloaded are referring to us as well i spoke to uh some people privately when i posted about this last night whose family um access your services and they can't speak they don't want to speak publicly because their children are in a good place now and they don't want it to trigger anything or whatever and that's a it's an unfortunate but a wonderful catch 22 in that they've got young people now who are you know in a really really good place but it's because of these services but at the same time they can't speak out because they don't want to you know but that's the type of people that have been contacting me that are going this is unbelievable i can't believe this is happening uh it had such a positive impact on uh our family yeah well it's not just the person you cancel it's the family as a whole as well i think completely well greg you know i can tell you that this is the only service of its kind in the county uh and if you remember back in at the end of 2021 i received two awards um one national award from the Irish Association of Counselors and Psychotherapists and one regional award and you know why why are the reason i received those awards was because of service development in the county and it was recognized nationally as the only service of its kind in Ireland that we have wrote we have something here very very valuable uh that is serving the communities you know from Cairndonna right to Dunlow uh and you know that's a huge range and that was so so welcome to now sorry Liam how have you funded this we're currently funded by TUSLA mainly mainly TUSLA would be our main funders okay however the monies we receive from TUSLA are for service delivery only you know you know and our issue currently is that as a director you know on one day a week uh i am uh vacating that post and uh i've recommended a full-time post because it does need a full-time post to drive it forward what what funding annual funding would be needed now to keep this service going well you know as i said this service is is is the only one of its kind understood the the uh child and family agency TUSLA or the HSE don't have a service to take clients that are looking for these services but is there a budget that would keep this for now yeah for now i mean what we're looking for currently is we're looking for the salary of a new director to put a new director in place full time and that would be the start you know that that if we got that right away that would allow the services to continue um and then no one's going to do that on a voluntary basis i take it well i've been honest with you i'm there one day a week and i spend my weekends for the last two years and i'm not calling you out on that i'm just trying to know i'm saying i'm trying to preempt any any comments that might come in why should someone well a huge responsibility it's a huge responsibility uh greg because you're responsible for the whole uh running of the service and the governance that's exactly what's going on all our governance and how things are running what have you yeah so between the jigs and the reels effectively you know somewhere in the region of 50 60 70 000 euro if there was some level of commitment for that for 2024 this decision could be reversed well absolutely i mean what we're looking for here you know 60 70 000 for one post to put a director in place and that would reverse the decision what was the reaction of of the the staff when they were informed of this absolutely got it you know the staff um we have a fantastic team you know of counselors and admin staff down there and i spoke with them yesterday and it's probably the most difficult meeting i ever had with them because i had to give them news that they're you know the service that they were delivering was closing and to absolutely got it devastated well we're making contact obviously with the various agencies and public representatives um who as i said at the start of the show with the if any influence in this this is a service that that could be saved we talk about the awful crease of tragedy that um that the people are still trying to work their way through it is that's another instance whereby your services came to the fore isn't it in offering supports i'm trying to uh sometimes when you talk about you know a certain amount of counselling sessions over a certain amount of period of time i don't think maybe gives a sense of the work that you're doing so that's why i'm selecting this if that is okay with you so in the event of something that's probably more imaginable for us uh as unimaginable as it is the crease of tragedy a lot of counselling services uh were provided and again services that are not available in this can see that were or are were available for you were provided at that time absolutely greg and you know currently you know we do have uh you know clients in our services who have been impacted are involved in the whole crease of tragedy and um i mean the work that is very specialized work it's trauma work um you know it's not every service that offers that either and again you know if it should this service come to an end uh where are these clients going to go because currently our services have approximately uh about 360 clients on our waiting list uh and if this you know so we should be really talking about increasing funding to increase the services not talking about epoxy 60 000 year old to keep this going part of my yeah no yeah that's right tradesman's language so to speak but we should be talking about how this can grow to support the 26 counsellors that are already there maybe expand that and to shorten that waiting list instead we're talking about the only child and adolescent counselling service i've done so many stories over the last year about a dramatic increase in young people uh and and their their mental health yeah and we have one service in all of donagall i really wish people were more angry i presume people are very angry i know people associated with the service are uh i don't know have we received any press releases from opposition tds current tds ministers saying they'll make representations it to some extent and it may come the silence is a little bit deafening here you know we it doesn't matter what part of you're a member of or not no no this is about our children here 15 000 uh counselling sessions over the last six years if i'm if i'm not mistaken no that's right i've spoken to families whose children are getting their adults now and they're getting on with their lives because of this service this is one service that another service sorry that has been taken from donagall there's nothing to replace it those people that you're engaging with where do they go to next yeah the hsc seem to be suggesting you haven't applied for funding and that's why uh that you can go to application online dot application dot form or whatever it might be and actually try and uh have some sort of a um some sort of a uh non-statutory agency funding why did you not pursue the hsc route route in relation to seeking funding i'm glad you actually raised that point for me because you know i did read that yesterday myself and um i suppose let me just explain a little bit about that yes the hsc does have that service level agreement option in place however for us to avail of a service level agreement we would have had to apply for this six months ago this situation didn't arise six months ago um so really you know that option isn't open to us currently and funding for 2024 has already been decided by the hsc so you know i think uh really what i would be saying to the hsc about this is really you know if you take what we delivered last year which is uh 3000 counseling sessions if that was delivered within the hsc it would cost in the region of 273 000 now we delivered those 3000 sessions for 105 000 so there's a there's a savings there to the state in terms of waiting lists but in terms of money monetary value of 168 000 euro and you know what we're asking for now um is immediate because this is the the problem is only arisen you're not sure that toosla being one of the funders they seem to be suggesting in their word soup here they seem to be suggesting that they will continue the existing level of funding and they want to engage with uh they want to engage with the centre to see how the services can be continued under the existing funding you're saying simply that's not possible that's not doable well the existing funding as i said you know is about service delivery um what does serve with that mean sorry just to in late yeah i mean the councillors themselves yeah that that goes towards counselling sessions so when we when we receive funding uh the funding it's very clear guidance with it and stipulation that it has to be only spent on counselling sessions but you know um again i suppose this is a bit this is a little bit like you know a ship without a captain or a plane without a pilot you know yeah you have to have the upper levels there where did we come to this point that Liam and again i believe just asking straight questions then we get to straight answers okay and it's not a probing question but that this service is there it's running really really well there's always you could always do with more funding of course don't get me wrong but that we've arrived at a point now that effectively the whole thing can collapse off the back of one person not getting paid a wage yeah so that's what it and i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that but is that really what like what where did we get to the tipping point that the whole thing can collapse and all of these people could be without without the services because of the payment of one position okay well back in september i decided after almost 14 years to vacate the post um simply because i'm there one day a week i have my own practice as well on the other four days so for the last four years i'm putting in my weekends to it so would you be would you be would you be minded to apply for this position of funded no i'm vacating it completely okay just to be absolutely clearly yeah i understand but you know greg the the point is is that for somebody to come in to replace me then it needs to be a full-time post yeah because as i said you've you've grown this for my 850 euro to where it's at now yeah so and you can't continue to give the level of commitment that you are you have to look after yourself as well in your own your own endeavors okay that's just one of that to be apt for so there's there's no ambiguity there Liam and you've answered that really clearly and i and i fully get that good yeah if uh where do you think this one is where do you think this money can or is likely to come from to maintain this service like i mean too so are not in negotiating uh mode here where there is a process seemingly with the hsc that possibly it's open to be engaged with yeah but not until 2025 or you know for 2020 2020 again another critical piece of information this cannot limp along and it's not limping because it's a very well organized situation don't the wrong the situation can't limp along till 2020 well greg my finished date for for me leaving the post was the second of january but i mean i'm not able to do that because and i'll tell you why because if i step out of the post currently it collapses it collapses immediately from a um because from the governance yeah from the governance is very clear so you're this is a lot of pressure on you there's no i mean personal pressure as well it's tough because you know first hand how this is helping people but you've you've have you had any uh contact with elected representatives yes i've had a number of calls from elected representatives and you know they're they're lobbying on our behalf here but you know i mean that's what we need we need people out there we need people lobbying on our behalf at the minute we need people who have like you said spoke with who have availed the services and who found it beneficial for their children or young people or for the adults that have gone through it and so we need as much noise in the county as we can at the minute but and let's say you never know when a young person in your life might need these absolutely you simply don't know so if you think that this doesn't apply to you now god forbid it might but this is the only show in town for for cancelling for for children and adolescents that's the only show in town in donagol so if god forbid it came to pass that you needed some help for someone in your life there is literally nowhere else to turn now you can go through other we know the delays and other services and what have you but this i think too this is the maintenance uh an early intervention as well cancelling presumably yes you know avoid things escalating and and escalating and then there are other things there but we know the pressures that are on that so it again it's very much in the state's interest to invest in this again i can't understand how this is being allowed to collapse over the sake of 60 000 euro effectively at least that would get us into a position whereby you know we could talk about what happens in 2025 2026 and what on this has grown because it's been very well run but it's grown because of need that's that's why it's 100% because of the need so that need is there and that's why it's escalated as well as the as well as the great people working within this service but there is the demand and that this has been demand driven in its growth yeah well greg you know up to 60% of our you know calls coming in seeking support right around the county is for children and adolescents you know and so that's a really important uh fact but you know coming back to you know what needs to happen here i think you know i think state services like tusla and the hse really need to sit down and think about the 360 people that are on our waiting list where they're going to go they're going to go back on to their waiting list but tusla aren't going to listen right so it's not what they've over they will listen but it's going to take a lot of noise well yeah i i mean people listening to this now need to make start making calls to their councillor to the tds to the ministers and say listen what i've just heard on the radio it's completely unacceptable this is the only service sorry i could have crossed that continue the point you were making about tusla and that they're they should be thinking on the 360 on the waiting list yeah and and the fact that they don't have a service you know child not a lesson service but then the you know the the adult services when the hse is we all know are jammed you know blocked and it there's a waiting list up until now and i don't think this goes into any personal area so like say for instance tusla they would have you know children in care temporary care in this county or in care settings yeah presumably they also call on the centre for for counselling they do absolutely they call on for children and care and for children you know um who have left care you know that you know that that's another service there's there's loads of different areas that tusla have where clients are referred from you might stick those headphones on and and you can inform me are they too loud are they okay they're okay all right i don't want to blow your head off um donna harper joins me on the program donna how are you getting on and thank you very much uh for speaking out on this issue with everything that you're going through thanks donna so good morning great right your reaction to this news uh that the this service the only service of its kind in donna gall is being scrapped over 60 000 euro of funding effectively what's your reaction to this news do you know what greg um when i first heard i was very shocked um and it's very disappointing um the service is a vital very vital for letter kenny for donna gall because not alone is it just letter kenny um they do have services in christla and don fanny heastern order bunk rana and so on um and not alone what it should be letter kenny that's closed and all them other um places will be closed as well um you're talking about then mental health of young people and adults and you see so much greg on social media tv newspapers encouraging people to go and talk to people um about their mental health and so on so if the government do not step up and give the pastoral centre the funding they need where is the young people supposed to go what are they supposed to do and god forbid there could be serious consequences out of that and donna in our conversations um you know soon after the awful crease tragedy which very sadly took the life of your beautiful daughter at that point it was like well where you know where is the supports where are the services and and you know thankfully that were there you were able to find um the the the the pastoral centre and they they did help you and your boys pastoral centre is very important um not alone just for us and our boys but for so many other families because of the tragedy that happened in chrisley um it affected so many people throughout donny call so um and i do know that there's other people um using the services as well in the pastoral centre for that um and it really has it's really been a help to us as a family um for our family and i know for so many other families as well yeah okay donna thank you very much indeed and and just before you go um this Liam this is exactly what we were talking about yeah absolutely and and you know it's great to hear the support like from from the likes of donna who knows firsthand how important the service is uh and again you know unfortunately you know she had to learn that in the hard way you know by losing her own daughter and an awful tragedy but you know there's there are other people out there as well and you know they're they're probably listening in as well who has availed of the services or who are currently there donna listen thanks again i really appreciate it hope you do okay okay great thank you very much uh dorine shared and kennedy good morning to you good morning it's hard to believe would you agree that this service could we could lose this uh vital service that so many people avail of over uh 60 000 euro of funding anyway for 2024 it's unacceptable isn't it well i was in total shock yesterday when i read it on on local press but just to say first of all to congratulate um Liam Cannon on the great work he's done for the last 14 years and he's bought that service to a level that i'm sure is envious around the country as was noted when they got the awards in relation to the work that they're doing and also you know congratulate donna there for coming on because that's not an easy call to make today and just in support of the services but it's a question of this this can't close that would be my line on this this cannot close this service cannot go this has to continue and it is really up to the people who represent us on the hse forum and elsewhere to get a hold of this and to get the funding and if all we're talking about as Liam has alluded to is the salary to keep the person in permanent five-day week leading this program well then that's what has to be done and it's it's patents really in relation to money that's been spent so really i was horrified in this and i just thought this is something i must get my teeth into and i certainly will and and anything i can do Liam in support support you in relation to moving this on i just think this has to be taken by the public as much as by the public reps and the hse this cannot close at the end of i've seen families i've seen children benefit hugely from the counseling services that have been offered and the actual location of where it's at as well and then when Liam refers to the various outfits throughout the county you can see that you know we're not just um there's not just letter candy services in the county service and that's as vital that it's kept open and whatever means it takes i'm sure that the people who represent us now in our local governments and in our national government will just have to stand up and find money but this should be sorted today Doreen Sheridan thank you very much indeed Sheridan Kennedy you know we should be talking about uh what we should be talking about here is uh you coming in um and we're recognizing what you've done in establishing this this is the way this conversation should be going uh we should also be talking about how uh it's gone from a one-day directorship that you've been doing to a five-day that's being funded and that the hope is now that the new person coming in will have more time to talk about funding growing the service you know improving the network maybe a reach out to Donogholt Han or something yeah instead of like my concern is if this falls to bits and the the counsellors the 26 councillor counsellors go on to do different things i don't believe that this would be very easy to put back together again yeah completely so i i think we've got a really short window yeah to say right okay someone's dropped the ball here let's sort this out because i think if this goes it goes because i wouldn't like to try and bring it back together in its current form again yeah well look i mean i think we've got a unique service it has taken years to develop you know you know that's that was my role there was to develop the model you know that we deliver and that's what's being recognized so if we dismantle this and abandon it at the moment it's going to take another 14 or 15 years to build up and we're going back we're stepping back in time here you know and i think we really need to recognize that and if we look at you know even just anything in social media or on tv or anything now the minute it's talking about mental health and it's about you know really reaching out and if we keep breaking these services down where why are we you know having campaigns yeah just to be clear for those switching on we're talking about the potential closure unless someone pulls the finger out of donagall's only child and adolescent cancelling services we've been in contact with the hsc with two not really satisfied with their response but they are what they are and we've also made contact with the minister for agriculture's office uh the donagall minister like we have to put this into context in the amount of money that's being spent in this country on so many different things the easiest thing to do in the world is to pitch our children perhaps to pitch our children perhaps against immigrants or something okay there's no money being taken from this service to being given to immigrants those are separate issues but there is money being given to everything left right and center football pitches grayhands horses that's grand that's fine 27 million 20 million 25 million we're talking about 60 000 uh euro i have to take one very quick break you'll stay with me uh the bishop alan mogokian's going to join us as well is aintu rep mary t sweeney because a lot of people obviously uh very disturbed by this information so liam's going to stay with us we're going to take a break stay with this issue hey someone needs to come up with a solution to this someone who has the influence and power and we hope they do so today we'll be back with more after this break the county's number one talk show the nine till noon show on highland radio the nine till noon show is brought to you by letter kenny credit union with monster loans available up to 60 000 euro for all occasions visit letter kenny cu.ie why leave all the magic moments or great scenes you've captured on your phone sitting there or in the cloud when you can 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kelly's range of ready meals many low in saturated fats and high in flavor healthy eating tips from kelly centra mountaintop letter kenny highland radio time checks with expressway travel route 32 from letter kenny to doblin when you book online and travel for less expressway bringing you the time us it's 11 34 bishop alan mogokian is with us bishop thank you very much for your time today I do appreciate you talking on this very very important issue we've been listening over the last half an hour as to how vital this service is and the devastating it will impact it will have on young people and their families if it is to us we fear to be lost i'm sure bishop you are in full support of the retention of this service of course my goodness it's it's something we are just our heart is completely in them incredibly proud of the fact that like for this thing started 30 years ago in the pastro centre with sister mario donovan just reaching out to people who were coming and need and there was obviously need for counseling and that was where it started that started small and then just grew and grew in response to need to the point where the diocese recognized that it needed to go on to a more professional basis and and that was when Liam was Liam can maybe correct us but I think Liam was headhunted that and under him because of the terrible phenomenal need in particularly for children but for adults as well it has grown and grown and and it is an extraordinary service in the county that that we're proud of and and recognize a great great need for and the thing is too it has grown as you say quite rightly off the back of demand with a full-time director as well Liam has done amazing work with a full-time director as well we could should actually and as I said this to Liam a little earlier we could actually be talking about how it could grow even further the waiting lists can be reduced and it can even further match the needs of the population and instead we're talking about this collapsing off the back of a 60 euro 60 thousand euro investment in 2024 it's heartbreaking no exactly no and I think there is also more to it than that there is of course the immediate need for for a full-time director that Liam is going and and he should have been able to get away months ago and has very generously hung on just to to keep us going but you know we we have been recognizing for a number of years on advice from Liam that that the whole thing needed needs to be on a on on a more firm basis you know like remember it even now much of the important background work is done by very generous voluntary people individuals and women in particular who comes in and works with voluntarily people on CE schemes who are doing a fantastic job diocesan staff who on top of other things are chipping into whether it's answering the phone or just do all of the things that are necessary to keep this very big service going and we recognized a couple of years ago that this this is not a foundation for for the long term and consequently we encouraged Liam and others to look about establishing an entity that would carry this on a really professional basis that could be independent from the diocese and there were gathered and we met with them from time to time very very gifted people in the field aimed at at putting a really firm basis under this here called Turkarno counselling and psychotherapy services and they had they had to break wall some months ago saying I take it I take it Bishop that the diocese cannot financially support these services no no it's like the state and what I'm saying that immediately there's something like 60 or 70,000 needed right now annually but but I'm saying for the thing to be done properly there's there's a there's a full-time director there's a full-time coordinator and as I say so much of that work is currently being done voluntary and on the side and like the diocese already every year every year throughout all the years the diocese has put money in now I understand that Bishop and also to again this is a service that both Tusla and the HSE refer to that is that's the most one of the more remarkable things in this and they can't find it within there no no I know multi-million euro budgets to provide the initial funding at least and let's see where we can build it from there Bishop McGockey and thank you very much for your time Marity Sweeney and Aint to rep good morning to you are you there Marity good morning can I just say that when I read this in the early hours this morning between last night and this morning word came through to me one of the people that first reached out to me was the grandmother of that was absolutely distraught she had a daughter with three children going through a terrible time and there was no access no doors open to her and through the pastoral centre it was an absolute lifeline for her and for the young people with drug addiction then with different facilities the facilities they offer there is phenomenal and I have to thank the parish council and the bishop for the input that they provide towards that which goes on on recognised really and I would have paid to all the sitting councillors and the politicians across the county this cannot be allowed to fail and it must be reinforced it's not just enough to provide the sixty thousand we must look at the exact funding that this cost to make sure that it is actually expanded upon because the amount of mental health even with the rise to hear it this week that they're closing the mental health facility up in Cairndonna I'm also told that they're intent to close the one in Dunlop we've already heard last April that they're closing one the unit and in stern order like where are we going as this letter can I don't go all at the bottom of the pile again that nobody cares I don't understand why we have to keep fighting for the support of of these types of services up here it's a it's a constant battle we've had it over the years with the likes of eye care with the likes of the Blue Stack Foundation with the the likes of the domestic violence services in Boncran or in the show more generally speaking I just cannot understand why we're playing whack-a-mole with issues that affect people so so deeply is there one quick final point you wanted to make there Mary Tix I do need to go to other callers I think that this is a direct attack on the mental health services for the people of Donegal and the people of Donegal need to flood your station today and flood their politicians when you think they're sitting on the grace report for five years and not a word about it and how much of those people that are investigating that getting paid one of their wages you see NGOs you see CEOs of charities getting 300,000 for a wage of a chair you know not not good enough we need the HFC look at the funding look at the waste of money and I respect exactly everything you're saying and where are the monies being spent but even if that were to continue the 60,000 year old no problem in the country's finances to cover this and I take your point thank you very much indeed Rachel you would be concerned that this service could be lost because it could be lost to someone very important to you yeah I have a I have a son now that had and he'd lost two very very close people to him and a very very short space of time has mental health deteriorated really really really bad I spent ages and through the HFC trying to get him sorted we did eventually get a psychologist my husband took him up the day of the psychologist and the husband came back and he said he may benefit from Raven Council and I said the husband I said was he referred and he said no so I was just a diagnosis there was no solution for you that was just no there was no help you know and I had rang back the psychologist and I had kind of said like you know this kid here suicidal you know this is the problem he's having he goes oh well he was happy today he goes that that's what I base my judgment on and he said he might benefit Raven Council and I said well can you refer him and he says oh no you can look into that yourself so I was absolutely livid at that stage when I googled then I came across the pastoral centre and rang them up and once I told them everything my son had gone through they had him and their centre within a week and since he started with them they've been absolutely amazing but like we really really cannot lose us because it's the only thing kids have here in Donegal what would you do what would your son do if this if this service stops this week I mean you'd be very worried about that and and and extremely worried you know and he was like most nights too he was crying at night time most nights too he was crying at night time and he has really really come on leaps and bounds since he started attending his counsellor and it's gobsmacking to think that this is going to go do you know what I mean there's nothing for our kids in Donegal there's nothing this is the only service we have up here for them you know quite literally yeah there's nothing okay listen hopefully common sense surely has to prevail yeah your son continues to to improve and it's it's great that it that he has he sounds like he's gone through an awful time for a young lad hopefully he continues to get the help and support through these services going forward Rachel and and he'll go into his 20s and beyond in a much stronger position thank you thanks for helping us I get the message across Liam I suppose to to recap what more can we do we've got the the bishop saying we need to retain this service we need to grow we've got politicians saying that this can't be like allowed to happen but the most important and voice of all is that of Rachel and Donna to me people that are have and are engaging with this service and would be very concerned for the well-being of their young people if this kind of a service is discontinued again I can't reiterate enough how important it is that everybody listening takes an interest in this issue because yeah well there's not an awful lot of things we can affect I think we can probably do something with this one yeah well you know Greg I think we know when you hear the likes of Donna speak and Rachel speak and the importance of what their benefit and you know their their child or the young person is benefiting from or their family is benefiting from and let's just as opposed to take for a second when when a child or a young person comes in the family benefit there you know the community benefits the school benefits everybody benefits because if that young person is not happy they're not happy at home they're not happy at school they're not happy you know anywhere and then so these services are vital you know for the for those families I'm going to make you stay there just for one more second the nine till new show is brought to you by letter Kenny credit union offering low-rate car 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letter kenny credit union simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from letter kenny credit union call us on 0749102126 or apply online via our app or in office today okay we are talking about the potential loss of donnie gall's only child and adolescent cancelling service it's delivered across the county by a non-profit rafodis and center and letter kenny there are also outreaches in donfana histone all increase lab on crana car and dinner and on low the the service provides has 29 26 counselors and has delivered thousands upon thousands of cancelling sessions to young adults and adults and children in need of the support but it is on the brink of collapse because um that too slow or the hsc can't find the 60 000 euro that would be required to appoint a full-time director which is required because of governance and what have you and because of the scale of this organization now to keep it going so all of that could be lost and we're at a point now put it to liam and canon who's in studio with me and he didn't disagree that if this uh breaks up at this point now you know it'd be very hard to even start putting it back together in a month or two or three months i think we've got a very very uh short window we've contacted the hsc tooster minister charlie mcconnellogue is the is the top-ranked politician in terms of of of influence in this county uh to see what his office might be able to do about it and lots and lots of people out there really shocked uh by this uh move but donkin you think that you don't believe that especially uh uh you're not of the view that a service that too slow and the hsc refer people to should be funded by them you think there should be other ways of funding this do you well as i explained to you that it can be is it from my childhood especially the national school and so on all the funding to the church was gathered both in the community not through the government and the community itself worked pretty hard to raise that money for the schools and also for all this emphasis to do with the church you were of the view then that you believe the church itself should be funding this well as the church the community not just as the church as the people athletic canning have raised this money across the board they reached out to other churches within the community as well we all have to each other right yeah okay i get you donkin listen thank you very much for that uh this is a service that goes far beyond uh letter canny just to some comments here um this is the kind of service that's so necessary especially regarding relationship breakdowns addiction domestic abuse parental alienation and so on government once again blind to society's needs or is it just on a goal needs many aspects of the cancelling services on a voluntary basis the church is all also providing the accommodation which needs updating yeah indeed and maybe uh we heard from the bishop that he wants it to be sort of independent that it's outgrown its current structures uh call us as our son shami who's no longer with us spoke highly of liam he will be a big loss to this service this service is needed now more than ever it has to be saved um another here the center has had people come to its front doors in distress asking for help the hospital couldn't help and people seeing them then and there uh that's the level of service it provides and on and on it goes and and i mean like i get people's uh are very well intended and say no well the catholic church should fund this or there should be a fundraiser or or whatever and i understand that but also we can't keep relieving the state of its responsibilities either this is a service as i mentioned that the hsc and toosla refer to that it's the only service of its kind if it wasn't here then extra pressure goes on calms and other services as well i get where people are coming from liam right but at the comes a point too whereby that the the scale of a service has to be recognized its direction has to be recognized and the government has to find 60 000 euro in the first instance to support it do you know what i mean yeah absolutely and i suppose just come back to to duncans call there you know i mean the church uh is supporting this and has supported this all the way through but it's at the point where this service needs to stand on its own two feet as an independent service and i think that's why we have uh you know a government and that's why we have public funding to support these services because this service has the potential to provide you know twice the the amount of work that it is it's not that we don't have waiting lists absolutely but we can't do that at a community level any longer we've got to have you know proper national funding behind us uh in order to for it to stand alone as a service and as i said what what we have to remember here is we do have the only model of the skint in ireland you know and we should be we should be valuing that we should be praising that we should be actually making sure as you say that we're we're actually increasing the funding for sure and listen rhodoroco gorman has a responsibility in this area caroline i'm sure we've contacted the minister for children rhodoroco gorman as well he has got a very broad portfolio with an awful lot of money being spent out of his various departments okay if he can't impress the importance of this on toosla well then maybe his own department can fund it it is a department of children okay and this is children we're talking about here as well as adolescents okay um listen i'm gonna let you go liam i want to stay in contact with us we're gonna keep the pressure on uh as much as we can as well it's not one that's gonna go away what's the time frame here like you've had a meeting with staff yesterday you've informed them is there a caveat here is there a a window that we we have to turn this around because we will take a while to point to director for an example right so you're all gonna have to give us another day a week for a while i have if the money if we find the money you're committing to that you know look greg you know as i said i should have been gone on the second you're still here i'm still here and and you know you know as i said we as a team down there uh and as myself as director down there i put years into this you know if it takes you know another few weeks uh um to to get all this started i'm very happy to stay there i can't leave it hanging because you know it's very personal of course you've just look what it's grown from and i think and and the tribute was paid to you by the bishop which yeah completely you can't get much higher price than that yeah well you know for me i think you know uh what i spoke when i spoke with the staff yesterday uh you know to all the counselors yesterday i you know i was given you know sort of mid-march as closing you know so that you know we have we have a window but that yeah but we have a window but you know as i said you know if you know funders are coming forward and talking to us and putting something in place well rather than closing then we're looking at trying to recruit a new director no i get that which i'll stay until that's completely you know but that process has to be green lit yes so you know regardless that you don't need this not you or any 60 grand doesn't need to be put on the table here the position of a director needs to be green lit in terms of funding yeah 60 000 odd euro uh and uh that that would retain the service Liam thank you so much for joining us yes thank you very much Greg back with the weather after these return refund recycled Ireland's deposit return scheme is coming from the 1st of February 2024 when you buy a drink in a bottle or can with the return logo you'll pay a small deposit once you're refreshed return your empty undamaged bottle or can to any shop or supermarket and get your deposit back the results less litter less waste and better 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we'll continue our coverage of that story as well and that and much more besides jump lessons next around the northwest the big winter seal is now on a fence when the uranics and letter kenny and and low with the samsung jet 60 cordless vacuum cleaner