BlackTag sale now on at Curry's BC World. Save a massive 400 euro on the LG 48-inch smart 4K OLED TV, now 1149. Save 150 euro on the energy-efficient Samsung Eco-bubbled 9-kilo wash machine for just 449. And get a 14-inch ASUS laptop with 128 gigs of storage and up to 12 hours battery life, now just 279. Save 80 euro. Get in store or online at curries.ie. Today's Ninetown Noon Show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires. Are your tires ready for winter? Call in to Ulster Tires in Latter-Cany and Bali Buffet today. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest, The Ninetown Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Highland Radio. Hello, a very good morning. It's the start of another week. It's Monday the 22nd of November and it's four minutes past nine and you're very welcome along to The Ninetown Noon Show. I hope you're well. I hope you had a nice weekend. Chilly start this morning, wasn't it? Nice to see it fresh and dry, but hopefully not too for us to go on forward thinking on travelling to work and what have you. But anyway, we've a busy show lined up for you as we always do and lots to come, but also lots of space for you to have your say to raise your issues, to let us know some news in your area. How do you do so? Well, your WhatsApp protects this number. It's 086-6025-000. 086-6025-000. If you want to speak to Caroline, you call her in confidence, of course, on 074-9125-000.  We're on YouTube, Highland Radio Ireland. You can click through our website, highlandradio.com. The link's there. Or if you want to watch us on Facebook, it's forward slash Highland Hub or Highland Radio News and Sports. Say hello. Tell us where you're watching from. Interact with us there as well. Let's start with a look at Monday morning's newspapers. The Dairy People, Donegal News today. A decision not to increase commercial rates next year has been welcomed by one of Donegal's leading business groups. The budget book for 2022 reveals that despite its own depleted financial situation, Donegal County Council is not recommended to rise in the amount traders will have to pay. Dr Kenny Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Tony Forrester told the Donegal News that the decision will come as a relief to businesses and business owners following a tough couple of years at the hands of the COVID pandemic. The Dairy News this morning tells us that late night buses are to run in Dairy over the festive period, translating night movers. Those services are being introduced to help shoppers and festive party goers make the most of their Friday and Saturday nights out in the city this Christmas, connecting this Friday, commencing this Friday, November 26. Additional late night bus and train services will make it easy for more people to choose public transport as their first choice for Christmas travel with a range of departures on foil metro, gold liner and train services. On to the nationals now and the Irish Independent tells us that thousands of primary pupils and teachers are out sick with COVID-19 every day as infection levels soar around the country. The first two weeks of November alone a minimum of 3,726 pupils and 605 teachers tested positive, and that is a big number, but the school going population is a million, isn't it? We have a million students in schools, but still, that was only in a survey of about a quarter of primary schools. A gloomy snapshot of infection levels, teachers' absence and the extent of the substitution crisis has come to light in a new Irish National Teacher's Organisation survey. Union General Secretary John Boyle, who we're trying to get in contact with, we're trying to get on to the programme, by the way, he's not avoiding this and I think it's just as busy, we're trying to see if we can speak to him. He said, it shines a light on a primary education system that's cracking at the seams, but again, listening to Tony Hoolen this morning, he insists that the majority of cases in schools are children catching it at home and going to school. That's what he says. The Irish Times this morning, ministers are expected to consider retaining higher rates of financial supports for businesses at a special meeting today in light of the deteriorating COVID-19 situation. The Cabinet Subcommittee on Economics will receive an update on financial supports amid widespread infections across the state and new restrictions being imposed on businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, as we know. The industry sources said yesterday that restaurants, hotels and pubs had been hit by a huge number of cancellations of Christmas parties and we touched on that with people from that industry last week on the programme that they were seeing Christmas parties being cancelled, bookings being cancelled, so this does not surprise. While a proposal is anticipated in relation to the employment wage subsidy scheme, a number of sources said they did not expect the government to reverse reductions in pandemic unemployment payments from 250 to 200, which kicked in last week. Opposition parties have been calling for the higher rates to be restored. On to the Irish Daily Mail now and business looks like they're going to get a big boost in retail anyway because the Mail tells us that Tills will be ringing to the tune of 1.5 billion this Christmas with shoppers set to splurge after saving billions during lockdown. Retail experts also suggest that the cancellation of many festive parties due to Covid restrictions will see consumers spending more in shops and online with personal savings standing at 135 billion euro to September. That is an awful lot of money. It's looking like a cracking Christmas for retailers as long as supply chains hold up. On to the Red Tops now, those tabloids and we'll start with the Irish Star and the goddess most secretive unit has been deployed to take on far-right groups involved in anti-vaccination protests. The Star has learned that the National Surveillance Unit has now been ordered to spy on the right-wing activities that are becoming more active all over Ireland and more of a concern for garter bosses. The NSU is full steam on them now, as so said last night. It's a major deployment. The NSU is a hush-hush garter organisation that normally mounts undercover operations against major gangsters and terrorists. And the fact that they've been deployed shows just how seriously guard are you taking the threat from right-wingers, as they're described here. The deployment comes as officers express concerns that right-wing extremists have infiltrated anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protests and have taken root all over Ireland and are using them to spread their racist and bigoted hate. The NSU, who go undercover to carry out secret physical and electronic surveillance of suspects, are understood to have begun targeting the right-wing groups in recent weeks. Do we have right-wing groups? I mean, we do have individuals that might be classed as such. They might not like being classed as such. But do we have groups, collectives, collections in this country? I wouldn't be overly aware of them. I mean, you know of the, you know, as I say, people that might be described like that. But anyway, Ollie is no longer at the wheel. What do you think about this news? If you're a Manchester United fan or not, I saw a lot of Manchester United fans that were screaming blue murder from to be sacked and then crying into their cornflakes when actually happened. But I suppose it is bittersweet in that he delivers so much as a player and not so much as a manager of late. And we can be quite fickle in the world of sport, can't we? But Ollie Gunnar Solskjaer was hailed as a Manchester United legend yesterday despite being sacked as manager. The former Red Devils striker, 48, got his marching orders after a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday in an emotional farewell interview released by the club. Now, they sacked him and then he has to sit down with the interview with him. I mean, he's getting a lot of money for it. But still, Ollie said in the interview, he has given everything and will leave by the front door. United forward Marcus Rashford tweeted a photo of the Norwegian with the words club legend beside a heart-shaped emoji. Now, Brendan Rogers is in the pole position it seems to take over and some achievement I suppose, particularly if you have an interest, a lot of people here support either Manchester United or Liverpool. I'm not sure how many managers would have done both. It'd be a great string to his bow. He's in line or he's being offered it anyway. He may be offered it. I used to say Brendan Rogers, the next Manchester United manager. He might do a good job. And in the least surprising news of the day, Boris Johnson has abandoned plans for a bridge connecting Northern Ireland with Scotland after a review recommended no further work. Now, I don't know what was going on with him when he thought this could have been an idea. But anyway, the British Prime Minister had asked for the UK's network rail chairman Peter Handy to do a feasibility study, but the review expected this week has concluded the 21 mile crossing would be too technically challenging and too expensive at an estimated 22 billion euro. And also, how many of you stayed up to watch Jason Quigley's amazing achievement in getting that he really, you know, with the way how he handled himself in the lead up to that fight to that fight was a remarkable achievement. And he faced a tough, tough, tough challenge against Andre, Andre. As we said prior to that fight, Andre is an incredibly, incredibly good fighter. He's such a good fighter that a lot of the top guys simply just do not want to take him on because he's so awkward and powerful and they just don't want to fight him. But Jason Quigley put his hand in the air and called him out in social media says, all right, I'll take you on. And he did. And Andre accepted accepted the challenge and it was a whirlwind. It was brilliant. We had all the excitement building up to the fight. We had the two or three weeks leading up to it. It was so great to see. I don't know. I have a Dazzone. I don't know how many people I would be. I'd be a boxing fan. A lot of people might be casual boxing fans, but it's just great to see a local guy all upon this massive worldwide platform that is Dazzone. It's absolutely huge right across the world. And just to see one of ours involved in that the way he conducted themselves in the press conference, the way ins, the ring walk and the excitement to the fight itself, which was a disappointment. Of course, Andre's huge poncher broke Jason Quigley's jaw in the first round. And I didn't knock Jason Quigley out. I think if Jason hadn't broken his jaw and even if he had, even having done so, I think he'd like to have carried on. But the fight was ended and you see it all too often in boxing. But I think Jason done us really, really proud and hope is really proud of himself. And it's onwards and upwards. He put us up on the worldwide stage as well and fair play to the ring announcer for Dazzone. He is excellent, but he had the pronunciation of all of the Irish stuff down to a T. But it's onwards and upwards here for Jason. He's going to recover now, get his jaw back sorted and I think we'll see him in big fights going forward. Hugely disappointing for him. But a hope on reflection. He sees it as a remarkable, remarkable achievement and one that may not ever be done again by someone from Donegal on such a stage who's to say maybe because he's inspiring others to follow in his footsteps. But a remarkable weekend for sport and one of the highlights for me anyway was that whole experience that Jason and his team delivered for us a fair play to him. Hopefully he gets home soon. Lots of TLC and I'm sure it won't be long before he's back in the gym. Today's 9 till noon show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires. Get your tires winter ready. Drop in to Ulster Tires in Laddercanny and Bully Buffet today. Want a job that really counts? Our next census takes place in April 2022 and we need census enumerators in your area. So, if you can work flexible hours and want to earn up to €3,200 for 10 weeks part-time work, visit census.ie to find out more.  Restore your confidence with vein treatment at Kingsbridge Private Hospital at Erkenney. Our vascular consultants offer assessment advice and options on the latest treatments available. So why wait? Say goodbye to varicose veins and hello to healthy legs. With appointments available, why not book your consultation today? Visit kingsbridgeprivatehospital.ie to find out more because life matters. Under the one sky, we share life's experiences. Love and loss and joy and pain. And grief is a natural response to loss. It helps so much to talk, to reminisce, to reflect. Irish Hospice Foundation bereavement support line is open for all of us who are grieving. Free phone 1800 80 70 77 to talk to someone in confidence and for a shoulder to lean on. Hello, Farmer Tenne here from Tenne's Toys. Loads of top quality toys and models in stock. Everything from electric ride-on toys from the likes of Peg Parago and Razor to go-karts from Dino and miniature figurines from Schleich. We're Ireland's largest farm toy superstore. Right in your doorstep here in Lerrikenney. Oh, and online at tenneestoys.com with express delivery. Savings Club now open with a wee deposit securing any item. Down by. At Lerrikenney Shopping Centre, we're already dreaming about the new season. So why not make a start, park for free and enjoy your Christmas shopping this year. Lerrikenney Shopping Centre, bringing you the time at. Seventeen minutes past nine. Now yesterday, the Irish Farmer's Association brought its Save Irish Farming campaign to Dublin. A convoy of tractors and farm vehicles led by IFA president Tim Cullinan arrived in the city at lunchtime. The convoy is the convoy replaced IFA's planned farm family rally which was modified due to increases in COVID figures. Sean Lafferty's from Malinhead and a student in agriculture in UCD joins us now. Good morning to you, Sean. Thanks for taking the call. Good morning, Greg. How are you? Not too bad. So why do you think yesterday's protest had to happen? I know the issues are well rehearsed, but it's very, very important and no harm reminding ourselves, Sean. Well, I think it had to happen because there's always been more and more pressures added to farming and what the new cap that's been proposed. I think it just had to go ahead. It had to be highlighted. What was the turnout like? There was a lot of tractors. There wasn't many bystanders, but it was a very impressive rally. Very impressive. Myself, George, I would say there could have been up on a hundred tractors going through Dublin. It grabbed a lot of attention. Yeah, indeed. And of course, when you look at the whole conversation that's going on now at the moment, as it relates to climate change, it always seems to come back to the farmers that the farmers, really, it's all on them. It's all down to them. And then we're being told by the likes of Agriculture Minister Charlie McConnelogue that adapting and changing will be good for farming. Farmers won't be good for farming. Farmers won't be good for farming. Farmers won't be pushed out of the business that they'll continue to make good money. In fact, some claims that they'll even make more money. But clearly, obviously, the IFA and yourself do not believe that to be the case. No, I believe farmers, they always have been, and they are aware of the massive gravity that climate change poses. And they're willing to work with the government, but they have to be reimbursed for their efforts as well. They can't do it for nothing. As it stands, only 30% of farm families are viable in Ireland. And the measures that have been done to just on their cap are only going to make that worse. But just in relation to that, and this is not my view, by the way, I'm just putting it to you because I'm sure there'll be someone out there thinking it or texting it in, Sean. Like, in any business, do you know, say it was retail or say it was in hospitality or any business at all, right? If only 30% of the businesses in that sector were viable, you know, the rest would go out of business. And the 30% would pick up whatever was left, right? And then become even more viable. That's generally how it works. Why is farming different? You know, if 70% of those involved in it aren't making money, why should they be supported to stay in that industry rather than, you know, maybe trying to find something else to do? And as I say, that's not my opinion, but Sean, you can imagine someone might be asking that question. Yeah, yeah. Well, I think it's a backbone of rural Ireland, to be honest. And if the farmer goes, it cuts out so many other areas of life, like, you know, all the root of employment for most people in Ireland comes from farming in some way. And before that's gone, what has left? Like, you know, I don't think there's much... And do you think therein lies the problem in that, you know, let's face it, decisions are made in urban Dublin. That's where they're made. I'm not sure how many people in urban Ireland, and I could be doing them a disservice, realise the importance of farming, not just in terms of the economy, but in terms of our culture and supporting local communities. Is that the problem in that, you know, farmers are constantly fighting to prove their relevance? We know how relevant they are, but I just wonder, going forward, you know, if there's enough support there right across the entire country to understand how the system works to support farmers, are we going to see what's happening with the fishing industry, you know, regulated out of it, and then people being paid effectively not to fish? Is that the future of farming in this country? Well, the current cap proposals are aimed at reducing production that farmers are going to be paid to produce production, and that's basically what's happening now, but I'm in Dublin here at college and there is a massive disconnect between Dublin and the rest of the country. I don't think they really understand what goes on or how relevant farming is to the rest of the country. Do they see it as just sort of a hobby? Do they care? And I'm not supposed to say this is a broad stroke, not everyone, but do they really care where the beef comes from or where their milk comes from or is it more a case of, you know, just hoping that it's on the shows at a decent price when they go into the local supermarket? Is that part of the problem or what do you think needs to be done to sort of try and educate people more then? I think it probably has to start at a younger age in schools and have honest education about where your food comes from and have no secrets. Just have a plain to see. Because the truth is, if Irish farmers stop producing, the shelves won't empty. We'll have Brazilian beef. We'll have Eastern European beef and other types of meat, of course. You know, milk will be sourced although maybe milk's not as much of a part of this conversation. But, you know, at the end of the day, we're not going to starve. Is that the problem that people, you know, don't feel threatened by the threats to the agriculture industry and that's why they just don't care with so much else going on in this world? I think so. If Ireland reduces its production, it's just going to live a gap in the market for somebody else to fill it. Ireland's one of the cleanest producers of food in the world. And Brazil has massively wiping out rainforests to make world demands in beef. And they can't even come close to competing with Ireland in regards of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon output. I think reducing the Irish herd and all those kind of things, it's only going to do worse for the environment than what we're doing. Yeah, I know. But the figures for Ireland might look good. And, you know, then it's Brazil's problem. I suppose, really, that the obvious question, and I've asked it before, is, you know, do you believe that this government or even maybe any future government is committed to maintaining and even perhaps growing, you know, the farming sector here in Ireland? I mean, because all signposts would seem to suggest that it's almost about, like, winding the industry down. That's what it looks like, but I wouldn't really be qualified to say. But that's what the evidence suggests, I suppose. They don't want to see much of this after a man and they're pushing everything, I suppose, towards the environment. So what's next in terms of, you know, progressing this? More meetings, more consultation with the farming community. We seem to be in one direction of traffic, but what can the IFA and its members actually do to try and convince the government to take a different route? Well, there has to be meaningful talks with farmers about any legislation that's been brought on that directly affects them. It's no good just forcing things on farmers and expect them just to shut up and deal with it. They have to be included in the decision-making process. Now, you're studying agriculture. Are you being taught, you know, a different way of doing the business that maybe your parents or grandparents did? We're doing all nice new fancy systems, but at the end of the day, they're not going to make that much more money if there's no farming to be done.  Well, Jan O'Shea pointed out in Facebook that they're going, you know, that's what they've done with the sugar beet. We've seen what's happening sort of with peat that we're not producing it here and we're importing that. It's the same with sugar, of course. We're not manufacturers of the raw product. We've seen what's happening with the fishing industry, boats being tied up, people being paid to do that. Is that what's next for farming? Like, is this a fate to complete? Do you think this is a tide that can be pushed back because, you know, we can see clearly what's went before? I think it can be. I don't think farming is being punished or over and out.  Oh, without a doubt. At home, sure. That's what's there. It's the small and medium farmer, and it keeps the community going. Right, so, David, what do you say? I'll just listen to what you're talking about there. If you take the rift of the problem back a little bit further, why the policy cap has changed, it all rids back to the UN agenda 21, whereby they want to reduce agriculture. They want to reduce the population. The population of the world or the population of... The population of the world, that's correct. There's a plant in Brazil. You're just talking about Brazilian beef called JBS, who this weekend at just the night, 100 billion US dollar investment in a lab in Spain, where they intend to produce lab-based proteins. So your beef, your chicken, your pork, even fish, they want to produce that in a lab. And that is why they want to wind down farming in rural Ireland and rural everywhere else. But if you look at the deals we're signing with the likes of Brazil, Brazil's going to be producing more beef than it ever did. We've seen the biggest level of deforestation in the last year to facilitate that and other countries. You're suggesting that the Brazilians will be forced out of the beef market and artificial, effectively, artificial food will be made in a laboratory in Spain. And this is to depopulate the world. That's part of the plan. That's part of the plan, that's correct. Right. The beef industry as a whole has been squeezed back further and further and further. And in our own country, we have, if you see the massive shift over the dairy in this country, that is because that's the only viable way to go to farming if sheep farming hasn't been viable. Once you have an entire country producing one product, it's very simple for a central government that likes to be in use. You have them in good boys this year, so we're going to reduce the cost of milk, outside the milk, as a control mechanism that brings down your rural economy. And say, for instance, is there a theory as to we have a population of, say, 6.5 million on this island? As part of Agenda 21, is there any suggestion as to how many people they would sort of want living on this island? I'm not sure of, no. But if you read through Agenda 21, the general plan of things is to reduce the population, urbanise the population, re-wild. I think it's 47% of American farmland and I think that's the biggest data there is that they want to re-wild. And who's pulling the strings, David? Who's behind this? This is all coming from the UN. The United Nations? The United Nations. The United Nations, the only country in the world that they don't have power over at Palestine, they have, every other country in the world has signed up to basically allow the UN, which is completely and utterly... They're not regulated in any way. They're completely indemnified in law. They can't be prosecuted by anybody. They can't be taken to court. They are basically untouchable. And you're saying that the Russians, the French, the Germans, the Chinese, the Americans, the Canadians, North Koreans, South Koreans, you're saying they're all complicit in this, yeah? Absolutely. Every country in the world is complicit in this. All right, OK, David, I hope you're wrong. I very much hope I'm wrong. I figure I'm not. OK, thanks, David. I appreciate it. That's the Agenda 21 theory that's out there. I don't know if you want to comment on that, Sean, or more with state to the more immediate local issues. Let me bring in Michael Chance here, who's a farmer and former chair of IFA in Donegal. You were at yesterday's protest, Michael. Good morning to you. I was, yeah. Right. What's your view on where we're at, where we need to go? I think Sean has covered it very well. And there was a nice little aside there yesterday. Back in February at our AGM, a resolution was put to the president of IFA that we would send a letter of support to the Indian farmers. And he immediately did that. And as you know, they have just fought a long battle. They've been at it for over a year and they've finally got the Indian government to back down. And some representatives from the, I suppose the IFA equivalent in India were represented at that meeting when they came over or were here for this protest? Yeah, when we arrived yesterday, there was three of them handing out water and mixing with the crowd. And we were delighted to see them because it's wider than, you know, to see our colleagues from other countries and so on. I mean, obviously you talked about the success. India is its own country. You know, it makes its own decisions. You know, much of what happens here is dictated to us from Brussels, as we know. With that in mind, could Irish farmers, if organised correctly, achieve the same outcome as their Indian counterparts? Well, it shows what a determined unity can do. And the simple reason why the Indians finally won was down to those elections coming up. But there in, Michael, is, and this is what I was sort of talking to Sean a little bit about, it's that buy-in, you know, from the general population, the majority of our population live in an urban island and I'm not saying they don't understand the farming industry. You guys are in it, maybe you know better. Maybe you can de-select the odd TD on the West Coast and what have you, but really could an election in this country, given its population spread, be fought on the future of farming? Well, there's still a very strong rural voice, a wider rural voice, and I think that needs to be galvanised too. And, you know, to the importance of farming to the whole fabric of the rural community. Yeah, OK, people getting that. Listen, thank you very much. Sean Lafferty and Michael Chance, I appreciate it greatly. We're going to stay on this topic. We have Tom Boyd, Donegal IFA, P-R-O. Good morning to you, Tom. Morning, Greg. How are you? Not too bad at all, right? So what's your views? Well, just to go back on what you spoke on there about... What impact would the downgrading of the farming industry have on Ireland? Tell us. As we take instance here, we're in Donegal, here in West, Donegal myself. Donegal, there's quite a large bit of employment, whether it be directly or indirectly, from agriculture. Yeah. The effects of losing, whether it be small farms or big farms, will have on the rural economy will be devastating. You take, for instance, you know, farms, we employ so many people indirectly, whether it be, you know, the mailman delivering the the mail with the lorry drivers, whether it be fuel, you know, we all have machinery to break down, so mechanics rely on us for work. There's not many different people that are indirectly involved. So it's not just the farmers they'll be affected by.  If the farmer goes, I'll need a new job, but there's lots of people that we indirectly employ, and there will be a massive, massive dent in the economy for Ireland if farms do disappear. I'm not sure the government quite realize how much of an impact it will have on the economy. And I think maybe we in the general population maybe don't realize that either. Is that possible? Yes, you're quite right on that point, Greg. I don't think people understand how much farmers spend. You know, there was a survey done a few years ago for every four-year-old a farmer, Irons, he spends three-year-old of it again, whether it be locally or nationally. You know, that's a massive amount of money. There's a lot of farms if they earn 400,000, they're spending 300,000 of that again. That's a lot of money into the economy. Yeah. And I suppose, you know, I don't... I'm not sure if it's being orchestrated, but, you know, there will be a lot of people going off farmers. They're always moaning or, you know, the usual stuff that goes on, Tom. Almost... You know, I think we need to think back when we were in recession. You know, the entire country, everyone depended to a great extent on the farming industry. It was one of those industries that kept going that helped support the country, but we'll soon forget, don't we? Yeah, we think back to the recession or even back to last year, when the start of the pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, you know, the farmers had to continue. And we kept a lot of people in work, so to speak.  And, you know, you could say, okay, maybe it wasn't the best thing, but it affected a lot of people's mental health, not being fit to get out and about where these people were directly had to go out and it made an effect that way.  There was a massive financial pressure on farms at that stage, but they still had to continue, and we still had to employ people who had been a mechanic down the road to repair tractors or whatever. It had to be done or the vet or whatever. I wonder if this is a long-term thing, Tom, because, you know, what we have seen in other industries is that it becomes so difficult and it becomes so hard to make money that the next generation simply doesn't get involved in it. The likes of our last caller, he pulls out of college and says, stuff this, I'll try something else. You know, maybe your son or daughter, Tom, goes, you know, I saw how hard Dad worked and how he had to... how hard he had to fight. I don't want to go down that road myself. You know, next thing we're talking about this last week, you know, solar panels in fields rather than cattle. Do you know, I wonder, once this generation stops fighting, is there another generation coming through to say, hold on a second, farming's really important to this country, or will it just fade away? It is fading away, guys. I would be on the lower side of the scale. I'm only in the early 30s, and there's very few people involved. Coming behind you. There's very few people involved. There's very few people involved at my age with agriculture. If you compare it to maybe 30 years ago, there would have been more that stage.   It possibly needs to be taught in schools the importance of farming to the community. But that requires the government who effectively, you know, is one of the conversation in schools, and they do. That would require a government that sees, you know, the agricultural sector as is, the industry as is, being retained and growing. Do you think that appetite is there, you know, in the seats of power in Dublin, or would they just say, you know, who cares if it's Polish or Brazilian or whatever type it is? You know, you need, for what you're talking of, it requires a buy-in from a government level. That's correct, Greg. You know, the government clearly don't back Irish agriculture, you know, they're quite happy to make deals in Europe for whatever reasons it be to cut Irish production in favour of, you know, fine, we can get beef from Brazil. It'll be cheaper than supporting our own Irish farm. Because we hear far more about foreign direct investment and data centres, for example, in conversation than we would agriculture. Yeah, that's great. Instead of pushing that, you know, we in Ireland produce one of the most sustainable products, our beef is one of the most sustainable produced in Europe and in the world. But instead of the government pushing that, they're pushing, you know, okay, we'll import beef from there if you give us that. The root of the problem is that the government, the government are not backing the Irish farm at all. All right, listen, Tom, thanks for your input. I appreciate it. Well done. Thank you. All right, Tom, take care of yourself. Before a break, let's bring in Charlie. Hi Charlie, good morning. Yes, Craig, how are you? I'm all right. What's your views?  We seem to be, you know, we're always and we're being restricted all the time for different things. Yeah, at the same time, we can bring in food from outside of Europe with, they're able to use stuff that we're not allowed to use and they're able to bring that in, like, you know.  You know, there's nothing about eating, there could be shorties and things coming up to Christmas and, you know, if we do, like, if there was more emphasis on local projects, like local vegetables and stuff like that, you know, no, I don't know what way the government would go, but I mean if there was more of that. Well, you could also tie that into the climate, because what is the sense in us importing stuff from very far away with, you know, obviously it's going to have an impact in the environment when it could be produced locally and have a much shorter, you know, a much longer journey from production to sale. Yeah, exactly. That's the way it should be, like, you know, but the trouble is, you know, we're being restricted all the time with our, with the projects that we're doing, like, you know, yet at the same time, the foreign stuff can come in and there's no, no, you know, no regulation at all. And if the truth be known, isn't it the case, Charlie, and I don't know the ins and outs of it, but a lot of the restrictions you talk of probably come from Brussels, not from Dublin and then there are other countries under Brussels, so to speak, that benefit from that. You know what I mean? So, like, are these decisions that are impacting us greatly really being made in our own country? You know, you could say the same with fishing. You know, look at the great quotas the likes of the French fishermen have and look at our poxy quotas we have for our own waters, you know. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. It looks like it is. I mean, the rules are made from Brussels, that's for definite. And I suppose that's why we're kind of, the farmers kind of tied because, you know, we depend on the premiums and they've got the stick over our head and if we, you know, if you go one thing wrong we were caught on our premiums and stuff like that. But we need the premiums because we are producing stuff out of a loss, really, you know. But then, like I say, at the same time we're being, you know, the past sides are being caught, we're caught on story, that sort of stuff, yet at the same time out in foreign countries they can do whatever they want and put them in, like, you know. It has to, at the very least, be a level playing field.  Yet there's, that's banned here, you know, when you could say it, I mean, what I'd say is, like, if it's a level playing field, fair enough, you know. But if, like if we're being restricted, we'll have one hand or the other back, yet at the same time they can go on ahead and produce away and import the stuff in, like, we're really up against it. Yeah, and it's from all different directions as well. Listen, Charlie, thanks for your input. Great stuff. I appreciate it. We'll have more calls on this after this short break. Today's 9 till noon show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires. Winter is coming. Get your tires winter ready. Call into Ulster Tires in Leatherkenny and Bali Buffet today. Now celebrating at Salando, the perfect look for your every mood. Enjoy our Cyber Week deals with up to 70% off streetwear, winterwear, gifts and more. Discover all our Cyber Week deals on Salando. Show your appreciation for Donegal business this Christmas with Buy Donegal. Visit buydonegal.com to see a host of participating businesses and special offers to start your shopping list. To get involved, buy a product or service from a Donegal business and share on social media. Buy Donegal takes place from the 5th of November to the 31st of December. For more, visit buydonegal.com. New ranges of clothing for boys and girls. Pick a room in your home. One that's maybe been overlooked that you've put on a long finger and now needs a bit of attention. Think what a difference a new floor covering, a change of furniture, or some stylish accessories would make. 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Thank you for visiting Leatherkenny Shopping Centre this Christmas. So, Henry O'Donnell is the National Council for the INHFA, another farming representative group. How are you getting on, Henry? Good morning, Brian. As far as you see, what's happening, Henry? Well, I agree with the vast majority of what has been said this morning, but I think we need to be clear. There's actually two separate issues here going on at the moment. One of them is the review of the Common Agricultural Policy, the CAP, which will come into place in 2023. What is the whole area of climate mitigation? Talk to us about CAP for those of us outside the industry. What is CAP and its importance to the farming industry? Well, CAP is historically a support system for farmers to produce subs. It's basically started off to subsidise food production so that there wouldn't be food scarcities and we wouldn't have issues with our supply of food. Now, it has developed a lot more in recent times and now it's much more focused on the environment. Greg and protecting our water quality and our biodiversity. So it incentivises how we do farming as well. It's not just about making it so that farmers can make a living. It incentivises that they do it in a certain way so that they can make a living but also has impacts on other areas of society. Yeah, very much so. It has moved on from food production and the objectives of CAP have changed through time. Now, it's very important I think that people know that the changes coming in the next CAP are actually quite positive for farmers in Ireland and in Dunningall. There has been much more fair systems going to be introduced in the next CAP where farmers are paid equally for doing the same measures. So in other words, that money trickles down more to the smaller, medium-sized farmer too then? Yeah, and there even is provision in the next CAP to give additional payments, basically what's called a front-loaded payment to smaller farmers where they get more money on smaller hectares to make them more viable. So we need to be aware that the next CAP, as related to supporting farmers, is quite favourable. Yeah, that's not a widely held view, Henry. Not everyone feels that the case, but you do, you certainly do. Well, we have the figures from the Department of Agriculture, Greg, that the majority of farmers in Ireland, not just Dunningall in Ireland, benefit from the changes coming in the next CAP. So the facts and figures are there. OK, now how is it different then to climate agriculture because you believe it's a very important distinction to be made? Yeah, well, agricultural policy is very distinct relating to the CAP, but then we have broader policy relating to climate change and climate mitigation, and this is where the water is starting to get a bit muddy, Greg, that some of the overall objectives relating to climate mitigation, there's some conflict there with what's going on in agriculture, and we need to be very careful with it. And we have seen even in Ireland here some of our very sustainable suckler farmers effectively being targeted to reduce their numbers in the name of climate change, and the reality is some of the most sustainable forms of agriculture in Ireland have been targeted for reductions rather than maybe some of the more damaging or more intensive types of farming. Why would that decision be made?  Well, I think we have to be aware, Greg, that we have huge agribusiness interests in Ireland which are an extremely powerful lobby group and that they see some of the maybe what would be good policy decisions as actually affecting their supply of raw materials, and their agenda is different, and they want to maintain that they have a cheap supply of raw materials to process to make huge profits from, and that unfortunately has been influential as regards climate policy, and some of our policy at the moment would seem to be very flawed, Greg. It's not going to be effective, and it has been diluted by angry business interests effectively. So your belief is that we are being seen to be taking action, but those who are best equipped to lobby are actually not really being impacted at all. And it is other sections of the industry that's been thrown under the boss to protect all of this. That's the... Exactly. And when it comes to corporate... At a government level or your EU level? Probably a bit of both when it comes down to it, Greg. As I say, the agribusiness lobby is extremely powerful. Anything that's very rich is very powerful. All right, interesting stuff, Henry. Very interesting comments from all of you guys. Thanks very much indeed. Henry O'Donnell, our National Council Member of the Irish Natural Hill Farmers Association. Do you require temporary staff for the Christmas period? Have you tried various ways to find new staff, but didn't succeed? Let Highland Radio help you source and fill your current vacancies in the most cost-effective way. Simply sign up to our new job spot, and we will tell our 70,000 daily listeners about your vacancies. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, during our primetime shows, we will broadcast the latest job opportunities across the Northwest and into County's Darien, Toronto. For more information, contact the advertising team on 07491 253 22 or email advertising at highlandradio.com. Highland Radio, we're here for you. Our family look after you this Christmas at Lucas. To book 0074 9113404. Starting from Monday the 22nd of November, Leta Kenny Driving Range has a one-week Black Friday special with 20% off all stock. Yes, golf clubs, bags, balls, clothing and accessories. If it's in store, it's on offer, but only while stocks last. Leta Kenny Driving Range, where the real golfers go. At Cherrymore Kitchens and Bedrooms, we are now operating out of one new state-of-the-art showroom in Donegal Town, and we invite you to visit our new 5,000 square foot Donegal Town showroom to discover the latest eye-catching designs. Remember, at Cherrymore, you're dealing directly with a manufacturer, which means high quality kitchens at factory prices. Start planning your dream kitchen or bedroom by calling Cherrymore on 074 9725 822. Cherrymore, 25 years delivering value, quality and service all over Ireland. GiveBlood.ie know we can count on you, our community of blood donors, to give blood and to choose to be there for others in their hour of need. Blood donors from Ballybo Fay and Dunlowe should attend the clinic in Jackson's Hotel in Ballybo Fay from Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th of November. To ensure social distancing, all donors need to make an appointment, so call 1-850-731-137 to book your time. New donors are welcome. Visit GiveBlood.ie to check eligibility and clinic details because we count on you. Nevermoguire here, and I love this time of year. It's a great time to try out new recipes for the big day. It'll come as no surprise that I think Cookware makes a great Christmas gift, and my Cook with Nevermoguire range at Dunstores has plenty to choose from. You'll find lots of great gift ideas from colourful cast iron pots to the versatile skillet pan, as well as great kitchen gadgets. Shop the Cook with Nevermoguire range at Dunstores today. In-store or online. So as you know, frost in many parts this morning. It'll clear by mid-morning, and today it'll be largely dry with sunny spells. Cloud will increase across the northwest as the day goes on with perhaps a little coastal drizzle developing. Today, 7 to 9 degrees, and it's going to be pretty chilly overnight at all week. Right, OK. We do have one more break to catch up on. Stay tuned. Coming up after these messages, we have the news and obituary notices, and then we'll be back with more after that here on The Ninetal Noon Show. Today's Ninetal Noon Show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires. Are your tyres ready for winter? Call into Ulster Tires for more information. All our Christmas table linen is half price. Time to get Christmas ready with festive patterns for the table that is at the heart of every home. But better hurry, because when all our half price Christmas table linen is gone, it's gone. Also, all Christmas tree lights are still half price. But when all our half price Christmas tree lights are gone, they're definitely gone. So order online before 2pm today for next day delivery or drop by your local home store and more. Home store and more. A happy home. Candles, lanterns, Christmas trees, decorations and all types of lights. Everything you need for Christmas. Experience the magic of Christmas at Cuny's. Our biggest and best Christmas shop has outstanding value on lights and trees. There really is something for everyone at Cuny's Letter Kenny Retail Park. Don't miss the crazy Black Friday deals right now at Watson Hire in Letter Kenny. Up to 70% of the recommended retail price on hand and power tools, paint, foamware, clothing and much more. Many are at clearance prices that won't be repeated. Loads of great present ideas now reduced. That's amazing Black Friday deals right now at Watson Hire, Kill Toy Letter Kenny. Visit WatsonHire.ie or see Facebook for daily offers. It's Black Friday sale time and an ish fitness at the Waterfront will tell Don Low, save a massive 20% on memberships from 26 to the 30th of November. Give your loved ones a gift of fitness or treat yourself to a healthier you. Secure your membership or gift voucher with 20% off by calling Enish Fitness Don Low 074 95 22590. You can pick up all the ingredients for a great Black Friday deal at Tesco Mobile. Like the incredible iPhone SE. Free for just 30 euro a month on our bill pay plan. That's a saving of 199.99. Plus you'll even get 99% network coverage. This is Supermarket Mobile. Visit us in store or search Tesco Mobile. Every little helps. T's and C's apply 24 month contract payable by direct debit 99% population coverage. See Tesco Mobile.ie for full plan details and T's and C's. Are you switched on to your energy rights? If you're worried about rising energy costs and you're having difficulty paying your gas and electricity bills, you should contact your supplier. Energy suppliers are required to assist customers in genuine financial difficulty and can put in place payment arrangements such as pay-as-you-go measures or payment plans to help you better manage your gas and electricity bills. For more, go to cru.ie. Brought to you by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Lie on air online and on the Highland Radio app. This is Highland Radio News. It's 10 o'clock. Good morning. I'm Catherine Gaffney. The primary school system is creaking at the seams according to the Irish National Teachers Organization. A survey of around a quarter of primary schools has found that 605 teachers were COVID positive in the first two weeks in November. In almost a third of instances, principals could not find cover for an absent teacher. INTO General Secretary John Boyle is calling for mass testing in schools to be reintroduced. The danger here is that whilst there's 9,000 children now this week in the last fortnight had COVID, that there could be up to 13 or 14,000 children with COVID in schools who are asymptomatic. And, you know, there was a way of finding out about those things up until the 27th of September, but those supports were stripped out, and we believe that a lot of the supports have to be reinstated. Donegal County Council has taken the decision not to increase commercial rates next year. This is, despite the local authorities' own depleted financial situation, according to the budget book for 2022. The council made this Thursday to discuss the budget for the year ahead where they will hear the decision is based on the need to allow many businesses transition from a COVID era to normal trading. But Councillor Nicholas Crossen says a re-evaluation which was put on hold due to the pandemic will be looked at next year. What we have to do is we plan ahead for a year. Obviously, this is what our budget is. It is very, very challenging. It is very challenging every year for it. There is a re-evaluation that was put on hold because of the pandemic of businesses and how they're going to be rated going forward. And we'll have to look at that next year and see what way it affects businesses. Some will pay more, some will pay less. So we have to look at that next year. The medical officer admits that closing pubs and clubs at midnight won't have a significant impact on its own. Nefford will meet again on Thursday but says it will be too soon to assess whether recently introduced measures have worked. 4,181 COVID cases were confirmed yesterday while 682 people were in public hospitals last night. Dr Tony Hulahan says closing hospitality at midnight sends an important message to the public. Well, I think it's an important signal. So government did more than just that. They also mandated people to work from home where that's absolutely necessary. And it's a signal that comes from all of these things that this is now a serious situation that's having a serious impact on public health and the first and just most important. And then a secondary effect on the impact in terms of our healthcare system, particularly on hospitals. The Stormen executive is meeting later to decide whether or not to bring in tougher COVID restrictions in Northern Ireland. They're demanding new measures come into force before Christmas. They include tougher enforcement on mask wearing and a new scores on the door system that would rate businesses on their compliance with COVID health advice. People in the North could also be told to work from home again. These people in Derry expressed mixed views on the proposal. It doesn't really affect us but I think the younger generation, I think we need to be out at work on socialising. I don't know. I mean, can they actually work in a condom and things like that? It must be pretty annoying. So I would not be terribly happy with any extension of working from home. Firefighters are currently tackling a blaze in Derry in a statement. Police say that the Bridge Street and Orchard Street areas of the city are currently closed due to a building on fire in the area. People are advised to avoid the area while crews work to bring the fire under control. Hundreds of people gathered at the Donegal border crossings on Saturday calling for the post-Brexit arrangements introduced for the North to be protected. The latest protests organised by border communities against Brexit come amid growing fears that Britain could trigger Article 16 of the protocol arrangement, a move which could see a return of a hard border in Ireland. Donegal spokesperson Tom Murray says further protests could be on the cards. Our protest strategy was to highlight our public awareness campaign again around the threat of Article 16 being imposed and the impact that that would have on the region. But it was very successful so a message was sent clearly to governments on this island and the government in London. And we had representatives of really old political parties on the island. So I think, yes, the protest was somewhat effective. The morning will be mainly dry with sunny spells. The cloud will increase later with a little coastal drizzle possible, temperatures eight or 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 Monday morning, the 22nd of November. The death has taken place of Sheila Mehan, Ard-Erin Movil. Sheila's remains are reposing at her home. Funeral from there tomorrow morning at half past 10. For 11 o'clock, Requiem Mass in St Pius, the 10th church Movil, followed by burial in Ballybrack Cemetery. Family, flowers only. Donations if desired. Two Sylvents and a Paul, care of any family member. The funeral mass can be viewed live on movilparish.com. The death has occurred of John Gormley, Mullenty Boyle Glenties, and formerly of Ballon Amour, Condi Lee Trim. Removal from the Eternal Light Chapel of Rest, Letter Kenny, at five o'clock this evening, going to St Connell's Church Glenties for six o'clock to repose overnight. You may sympathize with the family until eight p.m. House Private, funeral mass tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock, with burial afterwards in the local cemetery. The funeral mass can be viewed live on churchservices.tv forward slash glenties. Family, flowers only. Please, donations and lieu of desire from the Kelly Beggs Community Hospital, care of James McGinnis Funeral Director Glenties or any family member. The death has occurred of Marie Doherty, Ney Lynch, Linsford, Bunkranna. Her remains are opposing Adelaide Residence. Funeral from there tomorrow morning, at quarter past 11, going to the Star of the Sea Church Desert Agni for funeral mass at 12 o'clock in termed afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. The requiem mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam. Family, flowers only. Please, donations if desired to the dialysis renal unit, Altona Galvin Hospital, care of Derek McCabe Funeral Director or any family member. The death has occurred of William James McGoldrick, 97, Tully Carr Road, Ahayarn. Requiem mass will be celebrated this morning at 11 o'clock in St. Patrick's Church, Ahayarn within termed afterwards in the adjoining churchyard. The house is private to family and close friends. The death has occurred of Gillian Coy, number seven, Orcher Grove, Newton Cunningham, reposing Adelaide Residence. Funeral from there this afternoon, at half past 12, going to All Saints Church, Newton Cunningham for one o'clock requiem mass burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. The funeral mass may be viewed on newtoncallyparish.com. Family, flowers only. Please, donations and loo if desired to little angel school letter canny, care of any family member or Kelly's funeral directors Oakfield were full. House, private before the funeral today, please. And the death has taken place of William Glacken, Bally Gorman, Mallon Head. His remains are opposing at his late residence. Funeral leaving there this morning, going to St. Mary's Church, Laag Mallon for requiem mass at 11 o'clock in termed afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. The house is strictly private for family only at the request of the deceased. For more details including any family health guidelines for wakes and funerals, please go to highlandradio.com. Black Tag sale now on at Curry's BC World. Save a massive 400 euro on the LG 48 inch smart 4K OLED TV now 1149. Save 150 euro on the energy efficient Samsung eco-bubbled 9 kilo washing machine for just 449. And get a 14 inch ASUS laptop with 128 gigs of storage and up to 12 hours battery life now just 279. Save 80 euro. Get in store or online at curries.ie with all the stories that matter across the Northwest. It's Greg Hughes on the 9 to noon show on Highland Radio. Okay, just before we get to the bingo numbers, we'll go through some of your comments. The caller says it's a bit rich talking about deforestation in Brazil when we are the most deforested country in Europe. We just cleared our forests longer ago to make our farmland. Other poorer countries are just catching up. That says James, Greg, I wouldn't buy foreign meat no matter how cheap it would be. Okay, but it's not always labeled as it might appear, but I take your point. I presume you are the type that would make sure you know exactly where it's coming from. Another texture says the other small medium farm organizations, the INHFA, welcomed getting a better share of their cap and actually we were speaking to their rep there. Why is the government so hard on farmers when you look at Japan and China with the smoke they have in their skies? Well China has a fifth of the population isn't it? Per head their output, their damaging output is less than ours. And maybe that's the metric they're going by. During lockdown the air was never cleaner. Farming never stopped. The small farmer supports the economy more than the big dairy farms as they are just working to pay off big bank loans. That's an interesting comment that is because even though we were in lockdown and our private vehicles and all were off the road, the air wasn't actually that much cleaner. If you look at the statistics I went through them there a couple of weeks ago and I'm not disputing what you're saying but I would have thought that we would have, you know, we're still going to come up in last year missing our targets. Hi Greg, there are two issues at play at the moment. The new cap is favourable to the vast majority of Donegal climate mitigation policies and on the other hand it's very negative for farming and needs reviewed. Thank you for that. And other farmers need to go with the flow, re-global warming. Farmers do not use their acres of land to plant celery and other vegetables that's got good benefits for all. Father McDuire in Glenconnell Kill back in the 60s created an industry in the Wild West of Donegal to keep people from emigrating and it worked. Farmers need to follow suit now as a result of our suitability, recattle and greenhouse gases. The farmers are the first line of defence for our environment and need to be supported, says this caller, to do this whilst protecting the environment. I'd appreciate if you could bring the attention to the traffic lights at McClay's caller at Strunaller. This is an accident waiting to happen. If you're on the lane turning to letter Kenny on the Strunaller side turning right, you don't always get the arrow to turn right. The arrow only goes on sometimes, not always, then the lights go red. People on the right lane are stuck, right? Okay, that's interesting. I don't come in that direction. You're talking about coming from the Lifford direction, so instead of going on to Balabuffet, you'd be turning right to letter Kenny and you say that right hand indicator, the traffic light indicator, does not always appear. I wasn't aware of that. Anyone else spot that? 08 60, 25,000. They have put the fisherman out of business size of text or another bin in a hotel last evening, asking nobody for vaccination search. Don't understand it. And I do see that. And there was I think it was someone on Snapchat or something that I'm connected to. I saw one of their stories and they were younger people and they were given out about the fact that they weren't asked for their IDs on a night out. These selfish vaccinated, boosted people going on an airplane to holiday, risking bringing new variants of the virus back. What happens when the vaccines are no good for new variants? It's the vaccinated and travel that will kill millions of people. I see what you did there. Okay, thanks for that. Right, okay. How much emissions did the farmers cause in Dublin yesterday with all the big tractors? I suppose they would say it's a means to an end, wouldn't they? Greg, if Donegal County Council builds an SI house in your land and the house is falling down with mica, is that not a breach of contract on the council's behalf? Is it not they that supplied a product that's not fit for purpose? Right, a lot of news emerging over the weekend, by the way, as it relates to mica. Obviously we from our perspective we have to go through a few checks and balances before we can cover it as we would like to, so I think people understand that, that you can say certain things and they be true on a different platform what have you, and we have to just go through certain processes. Right, I'm a small retailer in Leicester, Kenny, and we have faced one thing after another the last two years. Why is it that the council wait until November and December to do roadworks? I understand the budgets need to be used up, but this is every year. Surely these budgets should be better looked at.  It's tough and there's enough going on isn't there enough challenges in businesses but when could they be done, maybe doing them at night might be the solution, I don't know, but like if you didn't do them now and you did them in January would people say well it's the January sales if you did it in the summer people might say well you know there's lots of tourists and they're just going around that are Kenny and they're not coming in. I don't know when would a good time has it ever been looked at I wonder when would be a good time to do roadworks in in urban areas what time of the year or you're saying maybe you know do them over the course of a year so that they're less disruptive I don't know. Oh wait 60, 25,000. Good luck if you're playing the bingo today and supporting the National Council for the Blind of Ireland It's time for NCBI Bingo on Highland Radio It's Monday the 22nd of November you're playing on the green sheet the reference number is S11 it's game number 47 the numbers are 71 4 80 46 50 34 74 30 49 and finally 1 phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight leave in your name contact number and the name of the shop where you purchase your book and we'll call you back the next working day get all your NCBI Bingo information at HighlandRadio.com Today's 9 till noon show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires get your tires winter ready drop in to Ulster tires in Laddercanny and Bali Buffet today buy a ticket buy a ticket in Highland Radio's mega draw to win a car get your ticket by November 30 and automatically enter an extra draw before the big draw one lucky winner will walk away with 2,000 euro imagine that's Christmas all wrapped up Christmas sorted the draw will take place on Wednesday December 1st on the 9 till noon show 9 till noon and you're still in with the chance to win the Kia X8 worth over 28,000 euro it's that simple to win that car to get your ticket log on to HighlandRadio.com Highland Radio exceeding your expectations This Christmas give the gift of books from Eason with the best of fiction including John Banvel's gripping April in Spain Dinner party by Sarah Gill-Martin Jeffrey Archer's Over My Dead Body Leanne Moriarty's Riveting Apples Never Fall and Colin Tobien's Dazzling Epic The Magician that's Christmas gifts bringing us together again at Eason in-store and online Milford Tiles and Wood Flooring 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 to call in and have a look around Milford Tiles and Wood Flooring<PHONE_NUMBER> At Tesco we're ready to celebrate the holiday season with big offers give a seasonal roast to go with Tesco Irish Beef Slow Roasting Joint now half price and why not pair it with some roasted veg with Tesco Red Onion 3 Pack 89 Cent and Tesco Carrots 500 g just 49 cent each or spread some festive cheer with Aero Bubbles 92 g body no added sugar, orange and pineapple 1 liter and more any 5 for 5 euro shop in-store or online at Tesco.ie Tesco, every little helps Some days the couch just calls to us Take a seat, grab the remote my cushions are extra cosy today and while we all want to get off the couch to set a healthier routine not knowing how to start can feel overwhelming Healthy Ireland is a trusted source for easy to follow tips and advice like getting a friend involved with your healthy habits and they'll be able to motivate you on those tougher days Search Healthy Ireland at Get Set For Life this winter from Healthy Ireland a government of Ireland initiative supporting health and well-being for everyone and helping us off our couches Christmas is well underway at Leta Kenny Shopping Centre Park for free and get everything you need Thank you for shopping with us this Christmas Leta Kenny Shopping Centre bringing you the time at The time is 19 minutes past 10 now 605 school staff reported in Covid-19 in the first two weeks of November that's according to a survey by the Irish National Teachers Organisation which is warning the primary school system is creaking at the seams it's calling for immediate review of public health support in schools now the president of the INTO John McKeown he joins us now John thank you very much for joining us today I think you might be muted there John Are you muted John? I think you may well be Hello John No I'm having difficulty hearing you there Right let me just see It's not your problem We'll put John out and then take him back in again with a view to getting that situation resolved We'll say we'll try it one more time and if not we'll switch to the phone Right okay imagine if there was a real climate disaster how would we be able to feed every person in Ireland should we not be encouraging the small local farmer to produce local produce for its local villages and towns it's not good for the population of the environment so let me just see now if we can hear Joe are you there Joe? Good morning Greg Great to have you with us Technology doesn't always work the first time Best to persist In my preamble there I was talking about figures that was drawn together from a survey by the INTO and then listening to Tony Hootland this morning he says that if a student has Covid in school they caught it at home or caught it out and about and they brought it into school with them there seems to be a contradiction there what do you believe the case to be? I don't think it really matters where they catch it I think if they have it they're quite likely to transmit it and so the issue for us is that right now we are very very clear that there are almost 9000 children who are Covid-19 who are primary school age we also know from the government's own figures that there are probably 14000 primary school children who are asymptomatic and who are in our schools who have Covid and we don't know who they are so we think contact tracing is really really important in our survey we could see that 3.2% of the pupils in Donegal in the past two weeks had Covid and it's not about where they got it it's about what happens when they have it that's the issue we want to address but is that not just really a reflection of the wider community spread of this disease it is in line you talk of that we have a school-gone population of around about a million when you compare it in that way the figures are around about how this disease is spreading in the community is it maybe more a case that the INTO should be saying to mums and dads and guardians if you've child's got symptoms in school and that is very much a message that we would give but one of the differences that we find is that if a child tests positive for Covid-19 at home Mamma or daddy can ring the public health and get public health advice as what to do but for the principal in the school the public health advice that was available to them is not there so for example principals who have been contacting me this morning they don't notify maybe 14 or 15 parents and the parents are saying to the principal yes and what do I do and they're looking for public health advice which the principal doesn't have so the principal has effectively become the government's contact tracing team in an unofficial capacity really operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week without any support and backup and I think in relation to the contact tracing the important thing is this we expected that numbers would stabilize or decrease and that was exactly what was said at the time now we know they didn't stabilize and we know they didn't decrease so we really believe that contact tracing would be really really important to bring it back I think that's kind of a favourable read of the situation because the way it looked to me and the way the conversation was going at the moment was that it felt to me like the decisions were made to let Covid pass through that demographic because maybe it would get us closer to that nonexistent it seems herd immunity maybe it would avoid having to go down to the lower age groups in terms of vaccination there is a lot of people believe that we made a choice to let Covid pass through our schools well certainly it would be very concerning if that choice was made without parents being informed that was a policy decision but very definitely what we can say 100% certain is that the situation now is not what we expected to be at the end of September so we should do something different now we're also highlighting the fact that because Covid has increased in the communities that we also have a situation where staffing in schools is a big problem and one third of the substitutable days could not be filled and therefore we had to get special education teachers to be diverted from special education into the mainstream classroom so we're coming forward with solutions to that as to how that can be resolved because we need to do these things to make sure that every class can remain open every day between now and Christmas so at what point do you have to say right well we can't actually keep going like this like if the government and Nefit continued to insist that schools aren't a problem yet you look at the heat map of cases and consistently we've seen that in the last five to 12 year olds are red and they're being joined now by the slightly older cohort and you see the pressures it's putting on your members like at what stage does the INTO say right we've asked we've made these appeals we have to look at something else here in the interests of our staff well I mean what we're our first port of call is to actually see what solutions are available so we do think that by you know redeploying inspectors and those involved in curriculum development in classrooms and using our student teachers that will help the situation because obviously closing schools is a last resort now the INTO doesn't close schools that's a public health decision but what happens on the ground when we see it in recent weeks is you have more and more cases of individual schools who just won't have a guarded body to put in front of your children on a particular day and that will cause a huge disruption to families obviously and we need to do something to stop that happening so we need to get extra bodies from the inspectorate from the curriculum development area from the student teacher population because the principal at seven o'clock in the morning hearing that a teacher has COVID or has a close contact and can't make it in has a very short time frame to get a guarded body in front of that class and it's very very difficult Is there any argument for a closure of schools for a period of time? No we think closing schools is a last resort and I think all of the international evidence is that closing schools does a huge amount of damage to children and there isn't a teacher or a parent in the country that wants to return to the remote learning that we had for a period last year so keeping schools open is really important but the only way to do that is to keep them as safe as you possibly can so if we bring back the contact tracing increase the number of bodies that are available at this then we can do it but if we do nothing we will be driven into a situation where the public health situation will deteriorate at a national level and at a local level schools won't be able to function I just don't see how the NFC can roll back on this though they are so double down on the fact that schools are a safe environment and in a strange way they did roll back a little bit on the antigen testing but the report on which they perhaps changed their thinking as it relates to antigen testing had some interesting commentary on how safe a classroom actually is in terms of the spread of COVID some might say it's cherry picking it's cherry picking international advice and information I would certainly agree with that I mean I think we've read the report from the European Centre for Disease Control and it states really clearly that because of the delta variant the high rates of transmission and because there are unvaccinated people in primary schools and the close proximities that schools are high risk settings that is the international advice that has been given to our state so obviously I respect the views of NFC and others but we would still highlight the fact that there is an international report which describes primary schools as high risk settings and that should be reflected in the supports that are given it gets worse because I think we're heading into maybe a false sense of security with the massive use of antigen testing in that a lot of children who are symptomatic will get an antigen test with the sniffles and inverted commas be sent into school may very well be COVID well we know from the T-shirt that for every four cases we know about there are six cases we don't know about so if you apply that to the primary school population we know about 9000 cases they're at home but there are 14000 cases then that we don't know about and that's not fine because they're actually in the schools so we need to address that situation but if we feel antigen tests are not the right thing then children who are close contacts could be sent for PCR tests and then if they're negative they'd be back within two days and of course you are worrying about your staff because we're all hearing about waning immunity and what have you had to do early maybe not yet do a booster so you know there is obviously the health of your there is no difference between the health of the pupils and the health of the teachers if a teacher goes into a classroom with COVID then the pupils are at risk if a pupil comes into the classroom with COVID the teacher is at risk the outcomes are more likely to be worse for your teachers than the school going indeed they are and we're glad and we do want clarity about how the boosters are going to be rolled out the chief medical officer did say this morning that he expected them to be rolled out to the under 50s an early announcement in relation to that as to what we can expect I think would be very very helpful in terms of reassuring everybody not just teachers that we are dealing with this issue in a serious way alright and I think this morning too bosses go back to 100% certainly locally I don't know if that's the case nationally but hopefully that doesn't exacerbate the situation well it's hard to see it driving down the numbers quite true enough said alright Joe thanks very much thank you that's Joe McKeown there who's president of the Irish national teachers organisation 0860 25000 your whatsapps and texts 074 your 074 9125 telephone number is open for you as well today's 9 till noon show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires winter is coming get your tyres winter ready call in to Ulster Tires in Lederkenny and Valli Bufae today Raymond Sweeney here from Ben Sweeney Eronyx to let you know about the great gifts we have this Christmas with fitness trackers from names like Garmin Samson, Fitbit and Wawe the Ninja Air fryer is a low fat healthy way to cook your favourite fried foods from fluffy golden chips and crispy chicken wings to roasted vegetables and also coffee makers and a great selection of TVs, laptops and printers Ben Sweeney Eronyx for draw Lederkenny and the shopping centre down low with great present ideas this Christmas and great Black Friday deals in store right now thinking of changing your floors why not see what Florid Lederkenny has to offer Florid have a large selection of solid, semi-solid and laminate click vinyl wood flooring together with a fantastic choice of parquet, 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needs them this Christmas Pieta, ending suicide beginning hope for a delicious food in a festive atmosphere the courtyard open this Sunday from 12 to 6 ok now Jordy Clark in Bunkrana 60 today, happy birthday to you Jordy that comes in from Emma, Lisa, Claire Hugh and Connell and all the babies in Bunkrana and Australia and we'll play a bit of the BGs ok we'll be back actually talking about what are we talking about next the Lotto is it Caroline and we're talking about how hard it is to win the lottery hi it's that were oh those are or they are the BGs we're joined on the program now by Deputy Bernard Durkin of Finnegell good morning to you Deputy thanks for taking the call today good morning how are you keeping so far it's been very cold it's nice and fresh but still right ok you have rightly pointed out and it's been talked about on this program as well that we've had no Lotto jackpot winner in over six months and for a couple of weeks there for a couple of draws I think five or six thousand people won 28,000 euro and now we're hearing on the ads of course which we carry by the way that you know maybe one and a half million has been shared by three or four players over the last three or four draws but all that being said Deputy I mean there's a ton a ton of money been going into this this Lotto for a long time now since the jackpot was capped at 19 million what's going on where's this money going is it to the pension fund for Canadian teachers well we don't know but one thing is certain the general public are concerned about the integrity of the National Lottery which is based on legislation and has done a great deal of very good work in relation to local communities who have benefited from it health facilities that have benefited from housing facilities a whole host of facilities have benefited from the National Lottery and it is important that its foundation and its integrity remains intact so what people are concerned I have to say I was shocked at the number of people who have made inquiries over the weekend a continuous stream of emails and texts and so on and I have to say this that they are genuinely concerned how long can this go on what are the odds the answer is supposed to be 10.7 million to winning it to winning the big prize and that's fine but their queries that they raised with me is will it ever happen what has happened to change it so there are a number of things that could have happened there could be a technical ditch there could be addiction in the system somebody could have hacked into the system and could have disabled there's a whole lot of things that could happen however the company themselves though it can't be a glitch the company themselves would know what's going on they would see the the spread of the play, the spread of the numbers I presume they have algorithms they can run and see what the story is because it's not only the jackpot that's not going there's lots of big prices even if the jackpot doesn't go the money is supposed to trickle down because you know it's not what people are investing all their money in is it not overall just long odds lotto that needs looking at it's not a technical glitch well first of all the people have a right to know they have a right to have full information and you know they have the little flutter some have the big flutter some have the little flutter but it's something that the people like to indulge in that's part of their past times and as you know Irish people love to bet betting on horses betting on dogs, betting on everything so that's normal for this country but there is a necessity to be able to tell the public look you have no chance at all of winning this or you have a chance in two years or four years or in ten years of winning it then the public will know and they will vote with their feet but in the interim we need to know whether the lottery is in operation in the way in which it was intended short and simple now they have issued a statement and fine that's granted it's the statement tells us nothing except all the good work I can issue that statement myself but I have already written to the minister for public expenditure and reform and I have questions listed for later on this week as well in the dawn hopefully we'll hear more about it but it would be a tragedy if the public confidence in the national lottery was to and didn't indulge do you think that we also are entitled to know how much money actually goes into it and how much is you know profit how much is used for the general running of it and how much is paid out in prices and how much goes to goes to you know good causes well in the beginning there was a very low administration cost it was exemplary in fact something between 15 and 20% which was mostly top class and the money in prices was supposed to be good and was a great return to the Exchequer for distribution to the various good causes I don't know any more in relation to the manner which is run at the present time I don't know whether or not those figures have changed and what extent they have changed if any but there needs to be an explanation because otherwise the public don't know what they're actually betting on and all the issues that are likely to come up in the course of the next couple of weeks hopefully we'll have answers to them and they have us too really in fairness because you know anyone that's playing the lotto maybe they're using the same numbers maybe they're not they're not going to want to make some sort of a stand and miss out on a draw some will but the majority won't of course then you have people that play their regular numbers as I mentioned and also though there'll be people that are compelled through addiction to play so the lotto can't lose either way really you know we can hoff and puff and have these conversations but people will all still go and do it online or go to our local news agents on Tuesday or Wednesday well I think the issue that you raised is very important as the people of addictions and we have to be careful to assure that you know that their particular addiction is not encouraged in any way and that they know what they're doing we also need to know precisely what actually happens and in the process the golf balls that determine who gets something every week are nothing as the case may be and maybe gets nothing for six months but unusual that carryover will carry on for six months the guts of six months and people naturally get suspicious but an awful lot of people have a deep concern about it the top price the top price stays the same and we are pumping way more we all know people that won't do the lotto of it's one or two million because it's not worth it that in itself is a completely different conversation if one or two million is not worth it for you but I understand that but we are putting more and more money into it but especially in the early years it was almost like a 17 million you know people want to know where the rest of the money is going you know other than the little message people might get as it relates to good causes but that doesn't seem to be if a particular concern of yours deputy dork and where the money is going is it no I said that at the beginning you know the money originally went to very good costs very important causes all over the country and the sufficient money available to go to the same causes in the future. So we have strongly have that opinion. That's, you know, what ones must continue because in the beginning, the lottery was approved by the people and the people supported us. And the people support is dependent on the confidence they have in how that system works. If it should transpire, that their conference is eroded for whatever reason it is. And, you know, it's up to the lottery to come forward themselves and explain this. They will tell you and they'll tell me, you know, this is a game of chance. It could go on for quite a long time. But there has to be some odds as to when the chance comes up. And they're long enough to start with. But if we get to the situation as to when people begin to start betting on whether or not it's possible for the main prize to be awarded or to be won by anybody over a six month period or over a 12 month period. If people knew more of that information, they'd know what to do about the bets. Is it personal? It's not like asking about medical history or anything, I hope. Is it too personal to ask me, ask you, do you do the lotto? Not very often, I'm afraid. No, and again, yeah. Not very often, I'm afraid. And I wouldn't be reassured when this information came to light. OK. OK, Deputy, thank you very much for your time this morning. We'll see what comes of it. It's a... Thank you very much indeed. It's a talking point. Thank you. Deputy Bernard Durkin there, he's asking the question. A full investigation, where is the money going? And I think, you know... A caller says, I bought the lotto this weekend.  You'd have got more than three Euro, wouldn't you? But of course then, do you remember that big story? Was there ever a documentary done on that, I wonder? Whereby a syndicate come together, did they not? And they pretty much covered all the variables of winning numbers and won the jackpot and still could come out with money on it, I seem to remember correctly. That was a gamble in and of itself, though, because if two other people had randomly picked the same numbers, it would have cut the jackpot in three, for example. And they might not then have... But you do remember stories like three people shared the jackpot, you don't hear that anymore, do you? Anyway, it's one of those. It's not the end of the world, but you know, it's not COVID either. So it's an interesting one to talk about. Right, you're keeping us busy on the lines today. Thank you very much for Monday morning. It's very much appreciated. I'm one of the fools who do it, but when you do the same numbers weekly, it's hard to stop. Thank you. It is, of course. And I remember my mum, very late in their life, they were able to spend all our inheritance on going over to Portugal for a month or so at a time. And it was lovely to see because they'd worked so hard, my mum and dad, and they'd go over and stay in the same place and lived there for three or four weeks. But it was always a big panic getting the lot to one, because mum used the same numbers all the time. And if you'd be getting these frantic calls saying you need to put the lot to one, you need to put the lot to one. But she did a lot of birthdays and what have you, which was under 31 because there's no birthdays course over 31. And I think maybe you missed that as a result. OK, right. No, we have to take a very quick break, stay with us. Today's 9 till noon show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires. Are your tyres ready for winter? Call in to Ulster Tires in Latter-Canay and Bali Buffet today. It's time. Time to wander through a land of natural wonder where breathtaking views are all around. Time to fill those lungs with fresh air on an unforgettable cycle trail. Oh, that's gorgeous. Time to bag a bargain or five on an epic afternoon shopping spree. It's time to embrace a giant adventure and visit Mourn this autumn. Start planning for your next giant adventure at visitmournmountains.co.uk. Travel advice and guidelines apply. Visit nidirect.cof.uk. Check ahead with providers. Is your water safe to drink? If your water tastes unpleasant or has a foul smell, it may be a sign that something is in your water. Brothers Tech, Donegal, provide a complete private well water treatment service using the best water treatment equipment to meet your needs. Or maybe you drilled a new well and the water isn't satisfactory. At Brothers Tech, their expert team will also service existing problematic systems. If you're concerned about the quality of your water, call Brothers Tech on<PHONE_NUMBER>. Latter-Canay Shopping Center is where real Christmas begins. Get everything you need for the festive season with a wide range of gifts, food and services. Park for free. Have a browse, grab a coffee and actually enjoy your Christmas shopping this year. Thank you for visiting Latter-Canay Shopping Center this Christmas. 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There'll be a little coastal drizzle, temperatures of seven to nine degrees and a quick update by the way, if you are in the Western Ishaun area in the Ballamakari area, your power may well be out. 1,374 customers are affected by an outage there. It's not scheduled works. It is a fault and the ESB suggests it will be 2 p.m. by the time that your power is restored, but often they get people on before that. There's also a small outage in Ballamakari, small at the moment. It's actually in Stranall or 11 people without power there since before nine, it's due back on at one. Right, Derek joins us on the programme. How are you, Derek? Good morning, Greg. How are you? Good to have you with us. Thanks, sir. Now, you tell us your story. It's about your son and dental work that's needed. Yeah, a couple of years ago, let's come back now to four years ago, on his last year on the National School or Primary School, it was on his last visit to the dentist. So all good, the dentist, very happy, but recommended that he would probably need braces. So I said, that's grand, that's what's the story. And, well, as you said, the waiting list could be anything up to two years, probably three or maybe even longer. It would just depend how things would work out. So with that in mind then, I said, so what would the story be with going private?  So I contacted a few different orthodontists and got prices, and eventually I settled on an orthodontist in Derry and went down, got a vassist, got a price, paid the price over an 18-month period in installments. And it wasn't changing, pushing a 3,000-euro-odd, wasn't it? Well, I actually paid £2,070 in Scotland, £1,200 for an upper set and £800 for a lower and £70 for the consultation and the x-rays and that. And your son's happy, you're happy with that set? Oh, yeah, it was, you know, he found out a great job and was very happy. But it's just that I was wondering, is there a mechanism or anything in place where it could apply to maybe get either a rebate or a partial refund or something?  Your son was under 18 when he got the work done, was he? Yeah, he started off when he was just gone 12 and it took 19 months between getting the foot mint, the readjustments and fairness to the orthodontist. You know, he called them back every two or three months to check on them to make sure everything was good. Brilliant, OK. So now you weren't referred there because there's obviously this sort of European thing whereby if you're on a long waiting list, you can get it done privately and then claw it back. I'm not sure. I think that has to be in a greed in advance. But you're already throwing out there. We live on the border. Other people have banned to have gone through this. Has anyone paid for private work, dental work specifically, I suppose, so we know it's more relevant in Northern Ireland. And then after the fact, being able to claw any of it back, it's better in your pocket than anyone else's, Derek. Of course, sir, yeah. And as I say, yeah, now you're quite right. It wasn't Raffaero, it was done off her own back.  And the pressure on us then, because we feel we have to do everything for them so it doesn't affect them in different ways. I know all about it, Derek. I know exactly what you're talking about. You just have to batter on and make them as happy as soon as is possible sometimes. Well, that's how you feel. You can also thank me for not bringing up COVID, not bringing up Brexit, and not bringing up the government. You just... You were doing so well, Derek. And you hit me with the C, the B and the G. Very much, I just wanted to make Mum be good to you. Oh, please, all right. Come here, anyway. Listen, I'm delighted that the young fella, I'd say, he's got a... He's smiling ear to ear. Of course, yeah, yeah. But this is about, Dad, can Dad get a bit of money back?  We're chasing this up for you. You're sort of ringing some of these tax rebate clinics. I'm still laughing at you when you're COVID, sorry. Bringing that up. We're going to chase it upside a bit, but maybe listeners can help as well, Derek, all right? Yeah, and just thanks for having me, Greg, OK? No problem at all. That's what we're here for. God bless you. Take care. Yeah, have a good day. You too. Bye-bye, bye-bye. Patrick on Facebook says, can a computer algorithm return the numbers that weren't picked? I think that might be in reference to what I said. Is, no, what I mean is, is, you know, like... Say, for instance, you play online poker, and some people do. And there's two people that are communicating with each other on the table. These betting companies have algorithms that actually can flag that. They can look for unusual patterns, and they can flag it and ban players off the back of it. And I'm just saying the lottery, they're bound to have some sort of an algorithm where they can see the spread of the numbers, you know, and likelihood and probability and all that type of stuff. And that was really my reference to... That was really my reference to... What do you call it? Algorithms. Today's Ninetown News Show is brought to you in association with Ulster Tires. Get your tyres ready for winter. Call in to Ulster Tires in Lattrackenny and Bali Buffay today. Taking time out to visit a health care professional isn't always convenient. That's why, at Irish Life Health, we visit you. With my clinic, our members get virtual access to back-and-neck physiotherapy, professional counselling, unlimited GP consultations, and more. Search Irish Life Health. We know Irish Life. We are Irish Life Health. Services available where covering your plan and clinically appropriate. Professional counselling available to age 16 plus, back-and-neck physiotherapy to age 18 plus. 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Thousands of ready-made and made-to-measure curtains available at amazing prices on trend and in stock. Now official stockist for Laura Ashley call in for a quotation to Fabric World Dairy. Great Euro rates.  Softwood Logs, three bags for 10 Euro. 1 kg Fire Logs, four for five Euro. Shop in store or online at homeland.ie. The day has finally arrived. Some say the most important one of the year. Tesco's Christmas home delivery and free click-and-collect slots are now open to book. This Christmas, nothing's stopping us, so give yourself a little help this year and book yours today at tesco.ie. Book early, slots will be going faster than, well, Santa's sleigh and Christmas Eve. Tesco, every little helps. Join us in Donegal Town this Christmas for a special Christmas extravaganza. 100 plus boutique stores, Discounts galore, late opening. Capture the festive atmosphere at the Donegal Town Shopping Spree, Friday the 3rd and Saturday the 4th of December. OK, caller says we'd be interested how much funding's been allocated to community projects since the Canadian pension bought the National Lotto for £405 million in 2014. The old distribution system wasn't perfect and depended on location of Minister for Sport. True enough. But every county got some funding in the early days. Another, hi Greg, it was Durkin's party, Finnegale, who sold the National Lottery in 2004. But of course, you know, leopards can change their spots and those within the party can still raise the issue and poke the bears, can't they? It's impossible to win on a scratch card. You got ten for my birthday, got nothing. Well, someone very kindly got me a load of those scratch cards and I didn't total up how much they were, but it was not insignificant. And me, fingers and thumb was hanging off me scratching them and the floor of the car was destroyed, but I was so excited I barely got out the door of Highland and I was scratching away. And I think in total, it was about eight euro and it was much less than had been spent on them in the first place. So I can't disagree with you in my experience anyway, but I can tell you, you are tuned to Ireland's number one local radio station. It is your Highland Radio and this is your programme, The Nine Till Noon Show with me, Greg Hughes. It is 11 o'clock, it's time for a news update and we cross over to the newsroom now and say good morning to Catherine Gaffney. Thanks, Greg, good morning. Over 3% of primary school children in Donegal have tested positive for COVID-19 over the last fortnight. A snapshot survey from the INTO has revealed an average 3.2% of pupils in the county tested positive for the virus between the 1st and the 16th of November. A Donegal minister says a lot of progress has been made with regards to the migra redress scheme over the last few weeks. Engagement across government departments is continuing with a memo expected to be brought before the cabinet soon. Minister Charlie McConnelogue is confident that the scheme will serve all affected homeowners. There were 48 people awaiting admission to Lettercanny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. 10 people were on trolleys in its emergency department while a further 38 were waiting on wards. It's the second most overcrowded hospital in Ireland today. Donegal County Council has taken the decision not to increase commercial rates next year. This is, despite the local authorities' own depleted financial situation according to the budget book for 2022. The chief medical officer admits the closing pubs and clubs at midnight won't have a significant impact on its own. Neffat will meet again on Thursday but says it will be too soon to assess whether recently-introduced measures have worked. Meanwhile, the Stormman executive is meeting later to decide whether or not to bring in tougher COVID restrictions in Northern Ireland. Health officials are recommending new measures come into force before Christmas. Firefighters are currently tackling a blaze and dairy in a statement police say that the bridge in Orchard Street areas of the city are currently closed due to a building on fire. The government has announced 1.6 million euro for knock-and-carry airports, the funding's part of the regional airports program which runs through to 2025. It follows the allocation of 4.9 million euro to knock-and-carry and Donegal airports. And almost 1,400 customers are currently with out-power in South Inneshaun. The outage is primarily affecting the townland of Bally-McCarrie and was first reported shortly after 10 a.m. this morning. That's it for now. We're back with an update for you at 12 noon. Thank you very much, Catherine. Black Tag Sale, now on at Curry's BC World. Save a massive 400 euro on the LG 48-inch smart 4K OLED TV, now 1149. Save 150 euro on the energy-efficient Samsung Eco-bubbled 9 kilo washing machine for just 449. And get a 14-inch ASUS laptop with 128 gigs of storage and up to 12 hours battery life, now just 279. Save 80 euro. Get in store online at curries.ie. All right, in the not-too-distant future, Brendan Devaney. You'll be in studio with us talking about some of the weekend's sport, G.E.A., of course, and flacking up his podcast coming up for you later on today. But we're talking railways now. Canon David Crooks, his chair of the West Ulster Railway Initiative. He joins us now. Good morning to you. Canon, thank you very much for taking the call. Thank you very much for having me. I suppose grateful. I seem to recall, and I'm open to correction on this, that you've been talking about this for quite some time and may have had a number of conversations with Sean on this. Is that correct? That is perfectly correct. Way back about 20 years or more, maybe ago, Joe McHugh and I got together and discussed our mutual interest in having rail returning to Donegal. And he had, at that time, a website up and running called Donegalmatters.com. And together, we devised one which was primarily aimed at getting a railway connection from Derry to Cork to join up with the recently reopened, or the since then reopened, Athenryte and Limerick section. Yes. We want to get that north of the slag up through the Gap to Donegal and Derry and south was Limerick to Charlottesville, Mallow and Cork. And the other thing we want very much is a Derry-Strogler, Kenny to Dublin connection via Port of Town to Dundalk through mapping all that back on track. Do you feel that we are just reading the music, you know, what we're hearing north and south and from various parties that maybe we are closer, although a far better way, to perhaps this being a reality on some scale or other than we have been for quite some time? We're going to get it. I agree, yeah. Because the Irish government in the north and the executive are both in on this now. Aiman Ryan, who's the Minister of Transport and Green Party leader. Nicola Mallon of the SDLP, who's the Northern Minister for Transport, are very keen, as is indeed our good friend, the Tishook. And they have jointly set up a commission called Arup, or got this international organization called Arup, A-R-U-P, which looks into setting up commissions for government's international thing, which sets up all sort of commissions to look into all kinds of requirements. And we've set the Irish government, Northern Ireland Executive has Arup, looking at the Irish rail network, with a view to recommending its extension, especially into the northwest, that's the important point. And it's a really great opportunity now. We've been nagging at the government for years and years and years and keep on making our point, producing reports and all that brandy report, by the way, is an excellent one. And yet we seem to be getting no further. Well, maybe we need to change our attitude, because I remember us speaking, and it was actually my time at another radio station, to the head of Inward Air and at the time, or Irish Rail or whatever it was called. And they stated they never believed there would be a rail link through Donegal, because it would never become, it would never be financially viable. We need to be having this conversation outside of commerce and profit, don't we? We need to be having this conversation in terms of, hey, the environment for one, but also what it would mean to the region, the message it would send, but also the actual real-world impact it might have. Well, the population of the entire western region is greater than that of Greater Dublin as well, over one and a half million, if you go right down to Cork. And the section that's already open is Arts and Rye and Galway to Limerick. And that's been a magnificent success. It really is. To be able to imagine the whole of Derry to Cork, Western, Colorado, people might use it, say, for example, from Ballet-Buffet to Sligo, somebody might hop on a mallet for Cork, and it really would be a tremendous asset, but open up the west, it would suck away from Dublin all the people are growing up. People, it feels like Castle Nock in Dublin is growing rapidly. Dublin's become much too big, and it would help the west to develop, people could commute, but take cars off the roads, put on freight, be very good for, they would pay for itself in terms of road wear and tear, and getting people out of the little cars. And then, of course, you may say, oh, well, the car has straight, you know, it goes far as the station, but park and ride could be developed, as there aren't many places where you could get a park and ride facility from the station, and it would make it all that problem solved. It's just obviously, beyond words, obvious that the whole west would benefit hugely from a proper rail system. Now, if there is some sort of a political will, it's welcome, but the people have to sort of drive this, I think, Canada, and I'm open to correction on that. And there is, with a view to that being the case, there's a meeting being held in the station house in Letter Kenney, it's Saturday, station, I beg your pardon, the station hotel, Letter Kenney, Saturday, November 27th at 7 p.m. It doesn't need tens of thousands of people there, of course, but we need to sort of really start organising as a people if we want to see this to become a reality. Yes, I advise anybody who's got any interest in this at all, we have collected a total of about 50,000 signatures along the west, a lot of that in Donegal. I would write all the post offices in Donegal, except Tori and Aaron Moore, so don't expect that to be changed there. Anyway, to get signatures, I got several thousand, Joe McHugh got several thousand, Ananda in the west, we have about 50,000 signatures. That does show a tremendous desire and demand for it amongst the people, so that has to be heard. We just can't go on saying to governments, oh, please do this, and then having them sort of put it on the shelf, and we're going on and on and on, far too long, and the government actually got done doing it, and I hope this Arup report will stimulate the government spending money, which will be in investment, and it will be financially very viable. Well, the government are quick to remind us of, they have to make decisions, responsible decisions, because it is their taxpayers' money that they're spending. Well, they also have to make some responsible decisions for the northwest, we hear of these constant developments in Dublin and elsewhere, and fantastic for them, of new lines and new connections and all that type of stuff. It is time that we start getting our fair share, I think, in terms of infrastructure, and it's not all the way it has to be motorways and dual carriageways and roads. Give us our fair share of the rail network. Of both roads, it's not either road or rail, it's both rail and motorway. The marvellous new motorway system has developed radiating from Dublin right down to Waterford and then to Scorthy and Cork and Galway, Galway to Tum, Limerick indeed to Tum, and bits and pieces here and there. But there should be a proper roving how many of us have got stuck behind a tractor on the AE5 from Sturman to Ockner-Cloy, and the people of Limerick going to Dublin wouldn't put up with that, bypassing Port Leish and Thirls and all these places. It's about high time we had our decent road up here as well, and that road from there to Lyford to the disgrace of the stay in age, no bypassing by the Bethesda Roura. So we want both and we're entitled to the same as everybody else has. The people of Port Leish can enjoy a decent rail and motorway around the town. Why can't they pick any? Very good point, Brendan. Flanning obviously also has an interest in this, Brendan. Good morning to you. Good morning, Greg. How are you doing? Not too bad at all. Yes, so you see this meeting in the Station House Hotel as very important. It is indeed. I first came to Enigio and Greg in 1961, which may be before your time. A little. And I was amazed at that time at the under-development of Donegal. At that time, in comparison to what I was leaving behind me down the country, at that stage, roads north of Charlestown were bad in 1961, and they remain bad and in very poor condition. I guess I joined Ken and Crook's campaign about 12 years ago. And since then, we have linked up with other campaigners like into the West on track in Mayo and Galway and into the West, which is Derry and Mid Ulster. And we have amalgamated to become the Atlantic Rail corridor. The meeting in the Station House on the 27th at 7 o'clock is largely to provide an information briefing on the campaign to these. But more importantly, as the Canon said there, to get active help in preparing Donegal's submission to this Arab Rail review. Now, Greg, this is the first time since 1906 that all island rail is about to be reviewed. Because of the arrangements that came into being in 1923, unfortunately, Donegal is virtually landlucked. I noticed this first when I travelled up in 1961. It's virtually landlucked. And the fact is that the Dublin government do not have the authority within their jurisdiction to provide the direct routes out of Donegal that Donegal requires. So I think, as you said there earlier, it's time now for Donegal to decide, OK, we're not going to live with this anomaly any longer and to look West. Now, the government have already, as we put paper in our tale, when they provided Donegal with its medical centre of excellence in Galway down the West. And the future of Donegal, certainly, is to try and exploit the opportunity presented now by this real review. And it's only really to sort of go back to where we are. Like, I'm lucky enough to be in the company sometimes of people that worked on the railways or used them. I'm not sure. I'm sure we can look back with romance sometimes. But it seemed a great service. Like, I live in rural Ireland, but I would have been a five-minute walk from a station able to hop on the train, head south, head to Dublin, head to Burtonport, head to Kili Beggs, head to Lettercanny or wherever you want to go. And that's all historic. It's hard to believe that here we are in 2021 fighting for a return of something even close to that. It is, Greg. But the thing is that the present plans that are in train outside of Donegal in Visage, like the government have applied to the EU's 10T rail fund to have a high-speed railway from Belfast to Russellair. They made no similar submission on behalf of the West. Frustrating. Now, the people on the Western Rail corridor, when that thing is completed, you'll have, again, a high-speed rail connection from Sligo through Attenroy and so on down to Limerick and then from Limerick on down to Cork. And what you're going to look at in maybe 10, 20 years time, you're going to look at a map of Ireland with Donegal not connected to any of these East or West upgraded railways. And then we're begging for roads and we go cap in hand to support our airport. It's one thing after another. OK. It's marvelous to hear, incidentally. I'm delighted to hear on your news there this morning that Donegal Airport has got extra funding from government. And indeed, that's very, very welcome. But we're fighting for it every six months or a year, but I get you, Brendan. Listen, Brendan, it's great to speak to you. Thank you. Thank you, indeed. Canon David Crooks. I think this is a very important meeting on this journey in the station house. I'll tell letter Kenny Saturday, November 7th at 7pm. Can I just say, if you want a railroad at Donegal, come to that meeting and let's get down and campaign for this thing and get it for once and for all. We don't have to keep asking the government for centuries to come get on with it. Please come and support our meeting. It'd be lovely to see you. Take care, Canon. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for all your support at Highland Radio. No problem. Thank you for a long time because the likes of Canon Crook have been campaigning for so long on this issue. It's a time that we back this and really fight for this.  Now celebrating at Zalando, the perfect look for your every mood. Enjoy our Cyber Week deals with up to 70% off street wear, winter wear, gifts and more. Discover all our Cyber Week deals on Zalando. 5,000 Euro in prizes. First prize, 50,000 Euros. Second prize, Adacea Sandero. Plus eight other cash prizes. Tickets available from any committee member or online at Club Thunder. The Club Thunder link can be got at Bunkrana Hearts Facebook page. This ad is kindly sponsored by Inish Grass Bunkrana. 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That's right now at Rossfew Interiors, the home of better deals. At Rossfew Business Park, Letter Kenny, just off the poster around us. See RossfewInteriors.com. At Letter Kenny Shopping Centre, we're already dreaming about the festive season, so why not make a start, park for free and enjoy your Christmas shopping this year. Letter Kenny Shopping Centre, bringing you the time at... All right, the time is 11.19 in studio now. It's Brendan Daveney, host of the DL Debate. Good morning to you, Brendan. How are you keeping? Very best, sir. Good stuff. All right, what's the focus of this show? Looking back on the weekend's action. That's it, Greg. It's coming the end of the year. I'll be reading it up here. We, Monday, get-togethers will be soon stopping, because Donegal teams didn't fare too good at the weekend. As Desi McPhilly said to me, leaving at O'Donnell Park, he says, tune all the dairy. What went wrong in that game? Is it, again, another example. You talked about how, in Clough and Ailey, we were able to adapt between games and games. Glen were able to adapt in the game. Was that the difference? Two very different games. I think, yesterday, for St Junans, Glen were coming on as massive favourites. Their favourites, they won Ulster. They actually were put in as second favourites to won Null Ireland, which is a bit mad. But they were coming with a massive reputation. But, if anything, St Junans played a better football over the course of the game, and I think that would be a disempointing this. It was a per-spect. It was a very good game. That would be a disempointing this. It was a per-spect. You know, 148. It's the way football is now. It's defensive. We've spoken about this many times here. I can kind of forgive Junans for going in their first title, going against a team that Glen. I thought Glen would have been much better. You know, Junans... So you mean to do that with that for the take, almost a missed opportunity? Both teams could look to many points in the game where they should have done better. A lot of unforced errors. The impression was the big thing.  You know, some opportunities, normally would be popped over. So I think the way the game was set up, it was set up for Glen to come and won it. Junans had it well within their capabilities to win the match. So I think that's why it'd be a tough day for them that I'm already trying to digest it because the game was there for them to win, you know. It's a funny old sport, isn't it? You've got that euphoria, and then next on it's the low. Teams in the last few years have done well. You know, they've conned over in the Ulster final last year. Gidwaraffs, he won it the year before. Kalkiar, we're in the final. So there isn't really that fear anymore. And I think because of defensive structures, games they get, there's never going to be much in it because both teams are sitting defending. It's all keep ball, keep ball. So it took a while to get going, but the second half it did open up a bit. But there were some great passages to play from the Junans, and I think this young Junans team, the pace and energy they have, I think even though it was a tough one to take, it looks like the future could be great. Yeah, the positive foundations are still there despite that one result. Yeah, certainly. The clock and 80 reflections on that game? Yeah, certainly. But there's some half the match, I suppose, you know, Michael Lynch was very honest about it. Like, a lot's been made. They had to replay. They only had a week to recover, obviously still in two weeks. They did look a wee bit flat, but they didn't want to use that in the skewers, so obviously they had two send-ins off in the game. Even the nose, kind of defensive games or low score, not that that was as defensive, but, you know, right at the death, the first of the ball off the crossbars was a stool at that point. It would have been robbery in Steelstone, though they did play the better football, but listen, we have words from their manager as well, Hugh McGrath, and we have Michael Wilsons coming on from The Dairy Journal, and Frank Craig's coming on as well. They're doing all news to give us their points of view on it. We had somebody lined up from one of the major media companies, but his boss was told to me he wasn't allowed there, so... It's on the tip of your tongue. Somebody pulled right there, had to laugh. Like, he was able to text me as it was coming up here, and he was like, listen, I'm not allowed, so I was like, well, that's interesting. Someone's not seeing the bigger picture there. No, no, they're afraid of the deal to be it. We're putting the pressure on them. Exactly, they know what's going on. Right, okay, and is this your last one of the season or is that another one? No, no, there's next week, I see, Intermediate, our junior champions, Downins are up in Down, and Park Eslert in the Intermediate All-Star title. And of course, the Unions are playing in Armaa. Winners in the Hurlin'. Anything else again that's going to go? Yeah, again. I think it's a bit more recovery time, so, you know, they have a couple of weeks. New territory, all together. It's possible to call them, but I think we owe them that we should cover it anyway, so we'll keep her going one more week, and who knows, with their journey, it'll go well.  Can't be here a while yet. Right, okay, so, reflecting on, as you say, great guests, Rory Cavanaugh, Kieran McPaul, Michael Lynch is on the show. Hugh McGraw, too, interested to get the winners side of things. You mentioned, I don't know, who's... Michael Wilson from the Journal. And again, of course, he's down at Derry City Club, like, traditionally, you know, it's all soccer in the city, so it's big for them to come in on the intermediate and be stepping up with seniors. So it'd be interesting to get Michael's view on that and say, Frank, Craig, come on and save the day after we had a drop-out, nobody, Frank, so he's going to give us views on that. I'll tell you, that's a bit like yourself, back in the day, decent sob. Easy, easy. I don't know how far I can push it. All right, this is Brendan Fairfield, so thanks very much indeed. Brendan Devaney there, presenter of the DL Debate, and you want to listen to people who know what they're talking about when it comes to sport. So that's the podcast for you. It's available a little later on today on our website, highlandradio.com, and I know a lot of people listen to that, not just from Donegal too, because they enjoy the presentation style and the crack and what have you as well. But it's also broadcast after the 7 o'clock news this evening. Right on to some of your comments now. It's kind of related to yesterday's action. Cars parked on footpaths yesterday at Balamikula went out with my children for a walk. I had to walk on the road. It was so dangerous, so we returned home. We have to be able to sort of find a way to do it better, because I've seen the pictures. We can't have people having to go out onto the roads, and we have to come up with a solution to that, and it can't be beyond us. We have to be able to fix that. A caller says, well, isn't it very interesting, the gentleman now tells us that children are high-risk group, the next time in line for jabs. Jabs with no long-term studies should not be even considered for children. What's wrong with these people? Greg Myson is a primary school teacher yesterday evening. He was informed that six pupils in his class tested positive over the weekend and expected there'll be more, but he still had to walk into that class this morning, regardless that there is a possible case in his room. And we are led to believe by Public Health, and they stick to this, that those six children in that class each caught the virus in the community and walked into school and just happened all six of them to be at school together and to have had it separately. It's not spreading in schools, they tell us anyway. In the past two months, the government have introduced daily dosage of Vitamin D to babies up to one year. Why not introduce it to our children? There is Vitamin D guidance, of course, on the government HSE website. Maybe it should be pushed out a bit more. Greg, just a question. The PCR tests have failed. The EUA in the USA cannot tell the difference between flu, COVID, REM. Originally, they never isolated the virus to set the PCR testing. Some in Austria in this, our winter season. Why are we still basing on numbers and the threat of lockdown on a process that's not fit for purpose? Listen, I don't want to sort of completely disregard what you say, but the PCR tests can vary clearly. First of all, the virus has been individually separated and identified. That is a fact, and there are tons of studies in relation to that. It happened in multiple countries and the PCR test can distinguish between flu and also, and COVID. And that is also, as I say, a fact. I don't want to be in here sort of disregarding what you believe or what you've researched yourself, but I'm speaking to the people that are involved in the science of this, and they've explained it to me and they've assured me of it. Also, too, a lot is made of the cycles. Different tests, we use different PCR tests that operate at completely different cycles, and the cycle they operate at is the threshold for actually detectin