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And our panel this morning is a long-time member of the panel. Mary Hart, broadcaster and journalist. Mary good morning. We have Gronja Hines who's a member of Letter Kenny Active Retirement. Gronja good morning. And we have Declan Meehan who's manager of the Milford District Resource Centre and a community campaigner. And I suppose on any discussion today there's only one place to start and that's the war in Ukraine. And we're all wondering I suppose are we past the point of no return and what impact is this going to have as well as the huge impact it's having in Ukraine already. What impact is it going to have on the wider Europe and indeed the wider world. Mary Hart is a broadcaster and journalist. You've been monitoring and watching and reporting the news for for quite a while. What sort of thoughts do you have as you watch what's happening in Ukraine at the moment? Well I mean there's no easy way to put this. This is a very serious situation for the whole world not just for the Ukraine and all of those wonderful people that live there. In my view this is you know this spells the end of democracy in Ukraine. It's the beginning of the Iron Curtain going back up again. You know let's not forget that Putin by all accounts appears to be someone who's unhinged at many times. He is a former member of the KGB. He's a strong advocate of Russian influence and Russian control and that's I mean nobody expected that he would actually do what he has done which is dreadful. Ukraine like many of the satellite democracies have been fledgling vibrant democracies. We've even got to know these people in our country because they've been able to travel the last 30 years since all of those countries like Poland who had all been under the control of the USSR. This is a step towards that again. This is what Putin appears by everyone else who's been speaking about what's happened and that that's what he's doing. The scariest thing for me two things you know is I have a colleague that I worked with on the Irish press many years ago and he was the Irish times Russian Moscow corresponded during the fall of the Soviet bloc and also you know has many friends there and he sent me a message last night from one of the editors of one of the newspapers there who just who actually described Putin as having his finger as like having a new toy zipped up car with his finger on the new clear button and now that's coming from the editor in chief of a newspaper in Moscow and said that the only way that they can see this being resolved on the planet is how you put it being saved is that the rest of the world take action. So that I mean that's you know the rest of us are all looking on in absolute horror and you know I just don't want to take it into any any long wondered way in my part but you know I'm old enough to have been in the Eastern bloc I went across into East Germany travelled through East East Germany into Berlin because Berlin was split in two Eastern West and I remember getting into through checkpoint journey into East Berlin and you know thinking communism in those days I think as a young young person communism was good and what we were told it was fairest and all of that and I do remember being absolutely terrified of the the the KGB or not so much the KGB but the police the stats say that you could see the fear on people's faces and they knew we were from the West. We now we discovered when the when the collapse of the of the whole Soviet bloc and the whole Soviet Union as we knew it that this is an oligarchy they built the power for themselves there's riches can be there is there's so many rich Russians travelling around the world they've taken over everything so that's what's happening and that's what's going to happen that's what Putin's doing he's taking control but it's not for a good way it's for that for a very bad way. It's an interesting contrast because you say you were in the Eastern bloc when when the Iron Curtain was very much a factor conversely I have a daughter who's in her late 20s and just before the pandemic in January of 2020 she was in Kiev on a city break for a weekend because Roy and Air flight to Kiev from Dublin so she took a flight to Kiev spent a weekend in Kiev and she said to me last night that what she's thinking about at the moment she said funnily enough is the taxi driver who brought her to the airport and and the tour guide took around a walking tour around the city centre and then she said she watched the news and said see that building there I have a photograph of myself in front of that building and the difference is that we've gone from your experience years back you know in the Iron Curtain in those dark days of communism to someone going to Kiev on a city break because they can and now the fear is it's going to go in the other direction. Gronja I want to go to you because like Mary and myself you've been observing the news and watching it for a quite a while there seems to be something different about this one Gronja I mean we've seen so many sort of conflicts in Europe and Annelle Square over the past decades but there seems to be a different something different about this particular one it does seem more worrying doesn't it? Yes it does and it seems to be a resurrection of a dictator who certainly isn't a benign dictator but who has ambitions outside Ukraine and that is the problem for us in Europe Ukraine itself I think we haven't given them enough support and when when those Russian military exercises were coming to the south of our economic waters I actually felt they weren't there for military exercises they were there to do a recce of the underground cables etc and perhaps looking at us as an easy target to take over because we will never be able to defend ourselves if Russians decide okay let's go to Ireland and this is why I think it's very important for us to think about joining NATO I think we should be in NATO we are Europeans and I think it's very very important for us all to be in NATO I think Ukraine should have been admitted to NATO before now and if they had we could go in put boots on the ground and I think that's what's needed I think the sanctions will be a good thing but they will take a while to take effect and Putin lives for the day he lives for his own day when he will get the to say to the Russian people I have restored the empire and it's very worrying and I think we should have to give every help we can we have to push for the swift banking system to be lifted from Russian's influence and we have to do everything and I think perhaps we may have to consider giving more help than we're doing I think Ronja the idea of Ireland joining NATO and effectively abandoning the neutrality that Ireland has held since it became a republic I'm not sure that would get through a referendum Declan you've been listening to what both Mary and Ronja have said there you know do you think and would you in any way agree with Ronja that there's something more that we should be doing and maybe that should actually involve putting our neutrality to one side and taking a more active role in what's happening in the wider world I definitely wouldn't agree with putting our neutrality aside I think that that is something that's it's very valuable and gives us a almost quite a unique experience in the world I do worry though about the incapabilities of our defence forces and we've seen that that has been highlighted recently about how under-equipped and under-resourced they are and that starts even with our defence forces being seriously undervalued and underpaid and I do think that there needs to be serious work in terms of trying to build that up not just for the defence of our own country but in a broader sense to contribute to peacekeeping and which we have an extremely honourable record of doing since the 1960s in terms of how much more we can do as a country I think that we need to be at the table using our voice and where we can to push for harsher sanctions I think that that is really the only tool that is open to us at the minute I think that military intervention is something that everyone in NATO has already said is off the table and I think that people are countries like the United States the UK France everyone else are too afraid to actually engage directly militarily with Russia so the sanctions that have been put in place over the past 48 hours the question needs to be asked why were these not put in place in 2014 when this war actually first started when Russia annexed Crimea absolutely I mean the annexation of Crimea the encouragement to the Donbas region all back in 2014 these sanctions should have been in place since then the reasons why these sanctions have not been in place is because there's too much interest in European countries in having Russian money and taking Russian resources particularly how tied up the German economy is with the Russian economy both on gas dependency but also on capital dependency as well a lot of German banks are owed money by Russian institutions and that's why sanctions have not been harsher because Germany stands to lose a lot similarly the UK has not imposed as harsh sanctions as they should because an awful lot of the oligarchs money is tied up in the city of London and a lot of that money also coincidentally ends up in the coffers of Tory party members through donations so you have a very complex and intricate system of dependency which Russia has been very careful to build since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 so that the European economy is quite well integrated with Russia which makes these sanctions all the more difficult because the German government the UK government and other European governments don't wish to impose unpopular sanctions that are going to affect their own citizens you mentioned there that Ireland should be using its voice at the table now we do have a voice at the table because we are currently a member of the UN Security Council now it seems to me that the only thing that most people know about Ireland's membership of the UN Security Council at this point in time is that officials had a party at the time that we were actually accepted onto it and it seems to be the only element of the UN Security Council membership that that is actually discussed at the moment and Mary do you think maybe that we are not using that place in the UN Security Council to its fullest extent or is work going on behind the scenes that we simply don't know about of course it's working on behind the scenes that we don't know about and you know certainly Russia has Russia as a superpower you know so therefore it's only stands to reason that those that that money from that superpower will will find its way into as Declan has said into you know the banks and the coffers of political parties and into the buildings across London and I'm sure in Dublin too that the that Russian money has found its way in we all remember the passports and Charlie Hawley's day but certainly yes a lot is going on behind the scenes that we'll not know about and certainly the Europe and America and the other superpowers are you know looking at Russia at the moment but nobody wants to start firing weapons across and in through Russia and I wouldn't advocate that in any way and certainly yes sanctions need to be applied every every sanction that is possible and indeed they are they have been late and coming but for for that reason because the Russian money is everywhere and and that's Russia being smart but what it does like America is smart about what it does and you're smart about what it does Russians ways its way and I I really do believe we can be using our voice the UN but it hasn't much of a voice you know that's it's a tough job and to say that we're you know our neutrality a wonderful and it's great and all of that we look pretty silly sitting out on the wild Atlantic with no one looking after us if we're not members of NATO I can't see any reason why we can't be members of NATO we weren't neutral in the second world war we know that we of course you know you know devil era had a great notion that Ireland should stay a stand aside what's the point in standing aside of what benefit is it for us to stand aside and our soldiers do we can't say that we're neutral they do go to war zones but they do I'm not saying they're fighting the other the enemy but they do take sides they do protect the people that make protecting but they're also soldiers they're also got guns on their hand so for us to say that we're nice happy little countries sitting out on the wild Atlantic we should be and that's where we have a voice and that's where we have a very strong voice if we're a member of members of NATO and it's one of these notions that's have percolated through and we all think it's great but I see nothing great about it no I could absolutely go on here on that point like the fact we were neutral I know my father was in charge of the Medical Corps in Fenner Camp during the second world war and when a playing came an English playing came down in Ben Bulban he was first on the scene he saved lives and for this he got a certificate from King George which because he was a a rabbit republican he really enjoyed and he was court martyled by the army but he was okay they didn't dump him out but what I'm saying is it's a myth as Mary says and this thing about neutrality it's sitting on the fence for what reason and there is no way we can build up our forces to take on any invasion no matter how where would we get we don't have the either the numbers of people or the money to do such a thing so we have to join NATO I don't see any and like it's all very fine now to say leave Ukraine to its own divorce you know just because we're not in NATO or NATO is not helping Ukraine I find it just extraordinary that we can watch what is happening but you have a superpower attacking a small country like well a big country like Ukraine but small resources and I think we they are such brave people I think they're wonderful what they're trying to do and of course I cannot see them being able to resist forever you did use the phrase earlier though Grania you did use the phrase boots on the ground now part of Putin's justification for what he's doing is that if Ukraine were to join NATO that would give NATO a power base right across Russia's border and his argument is that in doing what he's doing he's actually protecting Russian interests now if NATO expands and if NATO puts boots on the ground in Ukraine is that not going to in a sense validate what Putin is saying and give him legitimacy Russia have also their forces on our borders the borders of Europe so what's the difference he is allowed to have forces and an army on our borders but we're not allowed to have it on his borders it doesn't make sense it is not logical and I mean when when Hungary was invaded in 1956 I remember being in school and we were up all night hoping that other countries were coming and help them and nobody came and the same something again I was Ukraine they are they are part of Europe and we are Europeans and we should be helping more than we're doing and I think that we're sitting on the fence they're all scared to say go in Biden is very wishy-washy on this issue I think the republicans obviously are not agreeing with what he wants to do so I mean it is it is a world problem and it will affect all of us and we will all I think we we are all prepared to make sacrifices for Ukraine I feel so don't go on you and Mary have a point here in that what they're both saying is affectionately if Ireland keeps on adopting this isolationist policy and you know it's not going to ultimately serve anyone's interests least of all our own well I don't think it's an isolationist policy first and foremost an isolationist policy would suggest that someone doesn't interact with anything you know that even would constitute something like the European Union or doesn't sit fully at the table at the United Nations I think a policy of neutrality is very different from an isolationist one Ireland and Ireland's excellent diplomats abroad are very actively engaged in a whole range of very important projects both around peacekeeping around Irish aid abroad and a multitude of other rights campaigns which they back as well across Europe Asia and sub-Saharan Africa so I think that isolationism is very different from neutrality it's the first thing the second thing is the key point of neutrality and the reason that we kind of adopt it there are two main reasons the first is to avoid conflict and in in doing so we're protecting Irish lives we're protecting Irish territory from attack because we are neutral and bearing in mind that Ukraine has not been neutral it has been trying to align itself with NATO that's not to say that in any way that the invasion is justified but these are the games that are played between two superpowers NATO is not you know this you know fantastic alliance there are expectations of an alliance they are by and large under serious influence of the USA militarily and and strategically and so when you align yourself to NATO you are joining a different alliance that is under a different superpower so we can't lose sight of the fact that NATO is absolutely governed by the United States of America and its allies are in a lot of ways answerable to them and also there are expectations around military expenditure and about engagement in what would we would class as American wars you look at the amount of NATO members and I can tell you it was all of them who engaged in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars so it's not just about defensive policies and about having someone to come to your back there's also an expectation that you aid allies in their incursions into other sovereign states for whatever reasons so it's not Russia that's just at this game of invading countries we know that America has had a track record of doing that as well so absolutely we are in a very tragic set of circumstances where Ukraine has been invaded but the answer to that is not for Ireland sent troops to Ukraine that's not our role in the world we do not have the military capability we don't have the economic or population based capability in order to sustain an army there will be of any use to anyone but ourselves or in peacekeeping role yeah but I don't see I mean we're not talking and I'm supposed to be being sidetracked somewhat with our own discussion on NATO and whether we should be members or not members and the more serious issue today is that Europe cannot just just go back to Jack Lynch's phrase stand by and watch something happening and then say well it's not our problem the NATO has been you know it's a superpower in another way but certainly you know Russia Russia can use that excuse Putin can use that excuse as well that NATO was the reason why he has to look after his borders that's not the reason why he's attacked Ukraine and has gone in an onslaught of all-out war on a country that has become a democracy he doesn't want it to be a democracy he wants it to come under his own oligarchy he wants it to come he wants to recreate a superpower that has far more countries than it has at the minute which is Russia he wants to claim back what was the USSR and he wants to to do that by force you know I don't want the discussion this morning to get sidetracked with whether Ireland should or shouldn't be a part of NATO but we are it'll make no one bit of a difference when it comes to to you know how we we envisage what we can do ourselves but together we can do a lot together with all the rest of Europe and with America and being a part of NATO gives us that opportunity to do something not to just say oh well we have to stand by and watch and sanctions we can't do anything with sanctions we have it wouldn't have one bit of an influence at all around the effect whatsoever on on Russia and I don't think Putin is at the moment he's that kind of person I don't think he really cares about sanctions because let's not forget what it was like under the Soviet control under under the USSR people were people were I'm not going to say starving but they had nothing they couldn't they couldn't have the freedom to buy things you know even when I was in East Germany I remember people looking at what we were wearing and and their eyes you know was like they they wanted to buy western clothes which is the same kind of clothes that people in Ukraine are now wearing that they have the choice but they didn't have the choice so it's you know it's a it's a control that Russia had so that's what we have to look at these are these are our friends these are our european neighbors and that's what we should be considering at the moment how can we help what can we do and we should really be you know sort of looking towards you know whatever America whatever Europe decides we're full square behind us we're going to take a short break and we're going to folks we're going to take a short break back with more discussion after this June 2022 August 2022 January 2023 is that what you're hearing 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between america and europe i also wonder did they leave something down there like a bomb or a device to listen into conversations uh tell me how long russia takes us over guarantee you about two to three hours where is pewton going to stop asks a caller now the caller says russia never annexed Crimea by force they didn't have to fire one bullet the people voted en masse to join russia why is there no mention of nato trying to surround russia provoking them into war with ukraine now the caller says if pewton tries to take over ardent what use is neutrality to the irish people we should join nato while we have a chance now the caller says i'm livid listening to these ladies i hope ageism or sexism doesn't get in the way of them putting their boots on the ground how dare they suggest ireland's young are sent to get slaughtered on foreign soil neutrality is our saving grace no to nato now the caller says how come no one puts sanctions on israel why can they bomb a small country and the world turns a blind eye now the caller says back in 1991 when the soviet union fell the u.s and nato agreed not to spread into eastern europe then george bush located missiles in poland and remania if you kick a dog and keep kicking that dog sooner or later that dog will snarl and bite you sanctions are a very dangerous instrument that may lead to world war three ireland should never be in nato ireland is neutral another caller says ray ukraine perhaps we need to remember how the us and uk went into other countries such as iraq afghanistan libya and all in the name of protecting people from themselves the hypocrisy is amazing i mean and there are more comments in in that vein that we'll get to in a few moments but um groan you i'm going to come back to you me it certainly seems that people are taking a an interest in this but there are so many views and a lot of it would seem to suggest that whatever the way of tackling this is by way of sanctions or places the un security council or whatever people don't seem to believe that military involvement and the west getting involved using the west as a sort of a broad catchall term that the west doesn't get involved in a conflict at this point in time in ukraine yes i know that that's what they're thinking but at the same time like for example another problem with ireland is we're not in the shankin area so um this is causing a problem now for people coming from ukraine for visas etc and the problem with Belarus is already in the clutches of russia they are completely dependent on him and he has no intention of letting them become a democracy um i know a lot about belarus my daughter and lost from belarus and um when she needs a visa for ireland even though she's married to an Irish man she has to go to mosco she's to spend a certain number of weeks there to leave uh check her out and uh they have to bribe the officials to get the visa uh so all these problems are for the people in the shankin area as well so i feel that ireland we need we need to wake up call we need to look at ourselves and see are we europeans are we not europeans and um i feel that i didn't particularly say we want boots on the ground but what i'm saying is we have to do as much as we can and if it comes to the point where the whole of ukraine is now on will be under russia and that these people have no freedom under russia you can see yourself in russia in in saint petricksburg and mosco yesterday there was uh plenty of russians demonstrating they didn't want a war a lot of young people 1700 people have been put in jail yesterday under the russian uh command so what i'm saying is we have to take a wake-up call we have to be pragmatic and once and we also have to be very sympathetic we have to open up our borders to the ukrainian people now who are fleeing and we have to look after them and i'm sure all of us i have a house myself which could house some of them and i think we all need to you know support them as much as we can and nobody wants to see people going in you know an army going in but if that's the way it has to be that's the way it has to be that's the way i feel Declan i want to give you the final word on this in terms of you've obviously made it quite clear that your your belief is that that sanctions and discussion and dialogue are the way to go here are you confident that they can work no um and i don't think that they are the only thing that we will be looking at i suppose kind of in the coming months it depends how uh russia what russia's plans are once they actually take care of and there is talk that maybe they'll be happy with and you know setting up a public government which you know is is is no good obviously and but i think that i would be very concerned about the the effectiveness of sanctions and i'd be concerned because a lot of european countries are very reticent to use the most severe of those sanctions because of their own self-interest i think the other broader issue that we're looking at here and one of your listeners has brought it up is that um you know there was an agreement back in 1991 that natal would not expand into former soviet republics in 2008 at the natal conference at the pacem book rest that year george bush invited ukraine or said that ukraine and georgia should be invited into natal and and Putin invaded georgia that summer like this is all been played out at the behest of you know two kind of um almost you know two superpowers two alliances that are at loggerheads and and the difference here is that Putin is absolutely willing to pot his money where his mouth is in terms of invading georgia and invading ukraine but natal even though they have made um over just two both uh ukraine and georgia previously are not willing to actually give them the support that they need to defend themselves and i think that what has happened here is that ukraine has been used as a pawn by both russia and by america and natal and that they are ultimately the victims um you know the best of both of them so it's a huge tragedy and a failing of geopolitics it's a failing of natal's expansionist policy um because they've not acted quickly enough to actually bring ukraine into the fold if that was their intention and so it's a failure of america um not being able to put the money where their mouth is and now we have a war which america is very very reluctant and cannot see any sign of them getting involved in particularly because remember it's an election year in america and the american public do not want another war so all those factors come into play sanctions um we hope would work but i i mean i think putin is is basically laughing in the face of europe and natal at the moment i want to give some of your comments sorry very very very quickly mary if you would i'm sorry go go on yeah if you would yeah let's not forget you know putin has gone straight in uh with no reason to go straight in other than for his own benefits um and um but what if i could leave the last sort of word you know that that came from uh the nobel peace prize one or two um you know my my friend in the irish times uh the he's the editor-in-chief of of novia gazeta and he said only a global anti-war movement can save life on this planet that's coming from russia last night uh from from a a nobel peace prize winner so that's where we should be thinking a global anti-war i'm not advocating nor i'm sure anybody else is advocating that we go in um to fight a war nobody wants a war putin wants a war i want to give you i want to yeah i i want to give some of your comments before we move on to another point of discussion color says we bought an apartment some years ago in turkey before we knew what the entire block was being bought up by wealthy russians within months many were refusing to pay many of the standard bills for the group in the block that forced others to sell off the low market price just to want to get out color says putin is no different to hitler hitler started off the same way then he wanted control of the whole world the only difference is he didn't have nuclear power this needs to be handled with kid loves because this could end up in another world war another color says no we should not be a part of nato and a color says so russia doesn't want ukraine to join nato because they feel its borders will be threatened the west wants ukraine to join so it can keep an eye on russia color asks who is right now i want to move on to another issue and we know that this morning the hsc and department of health and the national treatment purchase fund are jointly going to launch the latest initiative to tackle waiting lists in our hospitals we know uh post pandemic there is a huge crisis with waiting lists and we had figures earlier this week from the irish hospital consultants association which warned that particularly in the selva group which letter kenny university hospital is part of if there isn't a major improvement now then we're going to be facing a major problem for at least the next decade i want to ask our panel if they have any confidence that what's going to be announced this morning will make any serious inroads in there i want to go to you first grogna in terms of the waiting list announcements we're going to see today we don't quite know what's going to be in the chat but you could at this point nearly guess we've seen so many of these before is this one going to be different well i'm hoping that it will be different i am a half glass full person and i really feel that they are making a massive effort at this time and they have to because we are at crisis point and i think in particular this new idea of having six regions perhaps will help to solve this particular type of problem of course the main thing is staffing for these new for the implementation of this plan the staffing of nurses and doctors so we have to look at that seriously we have to pay our nurses better we have to give them perhaps i know when the young nurses went away in the 80s as a lot of them did some of them went to the hospitals in england and there was accommodation for three months and if they hadn't found a place in that time there was more accommodation for as long as they wished near the hospital and we did have that at one stage in letter canning where we had good accommodation for nurses that has slipped and it is no longer offered to people so we need to look at all this sort of things and consultants and doctors when doctors qualify young doctors interns i really feel they should be asked to spend at least three years in ireland before the emigrate and they would get good training we have very good consultants who can train them they can then spread their wings that way you would have a constant pull of young of doctors in the hospitals because they're we have to face up to it to implement any of the new plans for the health board we need we need staffing now i'm concerned particularly about older people and i know that for example now people older people and people's dementia are going into our acute hospitals in telehealth there is no place for no community hospital for people with dementia there is no staff in the other hospitals who are trained to deal with them and they they go in there i know patients who have gone in been in for a week two weeks haven't even been given a shower because the staff isn't there and the latest thing the hospital have done is to ask the carers of these people who care for their loved ones for 24 hours to go into the hospital when they're in hospital and look after them shave them shower them etc and be there for seven to eight hours now this is ridiculous that that is turning them into staff and they're still only paid at poultry 219 a week to do all this work so there's a lot of things that need to be happened and i think there is plans for community hospitals step down facilities and facilities for patients with dementia they are advancing the new community hospital which is going to be located there on that ground roughly between the little angel school and where that uh assessment hub was uh there is a community hospital going there and it's going to take time to construct that deckland um as a community campaigner deckland obviously i'm sure in in in the course of your day today activities within the community health is an issue that's coming up again and again and again um are are you confident that maybe we may see a corner turned now um i would like to also be a glass half full kind of a person when it comes to uh health care reform in ireland and i think that um yeah look at it in my work we come across this all the time i'm also chair of the community health form down here at swilly melroy community health form one of the biggest issues that we have i think with retaining nurses and doctors um isn't really actually around pay um and it's more to do with conditions and people are opting often to work in alton galvin as opposed to letter kenny because the working conditions are actually better in alton galvin for a nurse or for a trainee doctor or whenever that is i think that the reason that conditions are so poor in our health system is because there's so much pressure on it there's a lack of capacity in the system simple things like bed capacity i think what we're going to see today from my understanding is that there's going to be announcement of three elective surgical hospitals being opened in gallway dublin and in cork if we have solely those hospitals in place that are only doing elective procedures and for people that is going to clear a huge backlog of people on the waiting list and it is in fact the only way that we're ever going to get on top of this where you have designated hospitals that are able to really whisk through things um that the people are waiting lists for that the regional hospitals such as letter kenny slag or even ballway don't actually have the capacity to do so that is absolutely apartment importance and hope that that actually comes to fruition i know that there seems to be a little bit of cherry picking within the slantia care program and to give the impression that overall reform and progress of reform is being made i think that ultimately what we see here is we have a department of health and we have a health service executive and the head haunches within those two places who are very resistant to these reforms and changes and that is the reality of the situation we've seen that over the past you know six years or sorry four years since this was implemented and this committee was put in place i think what we need to do is we need to take the reforms actually out of the hands of the department of health in the hsc and put this directly into a sub department of department t-shirt so that can be managed independently of people who have a huge vested interest in keeping things the same the everyday employees of the hsc want these reforms they want to see the backlog and waiting lists to be cleared they want to see capacity within our health system increased we all want to see proper primary care centres built within our communities but that is not going to move so long as we have people who are resistant to change in charge of reforming their own practices and their own structures and mary if i can go to you and expand on that because we heard for instance steven mcmahan this morning from the Irish patients association saying that what they want to see more than anything is one person put in charge with this he made the point that the national vaccination program was under the charge of one person brown mccrath the buck stopped with him and it was his responsibility to get it done and he got it done it does the same need to happen here of course it does um i mean i think uh like uh Declan and Gronya i would like to think the glass half full but i don't have any confidence in this happening at all um i uh was a revert back to why slantja care came into existence in the first place uh you know a government or an election promise that the quality within the health service would happen that everybody would have access and there wouldn't be you know people with private medicine private care getting you know into have surgery quicker than someone who didn't have it um and of course that wasn't going to happen because um the resistance as Declan mentioned from those that have their own little power bases in the hse and the department of health resistance to any change whatsoever um and of course any promises that are made at an election time should be declared null and void after the election because they never happen they're they're just everybody thinks you know believes it's at the end but this doesn't happen i am old enough to remember and have actually worked as a journalist covering like the the northwestern health board meetings that that they were there they cut they knew they knew their area i think that the local councillors were in it the the the nurse the doctors the hospital manager and the book stopped with whoever happened to be you know the chair or the CEO or the head of the the northwestern health board as it looked after you know donnie goes like oh leachum i think it was and the headquarters manna hampton and the creation of the hse was like one of these consultant notions that was developed within you know i'll say the department of health we should have a privatize or whatever we should put a different unit in charge wrong decision that has never worked it has been fraught with problems and the dismantling of that is the first thing that should happen and certainly moving back to regional control and and having you know hospitals and and you know i mean lyford hospital was was a great hospital and they started winding it down until it had nothing which is a scandal in my view you know i was born there and i know an awful lot of elderly people who were very well treated there and you know uh you know it was a maternity hospital as well there's another issue as well which one doctor pointed out to me many years ago uh when you went to the doctor and there was something wrong with you um obviously you went to doctor something wrong with you but when he could identify because they're highly trained and the doctor said he would ring the hospital and say i have a patient here this is what's wrong with them and the person on that ward the doctor in charge of that particular uh you know illness would say yes we have a bed here now every single solitary person goes into hse before they can get into any room and as we know why is that still happening and they have to go to the emergency department in order to do it is crazy the number of people that i know in the last couple of weeks who've uh who've been sitting for hours upon hours upon hours waiting for bed with the bed free absolutely i'm going to take a very quick break back after these brian McCormick sports and leisure main street letter kenny new o'neill's donnie gall range in store and online home jersey available in many options for men women and juniors new donnie gall goalkeeper jersey out now donnie gall o'neill's Harlem range with new jackets hats and snooze to help you show your colors look the part play the part in store or online click and collect on bmcsports.ie this saturday night highland will bring you live coverage of donnie gall against tarone in division one of the national football league donnie gall will be hoping to bounce back after their defeat in kerry as they clash with neighbors and all island champions tarone join the highland team from 715 for the build-up and full match commentary highlands coverage of donnie gall action in the national football league is brought to you by highland motors letter kenny main dealer for citron cars and commercials in donnie gall citron burlingo vans are now back in stock order yours today by contacting damian and highland motors this summer holidays are go with jet two holidays and atlantic travel so go explore your sunny favorites with hundreds of free child places available ask the experts at atlantic travel about your next jet two holiday by calling<PHONE_NUMBER> and book now with just 60 pounds deposit per person jet two holidays package holidays you can trust subject to availability conditions the three amigos jimmy buckling robert brazil and patrick finney are coming back to donnie gall see this amazing show live at jackson's hotel molly buffet monday february 28 tickets priced at 35 euro and are now on sale at the hotel reception and ticketmaster.ie this award-winning show is not to be missed it's exciting times at hillside d max and letter kenny because they're moving but not too far this monday the 28th their new kitchen design studio will open a curl ease on the other side of the mountaintop roundabout studio will showcase the latest kitchen wardrobe and slide robe designs with d max renowned attention to detail and exceptional quality hillside d max in the heart of your home since 1994 at curl ease mountaintop letter kenny from monday the 28th. color says i got a call this morning claiming to be a charity in maldova seeking financial support for the people in ukraine clearly it was a scam if you want to help i suggest you give recognized charities in these areas such as the red cross color says our support for ukraine has been lukewarm four of our mep's voted against the motion condemning russian troops build up on the ukrainian border two months ago one mep issued a statement yesterday blaming un provocation for the invasion color says it's obvious that both your female panelists haven't served in any defense forces as a next defense force member when serving overseas your neutrality you are impartial in negotiations now color says ireland's sons fought for a foreign country before are these people forgetting we already did that can anyone remember their names today now in fairness i would suggest that they can and i would also suggest that mary heart your late father is one of those most responsible for ensuring that people remember the names of those who died in 1916 and other years in world war one yeah yeah um you know these these men were not constricted um you know between 1914 and 1918 in ireland they willingly you know went to war because they believe what they were doing was right to to to defend um the small nations and um you know as we know the the sadness of that was that we had our own conflict in ireland our own war of independence uh coincided with with the first world war and the soldiers who came back were spat at and um we're not welcomed anywhere so there's families had to mourn them in silence until we airbrushed them virtually out of history um and certainly then they are remembered now thankfully um and i know my my late father played a significant role in in having that happen and you know i myself met so many families who were you know relieved that they could actually speak with great courage and and pride about their their fathers or grandfathers or or brothers or well they wouldn't be in brothers by the time they were remembered they were all you know such a a long time before that but anyway that yes um you know soldiers are remembered in ireland um we we have a we we were we were a nation of of um soldiering abroad going joining up in armies all over the world when the ireans went to america they were you know they were to the forefront of every army that was being called up upon in canada and australia and new zealand um so you know the fighting irish is is there you know and in the war american war of independence you know so i mean that we're not we're not no one to be sitting back um doing nothing time is against us i'm afraid this morning grogna i want to give a quick word to yourself with regards to letter kenny active retirement you're very much involved and the group is very much if you'll pardon the pun active at the moment yes we are very active and our main we are a friendship club and we um our main aim is to have a better life for older people and particularly the health care of older people and home care packages and that is our aim and it's very very difficult um there are so many obstacles when people go to get home care um there are so many crazy um things that are offered to them like half an hour you know in the morning to get somebody upwashed dry shaved you know i mean crazy crazy stuff and you have our carers who are really underpaid and are under terrific stress because there is no respite at the moment um since as you say lyford hospital was downgraded and when will this community hospital be ready it will be two to three years at least and in the meantime you have these people who are in dire need there are people living on their own who are not coping and um the care packages are very limited and um very hard to get and very complicated and i think we need uh to improve in that big time and the other thing for older people is um the loneliness and the isolation is amazing i mean we don't think about it really especially if people who are living in the town or in urban areas we do kind of understand when they're living in rural areas we think okay they are they look isolated because their houses are isolated but there are a lot of people in towns who are very lonely and this is for active retirement and groups like that come into effect i would really ask the council to to reignite the older people's council and the age-friendly alliance which seem to have disappeared off the earth or maybe we're just not getting the communications from them uh that they would communicate with older people like ourselves and find out what is needed on the ground and what can help people and i just like to thank all the people who in the hospital who are very kind and good to older people but they don't have the time they don't have the staff they and you're putting me now with myself in there for a week and there was no shower facility for me all week because there was no space and the shower room was packed with equipment and this is this is tragic for people like when you go into hospital they should be like they're mixed wards where you have people with dementia and people who have medical and surgical needs and it's not good it's not good at all at the moment so and hopefully Gronya that that's a message that will get through to the hospital and to those who are running it and and that i'm afraid and i always say it's when i do the program on a friday it is the fastest hour of the week we've been beaten by time i'm afraid uh mary hart broadcaster and journalist gronya hind's member of letter kenny active retirement and deklin mehan manager of the milford district resource center and also a community campaigner it's it's been a fascinating conversation we've got several perspectives uh and as always it's been um an an education to hear all of all of you speak to us this morning thank you very much indeed thank you the night 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 win the vrp matchday experience with cadbury with thousands of vouchers also to be won search cadbury win a day in their boots tees and sees apply ireland is leaving diesel behind and kelly's toyota is leading the way with our incredible range of self-charging hybrid electric cars we've amazing offers including contributions and trade and boosters and with 46 years of experience here in dunygol you can trust us to help you on your electric journey you'll never take a wrong turn with toyota ireland's best-selling car brand visit kelly's toyota mount charles or letter kenny today toyota built for a better world terms of conditions apply for confirmation and first communion see the grid selection of suits casual wear and 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airport you're flying and that herein tells us that cloud will increase through the morning bringing patches of drizzle don't go later it'll stay dry and pleasant elsewhere milder this afternoon with temperatures of seven to nine degrees celsius mostly like to moderate south westerly breeze but fresh to strong subtly winds will develop later tonight cloudy and overcast some patchy light rain and drizzle mainly in the west with lowest overnight temperatures four to seven strong subtly winds developing again tomorrow mostly cloudy and windy patchy rain and drizzle good dry periods highest temperatures on saturday nine to 11 degrees celsius home land fuel offers keeping you warm for less 40 kg premium doubles or easy flame coal buy 10 bags get one free hardwood logs two bags for 10 euro flow gas 25 pound gas cylinder only 27 euro 99 shop in store or online at homeland dot ie sometimes it's just bad luck but sometimes it's negligence from minor bumps to life changing injury every accident is a story time to call macklehenny and associates they'll assess the situation advise on solutions and lead the way if any litigation is to follow from motor accidents and workplace accidents to slips trips and falls call today on<PHONE_NUMBER> or find us online let's get you started on the road to recovery macklehenny and associates solicitors turn order how can we help in contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement with the onset of different variants of coronavirus it is vital that your business office or school has the most up-to-date air purification device mcdade's bathroom plumbing tiles introduce the daikon air purifier it eliminates 99.9 percent of corona viruses in under three minutes ideal for residential settings offices classrooms and waiting rooms priced at 495 euros is a great investment for more details contact mcdade's bathroom plumbing tiles we're only a phone call or email away new this week in home store and more all bath mats are half price but better hurry because when all our half price bath mats are gone they're gone also all our plant pots and garden planters and all our frying pans are still half price but when all our half price plant pots and garden planters and all our half price frying pans are gone they're definitely gone order online before 2 p.m. for next day delivery or drop by your local home store and more home store and more a happy home milford tiles wood flooring and bath where milford retail park now open large range of wall and floor tiles on display and in stock over 70 different laminate floors to suit every pocket tileers and wood fitters available new bath where showroom now open milford tiles wood flooring and bath where 08 3 091 0707 lie on air online and on the highland radio app this is highland radio news it's two minutes past 10 good morning i'm kathryn gaffney intelligent services are claiming that around 450 russian troops were killed during the first day of the kremlin's invasion of ukraine explosions and air raid sirens have been ringing around the ukrainian capital again today while there's been heavy fighting in the eastern cities the uans estimating 100 000 people have now been displaced britain's defense secretary vladimir putin's failed to deliver on his objectives on day one ben walis says the russian president's actions are deeply irrational i certainly think he has gone full tonto if that's what you know what i said the other day and talking to some soldiers no one else in their right mind would do what we are seeing on our telescreens today no one else would impose their will on another sovereign country with all sorts of concocted conspiracies hospital waiting lists will be caught by almost 20 by the end of the year under new government targets it's expected around 1.5 million people will be added to waiting lists this year because of cova backlogs the new 350 million euro plan aims to ensure 1.7 million people are treated and removed to bring the list to under 600 000 health minister steven donnelly says people requiring treatment need to get quicker access the weight causes huge anxiety a lot of the time patients are waiting in in a lot of pain and a lot of time while they're waiting they're getting sicker or their condition is deteriorating in ireland today too many people are waiting too long for health care the doll has heard that high house prices in donnie gall and a failure by government to address derelict and vacant properties is forcing people into homelessness and to flee the county that's according to donnie gall deputy podrick mclaughlin who was speaking last evening during statements on the town center first policy he says it's unacceptable the properties are let lie vacant in the midst of a housing crisis deputy mclaughlin says there is simply nowhere for people to live if you talk to threshold the simon community they cannot secure a house to rent in north donnie gall if somebody who is on the housing assistance payment waiting to receive a council house or a public house if they're told by their landlord listen i'm gonna have to sell this property in six months they can secure a home so you have good hardworking people who present and saying i i'm actually homeless i'm going to be homeless it's hoped that sporting facilities in stroban will be upgraded in the near future a motion was passed at the latest sitting of dairy city in stroban district council calling for floodlights to be installed at the arena pitch in melvin sport complex and for the transfer of land and listen to finn playing pitches to the council for further development consular mikaela boil brought forward the motion she says the stage the next stage will be to ensure the necessary funding is in place to carry out the works and that will be the next hurdle i'm happy i've asked council to give us a timeline of when this can happen the floodlights at melvin stadium was part of the overall project but it just wasn't completed so it is an ambitious portfolio i would be confident and happy going forward that that would be a key element and i'm sure council will deliver on that good sunny spells this morning but cloud will increase during the afternoon bringing patches of drizzle becoming milder with afternoon temperatures of seven to nine degrees that's it for now we're back with the headlines for you at 11 o'clock until then good morning the obituary notices for friday morning the 25th of february the death has occurred of william lafferty hillhead castle fin his remains are opposing at his home from four o'clock today funeral from there on sunday at half past 12 going to san mary's church castle fin for one o'clock requiem mass followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery the house is strictly private place the death has taken place of seamus divany 17 port hall lifford and formerly of carragados and refoe funeral leaving his home on sunday at quarter past 12 for mass in san patrick's church murlock at one o'clock in term of afterwards in the adjoining cemetery the house is strictly private to family and close friends only place the requiem mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam the death has taken place in boston massachusetts of rose gibbons formerly of ahadrina rosna kill fanad funeral mass tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock in san columbus church mass mount burial afterwards in mass mount cemetery the death has taken place of daniel mackalini dan main street conmani his remains are opposing at his late residence funeral leaving his home tomorrow morning at 22 11 to san mary's church conmani requiem mass at 11 o'clock with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery family flowers only please donations and lou if desired to friends of letter kenny university hospital care of any family member or commiskey's funeral directors house private to close friends and family only please the funeral mass can be viewed live on church services dot tv the death has occurred in cambridge of george hamson reposing at his daughter's residence 20 glenn view clonbeck bon crana funeral tomorrow morning at quarter past 10 for 11 o'clock requiem mass in san mary's church cock hill bon crana in term and immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery the death has occurred of angus freya laurence formerly of 77 ashlawn letter kenny his remains are opposing at his parents sally and thomas laurence's residence 37 allendale a hilly bon crana funeral from there tomorrow afternoon at quarter past 12 going to the star of the sea church desert agney lindsfort bon crana for requiem mass at 1 o'clock in term and afterwards in the adjoining cemetery family and close friends only please from 10 p.m to 10 a.m the death has taken place of gracey mcbride gracey wiki wire middle town dairy bag her remains are opposing at her late residence funeral mass will take place this morning at 11 o'clock in san mary's church dairy bag followed by burial in mahera gallant cemetery the wake is private to family and close friends the funeral mass can be viewed live on the chap pubble were a webcam for more details including any family health guidelines for wakes and funerals please go to highlandradio.com and you're listening to the nine till new show on highland radio eight donal cabinet on the program this morning just a few of your comments that have been coming in we must never give up our neutrality never says a caller yes we must give help in every way to help ukraine we're just a small country we must remain neutral so we are not standing by we can help take take people into the country and help in other ways where were the sanctions in the u.s and all their nato allies who invaded other countries all this pontificating by holier than thou supporters of the u.s is so hypocritical says a caller for god's sake it's utter folly slaughter murder to try and put troops on the ground against such modern lethal weaponry ardent must remain neutral for the sake of our young people that is the only way to save the world and that's the rosary what we must heed our ladies messages so because this lady had an experience behind the iron curtain ardent should give up its neutrality and put boots on the ground in a foreign war which we would have and maybe we should hear from the veteran world over who suffer from ptsd on their experiences one of our panelists grogna told the listeners that she could support ukrainian refugees and this caller asks has she any roam for our irish homeless and if we have to send frontline troops and boots on the ground will our leading vocal feminists call for equal gender quotas as they do for other areas of life what people need to do is wake up to putin this will not end with taking a train what when successful he will move further economic sanctions will not be enough to stop him we need military action so says another caller and some other of your comments that have been coming through let's look at these ones hard on ortee news that the hsc were going to try and start charging individuals five euro an hour for home help if this is the case what are people's thoughts on it i think if charges for home help were to come into being i think that would um reach an awful lot i think of protest i would have imagined uh caller saying don't know we booked a family holiday to turkey thinking after two years of covet we all deserve a break how safe is it for us to take that break now for cindy patrick's weekend i think their decision that every individual will have to take uh does anyone know if the drone game is on tv this weekend i do not know myself i would imagine it is available somewhere but you could check the various services it may be i know certainly there's the da the ga have its own streaming service now whether it's actually on terrestrial tv and available for free or it's being streamed on an alternative platform i do not know another caller says donal masks should be in place the virus is not gone we should continue wearing them it's up to the individual as of monday and i think people will make their own choices and i do suspect a lot of people will choose to continue wearing masks in public places uh comments made about the hospital by grawni one of our panelists over the course of the discussion and uh caller says why does the hospital need so many managers when matrons were in charge things were better the head sisters of the wards knew if they had beds free for the patients you didn't have to have bed managers and any questions like that people were admitted and they went straight to the ward instead of going through the emergency department and certainly i had the experience i was um referred to the hospital by my gp several years ago i had about a fairly serious food poisoning and i went to the gp and the gp said you're going to the hospital and the gp more i said uh be on medical three i think it was our medical two be on medical two at two o'clock this afternoon and i went straight to medical two and i was admitted and i was seen to there and then and certainly it meant i didn't have to go to the emergency department and at this point in time everything goes through the emergency department and one of the priorities surely will be to try and get people away from the emergency department now it's 13 minutes past 10 o'clock and if you are a regular player of highland radio ncbi radio bingo then you will want of course to get your numbers for today so without any further ado i will advise you to grab your books grab your pens i'll hand you over to kevin it's time for ncbi bingo on highland radio it's friday february 25th you're playing on the yellow colored sheet the reference number is s20 it's game number eight the numbers are 50 78 48 30 85 60 68 87 43 and 27 phone your claim 29104833 before 8 p.m. tonight leave in your name contact number and the name of the shop where you purchased your book get all your 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further with products from across our incredible range you could make your family a week's worth of delicious nutritious meals and round it all off with a big Irish sundae roast that's a whole week's shop for a family of four for less than 76 euro follow Lidl's inflation busting challenge online at hashtag Lidl inflation busters for further savings tips and offers and save even more money in store with the Lidl plus app inflation busters at Lidl more for you product shop february 15 see Lidl.ie for details Ireland's queen of country filming a baggy 60 years and showbiz concert is coming to the clanry hotel letter kenny on friday the fourth of march with special guests ray linum mcflavin and adan quinn tickets for this show to remember are on sale now from the clanry hotel on 91 24369 highland radio time checks brought to you by letter kenny shopping centre the centre of shopping in dunny all free parking and shopping all under one roof letter kenny shopping centre bringing you the time at and the time on highland radio is 17 minutes past 10 o'clock the 9 till noon show with letter kenny credit union mortgage is now available with a personalized service from your local and friendly credit union email mortgage at letterkennycu.ie more and more parents were told are looking for help and support to deal with abusive children and this has been referred to as the unspoken side of domestic violence the CEO of parent line is alien hicky and she joins us alien good morning good morning don't tell you very well indeed thank you any we speak a lot about the violence that can be perpetrated on children by their parents and by others but not so much perhaps on the violence that goes in the other direction and and that's something you believe is on the rise well i'm not even sure if it's on the rise i know the reporting result is certainly on the rise i unfortunately it is one of those areas that parents don't like reporting on because i you know it brings a kind of a sense of shame to a lot of families because you know they they never thought this would happen in their home and just going back to something you said there it is a unspoken end of domestic violence because in most people who think it's domestic abuse think of it in the context of partner to partner but you know this is child to parent violence where essentially the parent ends up fearful in their own home of their own child so it's a domestic setting so it is another form of domestic violence now we we saw an overall rise in our calls in 2021 of about 47 percent our calls went up to over 6000 calls but the biggest spike was in calls where parents were reporting concerns in this area and that's anger aggression and abuse and actually and when i say abuse so you know it can be physical abuse but it's not always kind of you know the 16 year old young father throwing his mother up against the fridge door or anything like that it can be a number of abusive behaviors in terms of you know like verbal abuse emotional abuse manipulation controlling behaviors you know abusing property so it can kind of it can kind of run the gamut but essentially i suppose at the heart of this is the fact that the parents end up afraid of their own child in their own home the general directors and at the mother about about 80 percent of the causes that we would guess would be in relation to where the the leaders are directed at the mother and generally the the majority of the the children who who who you know who deliver these behaviors and the majority of them unfortunately our boys and and the the age range the biggest age range between the 13 to 17 year old Patrickina they can be younger and these are also a lot of calls and where parents are concerned about abusive behaviors from 18 year olds in other words adult children who are living in the family home with unfortunately the issue because of you know rising rents and and all the rest of them of course there are more adult children now living in the family home for much longer or returning to the family home and it makes for a very difficult environment for everybody and and we have in in the past we have discussed in particular abuse of parents by adult children very often in terms of adult children trying to secure money or trying to force parents into changing wills or things like that and uh you know in in this instance though as you said we can be talking about you know children who are much younger and effectively children who are in every sense of the word children 100 percent all i mean you know as i say you know the biggest age range would be in the 13 to 17 year old category we would get plenty of calls where the child might be 9 10 11 um so you know we generally kind of um try and deal with this when they're you know we have a program called the non-violent resistance program which is something we put in place for parents to try and help to deal with these kind of behaviors and to try and and control what's going on in their family home essentially the non-violent resistance program is a program that's put in place to try and de-escalate the behaviors and as this one does is it tries to change the reaction first of all of the parents choose the behaviors that are being directed at them and that in turn evokes change behavior or change in the child because you know we all know you know we're all kind of used to reacting in the same way and you know that they they know how to push their buttons and they know how how you want to react so this is essentially about trying to take this down the problem not just to slow down you know start kind of pouring you know oil on the fire that sort of thing is a program that we put in place that is uh it is one hour a week done over the phone on a one-to-one basis and and it lasts about eight weeks now I will say unfortunately we've waited this for the program and we've had a waiting list now um since you know probably the middle of uh after early 2020 so while we have and about 30 of our volunteers and trains in delivering this in your program and it's a fantastic program but unfortunately we can't give up the demand because the demand for the program went up fivefold in 2020 and has stayed at the same level um you know the parents that that that do go on the program and they're committed to doing the program they you know with the feedback we get it's fantastic you know it does have amazing results now I will say it's not a magic beam and it's not a magic wand and we certainly wouldn't promise you know to fix the situation in every family at home but it is a really good program where the family is committed to you know to following through with us and we know that in cases particularly where the uh children concerned are our younger children the child and um adolescent mental health service should be available to address those issues the problem we have as was highlighted in South Kerry but what South Kerry did I think really more than anything else was it just showed what was a a deficiency in CAMHS services right across the country that's been there for quite some time I mean it's an issue that we were discussing here with our own local TDs and the shortages and the waiting lists a lot longer before the the South Kerry incidents came to light and when when you have a situation where children who may need that child and adolescent mental health service intervention and they can't get it because the waiting lists are too long that certainly isn't going to help this situation 100 you said it all there I mean you know I know I will say all services and all organizations are very stretched and you know that you can't put everything at the door of the pandemic but the pandemic certainly exacerbated a lot of you know a lot of issues and a lot of behaviors in relation to to children you know who are suffering themselves from anxiety and and you know you know it's difficult enough being a teenager but being a teenager in the pandemic you know was very difficult I think for a lot of families and for a lot of teenagers and you have to you have to give them something there and unfortunately as you just said there you know for for children who are referred to hands or referred to other services where there is often a long waiting list uh to get to even get an assessment it's very difficult because when they're not seeking help they're not seeking help in six months time they're seeking help now so as I say even with our own waiting list we're very conscious of the waiting list we try and make sure no parent is on the waiting list for you know kind of more than five or six weeks like you know and again that depends on their availability to do the program and the availability that we have off the volunteer to match the time that suits the parent but you know we're very conscious of trying to support the parent as quickly as possible because we understand that when a parent is seeking help we're seeking support that you're seeking it now and as I say you know the difficulty with child's parent violence is that you know it's not something that you know that parents generally want to discuss you know at the next family gathering or at their with their neighbor or at the Sunday because you know that there is a sense of shame and there's a sense of you know a lack of control apparently kind of you know they feel powerless and you know a lot of times I think parents feel the same in a certain way that this has happened in their own house they haven't but you know that feeling of failure is there because this is something that it's very difficult to deal with how important is it that it is being discussed as you said more than 6 000 calls made to your helpline last year and maybe the fact that it is being talked about maybe the fact that people are prepared to report it suggests that there will be more discussion on it at a societal level and that perhaps will help break down just some of the barriers that are there to talking about it again 100% so you know even speaking with you about it today and you know and and you know your listeners who may be dealing with the you know situations like this knowing that this is something that goes on and that you know that they are far from on their own that you know that it's happening in thousands of families all over the country I think that's the big help because again don't feel like this is something that has just happened in their family and that has to be kept as a secret and all the rest of it so you know like everything that's being asked for help you know the better you will feel but you know and so reporting you know or seeking support or seeking information or seeking guidance in relation to it you know it's extremely important the parent on the website and is a very good source of information on child apparent violence and there's testimonials from parents who have been dealing with this situation who have been through the program and who've called the other end you know and some of these parents are very skeptical at the beginning because you know a one-to-one you know one our phone calls once a week you know even if it is very excessive the last parents you know wonder who that will do the trick as I say and you know I wouldn't make the promise that it is going to work perfectly and the reservationist but you know if anyone goes onto the website and looks under child apparent violence on our website and they they can read all about the non-violent existence program and what it does and and and who would help and how it helps and again I think it's important there it also shows them that they're but they're not on their own in having this situation occur in their family and dealing with this and I want to give the details of that website how people can access your services it's parentine.ie is the is the website and our own phone number is job number 018733500 018733500 our lines are open Monday to Thursday from 10 in the morning until nine in the evening and on a Friday from 10 in the morning until four in the afternoon Aileen thanks very much indeed that's Aileen Hickey there the CEO of Parentline speaking about this very important issue and it's good as you say to get this discussed and hopefully someone maybe that's in that situation will have heard this this morning and that maybe give them the impetus to seek some help or or to discuss it with somebody and maybe that could prove to be the start of the breakthrough that they need. Absolutely gentlemen so thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to kind of to talk about this and get it out there. It's our pleasure Aileen and thank you indeed for speaking to us this morning and as Aileen said there there are no magic ones there are no magic beans and this isn't going to get resolved overnight for anybody just by making one phone call but maybe that phone call can be the start of a process that will lead to a major breakthrough just some things just to talk about before we go for a break. Yesterday a group of property owners went to Dublin to protest outside the Dahl the housing department and the four courts against the deficiencies that they see in the proposed revised micro address scheme they met with many TDs and senators the general feedback they received was that the TDs and senators thought that the new scheme being offered was going to represent 100% redress when in fact it doesn't they say not only was it shocking to hear that so many TDs and and the senators believed that the scheme was was going to be better than it actually was in in their view they said they were surprised that there wasn't more push in having quarries inspected for products or material being used to produce blocks and they say it seems the fight isn't over for so many people who will not be able to avail of the current proposed scheme if it goes into legislation and as we as we said yesterday and we know there was a discussion at Donegal County council level yesterday as well there is most certainly a a long conversation yet to be had about mica and this story is going to be very much on on the agenda for quite some time the Rotary Club offers a free confidential paper shredding service today at letter Kenny shopping center in association with the United shredding company all for a donation to the nominated charity at Donegal down syndrome association the usl unit is situated on the right hand side of the car park near the entrance it's there from half past 10 until 12 midday so they'll be opening in the next couple of seconds they're open until 12 midday so if you've got papers you want to get shredded come and get this done and make a donation and Connor says why isn't there a slip road being built to access the port bridge from the remelton road the ground is there all traffic is being diverted directed onto the roundabout and this is calling long tailbacks on the remelton road i can see the logic of not doing it especially when the work is going on there at the moment i can certainly see the point that the caller is making there and the only thing i would i would say to that is how do you regulate the traffic if you build a slip road on to say on onto port bridge i if you don't build another roundabout there what what can then happen is that you just get a huge build up on the slip road that will back back on to remelton road anyway so if you have because you've got a fairly lengthy stream of traffic normally coming from say out the port road and the roundabout you know does something to let people get on to the road so maybe if you had a slip road going out there perhaps i'm wrong there i'm just thinking off the top of my head but you'd have to be very carefully in in the traffic management plan you implement as a result to make sure that you just don't move the the tailback from the roundabout up to the new slip road but certainly it's an interesting point caller and it would be very interesting to hear what the the council is doing here but the caller says i haven't heard mention or talk in recent times about the bungee link road and a transport hub for letter kenny um well i know there's work ongoing at the moment on the newt blaney road kind of opposite the joe boner road entrance that the new joe boner road there's work going on on the other side of the road there i think that may be for the transport hub i do stand to correction on that but i think that's actually the transport hub that's what they're working on for there and i'll seek clarification on that in terms of the boner key link road is still very much on the agenda and it's part of the 2040 development plan and money has been allocated on a couple of occasions now for exploratory works and there's been sort of 10 000 here and 20 000 there for exploratory works and surveys and so on and they're having maybe a preliminary look into what cpo's might be necessary and what land acquisition might be necessary but certainly in terms of construction work on a bridge at boner gi that is some way down the road yet it's um 31 minutes past 10 o'clock we're going to take a short break back after these that's why we're giving one lucky customer the chance to win a brand new nissan cash guy to enter simply complete delivered with the same local trustworthy service of your credit union we had a lengthy discussion on the saturday the friday panel with regards to the situation in ukraine i'm joined on zoom by bishop allen mcgockey and who's the bishop of refoe and the chair of the bishops council for justice and peace bishop allen good morning good morning donald thank you for having me it's our pleasure the situation in ukraine bishop allen it's making us all realize maybe how much we actually take peace for granted this is the first time since 1942 that another country was invaded in europe so that's for 80 years we have not known the like of this in europe and it really brings it so close this of course is what many countries have suffered all over the world even up until this very day but now it comes very close to us and and we in many ways believe that there would never be war like this again in europe and here it is upon us it's horrendous on the program yesterday we spoke to oxana who's a ukrainian native who's living in letter kenny at the moment and certainly in in your flock you'll have people from ukraine as well as people from neighboring poland from rumania from other countries and and they i'm sure are really concerned and worried at the moment and they'll be looking to you as their pastoral leader for guidance absolutely and and i don't know i i really want them to know and i'm so glad that this opportunity to speak this morning that in all of our churches we are praying very much in solidarity especially with those who are suffering uh poop francis named this really well when he spoke about the diabolical senselessness of violence uh and he asked the whole world to to recognize that and to pray all believers and non-believers everybody and especially on ash wednesday there's a thing that jesus said about uh some demons that can only be driven out by prayer and fasting so next ash wednesday the pope wants all believers to to pray and fast really in solidarity with everybody in this conflict seeking a seeking a a peaceful outcome in our cathedral on that night we're going to have a special rosary and examine at 8 30 that everybody's invited to and we would love to reach out to uh you people from ukraine and from that region uh who would come and pray for us and indeed from russia who would come and pray with us on that night and i i'm really especially asking uh people to pray and fast on ash wednesday very deliberately uh knowing that we're uniting our fasting with our prayer for peace in ukraine and for for some solace and comfort for the particularly for those who are suffering totally innocent in this situation and and it is your belief um as part of your faith that that those prayers may be answered and that those prayers may make a difference that absolutely is god is made it the mystery of god is is all the more challenging but all the more necessary when we find ourselves utterly uh unable to cope and certainly when something like this breaks out in our world uh our vulnerability and our lack of ability to sort it all ourselves comes very clear to us and it is in situations like this that i think albeit that it's it's in the darkest moment that god is a solid light god is our stronghold and our refuge uh and when we turn to him we do find a way through there there is a lot of talk about the political discussions and the political interventions but is it your belief that the church can play a role here the catholic church other churches and indeed your sister churches in the eastern orthodox tradition that the churches too may may have a role in terms of uniting people and in terms of you know inspiring and uh leading dialogue absolutely like the this fundamental grief belief that indeed all people of faith have but particularly we christians have is that god is our father god looks with love on his children in russia and on his children in ukraine they are brothers and sisters we are brothers and sisters and consequently violence one against the other is as the pope says a diabolical thing and i know that christian leaders will be saying that and are saying that i know that the pope is certainly speaking out into the world for it and uh and i do hope that our our brothers and sisters in the in the orthodox churches are saying the same thing we are brothers and sisters we are children of the one father and this killing each other is diabolical as you said next wednesday is ash wednesday and just repeat there will be a special rosary and service in the cathedral on that evening to which you're particularly hopeful that those from ukraine russia and uh the surrounding area will attend absolutely and that's at eight thirty that night uh and but uh we are in all of our churches we will be praying at our sir at masses and services every day and i know all the other christians and all the other believers who will be listening in to me will be uniting like we need to unite our prayers to to the one god and indeed stand with everybody believer and unbeliever hoping and longing and praying for an end to this bishop alamoghukian thank you very much indeed for speaking to us this morning thank you don't that's it bishop allen there he's the uh chair of the bishops council for justice and peace and of course bishop allen is also the bishop of rufal it's uh 17 minutes to 11 o'clock we're going to take a short break back after these if the medical experts get it wrong everything changes from misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis to surgical injury or even poor treatment all have physical emotional and financial consequences we're here to help so if your treatment didn't go according to plan speak to our experienced medical negligence team at mackleheny and associates find us online i'll call<PHONE_NUMBER> mackleheny and associates solicitors strunauer in contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement let biz print the printers help with your business marketing and printing to get your 2022 vision off to the right start biz print the printers portrait letter kenny call 91179955 or see this print dot i e are you involved in a digital project in your town or community would you like to share in a 100 000 euro prize fund the dot i e digital town awards shine a light on the achievements of local towns for digital projects in health education tourism and community to enter the dot i e digital town awards visit we are dot i e terms and conditions apply this saturday night highland will bring you live coverage of dunningall against trone in division one of the national football league dunningall will be hoping to bounce back after their defeat in kerry as they clash with neighbors and all ireland champions to roam join the highland team from 715 for the build-up and full match commentary dunningall action in the national football league is brought to you by highland motors letter kenny your main reno and dacia dealer in dunningall with limited stock of the new award winning reno arkana e-tech hybrid blending sleek coupe lines with a sporty suv look island radio weather updates with ireland west airport rinaldo de brunia cavani you can now see both manchester teams in action with ryan air's twice weekly service to manchester ireland west airport you're flying and looking at the weather forecast from met aeron cloud increasing during the morning bringing patches of drizzle dunningall milder day though with afternoon temperature seven to nine degrees celsius mostly lights moderate southwesterly breezes but fresh to strong southerly winds will develop later particularly in the west it'll be cloudy tonight and overcast with patchy light rain and drizzle mainly in the west once again lowest temperatures four to seven degrees celsius strong southerly winds developing tomorrow saturday mostly cloudy and windy with patchy rain and drizzle good dry periods with a few brighter spells highest temperatures nine to eleven with strong and gusty southerly winds they'll hit gale force at times on the coast the night till noon show is brought to you by letter kenny credit union offering low-rate car loans with fast approval apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today well yesterday on the program we spoke to uh councillor jerry mcmonagall and indeed i must actually offer an apology to councillor mcmonagall because i referred to him as the vice chair of the regional health forum west of the hsc not realizing that earlier this week he had in fact been elected chair so may a culpa on my fault uh councillor jerry i apologize and congratulations on becoming the chair now what we discussed the deficiencies in the diabetes services and the fact that the diabetic waiting list in letter kenny university hospital has grown to a very worrying degree and today we're hearing the announcement of the initiative to tackle waiting lists with three designated elective hospitals however all three are below the dublin gallway line and uh paul gillespie joins us he's a member and spokesperson for the donny gall diabetic association uh paul good morning good morning donal thanks for having me on it's our pleasure paul obviously you would concur with everything that jerry mcmonagall said yesterday but you're not as happy with what we've been told today about the designated elective hospitals yeah unfortunately i didn't hear uh jerry on yesterday i must hide in yesterday with work but yes just i did hear quite a bit of the show this morning and yeah it's just um i think that the one of the main problems for waiting lists has been total mismanagement by the hsc and again like they continue to try to develop everything below the dublin limerick line sale chair has been no that's definitely underfunded but letter kenny university hospital is the worst funded hospital i believe in ireland uh letter kenny continues to be the sixth busiest hospital in ireland but it's still funded i believe it's down around the 30 30 in line that all the dublin carc limerick hospitals funded are all the way above letter kenny even though it continues to be so busy but just whenever um if the hsc would enact a lot of political decisions it would uh because in over the last 10 years we have been canvassing and meeting and running to dublin and getting political agreement like in and and november 2017 you may remember which is over four years ago that the minister for health in jilby q them announced that the second end the conologist was appointed to be an appointed to letter kenny this has never happened so the complications of the chronic disease that is type one diabetes is adding and adding to waiting lists right but then you have so many management but all the the resources aren't following the management as well because like therefore unfortunately over the last year um the pediatrist in the hospital was off on maternity leave which and because of covid obviously she had to go off early but letter kenny hospital did not replace the pediatrists so all the done-to-go patients that have gone into letter kenny hospital with anything to do serious complications on the lower leg and feet they've had to be transferred to gallway for their care but when they get to gallway and they get the treatment they couldn't be transferred back to letter kenny that day or the next day because there was no pediatrist so they ended up having to stay in gallway for a week to two weeks so it's really a pollen must management that is causing the massive massive witness we know that in the days of james riley when he was the opposition spokesperson for health before he ever became minister the big phrase that he used timing again was the money follows the patient and that was supposed to be the basis upon which a new health service was built fair to say that's never really happened no and actually funny you should mention james riley because i was just reading back through my notes over the last 10 years and in 2016 we met the minister for health james riley in dublin and he acknowledged that donnie gall was the worst funded worst resourced hospital and county in ireland and he actually started the plans in to have the chair chancellor of excellence for pediatric diabetes there was going to be a chair chancellor of excellence between letter kenny and sligo that there would be one endocrinologist consultants in letter kenny with the building that all the resources will bear and the second one and that was actually down to he had initiated a model of care a whole put a lot of heads together come up with what was going to be the best plan and as you said rightly said there he wanted to have the money following the patient so he acknowledged and he put in place started the work of the work to give him a chair chancellor of excellence and again this has never happened he and on that whenever he then was taken over by leo vrattor and it was actually leo vrattor who signed off on the model of care and in the model of care it clearly says that for pediatric diabetes they're supposed to have two pediatric endocrinologists for every 300 children which means in the entire northwest there should be two pediatric endocrinologists one in sligo one in letter kenny to do the shared care but there are none there is no pediatric endocrinologist anywhere in the northwest and actually on the shared center of excellence again you mentioned there the doublet and limerick line all of the shared center of centers of excellent all the centers of excellence the five centers of excellence in Ireland are all below double number nine silcha does not have a center of excellence to look after pediatric diabetes anywhere in the whole silcha group which is appalling and again that's mismanagement by silcha not just the hse have you ever had an explanation be it from leo vrattor or simon harris or steven donnelly or any official in the hse or the department of health as to why that letter kenny sligo plan did not come to fruition because i will remember interviewing you at the time i remember you on this program at the time and you were quite complimentary about it and your your view at that time was it was a long time coming but thankfully it's here now sadly more than five years later it appears it never actually arrived no it never actually arrived on but and what happened then was even worse that at that point we actually had a consultant in sligo who was starting to cover some of the care into donnelly gall um but because there was no uh sign of her actually being made an endocrinologist which was so she whenever the center of excellence in limerick came to fruition she moved there so and it then took two years for the hse to find a replacement into sligo and because the doctor in sligo was having to also cover the care into letter kenny for pediatrics because they're known on letter kenny uh they have a pediatrician but they don't in sligo the lady the doctor was employed as a pediatrician with a special interest in diabetes even though the model of care and all the government guidelines says it should be a pediatric endocrinologist so it's only may be a matter of time be sure she gets offered a role that that she should be if and again you know just speaking of the center of excellence in letter kenny we uh helped fund and done a lot of fundraising many years ago to have the gatehouse solely designated to diabetes so that has been now the diabetes at the gatehouse now for quite a few years but it's not quite big enough but it's certainly what have been a brilliant starting block for the center of the shared center of excellence sligo have pushed on quite a bit over the last few years so sligo seems to be advancing whereas letter kenny is stepping is falling back um sligo now has two two adult endocrinologists but they have less of a catchment area than letter kenny letter kenny only has one we're supposed to get two but never got it so it's it is just it's terrible mismanagement and i say if the second adult endocrinologist was uh in letter kenny at the minute the government guidelines is that for every adult with diabetes they should be worth sorry with type one diabetes should be reviewed by an endocrinologist every six months we used to fight to try and get the waiting list down from two years it was two years right but then unfortunately because the second endocrinologist second endocrinologist was never appointed and then covid happened now the waiting list now i believe is close to three years so because the patients aren't getting locked after their diabetes as a chronic disease they're developing more complications which is making the waiting less bigger and that was exactly the point that jerry mcmonagall actually did make in the piece we did yesterday that was that was the core of what jerry mcmonagall raised as well at the regional health forum this week that that waiting list now is over two years and it's having a serious impact on people's health and it's having a serious impact on on on people's progress paul um yeah so it's not so and it's not just diabetes like it's to do with cancer care absolutely everything in letter kenny hospital has been seriously affected now by chronic waiting lists so like and as i mentioned already letter kenny is one of the busiest hospitals in ireland and yet it's so badly under resourced like so i honestly believe that letter kenny needs to be immediately made back to being original hospital and the proper fund and why is why is letter kenny class designated in such a low esteem that it gets so little funding so the whole system in letter kenny and donnie gall needs to be properly resourced they need to get a massive input of the fund and that that that is what will start the waiting list properly and forever like to set up that the thing that people from donnie gall should travel down to limerick carcro dublin to get the urgent care the badly needed you know it's just crazy yeah paul thanks indeed for speaking to us this morning and uh from your point of view that fight obviously goes on and and and hopefully you know this new waiting list initiative will take those points on board identify where those deficiencies are and perhaps yet the centres of excellence that have been promised so often um will eventually emerge but for the moment paul gillespie thanks indeed thank you very much okay no problem uh looking at some more your comments before we go for a break in the headlines at 11 court says uh can anyone explain what this war is about i'm watching it but i'm lost um there are there are competing perspectives obviously from the point of view of opponents of russia they believe that um that that amir putin basically wants to re-establish what was the ussr but re-establishers as a single russian country um the supporters of putin will say that putin is invading because he fears nato's expansion and he fears if ukraine were to become involved with nato that nato would then have bases right on his border and that's something that he believes would um threaten the security of russia yesterday on the program we spoke about um a person at the bus station who may try to scam people out of money court says i think i met this person a while back at the bus station three times he approached myself and two others he then went on an ulster bus that had around 30 ladies on a day trip to letter kenny when he told him his story most of them gave him money and our later the man was stopping people on shipkey street he didn't appear to be a person in need of one-off help um court says if the government continues down the green above all path and we reduce fertilizer use like they're suggesting i'm sorry to say that will reduce food availability it won't just be expensive about 15 to 20 won't have been produced at all court says and we discussed yesterday fair trade court says fair trade is important but you have to get the big main shops on board and i absolutely agree with that and certainly we see it in terms of projects like bananas tea and coffee and so on um we spoke yesterday to juan butler from change makers and the court just went in to say and juan was talking to us indeed about fair trade court is saying fair play to juan she's been looking after the county and the environment since i met her she wants fairness and justice for all she's also famous for growing her own veg and please say hello to her from all at letter kelly community gardens and we're absolutely delighted to do so and it's always good to know that our guests are practicing what they preach and there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that that is what's being done by juan um court says um i'm typing this letter but i'm not typing it likely at this stage i'm at breaking point i'm hoping someone can guide me in the right direction i'm a healthcare nurse and qualified 16 years ago i work in a nursing home since covet 19 came the level of care in nursing homes has hit the ground for the worst let's say in 2017 the care was 90 which is good nothing is ever 100 percent but since covet 19 this has dropped to 40 percent the main reason is that these facilities are understaffed and undermanaged the nursing home i work in is so over understaffed that the staff here are completely exhausted pre-covid we had relatives and friends in who assisted with residents they were visiting allowed staff to cater for other residents needs this has obviously stopped since covet in fact the situation has got worse management don't feel the need to intervene so much when family and friends of residents aren't visiting i've brought this to the attention of management many times coro goes on to say reason to your contact at hikwa it's an independent authority that exists to improve health and social care services i've raised my concern with them but i have remained anonymous and we know that certainly hikwa have published some nursing home reports quite recently actually um hikwa did come but it was announced on the day of their arrival prior to them arriving management asked it all day night staff be on standby for when hikwa arrived so it would look like we were fully staffed the visit is now complete but like every other time the nursing home looked a lot better when hikwa were here than it did when they didn't i know someone that works in the rsa the road safety authority also no one or two guard the i believe any checkpoints they set up are never announced i would love to go public with all the information and notes i've taken but i know for sure my job would be gone i've seen other people lose their jobs while highlighting such issues and um you know our our letter writer here who obviously wants to remain anonymous says you know if my family were older my mortgage were paid i would gladly contact primetime and get them heavily involved and share all the information i have i'm sure they'd love to get their teeth into this but again i fear for my job i'm at breaking point i don't know where to go from here please can somebody guide me and i think this is this is a genuine call from someone who wants to do the right thing and isn't quite sure how to go about it and if anyone can offer some perspective on that for our caller we'd be delighted to hear from you and finally before we go to the news headlines a caller says does anyone have a contact number for a person who values old coins and i know there's an is it numerologist or something like that is the name for someone who would be an expert in and would value all coins but if there's any it's not numerologist it's something along those lines but if anyone values old coins or can put us in the right direction of someone who does please get in touch the time on howland radio is just one minute past 11 o'clock it's time for the headlines and we will say a special good morning and just please bear with me for two seconds i just need to it's time to say good morning to kathryn gaffney thanks donal good morning the pay shock says eu sanctions agreed last night will hit russia hard but won't stop the invasion of ukraine miho martin said arland favours the strongest possible response i'm putting vladimir putin's name personally unsanctionless but he said that detail still has to be worked out after an emergency eu summit finished in the early hours of this morning almost 400 000 euro has been allocated to donnie gall under the latest round of the town and village renewal scheme church hill movill and newton conningham are all set to benefit while money has also been allocated to a countywide project to develop a relocation marketing campaign the funding will go towards enhancing various amenities in the villages in question hospital waiting lists will be caught by almost 20 by the end of the year under new government targets it's expected around 1.5 million people will be added to waiting list this year because of cova backlogs meanwhile and as you've been hearing it's been claimed that letter kenny university hospital is the worst funded hospital in the country it was revealed this week that more than 1200 diabetic patients were currently awaiting review appointments at the hospital paul gillespie of the donnie gall diabetes association believes that one of the main problems is mismanagement by the hse the doll has heard that high house prices in donnie gall and a failure by government to address derelict and vacant properties is forcing people into homelessness and to flee the county that's according to donnie gall deputy podrick mcgloughlin who was speaking last evening during statements on the town centre first policy and it's hoped that sporting facilities in starban will be upgraded in the near future emotion was passed at the latest sitting of the dairy city and starban district council calling for floodlights to be installed at the arena pitch in the melvin sport complex and for the transfer of land at lisnefin playing pitches to the council for further development that's it for now we're back with more at 12 noon if you've got magic moments or great memories captured on your smartphone now is a great time to have them printed at magies.ie simply upload your favorite photos choose your size and finish and the geese will take care of the rest with the results delivered to your door prices are from just 12 cent and there's also creative options available preserve your memories today at magies.ie thousands of hectares of land targeted for rewetting for more in this week's farmers journal is paul mooney we reveal the eo proposals which could see over 100 000 hectares of farm peak land rewetted ban and one-off rural housing ruled out by minister dairy group talk cowcap and farmer compensation for tackling climate change and will you make money from putting solar panels in your sheds plus how to make the most of spring fertilizer only inside this week's irish farmers journal on sale now at hickey clock and langen insurance brokers they compare quotes from all leading insurers so you get a great price home motor and van farm holiday home travel and liability insurance they quote them all so if the worst happens you're covered for a competitive insurance quote today called hickey clock and langen on nine one two double six double eight or pop into their office at bali mccool letter kenny hickey clock and langen general insurance is limited trading as hickey clock and langen is regulated by the central bank of ireland at central we're at the heart of the community so we go to great lengths to help you live your best life fresh bread finest meals fantastic offers all the good fields not to mention a fabulous wide range of our own brand favorites and as for off license we've been to the four corners of the world so you can enjoy the best wines and beers locally at centra we've got everything you need centra live every day enjoy gals sensibly experience contemporary elegance and style at the newly refurbished radisson blue hotel letter kenny wine and dine in the mulberry restaurant open daily from 12 now taking bookings for all those moments missed and upcoming special occasions and events including birthday parties and anniversaries contact the radisson blue team today you have one new message hi claire auntie d here i just wanted to say a big thank you for skipping my party we had a great night and everyone was so happy you didn't come now you take care i hope to see you soon bye no one will thank you for turning up to work or anything else when you're sick stay at home and get a test to protect yourself and others from covet 19 from the hse for us all the night all new show is brought to you by letter kenny credit union offering low-rate car loans with fast approval apply online at letter kenny cu.ie or in office today this is the 19 noon show on highland radio it's uh one of my favorite hours of the week when i get to do this program because it's the last hour of the intro on a Friday which means we have two special guests in studio good morning michael and fenula hello don't know and i love it when i get the rare chance to have this conversation because to spend an hour talking about film and tv and uh all entertainment is only lovely but i do want to start with the stage because michael um unlike some people in the room i did get to go to dramatize it's good to know that i have one person in the room don't support me through my endeavors anyway well i must say congratulations to yourself congratulations to kieran and congratulations to all of the cast because it was absolutely it was an excellent show and uh you know it's really going to push all the right buttons i think for adjudicators on the circuit because i've been you know given the amount of promos and done now to the amateur dramatics yes sector is only brilliant but no it's a really good show and it taps into something i think as someone that does a bit of theatre work myself on an amateur basis i think it kieran has tapped beautifully into the psyche of those egets among us from going to cold rooms in the dead of winter to rehearse shows to do in the spring and you know he really tapped into that beautifully he did it's a love letter to amdram in all its forms whether it be pantomimes musicals whatever shows and a love letter to those who as you say do it those who go into drafty rooms in the middle of november and keep their coats on as they're running up pretending to be the wizard of us or whatever and also very educational for those people who think that the communards and jimmy somerville wrote don't leave me this way or or or have i just given away something i don't know there was a big discussion you know what a huge twist yeah that's that's part of one of my scenes yeah that discussion about the communards yeah yeah indeed cover version you know and who did the original weigel harold melvin and the blue notes 1975 and which female soul singer also had a hit with it oh goodness right you've got me tell me houston whitneys aunt tell me she had she had a version of it yeah she did indeed you should have played my character because you've really got the music trivia i'm just reading it from a script but that's the essence of amateur acting so i have to pretend that i'm knowledgeable in these acting part pretending i'm knowledgeable about these things or anything i suppose finnula well i i live my life that way there you go it's all about things that's that michael it's been a it's been a red a red letter week for you in another way because after much cajoling from many people not least um our beloved boss here finnula you have watched yellowstone i have finally watched the yellowstone i know i saw your post yes i watched the two hour pilot episode on wednesday night and enjoyed it so much that i moved on episode two last night and i fully intend to watch episode three considering that you watched things on a schedule i know over the course of normal like i'm loving reach her very much but i'm deliberately dragging that out every friday evening over the weekend a lot of people watched all of reach i must confess i we my my family i binged it yeah absolutely yeah most people my housemate and a few of my mates watched it as well so yeah we can chat about that as well so yellowstone is basically a 21st century dallas in many respects or falcon crest a lot of similarities you've got a patriarch uh played by kevin costner he's doing the larry hagman role and he's got a few sons and a daughter and they've got a massive ranch and in the two hour opening episode there are two bad guys and there are two points of conflict one is stolen horses and one is water and water rights so it's very much a western yeah it's very much like an old-time western i watched it of old westerns like how the west was one with james r&s from the 70s and have gone a little travel with richard boon from the 1950s and the same sort of storylines come up but this is a 21st century spin where you do have showdowns and gunfights but there's also helicopters flying around with all this is happening um and costner's character he carries the show john dotton he is uh he's the protagonist if not the hero because certainly in the first couple episodes he sets things in motion that are illegal and definitely wrong but he does what he does to protect his family and to protect his land and the heritage of being on this land for uh since 18 for a couple hundred years or whatever and that's a big part of the appeal of the show i think that's why it's such a huge hit around the world it's massive in america it already has one spin-off 1883 with sam elliott and another spin-off i think it's called 1932 is coming very soon so this is now a franchise based around yellowstone the show is in its fifth season one and two are on the sky store for download if you wish them and season four the newest one is on the rte player for anyone who wishes to know when you say it's guys store you download it you mean or sort of what you mean is you it's the sky on demand because sky store is the one you pay on you pay on yes you can't because i've been trying to get a keep thinking it would come up but it hasn't no right yeah i'm wondering about that too we were chatting about that uh during the week why they're not like if it was on now tv or something if it was on another amazing and no other channel has picked it up no because i would have thought by now i was thinking oh i know rte did it which a fair play to rte they were very quick off the mark on the ball with the show yeah totally on the ball but you can't get it on their play right you know you can't back watch it and they're on season four now yeah but you would have it soon by now that like one of the uk channels would have picked it up yeah like a tv you know the utv or channel four or something like that unless paramount or our paramount coming with our paramount launching another streaming are they coming well they have their own streaming in america it's paramount plus so unless they're planning and giving it to us here so that may they may be locking down the rights because it's it's a juicy prospect to hold on to if they're going to do something over here possibly because the brand name is out there now people know about this show i don't know but yet he's very surprising that it's very hard to find it only popped up on the sky store in the last couple weeks oh it has to be because i've been constantly looking for it last weekend there was only series one yeah and by wednesday or thursday i went i was giving the link to someone and i noticed that season two had been added in the last few days so the sky store is just adding it maybe after a certain period and and for download they'll actually make it available for stream i don't know yeah i must check there because the series i am looking forward to and want to see more than any other at this point in time isn't on any of the streaming services as of yet it ran on cbs in the us and that's the latest adaptation of steven kings the stand oh which ranks as absolutely one of my favorite books and it's not love the book and i love the first series there was an adaptation before yeah and you adaptation now with whoopie goldberg playing mother abigail and a couple of other big names as well and i'm really looking forward to it but i don't know if i'm anywhere yet i'm just off the top of my head yeah i can't think of anything just watch is always a great website for finding out yeah i must almost actually win because cbs has an agreement with sky so it should show up on sky because a lot of the cbs shows and i don't think it's shown it on the on the actual screen yet so it won't be on their own demand service but i'm hoping they will i'm hoping they will no no michael's been speaking about yellowstone which has kevin costner and one of your recommendations has another one of the big names of acting and that's alpachino in hunters yeah well to be honest this i don't know if anybody has watched this because i haven't heard didn't hear anthon about it but i was in on amazon years ago isn't it yeah the first one was uh was uh 2020 was when it came out so obviously was probably done 2019 or whatever when they made it came out 2020 now i i i don't know how i missed it but i was in watching reacher which i haven't said i hadn't been on amazon for a while and you know when you kind of get onto a platform then you start flicking around and suddenly i found this and i was like wow alpachino and i love a good nazi hunt and that's what this is about and it's also done by uh jordan peel so i went into it if jordan peel is the um uh let's get out and yes isn't it yeah he does all and to be honest i the get out and the and and uh the i couldn't watch them because they were too scary so fantastic they are brilliant it's too scary i cannot be scared anymore i know i get out is even better i i'd need to have i need to be surrounded by teddies and it's something else to make me feel better to watch one of those anymore i've lost my nerve when it comes to uh any of those things but so i haven't seen those and then he did the twilight zone and i kind of didn't wasn't particularly into it so he's done a few bits and pieces i didn't i must prefer the more original kind of a way in which it's done but he's done this and i have to say it's i'm absolutely loving it so it's very loosely based on in the 70s in uh in the late 60s and 70s in america there was a lot of talk about what happened to nazis after the war and there are some people who genuinely went out they were not police officers not i think there were people who either had were jewish people who had been caught up in the the horror that was world war two and there was also then family members and different things like that that got together and they did what they called nazi hunting and it was basically that they went to archives they tried to find people where did they go look to pay it was all about a paper trail this is kind of loosely based on that idea what you have is you have a a group of people who um the majority of them have direct experiences of the war and that they survived it but lost family members and then you also have this young boy in it who's like he's 18 19 in it and his grandmother had been in Auschwitz and his experience of it is all as he keeps saying to it you know he looks at it in the same way as he reads a comic book you know what i mean what he's learning is all he saw is detached from it and he doesn't feel the personal connection to it they now obviously because jordan peel is involved in this it's uh they're not just finding out who these people are and then calling the authorities so this isn't like the simon visenthal story you know this this is a very very fictionalized very oh my god yeah within the first five seconds you're like oh yeah okay he took this he took this and jordan peeled it yeah okay um so it but it's actually really albertino is fantastic in it he's like this very wealthy he's been he is a jewish man he survived the camps he's um he's now extremely wealthy he finances it and he kind of spearheads it the younger man that's in it uh his grandmother was part of it as well and this is what he finds out after she after she uh passes away and it just it's all about kind of unravels it and they're trying to find this uh large group of uh that they realize that there's a larger group than even they thought of nazi's working and infiltrating um the higher echelons of uh the society and also in um in the uh government and things like that so is it episodic or is it a serial no it's episodic it's eight there's eight episodes in it there's supposed to be a second series but it hasn't come out yet okay but i it's really i really am enjoying it it's got a bit of wit it's got a bit of banter it has a little bit of violence but not too much violence so it just keeps me on the right side of it some of the stories that they're telling which i'm assuming are based in are part of what's based in reality is stories that it often kind of flashes back to the uh the camps and things that happen to the people and it's sort of telling you the story about how they were shaped into who they became then you have um also then uh uh Lena Olin is is the head is is is in it as well and you have the group of uh alias she's the moment alias yeah and she's fantastic it's fantastic and she's involved with the nazi's crime so you're kind of getting all of what's happening on their side and what the plan so there's a lot of intrigue in it t