Greg, good morning. A post-mortem examination is to be carried out on the body of a woman who died following a road traffic collision in Kilby Beggs. The pedestrian who was in her sixties was struck by a van on Main Street shortly before six last evening. She was pronounced dead at the scene, guard the division and appeal for witnesses, in particular their anxious to hear from anyone who may have dashed cam footage taken in the area around that time. The road remains closed this morning. The chairperson of the Micah Action Group says the government continues to drag its heels on crucial elements of the campaign for 100% redress. Homeowners affected by defective blocks had sought updates on a promised review of IS-465 and the inclusion of piratite in the scheme. In response the government said those would not be complete until the end of this year. Lisa Hohn says interim measures are needed but there is no sense of urgency from the department. It's very disappointing that we've not got some sort of interim measure where the government recognizes the signs that's been reported in terms of the evidencing of iron sulfides in a lot of the concrete blocks. It really is of paramount importance that we understand this as soon as possible and to wait a year to come to a conclusion on this is just really really unacceptable and highly irresponsible quite honestly. The British Foreign Secretary is promising to address protocol issues which risk and undermine the Northern Ireland peace process. James Cleverley is meeting with political and business leaders in Belfast today the Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris also taking part in those talks. It's set to become increasingly difficult to accommodate refugees with many government contracts with hotel providers expiring over the course of the coming weeks and months. The issue is to be discussed by ministers at a cabinet meeting taking place this morning. With more detail here's Ifa Kearns. At a meeting later today the minister for integration and children Roderickle Gorman is expected to warn his government colleagues of the pressing issue facing them in the coming months when it comes to finding shelter for refugees. Minister O'Gorman is also expected to press colleagues on the need to reduce reliance on private operators and build its own accommodation. At the moment many refugees are being accommodation in hotels however many of the hotels under contract with the government are expected to revert to tourism from March and April. In total last year Ireland took in 70,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine and its anticipated minister O'Gorman will reiterate his view that Ireland has done remarkably well in this regard. Irish Water says repairs to burst water main may cause supply disruptions in Crawley, Ranafast, Anagri, Mulladuff, Kerrytown and surrounding areas in West Dunnegall today the work set to take place until two this afternoon some traffic disruption also possible and sub-minimum wage rates have been described as highly discriminatory and disrespectful towards younger workers. Mandate wants sub-minimum rates for workers aged under 20 to be abolished. It says a 17 year old in retail gets paid 30% less per hour than a 20 year old simply because of their age. Mandates Assistant General Secretary Jonathan Hogan says the government must act. Government do have an opportunity to scrap the sub-minimum rates, do the right thing for young workers who are out there walking the in the economy giving it 100% trying to pull field on the table trying to pay our college fees trying to pay rent and rates like everyone else and they need to be supported now more than ever. We'll call on the government to change this immediately. Wendy and Shari with strong gusts along coast this morning the showers merging into longer spells of rain top temperatures today 5 to 9 mostly strong and gusty westerly winds that's Ireland radio news back with more at 10. Supervalu makes saving money as easy as 1, 2, 3. 1, we match Aldi on the products you love. 2, get great better than half price offers like Supervalu Fresh Irish Sirloin Steak better than half price Nestle Cheerios 700g, 275 and 3. Money off vouchers every week on the app. Supervalu makes saving money as easy as 1, 2, 3. The 9 to 9 show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from Letter Kenny Credit Union. Call us on<PHONE_NUMBER> or apply online via our app or in office today. The county's number one talk show, the 9 to 9 show on Highland radio. And now it's time for the talk of the Northwest, the 9 to 9 show with Greg Hughes on Highland radio. Hello, good morning to you five minutes past nine on this Wednesday the 11th of January 2023. How are you keeping? I hope it is well. It was a blustery one overnight, wasn't it? Kept people awake, I'm sure, but some of us love that outside noise and just be thankful to be inside on a night like that. Anyway, we've a packed show and it is packed for you over the next three hours. We want you involved in the conversation as always. How do you do that? Well, your WhatsApps and your texts come through to 08 660 25,000. If you are from listening outside the Republic, get involved 003538 660 25,000 or give us a call and 07491 25,000 07491 25,000 and emails to comments at Highland radio.com. You can listen to us on air, of course, across the Northwest on your smart speaker around the world. Some people are reporting when they go to listen to the radio on their Alexa speaker, I think that it's looking for a monthly subscription. I can tell you right now that's nothing to do with us. It's something that we're looking into to find out what's changed with that company that hosts that speaker, what service they're using that's requiring people to subscribe. As I say, let me assure you, it's not it's not from us. But if that's what's happened to you, let us know actually because we've had a couple of calls in and just try and get a sense of what areas and how widespread that is. And then it's something we can pursue and offer an alternative on your Google Home and all other smart speakers. It's just simply a case of given the command and saying stream Highland radio, you can also stream us and watch us on our YouTube channel Highland Radio Ireland across our Facebook pages or indeed you can do so on our website. Good morning, Mary Ferry joining us on Facebook to watch the program. A million live minutes viewed of the show every single month. So thank you very much for your support in that area as well. A little bonus on top of our fantastic radio listenership figures, right? The Finn Valley voice this morning, letter Kenny University Hospital desperately needs more resources resources is the headline. Astronaut a woman with a serious condition that needed immediate care says that she was extremely well treated in the ED at letter Kenny University Hospital during the week, the woman who does not wish to be named said after the triage. It was judged I needed to be admitted at once and I was assigned a dedicated nurse who stayed with me through the night, which is a wonderful experience. And you can read more of that on the front of that paper today. The Donegal post tells us of plans for 48 new homes in Balashan and a planning application has been lodged for housing development that could significantly benefit Balashan and the application by MCF Construction Limited consists of 48 houses in the Port Nassan area of the town. It includes all associated site works, servers and stormwater drainage as well as car parking and centrally located landscape Domenity area. The application also includes access through the existing service road from the B, the R267 West Port Road. On to the Irish Independent this morning, high failure rate at Karn NCT Centre. More than half of all cars examined at the Karn NCT Centre in 2022 failed the test on their first attempt official year and data has revealed. Some 64% of vehicles tested at the initially shown centre last year were also failed for being dangerous while 45.4% were registered as ordinary fails. Only 48.2% of cars tested in Karn passed the initial NCT inspection during 2022 down from 50% in 2021. On to the Irish Independent and their focus again on the health service. Some patients who no longer need to be in an overcrowded hospital are languishing in wards for more than six months because of a lack of suitable step down care. The latest available figures revealed that in late November there were 47 patients who had been deemed ready for discharge at least six months earlier, but were still stuck in hospital. Now that figure on a national scale is small and I can think of one or two examples that we had locally as to why that might happen completely unacceptable. But of course, the headline is talking of well patient stuck in hospital for over six months in terms of the amount of people that go through the hospitals, 47, 47 too much, but it is a relatively small figure in the wider scale of things. The HSE figure showed there were a total of 599 patients who were fit to leave but could not be discharged. Hospital gridlock is ongoing and led to another 530 patients on trolley struggling for access to a bed yesterday. It comes as senior doctors warned that patient deaths have already likely been caused by the crisis and more people will die because they were afraid to go to hospital. Now yesterday we spoke to Mark Tige from the Irish Nursing Home Association on Nursing Homes Ireland and he was to tell us to get back to us about how many beds in nursing homes are available right now that could perhaps offer short term step down care, intermediate care for people as they transition home or to some alternative. Figure not incredibly high, I'm not going to lie to you. They made the inquiries. Four Donegal Nursing Homes responded to the survey. 18 available beds within the nursing home within the nursing homes that responded. Three of the four had availability. One did not. Overall, 13 private and voluntary nursing homes in Donegal are registered with 555 beds. So 18 beds in Donegal Nursing Homes that would be available to the hospital to provide step down care or perhaps it might require long term or intermediary care. So clearly there's not a huge capacity there to deal with the problems at Leicester University Hospital in the nursing home sector, according to those figures that were supplied to us. Irish Times tells us the price of a stamp and a pint of stout are set to climb from the start of next month, adding to the escalating cost of living in Ireland. So if you're going to buy a pint of Guinness and post it somewhere, you're going to get hit on the double on post as an answer that it plans to increase the price of a standard stamp by 10% to one Euro 35 cent, while Diageo said it would add 12 cent onto the price of its beers from February 1st to move, which will raise the price of a pint of Guinness to more than five Euro at 20. Does it bother you at this point that the price of a stamp is going up? Obviously there's half the amount of letters in circulation now compared to five or six years ago, and they of course have great employees that they must pay and also they must provide fuel for their vehicles. 135 for stamp is it something that bothers you greatly? 08, 6, 60, 25,000. Maybe people might be more vexed at the price of a pint of Guinness going up. Both on post and Diageo have blamed higher input costs for the price hikes, which they said were unavoidable. On post said the 8% increase was in line with 2022 inflation. Costs us 135 to post a standard letter here. The European average is much higher. One Euro 69 cent, by the way. The Irish Daily Mail, the state spent millions of taxpayers money compensating toll operators after traffic dived during the pandemic, but it did not have to do so. The spending Watchdog has said, isn't that nice? So we weren't allowed out in our cars. The toll companies weren't getting their money, so they took our money out of our pockets and gave it to toll operators, but they didn't have to. Under a public private partnership, both the M3 and the Limerick Tunnel have provisions in their contracts that allow for compensation. If the number of vehicles using tolls falls below a certain level since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Limerick Tunnel operators were compensated by 23 million by the state, which is us while the M3 received 5.4 million. However, the controller in order to general, which oversee state spending, said the terms of these contracts did not turn to page four, did not cover medical emergencies with the taxpayer ultimately having to pay close to 30 million between the two companies. So, I hope they're trying to claw that back, are they? On to the Irish Daily Star now. And the state must reduce its reliance on private accommodation for refugees and develop state-owned accommodation. Minister Roderick O'Gorman is expected to tell cabinet this afternoon ministers will meet in family house for an away day for a series of cabinet meetings. How delightful, hopefully there's tea and sandwiches. Minister O'Gorman is expected to outline the challenges facing the state on accommodation for international protection, applicants and those fleeing Ukraine. He will state his view that Ireland has done well in handling the 70,000 Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Ireland. However, ministers will hear that the sourcing of accommodation is becoming increasingly difficult. There is an expectation that many hotels currently under contracts will revert to the tourism trade in March. So, how does politics work in this country, right? So, the cabinet ministers are having an away day in family house, all of them. There's not that many of them. There's about what? How many ministers are there? They include junior ministers, I don't know throw that in. And he's going to go and tell them what we've just read. So, does he say like, well, you know, whilst they're having a cup of tea and stuff, does he say, well, you know, he probably saw it in the papers but I just want to tell you, you know, I think we're doing really well. Like, how does it work? It's very peculiar, isn't it? Stupid, I would almost say. That what he's going to say to ministers over tea and sand bowls is already in the papers. The Irish Sun this morning, the government could advance purchase thousands of new apartments in a desperate bid to build more homes. The T-Shark yesterday said that it makes sense to increase housing targets due to Ireland's growing population and the influx of refugees from the war in Ukraine. Much of this obviously is down to government policy. It comes after the government held a housing conference where stakeholders, including developers, housing bodies and charities, discussed ways to tackle the housing crisis.  In other words, people who make money from housing and then says, you know, we need to actually buy these houses off them before the even layer block and that obviously has ramifications then in terms of rent, like how many of these are affordable rents. You know, some of these houses that have been purchased through this scheme, they're rents $1,500 a month. Do you know, is that really what the government wants to be doing? To be supporting a housing market that's so inflated in terms of rents and what have you? But that seems to be their plan. They're going to buy them off the books effectively. Isn't that a term, turn of phrase? But they're not allowed to sell them or rent them for a price that's below what they all agree. Because who's pulling the strings really? I'm sounding really cynical. The traffic was terrible this morning. But the tale sometimes you feel in this country is wagging the dog or maybe I'm just crabbing. And finally in the Irish Daily Moorish in Faines tonight, the party's performance in recent opinion polls has tumbled due to suggestions it's linked to organised crime. I don't think an awful lot of people accepted what some within the media were trying to push in that regard. It comes following several mentions of the party during the ongoing Jerry Hutch trial in the special criminal court. But if you followed it closely, I don't think it actually redeflected that bad on Sinn Fein at all. Former Sinn Fein cancer, Jonathan Dowdall was sentenced to four years in prison last year for facilitating the murder of David Byrne in Dublin's Regency Hotel in February 2016. He's currently testifying as part of the state's case against the Hutch, but as I say he kind of put a bit of distance between the party and that activity if you read transcripts rather closely. All right, that was a run through the papers. Anything catch your ears there that you want to get involved in? 08 660 25,000 08 660 25,000 or give us a call on 07 491 25,000 right? We'll be back with our first guest on the show after these messages. Or in office today. From the smallest shrub to the largest tree in an awkward place, Donnelly Tree Services provided a complete range of tree surgery services, whether you need to remove a dangerous tree or some nuisance branches. Donnelly Tree Services have the experience and expertise to carry out tree surgery to the highest of professional standards. Call 08 3 005 939. Donnelly Tree Services don't equal, no job is too small, no tree is too tall. Every year in the GAA something unique happens. First class rivals suddenly become first class teammates. Fear Centre County foes turn into friends and yesterday's opponents now have each other's backs. Grudges set aside all of the best club and county players from every corner of this country, lying out in their college or university jerseys to play together, challenge together and win together. It can only be the Electric Ireland Sigerson, Fitzgibbon and higher education championships. The Restex Beds and Furniture Winter Sale is now in full swing at their showroom at the mountaintop in Letterkenny. Supplying only the finest quality luxurious Irish made beds and mattresses with genuine savans throughout our range. We look forward to seeing you at Restex Beds and Furniture Winter Sale. McDades, bathroom, plumbing and tiles, serving the Northwest for over 40 years. Explore our showroom with more than 40 displays. Choose from an array of shower doors, shower trays, baths and bathroom accessories. Speak with an expert about tile selection and wall paneling. We also stock an array of plumbing, heating and stove spare parts, as well as a great selection of kitchen mixers and radiators at our trade counter. Our stove department is also available for you to choose a style that suits your needs and complements your home. McDades, bathroom, plumbing, tiles, bunk runner. We're here for you. Okay, you're welcome back to the program. We're joined in studio now by Gada Inspector Seamus McGonagall. Thank you very much for joining us, Seamus. Morning, Greg. We appreciate you calling in. Unfortunately though, it's off the back of a fatal road traffic collision in South Donagall yesterday, and you're seeking the public's help as Gada investigate this awful incident. We are indeed, Greg. Yesterday, Tuesday the 10th of January, just after 5pm, there was a collision on the Donagall road, leading in to Kelly Beggs. Actually, I would say the community centre, so it was actually well inside the town and virions. It involved a silver forward van and a pedestrian. Now, as a result of this collision, for me to say, a lady has lost her life as a result of this collision, a well-known local lady who has recently retired. Now, we're making an appeal at this stage for any witnesses, and I'd also like to acknowledge the fact that a good number of witnesses have already made themselves known to Guardi, and also for any drivers who may have been in the vicinity that have a dashcam footage that they could make that available to us. And it's kind of just reiterated the fact that it's like to thank the local people or people who have come forward already with being helpful. Yes, of course, because it's part of an investigation, but family C cancers and all that type of stuff. So that's why there's always this appeal for just as much information as is possible, I presume. Absolutely. It's just a trove of information so we can find exactly what happened. And everybody deserves that. As I said, there is a Guardi investigation ongoing, which is part of the course in such a case. The roads close, it'll remain closed, I'd say, until at least the early afternoon. There's forensic collision investigators at the scene, and PSV inspectors, et cetera. And as I said, hopefully early to mid-afternoon, we get the road opened again. All right. And I mean our sympathies too. This is awful news as you mentioned, a popular local lady, her family and friends. This is a type of awful loss that's felt right across the community, of course. It is, of course. It brings it home. Any fatalities, a fatality too much, but especially in a small rural town, like Kili Beggs, where everybody's known, I think it's particularly poignant and this time of year or two leading the new year for such an occurrence to take place. Okay. So any information, that's the dash cams, of course, which are often automatically recording, presumably in the lead up to the incident as well. So people don't have to look through that themselves and determine, let the guardie take that, they will take the video off the device for you. You don't have to download it and package it or anything or any CCTV outside houses or anything like that there. You can contact the Kili Beggs guard station on 074 9731 002 or the Guard of Confidential Line 1800 6661 or any Guard of Station Shamers. Yes, Greg, that's the phone numbers. And again, I'd just like to thank you for giving us this platform again to appeal for witnesses and also just to make the general comment again for all road users to slow down and respect other road users. And it's a message that I take every opportunity I get, I reiterate it because it's just so important, as I said, slow down, respect other road users. And whether we're pedestrian cyclists, motorists, tractor drivers, this is a shared space. We all have to use this space equally.  Okay, thank you. I hope that you get all the information that you need for that investigation and for whoever might need it. Inspector Shamers, McGonagall, thank you very much indeed. Thank you. Appreciate your time. Shamers, McGonagall there who is head of the Donagall traffic core 08 660 25000 is the WhatsApp or text number 08 660 25000 or give us a call on 07 4 at 911 25000. Right, okay. Now, I mentioned just at the start of the program that some of you out there who listen to the show choose to do so on your smart speaker. I haven't had a radio with an aerial outside of my car for God knows how long everything's done via laptop or tablet or primarily the smart speakers, but some people using the Alexa speaker, that's the Amazon speaker, are being asked for to subscribe. Now, this is not me thinking, you know, I'm worth $4.99 a month or anything or nothing of the sort. $4.99 a month off everybody, Greg. $4, I think I'd be very, very lucky. Very frustrating. It is because last year we were having to give people a worker and what's going on with the way Amazon operate their Alexa? Yeah, well, it's basically to do with Northern Ireland in the UK. Greg, last couple of years there's been an ongoing court battle with various companies in relation to music and different things. And part of this is to do with an app called tuning, which would be regarded as the standard app for streaming across the world. So effectively is that if we're streaming or any radio station streaming in Ireland music, right, do we have the right to for people to listen to that music in Britain? Now, it's very hit and miss. Sometimes they care. Sometimes they don't care. A lot of the Irish stations were shut down off tuning. So they were over the last couple of years. We got to work around with the Irish radio player where you couldn't enable it. But now Amazon has come on board with whatever has gone on with these court battles. And now they're looking to charge money. So if you, if you are in Northern Ireland or if you're in the UK and you were to say Amazon will now, when you say Alexa, hand in radio, it will now look for for your or for. And it works in both directions. People who may be chose to listen to the premiership on Five Live on the smart speaker. Sometimes you'll be able to listen to a football match and other times it will say it'll play a loop saying that this is this content is not available. Yeah, well, basically what it is, it's nothing to do with us. No, to do with the UK authorities, the UK government body who are stricter over their streaming and their music than what they are as their as their Irish counterparts. So there is a workaround that is frustrating. There is a workaround for it. So basically we have a company in the UK and we have an Alexa skill and it's Alexa Open Highland Radio. You say Alexa, play Highland Radio after you do that. For 99 a month. It's free of charge in the UK and in Northern Ireland. No, there's some people now in Donegal will be going, well, that's happening me as well. And there's a reason for this because you're using a UK supplier for your broadband for for the house. So there is, of course, the usual big names. But there is some providers across the Northwest who are sending broadband into Donegal and it's coming out of Northern Ireland. A lot of deflector stuff really, perhaps. That's what it is. A relation of mine. Relation of mine in the middle of Termin and the Hills couldn't get Highlandland Tune in because they were using a service provider. And the IP eventually ends up being from Derry, but really it's not from Derry. Yeah, that's that's that's that's the reason for it. I spoke to a lady, lovely lady last week from Quigley's Point and she was having the problem and I give her the skill of open Highland Radio, Alexa, open Highland Radio and away it went. So you've got your Alexa speaker here to forwards asking you for 499. You say Alexa, open Highland Radio, open Highland Radio. That's it. Yeah. And if you were to say after that, Alexa, play Highland Radio where it goes. I spoke to the guys in London who developed the skill for us, just to be 100% sure last week that our skill for the UK and for Northern Ireland was working and it was working 100% you know we're triggering speakers in people's houses now. Yeah. OK, Google. No, I'm just going to touch on Google. When people are listening, I want their speakers to start speaking to them at home. That's don't be saying, OK, Google, because my phone starts. Google, Google. Yeah, there it goes. See, Google, Google and the Republic of Ireland works fine. You're Google Nest. Yes. Works 100%. But the problem in the UK is based on the same with your Google. But there's no fix around for Google. We can't get anybody to develop a skill, a particular skill. It's called a skill with Alexa. Don't know what it's called with Google, but there is no, there's no company that develops a skill, particularly for Google. So if you're actually listening to us in Derry, Turone, for Mana, or even in London or Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow River and you're in the UK, you can't get Highland on a Google Nest or on a Google device. So you can. For the same reason, back to what we spoke about at the start. If it were me, I'd have a VPN on my router, but...  Exactly, OK. Right, so we've sorted Alexa. It's been an ongoing problem for the Nest and it's just the way it is. It's frustrating, it's annoying. We get regular calls from people who think that it is because it's Highland radio and it's us. And what advice people as well, because I've done it in the house myself where you go, Alexa, play Highland. You have to say Highland radio because then it comes up and it will ask for give you a Highland playlist of Spotify or a Highland playlist of we've got one on Amazon Music but we want to charge you. You have to say, Alexa, play Highland radio or Alexa, open Highland radio. Sometimes, you know, we feel like we're moving forward yet we're going backwards. I'm paying 10 euro a month for Amazon Alexa. Now they might be getting the Amazon music. The Amazon music, they're probably the Amazon music and that as well. I doubt they have, I would say what they're doing is they don't have Spotify but Amazon have the same catalogue as Spotify. So, you know, that's about what you pay for. Yeah, that's some of it but it's very, very easy to get an Amazon music subscription because all you have to do when they offer it to you through your Alexa is say yes. And you're sucked in straight away. So, yeah. And it's very, very difficult to cancel it because I had it to cancel it.  You cannot cancel it via your Alexa. So, you have your young ones now speaking to the speaker. I have a three year old. That's what I'm saying, speaking to the speaker. Alexa comes down in the morning.  I think you can find yourself subscribed to a few things in the not too distant future. All right, okay. It's good fun, I suppose. Okay, so that's it. So, just to recap, if you are using the Alexa speaker, you say Open Highland Radio or Play Highland Radio. Unfortunately, until such time as Tune-In sort out their court cases because at the end of the day, too. We don't have to worry about Tune-In from a Highland point of view now in the UK because them scales work. Yeah, but I'm on about with Google. Yeah, with the Google thing, yeah. Because, you know, we want artists to get paid if the music is being used but that's up to them to sort out the contracts with Tune-In, the industry. Okay, so with Alexa, Open Highland Radio, that is the command there for people living in Britain or Northern Ireland or in Donegal whereby your broadband provider is based outside of the Republic. That's it, is it? Any other news? Fingers crossed, no other news. When's the next McKenna Cup game? Tonight. What did you think of the performance against Down? I enjoyed the first half. Second half was very disjointed. That's what you're going to get when both sides, both teams, rather, decide to bring on 10 subs of peace. You're going to get that anyway. So, but listen, the McKenna Cup, it's not really about one in matches. It's not about the McKenna, the final, the competition. It's about seeing what the young players are like and what sort of talents they're in. And there's a few players now that are going to be marked down the line now because you can see the something in them. That's good. So they have it for that level. All right, Jo. Thanks very much for that, Osh. Okay, Greg. All right, take care of yourself indeed. So that just answers a few questions we've been having coming in. Osh, you want more things? Live commentary tonight from just after the throwing time is 7.30. Where is the game? Balbify. That's all right. McCood Park and Balbify. So is it on-air or is it online experience? It's on-air. Brilliant. It's on-air from just after half. Game starts at half seven. It'll be just after that before we start. And who's on comes with you? Mr. Martin McHugh. Excellent stuff. All right. Right, we'll be back with our next guest shortly. The Ninetal Noon Show is brought to you by Lettercanny Credit Union. Digital loans now available. Apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account. I hear you, some wire needs to fix it, man. The name's Buzz on account of my work. No chance. Not all cowboys ride horses. All safe electric registered electrical contractors must give you a certificate of completion that shows their work meets approved standards. Find one nearby on safeelectric.ie. The Air Lingus January sale is now on. With over four million seats on sale, we've got your 2023 travel sorted. From just €179 each way as part of a return trip, you can fly to New York, LA, and everywhere in between. Take that magical holiday to Orlando. Plan that action-packed week away in Chicago or explore the sights of San Francisco. Visit airlingus.com and grab your seats today. Teas and seas apply. Travel 1st of February to 31st of May 2023. Do you need a little extra help staying in your home? At Bluebird Care, we offer a wide variety of Q-Mark-approved, personalised home care services across Donegal. And our fully trained and committed staff will always meet your care needs with kindness, compassion and dignity. To get your personal home care assessment plan, visit bluebirdcare.ie or call our care team today on 07491 29562 and bring care home.  We're also giving away 100-year-old foys vouchers every day for 12 days in January. For a chance to win, visit our social media for details. Foys' big January sale is now on at foys.ie and in store in Letterkenny and Balbuffet. There's huge discounts off all interior paints, wallpaper, ready-made and custom-made curtains, also off cushions, rugs, household and gifts, lighting, kitchenware and much more. Are you a leave-and-search student that is looking at your options for 2023? Or are you interested in upskilling and progressing in your career with a postgraduate degree or Springboard-funded course? Come along to 80 Donegal's Open Evening on Wednesday, 18th of January from 47pm in our Letterkenny campus. Talk to us about our part-time, flexible, postgraduate programmes and find out all you need to know about eligibility and funding available through Springboard. And learn more about our 20 brand new CAO programmes that will be available this year. 80 Donegal's Open Evening, Wednesday, 18th of January from 4 to 7pm. See you there. Okay, we're joined on the programme now by Liam O'Dwyer, Secretary-General of the Irish Red Cross. Liam, good morning to you. Good morning, Greg. Greg, can I say to you that I have retired as Secretary-General and I'm now operating as an advisor to the Red Cross. A new Secretary-General has taken over here last week, Deirdre Garvey, which we're delighted with. So I was only in the position on a temporary basis. So there's my personal background for you. No problem. I appreciate it. It's good to have that clear. Right, we just wanted to get an update with you because obviously the Irish public and the public across the world were so generous following the awful tragedy in Chrysler and the Irish Red Cross took over the management of that fund. So in total, following the awful tragedy in October, how much was donated under the umbrella of the Red Cross? Well, the answer is 1.75 million is what the figure is at the moment. Obviously, there are donations have gone to other organisations and to other funds as well, but the Red Cross fund stands at 1.75 million. We have set up an oversight committee then to look at the expenditure of those monies. And we've had two meetings at this stage with the community in Chrysler over just before Christmas. And also the community have had its own facilitated meeting to discuss how those funds might be used and the types of needs it might be used to address. So that's the progress so far. And to date, roughly €470,000 has been distributed to the families of the bereaved and those injured and those at a loss in that awful tragedy. Obviously, I think a lot of us who donated to this fund would have done so maybe that people could take periods of time off work or to engage with counselling. With the amount of people affected, those that affected directly by the loss of a loved one, then those that might have been injured, but also people that were first on the scene, people that worked the scene. And not just from Chrysler, you would know it's people from far and wide outside of Chrysler. And especially considering we've just come through Christmas, €470,000 to me does not sound enough. Well, I suppose what we've done is we have met with people individually. And I think that's the most important thing that we do. We sit down with people and they tell us what their immediate needs are. And that's what we have been doing. And I'm sure a little doubt that the fund will be, I mean, we're talking roughly about a year and a half to two years to expend this type of a fund. But all the meetings are happening individually to date. And the money has been people have asked for certain amounts and we've been able to give those amounts. And then the next move will be that we will be meeting specifically with the families of the bereaved and those who are injured on a group basis, first of all. And then on the basis of that, we will be going back to the community closer to the end of the month to have a further discussion regarding the matter. Yeah, but no one's going to come to you with their handout. Not many people are. Do you know what I mean? I understand the consultation in the consultant with the entire community, although this extends far beyond Chrysler and those that are directly affected. At some point, though, does someone not need to make a decision and say, this is the funds people donated it to help those who are directly affected by this. This is how we are going to apply it. So say, for instance, split it up a certain amount for those who were directly affected by bereavement, a certain amount for those who may have been injured and then maybe a remaining part for those who require ongoing counselling. You know, the more people you talk to, perhaps it's harder to come to some sort of a, like, is there any plan for a system like that so that, you know, those who would probably need it now get it now, rather than having to keep returning, saying, well, that money's run out because of this reason and we need it because of that. You know, can you not take it out of their hands to some extent and put in place a plan? That's, I mean, I think with something like this, Greg, that what's important is consultation and listening to the people who have been but you can't consult it, you can't, yes, but the Red Cross can't consult with everybody that's been affected by this tragedy. I know personally three people who were affected by the immediate aftermath of this that have not engaged with the Red Cross at all because meetings were held in Kreisler, they're from outside Kreisler, no one's reached out to them. They haven't heard that there is a mechanism whereby they can speak to someone. I've had to pass this information as a person, myself individual, a private individual onto these people. Like, are you assured that you have cast this net as wide as is possible to make sure that those that need help, those that responded to it, those that are affected by it are being offered an opportunity to be compensated for the help that they need? We have a volunteer who's there on a Sunday. We have a volunteer who's there in a Wednesday evening. That's in Kreisler though. Sorry, Liam. And we have a member of our staff who's there for two days a week in Kreisler and that is widely known. It's known where they are and obviously we're available, email, etc. or phone contact. People will be more than welcome to contact. Well, let me approach it a different way, Liam. For those who don't come from Kreisler, right, that aren't, the many people from the surrounding areas that have been affected by this, would it be cheekier for me to suggest that maybe they are invited to contact the Red Cross to see if they qualify for some port? Because as I said, the public donated this money with a view to helping everyone affected by this. Not just people from Kreisler, but the many people from outside of Kreisler that in fact, in some cases, feel a little bit left out in this process because you're talking about there's people located in Kreisler, we're having meetings in Kreisler and it's incredibly important. I'm just conscious of the fact that there are many people, people bereaved from outside of Kreisler as well, that might feel that they're being left out. And I'm sure that's not what the Red Cross want. I'm trying to be constructive here. Well, anybody who had a bereavement, I can assure you they have been engaged with by the Red Cross. I have absolutely no doubt about that. And we also have advice from other people locally in terms of who was affected by this awful tragedy. And Greg, I'd be absolutely straight if there are people who feel that they have not been engaged with us, or we have not engaged with them, I would be delighted if they contacted me. And my email is L.O. Dwyer at Redcross.ie. And we will immediately follow up with them and meet with them. But I can assure you that we're making every effort at this stage through people who are our own members in Donegal, and then through our own staff member who is there every week for two days, and is available to meet anybody both within Kreisler or indeed from outside of Kreisler. Yeah, of course. And as I say, this is not in any way to have some sort of a hierarchy within it. It's just I'm being contacted by people who were not directly affected by it, but that were there and just feel that they're feeling left out. And I'm sure no one would want that, either those that were directly affected by it or the Red Cross. So at what stage then, when you have a plan formulated, do you think to allocate the bulk of this money to those that might need it, that in some way it might give them some space or whatever it might be required as they continue with their griefing process? Well, we will be bringing a proposal to the community following discussions with the families of the bereaved and those seriously affected by the tragedy. We'll be sharing that then with the community, getting their feedback. And it's at that stage, which I suspect it will be in early February that we will have a plan for the expenditure of the remaining mullies. But we're initially ensuring that we talk to people first and we consult and we listen. And so any of the contacts that you have, I would be delighted to hear from them and to ensure that their needs and their views are put into that mix. And the public's generosity continued over Christmas, didn't it? People still obviously, this is very, very recent and people continued to donate to the fund. They have continued to donate to the fund, Liam. Yeah, no, that is right. At the last time I was in Greece before, about two weeks before Christmas, I think the fund stood at that stage at 1.5 million, whereas now it has moved right up to 1.75 million. So that means that quite significant sums of money have come in over the Christmas period, which is very welcome. Okay, and this, I mean, obviously the public incredibly generous as it relates to this awful tragedy, but they were also invited to donate to the Red Cross, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Incredible generosity there as well. Oh, it's just extraordinary. I mean, the Irish public, the generosity in terms of the mullies given like 42 million in relation to Ukraine. And it's 1.75 for Cresla. It's quite extraordinary really, by when you look at Ireland and you look at the types of donations that are made, not just to the Red Cross, but to other organisations as well. Per head of population, Ireland is way out there. There's a real affinity with Irish people for people who are suffering. And we've seen it certain, well obviously in Cresla, but we've seen this with the people from Ukraine, not just with financially, but with offers of accommodation, offers of support around the country. And the manner in which communities have actually put their arms around people, particularly at the moment from Ukraine, and indeed from other international protection people, it's quite, it is hugely uplifting to be honest. Okay, and the money that raised for Ukraine, is that sent to Ukraine to help people in Ukraine, or is it distributed to Ukrainians now living in Ireland, or how does that work, Liam? It's both actually, so far out of the 42 million, just over 20 million has been moved already into Ukraine. We would move that into the Red Cross on the ground in Ukraine, and in Poland, and Hungary, etc., on the borders. So wherever any of the refugees are moving out of Ukraine, into some of the border countries, the Red Cross is there, the national organizations are there, and then the international organization of the Red Cross, they're on the ground providing medical facilities, and food, and indeed cash. So we would move all of the funds across to them to support that work. And then in Ireland we would have spent just over a million euros supporting the refugees coming here with vouchers and other supports, just to help them get over some immediate needs, because they would be arriving with very little. Okay, brilliant stuff, Liam, and in terms of the work that's being done. And finally, Liam, just to remind people who may have been affected by the Kriesla tragedy, who maybe haven't engaged with the Red Cross yet. So I know within the immediate area you've outlined quite clearly every effort that's being done there, but for those from perhaps outside the area who haven't been able to attend those meetings or weren't aware they were happening, but might feel that they were affected by it and might need some assistance from you. And of course that's up to the Red Cross to determine how do people get in contact? Well, I think email is obviously the easiest. So it's look, it's info at redcross.ie or directly to me. I have no issue with that. And that's elodewire at redcross.ie either of those two ways or indeed to pick up the phone and to ring the Red Cross here centrally at our head office and to ask to speak to somebody regarding the Kriesla fund and we'd be delighted to talk with them. All right, Liam, thank you for your time this morning. I appreciate it and good luck in your new role within the Irish Red Cross. Right. All right, take care. Bye-bye. Thanks so much, Liam.  A mixed reviews coming through. The impression wasn't... I hope no one got the impression that I was trying to question the work of the Red Cross. I just want to make sure that everybody who would be able to benefit from that fund is included. Some commenting that I was unfair and wondering who the producer is. It's Caroline. If you want to speak to her, you can. But another hi, Greg. I'm from Kriesla. Thank you for asking proper questions that everyone here is wondering. I'm not trying to create any controversy, by the way. I hope people understand that over the course of the last few months, many people, many people, 15, probably 20 people have contacted me either off air or on my social media or whatever or have come up to me in public with certain questions. And I have to try and make sure that they feel that their questions are answered as well. I'm not suggesting, for a second, there's anything controversial. I'm just trying to make sure that everything is done as that people feel, in answer to their questions, that they feel that everything is being done that can be done for everybody affected by it. It's all relative to each individual. The Nine Till Noon Show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union with monster loans available up to 60,000 euro for all occasions. Visit letterkennycu.ie Wintersale at Brian McCormick Sports now on, in-store and online. Discounts of up to 30% off. Assix, New Balance, Brooks, and Hoca Footwear. GT2000. Gel Cumulus. New Balance 880. Hoca Clifton 8 to name just a few. Treat your feet. In our Wintersale, grab a discount and stretch those legs. Look the part, play the part. In-store and online. Click and collect on BMC Sports.ie. Green Shoes Big Wintersale is now on with massive reductions. Up to 50% off across your favourite brands including Echo, Tommy Bow, Kate Appleby, Oona Healy, and many more. Make big savings on big name footwear. Shop LK and one for all gift cards accepted. Green Shoes at Market Square, Letter Kenny Shopping Centre, and in Fulcara. Or shop online at greenshoes.com.  New me, new Nissan. Life's too short. Spoil yourself. Go on, you're worth it. With Nissan's available for immediate delivery, don't let your neighbour outshine you. Calling today to find out why the Nissan range is unbeatable. With low interest rates available, it's an easy decision to start your 2023 on a good note. Visit imotors.ie or visit us in Mallon or Letter Kenny. Are you a leave and search student that is looking at your options for 2023? Or are you interested in upskilling and progressing in your career with a postgraduate degree or springboard funded course? Come along to ATU Donegall's open evening on Wednesday 18th of January from 47pm in our Letter Kenny campus. Talk to us about our part-time, flexible, postgraduate programmes, and find out all you need to know about eligibility and funding available through springboard. And learn more about our 20 brand new CAO programmes that will be available this year. ATU Donegall's open evening Wednesday 18th of January from 4pm to 7pm. See you there! As a family involved in the Chrysler tragedy, we haven't been invited to any meetings in Chrysler, say, as a caller there. What is the situation for all of those people who have lost their businesses through this tragedy? I would presume as well that that fund is... That's why you contact the Red Cross. Good morning, Greg. Can you explain or can he explain if the Red Cross take any percentage of the money funded for administration costs and if yes, how much? I know for a fact that they don't, in this particular, in the control of this fund. Good morning. All funeral expenses should be paid for for all the people that died in the awful tragedy. Greg, you can't give everyone money. It's not the way it works, just because you're from the area or surrounding area. It means nothing. People will be looking for free money. That's not the case at all. It's just to make sure that everyone who is affected by it, that was affected by it, because there are people... I know people have struggled to go back to work. I know people have struggled to get counselling and they haven't engaged because they weren't from the direct area and they felt that it didn't apply to them. And it's those people, just those trying to encourage that it is for them as well, okay? It's not to be in any way purposely insensitive. Right, good morning. I usually listen to Highland Radio via Alexia. I found recently that I have to say Alexia play Highland Radio on tuning in order for it to work without asking me for a subscription. So Open Highland Radio is the instruction. You shouldn't have to say Open Highland Radio on tuning in, but if that's what's working for you. Yeah, same here in Killy Gordon Elect is not working asking for a monthly subscription. So could any of you who text in saying, yet we have that problem, could you try on your speaker saying Open Highland Radio or play Highland Radio and see if that's fixed the problem for you. Ask for Highland Radio tuning and you won't be charged, okay? So you direct it to that specific app, okay? Remulton area, Alexia looking for payment to listen to Highland Radio. It's not just Highland Radio, by the way. It just may happen and we appreciated that were the station you ask for. But if you say Open Highland Radio or play Highland Radio on some listeners are saying, you have to say Open Highland Radio on tuning and then it works. Had that problem this morning, my house wouldn't work. So I had to say, Alexa, enable Highland Radio. She gave me three options and I'm listening now, thankfully. Well, it's very good to have you on board and many, many of you messaged in since we had that conversation with Oshin. So it was a few of you were messaging in with, initially with the problem, but it turns out it seems to have affected far more people. So hopefully we've resolved that for many of you. Very bad potholes in the BOF area. The BOF area on the Carcamone Road, the back road to Welchtown, also leading to narrow bridge known as Barney Loads. This bridge you may be aware of, used by many by passing Stranolle or Balabafe. The council have filled in these potholes on numerous occasions and the filling is gone the next day. It's a waste of money, they say. I'm not sure if it's done for program of works. Let me see. What did I want to read here? There was another one I wanted to read, but I don't have a great deal of time. Greg, can you give a heads up to other people twice recently in the last month? I've been notified by the NDLS to renew my driver's license online. My license isn't due for renewal until 2027. This is a scam, they're looking for your details. As I actually mentioned that one yesterday, it's not from the NDSL, it's someone else pretending to be from them. A few years ago, RT had a Euro song competition on the Late Late Show, featuring Brian Kennedy and other unknown artists. The viewers voted for the winning song. Part of the attraction was the fact that one viewer who voted for the winning song would win a new Renault car. Throughout the program, Pat Kenney updated us with which artist was winning the votes, i.e. Brian Kennedy. Viewers then voted for Brian in order to have a chance to win the car. No interest in any particular song as set up if ever there was one. And do you know what probably happened there? And sometimes it can happen accidentally. No one thought of it beforehand. I know we often think that, you know, Ah, well, the fix is in. I would say, I would say that what happened there is that someone didn't actually think it through properly. Dismember, haven't seen a comment from you for a while. Thank you. You're still watching UK listener, Alexa Open Highland Radio. Straight in as usual, Greg. Well, listen, thanks very much for that input. Back with more after the news and obituary notices. The 9 till noon show with letter Kenny Credit Union. Do you need to switch your current account or loan? We are now offering my CU current account and debit mastercard, bringing full banking features and competitive rates with your loans. Don't sleep in and miss the very latest beds and mattress offers from dfibeds.ie. Ireland's leading online bed and mattress retailer. You'll get a comfy Irish made mattress, a postard base and headboard from an amazing 229 euro. Check out the full range at dfibeds.ie. Delivery free and guaranteed to you within seven working days. DFI beds, sleep well, live well. Thinking about joining AIB? 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Donegal County Council, serving the people and heritage of Donegal. Donald Kavanaugh, good morning. A post mortem examination is to be carried out on the body of a woman who died following a road traffic collision in Kili Beggs. The pedestrian who was in her 60s was struck by a silver Ford van on the Donegal road close to the community centre in Kili Beggs shortly before six o'clock last evening. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Inspector Seamus McGonigal heads up the Garther Roads policing unit in Donegal on today's 9 till noon show. He made this appeal for witnesses. We're making an appeal at this stage for any witnesses. A good number of witnesses have already made themselves known to Guardi. And also for any drivers who may have been in the vicinity that have a dashcam footage that they can make that available to us. The roads close, it'll remain closed I'd say until at least the early afternoon. There's forensic collision investigators at the scene and PSV inspectors etc. Hopefully early to mid-afternoon we get the road opened again. The chairperson of the Micah Action Group says the government continues to drag its heels on crucial elements of the campaign for 100% redress. Homeowners affected by defective blocks had sought updates on a promised review of the IS465 standard and the inclusion of piratite in the scheme. In response, the department stated those reviews would not be complete until the end of this year. Their homeowners are also awaiting clarification on the issue of foundations and whether or not they will be included in the scheme. Lisa Holne says interim measures are needed, but she says there's no urgency from the department. It's very disappointing that we've not got some sort of interim measure where the government recognizes the signs that's being reported in terms of the evidencing of iron sulfides in a lot of the concrete blocks. It really is of paramount importance that we understand this as soon as possible and to wait a year to come to a conclusion on this is just really really unacceptable and highly irresponsible, quite honestly. Cabinet is meeting this morning with the issue of refugee accommodation high on the agenda. It's believed it'll become increasingly more difficult to accommodate refugees in the coming weeks and months with many government contracts with hotel providers about to expire. With more, here's Ifa Kearns. At a meeting later today, the Minister for Integration and Children, Roderick O'Gorman, is expected to warn his government colleagues of the pressing issue facing them in the coming months when it comes to finding shelter for refugees. Minister O'Gorman is also expected to press colleagues on the need to reduce reliance on private operators and build its own accommodation. At the moment, many refugees are being accommodated in hotels, however, many of the hotels under contract with the government are expected to revert to tourism from March and April. In total last year, Ireland took in 70,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine and its anticipated Minister O'Gorman will reiterate his view that Ireland has done remarkably well in this regard. Irish Water says repairs to a burst water main may cause supply disruptions in Crawley, Manifast, Anagree, Maladof, Kerrytown and surrounding areas in West Donegal today. The works are set to take place until two o'clock this afternoon. There may also be some traffic disruption as a result of the ongoing works. Bank of Ireland has announced an 11.5 million euro investment in upwards to its branches nationwide. The investment will include installation of new internal and external ATMs in Balabafe and Bunkrana. The bank says works will also take place at their other six Donegal branches to install more energy-efficient lights and that they say should reduce energy consumption by around 50% in its branches. And some minimum wage rates have been described as discriminatory and disrespectful. The mandate trade union wants them scrapped. The union says a 17-year-old in retail gets paid 30% less per hour than a 20-year-old simply because of their age. Assistant Mandate General Secretary Jonathan Hogan says the government must act. Government do have an opportunity to scrap the sub-minimum rates, do the right thing for young workers who are out there walking in the economy, giving it 100%, trying to pull field on the table, trying to pay their college fees, trying to pay rent and rates like everyone else. And they need to be supported now more than ever. We'll call on the government to change this immediately. Windy and showery today, very strong gusts of winds in coastal areas, in particular the showers will merge into longer spells of rain as the day goes on. Some isolated thunderstorms and hail are likely across the region. Highest temperatures today, five to nine degrees Celsius, mostly strong and gusty westerly winds. And that's Highland Radio News. We're back with headlines again at 11 o'clock until then, from the news team. Good morning. The abuture notices for this Wednesday morning, the 11th of January. The death has occurred of Mary Ward, Drimla Drid, Lechamac Award. Her remains will be reposed at Midlands Funeral Home from three o'clock until Rosary at eight o'clock today and tomorrow. Removal from there on Friday morning at quarter to 11 for 11 o'clock mass in Dunlowe Chapel, followed by burial in the local cemetery. The death has occurred of Mary McKelvey, Carrick-Namanna, Kelly Gordon. Her remains will repose at her late residence from six o'clock this evening. Funeral from there on Friday afternoon at half past 12, for Requiem mass in St Patrick's Church, Crossroads, Kelly Gordon at one o'clock, followed by interment in the adjoining church yard. The Requiem mass will be streamed live on the St Patrick's Church, Crossroads, Kelly Gordon Facebook page. The death has taken place of Fenula Bryson, Naekel Hoon, 47, Hampstead Park, Derry, formerly of the Green, Kenny Cally, St Johnson. Fenula is reposing at her home in Hampstead Park, Derry. Funeral from there tomorrow morning at half past 11, for Requiem mass at 12 noon in St Patrick's Church, Pennyburn, followed by interment in St Baton's cemetery, St Johnson. Family time, please, from 10 p.m. to 11 a.m. Family flowers only, please. Donations in Lua flowers if desired. To the friends of Admiral Galvin, Ward 26. The death has taken place of Dana Tai, One Marion Park, Bunkranna. Dana's remains will repose at One Marion Park from four o'clock this afternoon. Removal from there on Friday morning at quarter past 10, traveling to St Mary's Church, Cockhill, for 11 o'clock Requiem mass with burial in the adjoining cemetery. House private, please, from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. and on Friday morning before the funeral. The death has occurred of Barney McGraw, 25, Hillview Park, Castle Durg, formerly of Barney McAvony, Pettigo. Barney's remains are reposing at his late home with removal from there this evening at 20 to 6, arriving at St Patrick's Church, Castle Durg, at 6 o'clock to repose overnight. Requiem mass will be celebrated tomorrow morning at 10, followed by interment in the adjoining churchyard. The house is private, please, to family and close friends. And the death has taken place of Peggy Medinci, 19, St Agnes Terrace, Bunkranna. Remains reposing at McLaughlin's funeral home, Bunkranna, with viewing from 2 o'clock until 4 o'clock each afternoon until Friday. Removal from there on Friday afternoon at 4, going to her residence. Funeral from there on Saturday morning to St Mary's Church, Cock Hill, for 11 o'clock, Requiem mass, with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. For more details, including Annie Family Health guidelines for wakes and funerals, please go to highlandvideo.com. So it's important to review your home insurance cover to make sure you have the right cover for your needs. Under insurance happens where there's a difference between the value of your cover and the cost of repairing damage or replacing contents. It's a risk you can avoid. Review your home insurance policy regularly. For more, visit understandinginsurance.ie forward slash under insurance. Brought to you by Insurance Ireland. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at highlandradio.com. All right, Alexa, working in Remelton now. If you say open highland radio, great news. Please ask, this is separate of course, please ask when is the next meeting on the Chrysler Fund, its location and its time. If that information is passed to me, I'm more than happy to get it out there on air and on social media. Greg, it's the government who wants the refugees, not the people. The people want a copy at the people who are supposed to serve us say they aren't having one. Well done on highlighting the Red Cross Fund. I sure hope the Red Cross distribute the money better to Chrysler than they did during the flooding. I'm a victim of the flooding and I can assure you very little money was paid out to the victims. I'm not suggesting in any way at all that there's any question marks over the distribution of the money. It's just to make sure that all of those affected feel that they're included. How much does the Red Cross take out for themselves? At the beginning, I asked that question and it was zero. I presume that hasn't changed. I hope Minister McConaughey digs his heels in with Quiltshire does not allow our land to be sold off. Well, he's joining me later on in the show, I'll ask him. Bottom line is as though Quiltshire do not need his or the government's endorsement in their plan and what that is effectively is that a UK pension fund is going to invest in the purchase of land and they will get a dividend from it. Of course, there's grants and what have you and it's to get a return for their pension fund and it will be delivered then to the people when they are due to get their pension and Quiltshire saying unequivocally they're saying that the only way they can actually meet their targets for 2050 in terms of the plantation of trees is if they source private money. They can't do it on their own. Greg, if you're crabbed this morning, I must be crabbed also. I wasn't impressed this morning when I heard that on past we're raising the price of a stamp to 135. I wonder will it help with quarantined guarantee delivery? I doubt it. I posted Christmas cards locally on the 16th of December in the main depot post box and they still haven't arrived 26 days later. I'm so upset because they were to my grandchildren. I phoned the HQ in Dublin yesterday, they got to speak to a human after 39 minutes to be told that he could do absolutely nothing about it because I didn't have a tracking number for them. Not a happy Bonnie with unpost while we'll be crabbed together, hopefully. It might even be a nicer surprise if they do land. I hope he didn't send cash. Hopefully it's a nicer surprise when they do land a little bit later on. Back to the speakers. Greg, if you tell Alexa to play 103.3. It works and I do not be asked for a subscription. Good morning, Greg and Ashene. It's a very wet one. Happy new year to you and yours to all at Highland Radio Health and Happiness and hope it's a good one for all. I enjoyed the crack with Ashene. He's an absolute whiz when it comes to modern technology and a real asset to Highland. You'd be lost without him. And also young Kevin Fury. I'm amazed by his talents and skill when it comes to technical matters, both of them a top of things well done. And I know they'll keep up the good work. Thanks, Greg, for all your great work and shows and to all at Highland for all the top class shows. There's no show like a Highland show and it always makes my day. I couldn't imagine life for that Highland. Have a good day. Safe home from Mary, Catherine and Andrea in Desert Martin. Well, Andrea, Mary and Catherine, you would swear me, Ashene and Kevin had fed you all that information to say about us. It's very nice of you. We really appreciate it. And it's to... That's why I come in to work every... To try and engage with people and help people and that's why I do it. I wouldn't mind doing a different type of job. I'm not a slave to radio either, but I do it because I feel like it can make some difference somewhere. I appreciate your feedback there as well. Are you all familiar with Chat GPT? I mentioned this on the programme a wee while ago and I think this is going to be huge. It's artificial intelligence. This year in terms of what artificial intelligence can do is unbelievable. But Chat GPT is a... It's a free source that anyone can use and it is just remarkable. It doesn't just cut and paste from the internet. It sources audio and text from all over the world and you can give it a command to do something. You can give it a command to write a sonnet in the style of Oscar Wilde or in the style of Eminem or in the style of Louis Capaldi and it will create a new piece of work that many experts are finding difficult to distinguish what might actually be real work. And what I think is going to be a big conversation in the months and years to come is school submitted work that likes of essays or poems or stuff that you do at home for homework. This programme, Chat GPT, I'm not giving away any secrets here by the way because it's your young ones. If you don't know about it, your young ones know about it. It's a bit like that Andrew Tate. If you don't know who he is, your young ones know who he is. And it is remarkable what it can do. I think there's going to be problems in terms of actually songwriting, poetry, book writing, essays. It can produce a four page essay for you in three or four seconds. And I think those in education need to be talking about this right now. We're lining up an expert to talk about it on the programme tomorrow. And what I might do actually overnight is create some examples of what this stuff can do. There's also artificial intelligence now that works with it in terms of image creation and creativity. It is crazy. And this stuff is not actually currently at the moment working on real time stuff. It's not sourcing real time data. It's sourcing all its information from billions of words, poems, songs, scripts, whatever it might be. It's sourcing them from an internet archive when they switch on to what this chat GPT and others that might follow it can do when it's accessing real world data. It truly is a game changer because it can write a love letter for you. I'm sure it can write a poem for you. It can write an essay, as I said, for you. It can write a sonnet for you. It can write limericks for you. It can create quizzes for you. It can do anything, anything for you. And it doesn't just cut and paste it so that you couldn't say, oh, well, the teacher will spot it because of plagiarism. It creates new work. So tune in tomorrow. I'm going to speak to an expert about that and tease that out a bit more. But I can tell you right now in terms of... It won't happen now, but I guarantee you the minister of education will be chatting about chat GPT before the year's out, even before the next exam start. Mark, my word's on it. Right, okay. We will be back with a conversation from a former senior member of the Guarati about a new policing model from regardless of your corner that's being rolled out. It's going to be an interesting conversation. Stay where you are. Cutting Through the Spin. The Ninetal Noon Show on Highland Radio. It's time for NCBI Bingo on Highland Radio. It's Wednesday, the 11th of January. You're playing on the blue sheet. The reference number is S8. It's game number two. The numbers are... And finally, 81. Phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight. Leave in your name, contact number, and the name of the shop where you purchased your book.  Get all your NCBI Bingo information at HighlandRadio.com. You may think you know driving, but you don't know Nissan e-power. An electric motor that brings you the performance and response on the road that you demand, charged by a petrol engine as you drive. The thrill and economy of electric driving without ever having to plug in. And it's exclusive to Nissan. 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It's only going to be a short-term outage apparently, but 15,000 premises are affected in West Onigal. Ardina Gappari, they're stating that the fault is out, but it's in and around the Derrybeg, Guidorre, Bonbeg, Karakfin, that kind of area. 15,000 of you without power. We were talking earlier on about your smart speakers, they probably switched off at the moment, but I wonder was that connected to the reports of lightning we were receiving as well. Right, John O'Brien is author and former Detective Chief Superintendent with Ungoddessy Econa. He joins us on the programme now. John, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it greatly. Greg, good morning. Good to speak with you. Right, okay, so what is your initial views on Drew Harris and his vision for Guard of Policing and his Guard of Policing model? Okay, I'm kind of smiling to myself here at the thought of a vision, but really what we're talking about this morning is the policing model that Mr. Harris has been started to roll out in 2019 and he was probably interrupted by the COVID in 2021 and into 2022. And there is a meeting of the Joint Policing Committee in Donegal on the 16th and reading your local media there there's been lots of questions asked about the efficacy of this model and why it doesn't work. And that's really what my interest is. I've written long and hard about it, but I have refined my kind of critique if you like down to five or six simple questions. Let me ask two obvious ones then. Under this new policing model, do you think firstly that people will feel there is an improved or static Guard of Presence? And secondly, do you think that over time people will feel that if I call the guards, the call will be answered and they will be there as quickly as possible? Because I think those are the two sort of basic expectations people have of the force. Absolutely, and that is the expectation right across this country of five million people from North, South, East and West. So the question is that you pause. Will the guards arrive more quickly to my house than did it previously? Will their guards be more in evidence than they have been here before? And we're talking about normal general policing norms here, Greg. We're not talking about, you know, they'd be exotic in the drugs operations or whatever we could be. The bottom line is that Mr. Harris has not answered that question because that calls for metrics on numbers, i.e. in Leher Kinney this morning if somebody is looking for assistance in their house or in their shop or in their business, how long would it take a guard patrol to get there? And unless Mr. Harris can say, look, under this new system, we have refined our responses to people looking for emergency cover in this way and they will now get to you. There have been no, there he has offered no evidence of the metrics that would improve in relation to this model, i.e. either more guards on your street or a quicker response to your calls for, you know, for an emergency. And also too, you know, maybe flip the question around as well. We talk, you know, criminality in crime. We talk about it as if it's, you know, it's not a living being. But criminals are watching this information as much as members of the public are. Another question for you, will criminals feel that they're inhibited in their criminal activity or will they feel that they, you know, are more or less likely to be caught? Because I think really that's almost as important as my first two questions. Yeah, and in all of my experiences in the early 40 years in policing and indeed academic research as well, the one critical thing is for all of us, you know, normal lives and if we do something that's either criminal or an offense or whatever, there's one singular thought in our mind, Greg, is will we be caught? At their consequences. That's it. And the, my simple point though in all of this is and the JPC is the great as far as is, Mr. Harris should be able to answer simple questions like that in a specific way. I don't want to hear bland assurances. This is the 21st, you know, policing service for the 21st century. It's one give us the numbers. Like, for instance, what are the impacts in terms of cost benefit in terms of human and the human benefits and the financial terms? And how are you evaluating this in a way like if this is a business, Greg, if this is a business, and I was trying to sell you a share in this business, you say to me, okay, John, come on, tell me what's this going to cost me? How would it operate better? And give me the numbers. And by the way, most critically and importantly, what model is this based on? Where is this nirvana of policing that you suddenly plucked out of the air and you drop right down on the table right across this. So the JPC members should be asking specific questions. I was also like to ask, how can a model for Galway County be equally applied for a county like Donegal, which has obviously a massive land border with Northern Ireland and a massive sea border? Like, is this policing model flexible? Because it would be, I presume it's a completely different requirement for a geographically county lucked like we are in Donegal. Then it might be safe, for instance, for Galway County. Yeah, that's a terrific point, Greg. I mean, the bottom line is, and they've looked at this and studied it backwards and forwards and based on my own operational experience of command at different guard divisions, is this, believe it or not, is our one size fits all. And by the way, the Assistant Commissioner of Responsibility for Donegal is based in Galway. And that officer who was an excellent officer has a span of control all the way from Galway across to Greenore and right up to the top of the initial peninsula. I mean, this thing is absolutely probably the single biggest attack on the general policing structure that I'm aware of in recent times. See, John, what worries me is you say, when we talk about models, like, say, for instance, the ambulance model that we employ, that say, let's use Galway City, I don't know why I keep going back to Galway, but they have ambulance in different places and they respond at different times. And that might work in a small urban area, but it seems to me they use pretty much the same model with an ambulance in Dunlowe, Caracan-Shanan, Donagall Town, South Innishown, Letter Kenny Dunlowe, and they try and employ a similar model over a broad county as they might in a sort of an urban environment. And if we go down the same road with policing, again, it might work very well in an urban environment or a smaller county, but covering the distance you're talking of here, it requires a different approach. That's what worries me. You know, and the key point in this is, all policing, just like politics, is local. That's the key thing. And there's a demographical shape and size to that, i.e., how far do you have to travel, how far does the service you have to go to get to you in your house, in your home, or how far do you have to come to that service? And this model does not have the flexibility on this. It actually has dismantled a system that was far more attuned to the local needs than this one is. And I know that the good-guarded officers who have been asked to explain this many of them do not believe in this system. And I mean, of course, they would be diplomatic in terms of the public discourse. I've been around this country last year as part of another brief talking to current colleagues in the organization. I haven't found anyone that says, oh my god, we have arrived. This is the way that we want to do it. But the key thing here is service delivery. And the questions for the commissioner are those kind of ones.  So there are some very specific questions that he needs to be able to get precise answers to. I've listened very carefully to different presentations that the commissioner has given and they are very bland assessments, our assertions of what will happen. It is not a system that is tailored to the needs of Donnie Gull as the thing from Galway or Cavern or Cork. And you talk of the recruitment to the problem with recruitment, too, is there's an experience drain, almost a brain drain, because we are seeing left, right and center senior guard retire. And even if, you know, as recruitment slows down, there's an experience deficit in there somewhere that I believe requires a targeted approach. I would like to ask Drew Harris, what's he going to do about that? You know, as you bring new recruits through as much of a struggle as it is, we're going to get to a point where people are retwe... The experience will be gone as these people come through. What are they going... What happens in that situation? And yeah, of course. And of course, the more basic question Greg is, you know, change is not necessarily the same thing as progress. And why is he right now doing this? I mean, what is the imperative? By the way, right now, the guard in terms of the public approval rating is extremely high. What is it that requires this? Absolutely. By the way, there's nearly 17,000 people in the guards. Every single one of those people, that's between the civilian and the guard of the school, every one of these people are affected or will be affected by this system. What is the need for this absolute drastic change? I mean, please explain to us why this is a better way of doing things. Now, say for instance at the moment, we have a pilot system running in Donegal at the moment. It came in under the radar, whereby if you call your local 24-7 station, say Ballishannon or Milford, for example, and your call requires a guard a response, that guard in that station transfers you to a civilian in Galway and then they deal with your inquiry. Now, I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. It's a pilot project. But who judges what is successful or not? Like, would we not, as the public, need to know what the metrics are or what the measurements are of whether or not?  Like, do you think there should be a little bit more transparency about huge changes like that so that we can understand or it could be asked at the JPC meeting? We understand what the reason behind it is, what the expected result is and what is the bar for it to be deemed a success. Well, again, the point in that is very straightforward. If you run a pilot project on anything, the other part of that methodology, Greg, is you also run a controlled sample, which is you don't change anything. So you select two areas, and in the one area, let's call it area B, you introduce a totally new system of operation for a period of time and you have, side by side with that, a similar demographical division that's called a division, box B, and you do nothing in that. And then in a proper professional evaluating way, you compare the results from A and B, and you didn't decide on the basis of that. This is the way forward or it needs to be modified. And this is the key point in this operating model, is there has never been a public explanation of any pilot project, because it was conducted in relation to this new system, using that well wordedly. It is totally like being blindfolded, standing with your back to the dashboard and throwing your dart and hoping to hit the bullseye. It just, it does not make sense. You see, my concern is that things are viewed on a national level. So let's say, for instance, public transport. You know, you can have Amy and Ryan come on and say, we've invested two billion in public transport in the first six months of this year, but 99% of that could be for one new Lewis route in Dublin.  Similarly, in terms of national statistics, this new model might look very well because it works very well in urban areas where more people live. And rural parts could be collateral damage. So in other words, we live in Donegal and on the face of it, on a national level, you can make a very strong argument that something is working, but then you drill down into particular areas. The model does not work. It cannot apply in those areas, but because we're small in population terms, just 160,000 in this whole massive county, we really are, as I say, it's almost like a tax for living in those areas. We see in different areas of spending and policy. Yeah, and the key thing is, there's no reason to believe that it will work in an urban area either. Right, okay. That's the bottom line. I mean, the logic of this simply is not permeable. You cannot put your hands on it and grab your hands around it because none of the normal business processes that would apply to major chains have been applied in this. I mean, one simple thing would happen in any organization where you're implementing enormous change involving 17,000 people and 5 million of customers at the other end, you would have an independent or at least a scrutiny group who would look at the progress of the new system that you're doing and who would offer advice and who would make a judgment as to whether this is operating or not. I mean, look, you mentioned it already in passing. There's kind of three aspects to general policing in our country. One is the urban. The second one is the rule with some mix of urban rule and the third one is border and like your county in Donegal embodies that classic one, it's a rule with some urban mix and it is border to an external degree. Now, what works in that territory doesn't necessarily work in another one because your own county has its own individual dynamics, its own individual problems. By the way, can I just say something before we finish this morning is that terrible tragedy increased law a few months back. There was an iconic image that I saw of that and it was a very young guard and a woman back to camera and the guard has got his hand around the shoulder of the woman comforting her because obviously she's upset and she has her arm around the guard. Now, look, that might sound very airy fairy to some people but for me and for all of my career and many of my hundreds and my thousands of colleagues is that's the relationship that we've had with the general public where it's our job, our responsibility to take care of them and they have to trust us in that and when you do something like this you better have a very good reason for doing it and you ought to be prepared to answer the key metric questions that go to whether the system works or not. All right, very finely separately but maybe not. Do you think our deal had to retire too early once the years are up that they should be, you know, that we don't, that that retirement age or the term should change so that we don't lose so much experience? Yeah, in short, we should not lose valuable experience and of course that has to be balanced against the need to have young, fresh, you know, talent in the organization. I mean, a classic example would be say somebody who holds a command rank now and who, you know, for reasons that make sense, want to work on you retain them in an advisory capacity, you retain them in a supplementary one, you know, you no longer ask them to operate at the high command level or at the medium command level. And to say it would apply to guards with unique experience and so on. And there are different and imaginative ways of doing that so you don't lose the experience. I mean, like I've been talking to retired guards and serving guards around the country and there is enormous enthusiasm there and pretty much retired as well to continue to serve. During the pandemic, my organization, the GSRMA to gather retired association offered to facilitate and to help in relation to any of the call centers that were being manned. So there's a great reservoir of enthusiasm and experience that's of tremendous value. And I just don't see the logic behind the current system and the numbers that support it in a business-like way. Mr. Harris should be able to answer a half a dozen simple questions and then people can judge for themselves whether they're going in the right direction or not. All right, so you want specifics to answers, not just stock answers when Drew Harris meets with the Donegal JPC. That's what you would expect from members that we don't have generic catch-all answers, that we have explanations to those answers. Many years ago, I did different programs with Vincent Brown. And Vincent Brown was a famous character. And his famous line of his laws and often addressed to the politicians' laws is as you come in here, he says, and you won't answer a straight question. I know how that feels. So the bottom line, and this is very simple, Mr. Harris or whoever is there and the professional people, and that's why they're paid for is to respond, is will you answer the question? How can you measure this? What's your reason for taking this project in the first place? Be quite specific with your answers.   Please be specific with your answers. John O'Brien, fascinating. Thank you so much indeed. I really appreciate your time. Author, commentator and former detective chief superintendent of Vangadish Yukana. Have a lovely day. Greg, my pleasure. Thank you very much. Bye-bye. Text or WhatsApp your view to Greg on 086-60-25000. The Ninetal Noon Show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. 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Like to eat well all week at amazing Aldi prices? I like the sound of that. Feed the family for under five euro with delicious spaghetti and Irish meatballs. Enjoy super six fresh meat offers and save one euro on three percent fat Irish beefmints was $4.79 now $3.79 in store from January 5th. And with Aldi savers enjoy our specially selected Irish pasta sauce was $1.85 now $1.49 in store from January 2nd. I don't like it. I love it. Aldi, every day amazing. Donegal Denture Clinic, letter Kenny. Denture problems? We can help. At Donegal Denture Clinic, we customize, personalize and tailor your dentures to suit you. Call us for a free consultation on 9 1 25 25 3. Find us at Balli Rain letter Kenny beside Rossum College. Medical cards welcome for all your denture needs called Donegal Denture Clinic on 9 1 25 25 3. Online at Donegal Denture Clinic dot i e. Now Donegal is going to be really well represented at the Irish National Final of the Eurovision. Leila Jane hailing from letter Kenny in Donegal is taking part and joins us on the program now. Leila, good morning to you. Good morning. How are you keeping? I'm very well, very excited and ready. Yeah. And how long, how long since you submitted your song for this competition? I'm pretty sure I submitted it just before the deadline. So I think that was like October or something. Yeah. So it's all happened very quickly. And then when, when were you told that you were selected? I think it might have been like early December. Okay. So it's still a quick turnaround, isn't it? And you're performing as well on the program at the start of February. And this is just, you know, another part of your career, which is growing really, really well for you in terms of, I mean, Imelda may shoot you popular on this, on this radio station. She selected you as her recipient of the Imelda May scholarship at BIM Institute Dublin.  What did that mean for you? It just, I guess it made me feel like I was on the right path anyway. And it was kind of, you know, before starting a degree like that, you're always kind of a bit anxious, but it gave me a bit of reassurance and just a lot of confidence to just go for it. And does entering the Eurovision and the, because ultimately this is what is about, does this fit in with your, as you see your sort of career path, or is this a bit of a leap of faith for you, or what's your feelings about it? I think it's a great opportunity, and I love that it's just about the song and that you can be your own artist and you can be yourself. To be honest, I hadn't thought of entering this until I was actually contacted by an Estonian songwriter who had this song idea, and she found me on the Dublin City Today busking YouTube channel and just wanted me to be there. These musicians have the most random things that happen to get you to some place. So an Estonian songwriter found you on a Dublin busking YouTube channel effectively and reached out wishing to collaborate with you with a view to entering Eurovision or just with a review to working with you? No, she specifically had something going for the Eurovision, yeah. And I was just like, yeah, okay, why not? All right, okay. So, and Aaron Sibley's also worked on this track. So what is the workload there amongst the three of you in terms of, you know, is it three of your songwriting or composing musical heads? That'll work, Leila. Well, I think it was really the Estonian songwriter List's Hanlow who had the initial idea and I suppose the song is about feminine fearlessness and just sort of going for it. So it was a theme that I could really get behind and I think that Aaron kind of helped with, you know, maybe structurally and lyrically and then we also took the song to Finnish producer who was great. It's just so great to have like someone who's great at all the technical stuff and, you know, making the song a reality. Because of course too, this is not simply just entering and it's not simply at all entering a national competition to be selected with a view to going on to representing Ireland in the Eurovision. The track is released as well. It stands on its own two feet. This is a piece of work that you are pulling out there for public consumption as well as but also outside the Eurovision itself. Yes, yes. And it's a great challenge for me and it's kind of like I, my last release was very sort of indie pop. It was kind of getting more closer and closer towards pop and now this is like, you know, full on dance pop. So you've just completely sold out at this point.  Yeah, but you know, I think it's fun. Of course it is and that's what has to be fun, doesn't it? Whatever we do in life, we have to enjoy it. So we're going to listen to the track obviously once we've concluded the chat. But do you say at some point through the process is this Eurovision-y? Does that happen now or is the competition at the point now whereby that doesn't really matter as much as you put out your best song, your best performance and you know, it's a fantastic platform and if it catches the imagination, it will so be it. I think that is true but I had this song and I definitely thought, oh, you know, this is a song that could be on Eurovision totally. It's very catchy and as well as just being a good song on its own. I really think that I could imagine performing it on Eurovision. It's funny, there's not too many sort of specifics that you can say that about songs. Eurovision is one where you can say something that's very Eurovision-y. The other one is it sounds like a very like a James Bond theme. They're kind of unique sounds. I can't think of many other examples. So Leila, what musically, artistically do you hope for your future? Are you primarily a performer or your producer, songwriter? I mean, obviously you have a first-class honours music degree so you know, in terms of educating others that that's there for you as well, I'm sure. So what do you hope the next say horrible question the next five years has in store for you? I suppose just I've been challenging myself in terms of performance a lot because initially my main reason for getting into all this was because I just love singing like as simple as that. So and my last EP I was able to sort of arrange everything myself and that's very satisfying. But I just love collaborating with people and this has really given me the chance to do that. And so I hope in the future whatever happens I would still love to work with this team that I've met for this Eurovision. I still love to work with them further and perhaps do some more songwriting. Yeah and perhaps in interviews with the musicians I overuse the word momentum because I think it's really it's quite an important word I think for people at certain stages of the career because of course you have that fantastic endorsement from Imeldo May. You know, Carl Morris spoken very fondly of you. You've got this amazing platform coming up shortly and you've got all this ambition and it just you need things to all just click into place so that this momentum actually springs board you spring boards you to precisely where you want to be with your career. So I presume it's about as many people as possible sharing your art with you. Yes, definitely. And I feel just so lucky and there's definitely been a lot of momentum recently and I had a bike accident in August and ever since that I was working as a Deliveroo rider and ever since then everything just seemed to fall into place like it seems like the universe was telling me no, no, no, you have to keep singing. I can see where you guys now get your songwriting from because you know I mean there's a track in there somewhere.  Set up the song for us you give us a brief synopsis of what you feel your song is about. So just to explain that a little bit more for us. Yes it's well it's mainly about I suppose feminine courage and freedom and kind of embracing your yourself and your weirdness and just going through it which I feel is what I'm maybe doing here. And I love the song because I suppose most sort of love songs are all about like oh I really need you and you know I need this person to make me whole whereas this song is just like no just give me some space I'm kind of I'm good on my own I'm good to face the world alone and that's what makes me feel most. But you know in a way life's going to be imitating art I think because this is a song that you're sort of stepping out maybe if you're in the comfort zone a little bit you're going to have to perform it. You're going to be out there on the stage on your own so really maybe in a way your life is following the track of this song. So how do you know how you're going to present your performance on the night Leila? Yes well I'm working with a choreographer from Canada called Kai or Michelle her name is Michelle but she goes by stage name of Kai and it's been great she was also in the music video for this song so you can kind of get a bit of a sneak peek at what might happen you know in the main performance. Super. Yeah okay well I wish you nothing but success we have 40% of the acts in the show are going to be based or frowned on it all which is quite impressive when you think about it and then Johnny Rotten's in there so it's got to be an eclectic mix I think on the night in question and we wish you as I say wish you every success and I hope if people prefer your song that they do make the effort to vote for it as well because sometimes we can prefer something and sit in our hands but you need people to get behind you. Yes definitely so please if you like the song anyway even if you're not even into your vision like just make the effort and tune in and vote for me. Lovely and in terms of the song itself it's available now you've released it you've obviously mentioned there's a video there so I presume YouTube Layla Jane you'll find it there yeah. Yes you will Layla Jane Wild and it's out on all streaming platforms and YouTube yeah. All right okay I think you're gonna do really well thanks Layla appreciate your time today have a lovely day and best of luck. Thank you so much. Bye bye take care okay let's hear her track. Layla Jane Wild there it's a great song now whether or not it wins the final competition or wins your vision I don't think it's I think it's a good song anyway it's a good track that should be playlisted everywhere I think because it's an Irish artist and we need to do more to support them and I think it's brilliant but whether or not it wins the competition or can do very well in your vision it's hard to say because it's very someone mentioned too about how yeah here this is a comment last five Irish year vision entrance book Scholley 23 Leslie Roy 33 Sarah McTurnen 23 Ryan O'Shaughnessy 26 Brendan Murray 21 not exactly the same old stages I was on about who selects the artists um and um that's it it's not the performers it was about who's selected because it's very easy to go well who do you line up on a panel you go to you know you have some random not random that sounds disrespectful don't mean like that you have someone on off a pop station and then you have Johnny Logan or you have Linda Martin or whatever it might be and just think of doing things a little bit differently people resist change because if it's broke if it's not broke it doesn't appear broke don't fix it I think a lot of people sort of employ that mantra right Damien McCarthy is of the guard of representative association he joins us on the program now Damien um you're uh you're very welcome to the program thank you very much for joining us good morning um 1,826 official complaints were made to the guard ombudsman in uh 2022 um what's your sorry actually in total 1,826 official complaints were made to the guard ombudsman in 2022 that's uh fewer than the previous year are you surprised by that so either the scale of the figure for 2022 or the fact that it's down on 2021 no I'm not surprised by the figure what I am um what I'd like to comment on is the amount of investigations that have not been upheld in terms of of guards uh uh being involved in any type of corrupt or improper practice and I think the figures speak for themselves because not alone last year and year before the vast vast majority of complaints that have been made to the garish economy ombudsman commission have not been upheld and I'm just concerned in relation to the amount of complaints that have been discontinued that contained criminal and allegations of wrongdoing I think the the the guard of colleagues I represent are losing confidence and faith in the ombudsman in their ability to prosecute uh people who make false and malicious complaints against uh guard members okay but I would say the majority aren't false or or uh malicious I would say the majority of people perhaps aren't happy with the rules that the guard are being asked to enforce everybody has an entitlement uh to make a complaint to the independent body that's responsible uh for receiving allegations of wrongdoing against guards every guard I represent and talk to and walk to has no difficulty with independent oversight what we have a difficulty with is when people make false allegations I've had experience of dealing with uh these type of investigations since 2007 I will give you a wide range of examples where people have made false complaints against guards I represent and we also know that these complaints can sexual assault yeah theft um common assault uh and we have produced evidence that contradicts what a complainant has said there's a specific section in the legislation that is supposed to protect members of the garish economy from people who provide false and misleading information to the guard ombudsman and unfortunately we have lost confidence uh and trust in anybody to invoke that piece of legislation and unfortunately you know these allegations can a false allegations can hang over people's heads for a long time and can have tragic consequences as well we know that it can indeed and and I have dealt with guards who have had very difficult experience over one year two years and even up to three years where they have been waiting to be exonerated from serious allegations of wrongdoing and a number of questions have to be asked what has been done about this what are the policing authority doing about this is anybody examining why a large number of complaints are being discontinued and when guards ask questions as to why have why why hasn't anyone been held accountable there seems to be a deafening silence in relation to that it's damaged the credibility of gene stock and it's damaged or confidence in a body that's supposed to be impartial all right damien mccarthy of the god of representative association thanks for your time this morning the nine till noon show is brought to you by letter kenny credit union with monster loans available up to 60 000 euro for all occasions visit letter kennycu.ie the two we live happy sale is here with savings of up to 250 euro per booking free child places even in the school summer holidays low booking deposits from 50 euro per person with holidays to 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live now on youtube facebook and at highland radio dot com news update time good morning donal kavna thank you great good morning post mortem examination has been carried out on the body of a woman who died following a road traffic collision in kili begs the pedestrian a local woman in her 60s was struck by a silver van on donnie gall road in kili begs close to the community center shortly before six o'clock last evening the road will remain closed until this afternoon as a garther forensic examination continues gar thee are urging any witnesses to come forward they're also anxious to see any dash cam footage that may have captured what was happening in the area around about that time as cabinet discusses the ongoing health crisis there were 528 patients waiting beds in irish hospitals this morning according to figures just released by the irish nurses and men's organization 33 of them in letter kenny 11 on emergency department trolleys 22 in slago 16 of them in the ed meanwhile cabinet also discussing the accommodation of refugees with many government contracts with hotel providers set to expire it's believed the coming weeks and months will see it become increasingly more difficult to find accommodation for those who are coming in power sharing meetings are getting underway in belfast this morning between the storm and parties and uk government ministers however shin fain is accusing the british government of bad faith after its party leader mary lou mcdonald was excluded from the discussions business leaders also taking part in those talks today the chairperson of the mica action group says the government continues to drag its heels on crucial elements of the campaign for 100% redress homeowners affected by defective blocks had sought updates on a promised review of the is 465 standard and the inclusion of piratite in the scheme they also sought an update on the situation with regards to foundations however the department stated those reviews wouldn't be 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reawakening reawakening a sense of adventure in children so before we get into that what's the opposite of it now where is a child at pre reawakening oh greg not a such a good question do you know i feel i think we're all a little bit in that place at the moment after the last few years and after everything we've been through between covid and lockdowns do you know i was just thinking earlier today a child who is ace has probably had a quarter of their life living through a pandemic and i don't mean to say that that's disaster but in all honesty greg they've been through a lot of stress they've been through times when we as their parents when stressed they've been told between not hugging granny and having your mask on and staying in your pod in school they've lived through a top two three few years and i think 2023 is a good year just for family connection and do you know things that were really tough for for young people and tough as parents to try and make them do a wearing a mask and trying to explain that and articulate it be uh consistently washing of hands and and and you know that can create issues with children where they be obsessed over it and if you obsess over that then they can obsess on switching the light off and on 10 times and you know there's loads of different things and also too uh them having to contend with the fact that granny and granddad's not going to be there forever stuff that really you know as you try and articulate this to young people they are not emotionally prepared for i don't think or at least maybe they even if they are perhaps they shouldn't have to contend with those emotions oh they shouldn't have had to and funny quick it's not only the little ones either the teenagers like when you think that i think sometimes for the little ones you their primary attachments are with their family they're in the homes even during lockdown i felt well you know what they're in that little cocoon they're in that safe space they're with their secure attachments but for the older ones they should have developed mentally been flying the nest been getting out there into the world so i think at every age group it's it's kind of been stifling Joe and i'm finding as well Greg because i would deal with a lot of parents and they're telling me that children who potentially were not particularly anxious pre-covid now are struggling with all sorts anxieties and funny because we are as well too you see oh yeah we are and uh how do we protect our children from what we suffer from ourselves yep well funny to kind of bring it back to adventure one of the things that we now know with children who are anxious that we can really do that helps as parents is gently and i am using the word gently push them out of their comfort zone so even say in play or in things they might be taking on so they take on something new they take on something different to their little bit nervous tummy is feeling a little bit butterflies feeling a little bit shaky not sure about this not sure if i can deal with this but they do something fun in the safe space of their family and they realize that was scary that's what scary feels like but hey i'm brave well we have to do it not allow our children let's focus on maybe uh two three four five year olds then we have to do we not allow them to explore within boundaries say for instance there's four stairs wide stairs with carpet on they're not causing a nuisance don't go near the stairs you'll hurt yourself get down the stairs don't go near the stairs they climb onto the couch and walk along the couch holding it get down off the couch because if you fall you could break your neck on the floor right now i'm not saying that never happens but if that's the message you're constantly being given yeah where do you then develop the sense of adventure or pushing yourself as you get up through the years and do you think it's looking back at ourselves because as you say we sometimes do it and you know what colbert has made us more anxious it's given us excuses ma'am hasn't yeah but because more and more of us now are helicopter parents we don't allow we don't allow anything that we used to do and enjoy and that made us grow to who we are we don't allow our children to do it and i think sometimes covid has reinforced that in us we need to break out of that yeah oh absolutely greg and it's funny because again you think even how we behaved when we were young can i play on the road and off you go and now it's like oh they're out of my sight for a second it's looking at ourselves sometimes you know something greg if we want our kids to find bear and a brave we need to find ours and you know when we're rushed in life so you drop your kids to school during school for the day they come home homework don't get me started on that one then maybe they're doing their extracurricular stuff now there's nothing wrong with doing extracurricular stuff it can be wonderful but sometimes we over schedule their lives and as you say we helicopter around them so holidays midterm our new bank holiday but we're getting in february times like this are times to just step back let go of that stress and pressure when that little bit of pressure of the overshadowing is removed during those sort of more holiday type periods it's a good time for us to relax and we're going to talk about how we do that but what we need to do is is uh many people will have used the because of with with covid into that security of cotton wool bubble wrapping everybody's safe everyone's under their own roof nothing can happen to everyone everything's okay you know and because we are conditioned to fear now if people want to make a point they want to control us and this is not talking to about the but it is about it's about fear you know what I mean the reason why there's no cow poll on the shelves anymore is because people are afraid that if their child gets a throat infection that it's going to be strep A you know and also unnecessary fear do you know it's about evaluating risk Greg and I think we've become quite poor at evaluating risk or maybe our parents were better at saying no they'll be fine they'll be grand we've become so fearful I often think we're nearly like the Madeleine McCann generation of parents where things happened in our lives so perhaps in my mother's life or her mother's life they haven't been exposed to maybe things in the news they weren't aware of things happening in other places in the world so my generation became what I sometimes call the play date generation we became so fearful but our perception of risk Greg is sometimes really really skewed you know what maybe it's not only our children who need to have that sense of adventure awakened on them no I think it does yeah not a hundred percent I think I think we do because we're finding ourselves being safe you know what I mean and there's an awful lot about this country even in terms of of housing in other words we see and this is we see the security of anchoring ourselves to a property for 35 years as success in other countries they would see that as an inhibitor do you know what I mean and that's one crazy off-field example but it all I think sometimes it all kind of feeds in so we need to grow we need to find the sense of adventure do it through our children and benefit those so and also too I want to say and I think you'll join with me in this Dr. Mary okay this is not a criticism of how people choose their lives or that you should be doing this rather than what you're doing this is speaking to people who this conversation so far has resonated with them and they wish to change it's not to say what some parents are doing is wrong it's just to say that if this talks to you now let's talk about how we can all try and get that sense of adventure back I used to climb trees get to the top of the tree and we used to swing backwards and forwards to see how far we could move in the top of the tree the idea of my any of my children getting onto the bottom branch I probably would say get down off that tree or you'll fall and break your neck yeah oh Greg me too I mean I'm sitting here and I know that this is not a healthy thing I don't Greg you think about the levels of anxiety rising in our children and I think there's a real link between increases of anxiety and our helicopter parenting our fear of replay because the consequences of everything is so negative the consequences of everything is so negative how you know a guard of grandeur guard of grandeur comes on with us regularly and she says and it wasn't in a serious way she says stop telling young children if they're bad the guard deal come or they'll call the guard is because what happens is is when they start hitting the mid teens and late teens somewhere in the back of their head they see this say the guard is this some sort of a yeah you know what I mean it's like a slight example of what we're talking about but yeah it makes sense from all thoughts Greg and it's funny could I just say here and we think about your helicopter parenting as you say and I know people talk about lawnmower like helicopter the hovering over the lawnmower you're plowing ahead of them uh helicopter with long or you know both I mean I am that woman I'm mowing the lawn with my helicopter so beat that one right then so many of us relate we have to find our inner brave give us something Greg if we try to protect our children from every risk in the world we can't we can't do that and if we're constantly running ahead of them trying to protect them we're not showing them that they're strong they're capable they are resilient yeah our children are more resilient than we realize but if we over protect them they don't actually realize that themselves they have to learn it and learn it in a safe way safe risk taking yeah that's what we always recommend and you know and you're you're clearly uh Dr okay and you're the one with the the the numbers and letters and stuff but look let's look at the most basic anyone who suffers from anxieties an adult will know that one of the there's a a few things traits to it but one of them one of them very significant for a lot of people is this fear that something bad is about to happen this feel that they're going to die someone close to them is going to die uh I can't remember the phrase eology it's apocalyptic or something this doomsday sense that's about to that they can't get from under it's like this cloud that walks around with you everywhere that any moment you think something is going to go wrong or you're going to get bad news or if the phone rings or the door knocks it's the guards telling you something bad's happened and people live their life that happens to people in real life and I'm not minimizing that but people walk around living their life like that and we are planting that so early in our young people that anything that they do potentially has awful consequences that is what for a lot of people anxiety is Mary yeah and that's what you say is like and you're catastrophizing that's exactly the word ruminating so you're ruminating you're going over and over and over something and then catastrophizing you're seeing the worst-case scenario and as you say I mean certainly for adults who are really struggling in that way I would recommend that they seek support oh no 100 percent yes yeah if I'm thinking about children I completely agree with you when we are when we parent in a fearful way we are more likely to be without ever meaning to to be encouraging anxiety funny Greg I I'm a mom of three as well so I've three children and one of the statistics I almost stuck embedded in my brain is a lady called Mary Cannon she's in a research for the Royal College of Search and so she did a piece of research pre-covid and she found that by the age of 13 one in three of our children will have struggled with a mental health difficulty and that's embedded in my brain because I have three one of mine struggles with anxiety and I what I've learned about myself because I know I should be pushing them outside the comfort zone I know this like I have all the the the logical information in my head but what I've realized is as a parent it's really tempting to parent your child who struggles with anxiety in a more anxious way more protective yeah I'm saying step back and look at yourself and and I'm really not being judgmental because when I do it to myself I still do it you know no I mean and a lot of what I'm talking about the reason I feel like I could talk about it with some authorities because I see myself or or or what have you right okay so I think we started this conversation talking about reawakening a sense of adventure in children I think we could almost let's just do the whole bloody family despite right because you know we some of us are somewhat institutionalised afraid to step out so then give us some tips for 2023 do you want to start with maybe the February bank holiday or just talk about general life one of the things I've been I've been doing a bit of work for Discover Nord in Ireland looking at adventure things we can do as a family because I just say one thing because I'm going to encourage families to think we have the bank holiday what about midterm if you if you'd never plan anything if you just say ah we do something on the bank holiday very often it doesn't happen so I'm saying our lives are so busy anyway maybe take a little bit of time and think you know what I'm actually going to plan something I'm actually going to go online and I'm here I am but Discover Nord in Ireland I would go to have a look see which you can find but can I just say one really important thing there's a piece of research and they asked adults what were their best memories as kids and they thought it might be birthdays or they thought it might be really big presents things that they've been given but it wasn't it was family time it was those holidays those breaks but I have to say one really important thing it wasn't the really expensive ones and I really don't want to give the impression that I'm giving the message you should be planning to take your children off to Florida next summer because you know financially you know a lot of people that's out so don't think it's expense it's the little stuff guys it's heading to the beach it's heading to the park you know when they were asking parents about memories and what what they remember to kids it's all the silly little stuff Greg when I was a kid we used to go to a caravan I'm sure lots of your listeners were saying go to each and he go to caravan and uh yeah it's none of my memories are rain you know it's stuck in a caravan with rain but they're all so fun times with my cousins and like that just getting out there and playing and whatever it's not the big stuff you think oh you take them to