Why would direct the songs that way? I've never said that. That's peculiar. Yeah, it's a bit of a remix that was out a couple of years ago. It was very popular, actually. Really? I think you typed Only Girl in the World and... That would not come up next. No, no, no. There was a bit of thought playing that. Lee, have a great weekend. You too, Greg. Thanks so very much. No, no, no. Well, that's the way it is. This doesn't mean work. Gotta do it. You see it as work. Wow, I can hate to love it. Well, just to keep... Oh, my God, that's cringe. Lee, no. Come here.  We'll get away from work now. No, no, there's... There's a key support, isn't it? Should be up early this morning because it's on your show. All right, good luck, Lee. Good luck. Bye. Glad your work's over. All right, it's the 9th of the noon show. We have our Friday panel going to join us very shortly. A great panel, as always. But first, let's get a news update, and it's over to Donald Kavanaugh. Thank you, Greg. Good morning. An Irishman who was shot in Australia has been named locally as Damien Conlon from County Sligo. Mr. Conlon, who was in his 30s, was found suffering from a gunshot wound at a house in the Oberon area, two hours outside Sydney. He was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene. A 57-year-old man has been arrested and is due in court. The Irish Agency Goal says it's going through heartbreak after 26 members of its staff died in earthquakes in Turkey and Syria this week. Some staff members are still unaccounted for. More than 21,000 now confirmed dead in the disaster. The deputy CEO of Goal is Mary Van Lieshout. Much of the week has been, you know, to really try to understand, to secure knowledge about where our colleagues were, to account for all of them. It's been an ongoing effort for those who were identified quickly, as well and safe. They participated in trying to locate all of their colleagues. All motorcycle road races, including the iconic Northwest 200, have been cancelled for this year. The Belfast Telegraph reports today the soaring cost of public liability insurance led to the decision last night by the Motorcycle Union of Ireland. Afina Foyle MEP says what's coming out of the European Council regarding asylum seekers is solely the narrative of the far right. EU leaders have proved tougher rules for asylum seekers whose applications have been denied last night following a surge in migration across member states. MEP Barry Andrews says it's disappointing, adding that the European Council is not looking at both sides of the coin. And Donegal County Council is being urged to give more priority to the development of the prior school building the Old Clifford Army Barracks as a location at which people can access the Donegal archive. Councillor Jerry Crawford says deals have been made and the council has agreed to move, but there's a lack of momentum and he wants the council to do more. Prior school was agreed as an excellent, an excellent location to be the face, to be where the public wanted to act was the service. There was funding set aside, a budget to set up and look and to see exactly what it would take to make that possible. I feel that hasn't been pushed on hard enough, it's been too sluggish and that there isn't the proper attention been given to the archive section that I feel should be given to such an important and moving asset. Clowdy and Misty at times this morning with possible outbreaks of light rain or drizzle, overall it'll stay largely dry with some occasional sunny spells. Today, top temperatures 10 to 12 degrees Celsius, moderate, occasionally fresh west to southwest winds. And that's Island Radio News. We're back with news in full at 10 o'clock. Morning, the usual, please. Thanks, just what I need. When customers shop at independent businesses like mine, they get more and give more because what they spend here multiplies and helps the local economy with a ripple effect that benefits me, but also helps me. Me and my independent business, too. Visa, where you shop matters. The county's number one talk show, The Nine Till Noon Show on Island Radio. And now, it's time for the talk of the Northwest, The Nine Till Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Island Radio. And a very good morning to you, just approaching four minutes past nine on this Friday. It's the 10th of February, 2023, and I hope you're very well indeed. I'll introduce our Friday panel to you very shortly, but we want you involved in the conversation, of course. Your WhatsApps and texts come into us on 086625000, give us a call in<PHONE_NUMBER>, or hop on to your smart TV, your Forestick, open up the YouTube app or the Facebook Watch app and watch us on our social media there, or directly on our website. OK, let's say good morning to our guests. We'll start with Maria Walsh, Finagale MEP for Midlands Northwest. Maria, lovely to see you again. How are you keeping? Good, thank you very much for having me on. And it's great. It's great to have you with us. Leonard Watson, owner of Watson's Men's Wear and Member of Letter Kenny Chamber. Good morning, Leonard. Morning, Greg. Good to have you with us again.  Great to have you on the program, Mary T. How are you keeping? I'm keeping well, Greg. Thanks. It's great to be back again. Good stuff. It's great to have you back. OK, we've quite a bit to get through, so we won't dwell too long on some of these. I shall ask you first, Leonard, for no good reason. Former T-Shock Bertie Herndt, in other words, no loaded reason. Sorry, there's always a good reason to talk to you. Former T-Shock Bertie Herndt has rejoined Fina Fall 11 years after resigning from the party that following the report of the Mahon Tribunal. Fina Fall spokesperson said last night that it received a membership application for Mr Herndt, and this has been accepted by his party. Of course, this comes ahead of the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, and he's got no intention to run for his old job. He's not ruling himself out. He seems obsessed with whether he's going to live till 2025 for every comment. Seems to be if I'm still alive, we'll see. But anyway, he probably has an eye on the presidency, and the people will have Thursday at that time. Does it really matter? Is this not an internal Fina Fall matter? A lot of people seem quite vexed by this. Should we be, Leonard? Sure. Greg, I'd say it isn't decisive. There are certain people out there who would say this very troubling that the guy paid 20 euros to rejoin a party. As you say, does he have his eye in the presidency? Maybe he does. What did the people would decide on that? He's a decisive figure. For all the good that he did in the peace process, those parts of his life that was troubling, we could say, like his financials weren't just the cleanest. But again, I would still say, is he a good figure maybe to have around now? At the moment, I heard Leo Radger saying yesterday that he would talk to him from time to time about the peace process, and it's good to have that knowledge of people who were in the room 25 years ago. How did they play it out and at the end of the day, we all want peace in the North, we want to get a government back in there. So, I don't know, I think it's enough in story at the moment, like in a game, if he does run for the presidency, the people will decide. Yeah, but he's been very active, of course, over the last 10 years. He's involved in numerous meetings. He's been all over the North, many border counties. People are very interested to see what he has to say about developing peace. Do you think he has a role to play in that? I actually think he does. Greg, no different to maybe John Brueckman. A lot of the people that were there at the time, they've all knowledge from what went on, and maybe things that they got caught up on, and maybe how they got through it. And then it's all about talking and getting these things sorted. So, like, Bertie was a great communicator and furnished him like so. And at the end, I think he's something to... He's something to give here in this year's process. Yeah, and I said develop a peace event, developing relations in the North and getting things back together. That's what I intended to say. Maria Walsh, what do you think? I think... Now, I want you to say what was in your mind just before you decided how you could phrase it a different way. No, no, to be honest with you, listen, a part of me fully agrees with Leonard and what the media is covering in terms of his historical legacy towards in the rooms and making broker deals around peace. I think his experience is certainly welcomed and necessary. Do I think as we are suffering from a shortage in women in national politics and politics overall, do I think we should be talking about a man who does not have a positive legacy certainly towards my generation? Absolutely not. I think I would have much preferred to see Bertie supporting a headline saying former Taoiseach supporting a local candidate or a European candidate or a national candidate to get into politics and show her the ropes. That's what I'd prefer to be talking about. So in other words, rather than the changing of the guard, it's a returning of the guard sort of thing? Absolutely, and to be honest with you, I ask this question to a few of my friends because we are the generation, sadly, that, and I don't think any, I think probably most of your listeners have family members, right, dotted around the world because of 2007, 2008 financial crash. And I think he, I don't think, well, I think his legacy is positive in one sense. My generation I don't think can forgive and forget. Unfortunately, though, there's a new generation of people who are leaving the country and that legacy is being written right now for a current crop of politicians. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I'm not going to hide away from that either. I got into politics to make impact and change just as well as many in various political parties who are younger generation because of what we learned and what we experienced in the financial crash. And that doesn't mean I'm making excuses for this current now, but I don't know. I wasn't happy when I seen the news yesterday and I know my party leader and Tisha, Leo Veradker said it is a phenophile issue and that's their house to clean up. But I certainly wasn't enthused or enjoyed reading headlines. Yeah, and indeed, Leo Veradker has softened his cough a little bit in terms of his comments, but time passes though. And as I said in the show yesterday, maybe there has to be space for people to serve their time and to come back. I mean, as I said yesterday, that's the whole judiciary is built on that basis, but maybe in elected politics, some stuff can be too much.  They've been in power for quite some time. And do you believe that this could reflect poorly on your party, that your party is in coalition with another party that has well converted her and back into the ranks? No, I don't think so. I'm sure my phenophile colleagues who, as I mentioned earlier, got into politics after the financial crash might have something similar to say like I have, but I don't think it's going to reflect badly on us. I certainly, I don't think it will because if it did or we were encouraged to say something different or asked to say something different like perhaps another political party and keep the line, that's not the way we do our party business either. And I think ultimately, it's phenophiles issue to look at and deal with and as we move forward, as all the comments and the events and the anniversaries are in and hopefully more celebrations in terms of retaining peace on the island of Ireland, Bertie will be at the core of that, no doubt. And has been again as well, just to be absolutely fair in the north. He didn't just plant in. He has been around for 10 years. Yeah. And he has been present in a lot of the things that we talk of, you know, that have already happened. Mary T, what's your feelings? Yeah, I mean, for me, Greg, I think what's important for us to kind of give a bit of context to this and the fact that we've, you know, we're in a period of great debate on ethics and standards in public office at the moment, and I think trying to rehabilitate a political figure with, I know Leonard said it was troubling. I would find it a bit a stronger word for it when a tribunal finds Lennox just warming up. Don't worry. He got tough with our wears on and truthful, you know, regarding, I can't remember, was it 160,000 punt at the time and linked to his accounts? And I suppose, you know, whether it's Bertie or Robert Troy of Fina Fall or Pascal O'Donohue or Damien English of Fina Gale, regardless of party, you know, your party, I don't think we should be rewarding that type of behavior by bringing someone back into the fold and potentially having, although not very powerful and more maybe symbolic, but representing our country. I just think that sends a really dangerous message out personally. And I think people are tired of it. So do you think there'll be a blowback for Fina Fall in this decision that maybe they're not reading the room correctly because, of course, he would be held very high. He'd be held for the most part within Fina Fall. And I want to recognize this in very high esteem, I'm sure. And I'm not sure it's quite as divisive within the party as other issues might be. So, you know, I want to recognize there's an awful lot of people that think that this is his rightful return as well. But do you think nationally, and, you know, obviously, the whole population isn't Fina Fall, that this will play badly for the party? I do actually, I mean, I suppose it's very difficult to get a sense of it, you know, no polling on it yet or that. But if you look at sort of reactions on social media, which I know can be a bit of an echo chamber and that. But, you know, there seems to be a lot of backlash about this, you know, the fact that they're welcoming him back. The idea that he could potentially represent the country. I honestly think they could be carefully reconsidering it, although you have the likes of Connor Lenahan going out. They're doing a charm offensive about it.  And obviously, they timed his comeback to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. And so I imagine they'd be reconsidering it. But who knows, you know? Yeah, Leonard. No, I'm not discreet, I think. But I would still say he's held in high regard throughout the world, like an American out there. And if he has a party play in the next year or so, maybe trying to get the whole government back up, I think that let him at it. You know, Mary T, chatting about there, you know, he could be representing our country. Well, unless people go to money, we'll be representing our country. So can I see him going to the presidency? I actually don't. I don't think he'll go for it. Yeah, I think anywhere he appears, though, he would be seen as representing Ireland. If he was invited to a function in France, he would be viewed over there as a representative of the country. But I do take your point. Maria, Mary T made an interesting comment there in terms of, you know, the echo chambers and reading the room or reading public opinion. I mean, from your perspective, if you want to know what's what, where would you look? Do you know, because like Bertie Hearn, it's like everything now, and I don't want to sound like a scratched record, but in very good way, I do as soon as I just say that. But, you know, like, you're going to be pro-Bertie or anti-Bertie. I don't think, you know, and we probably won't hear from those that are indifferent because they'll just let it wash over them. So from a political perspective, where is the space that you look at to see what maybe what the majority of the country thinks on something? Well, I mean, my space, Mary T made a valid point in terms of the Twitter machine is just a very small percentage and often a large minority. So for me, I get my news from good news sources like people out and about and those. I mean, at loan today, I had to moat so in the midlands of the country and really get a pace for what they feel. I'd be surprised, though, because I might today, speaking on mental health more so and meeting with different organizations on the ground. So I'd be interested to see, maybe ask me a couple of hours whether Bertie's name appears. It seems like it's a certain generation that perhaps will continuously bring up his name. But for me, and rightly so, Mary T's point that social media gives a santed view. Interesting on the news, though, last night where a lot of his own supporters were out and very happy that he was back. And as I said, it's a finafall matter. And to Leonard's point, the people will decide in 2025 if he puts his name in the ring and ultimately who is the best candidate to lead us at a national and an international stage in the oris as president. I certainly won't be found canvassing for him, but maybe because of political eyes and issues of the past. But there's a voting pact, though, isn't there? Do you think it's well in Finnegale? No, not for my understanding, Mary T. Well, Leo and I stood there, I believe, if I'm not incorrect, Greg. You won't have to have a look at that. That's something. National election, yes. First, I heard... I've never heard that before. Never heard that before. I read it in newspapers. Is this on the presidential election? No for the next general, so you might... Oh, well, there might be strategies. No, I get where you're coming from. OK, well, I think that has yet to play out, really, because we have to see which way the wind's blown closer to that, but I'm sure everyone's leaving their options open indeed. Coralus says, I'm disgusted but not surprised. 2008 crash destroyed people's lives. At least everything that they say is kind of... Well, I won't read exactly what they're saying, but it's sort of... Yeah, OK. I'm not a finafall supporter, but if he's back, letting him back, we can't blame the government for everything. The crash was caused by our own greed. Young people's capacity to solve problems is limited. That's what one listener thinks there. I vote Sinn Féin, but I'd rather have two birdies than what we have right now. He did so much for the country in terms of peace. OK, well, and let's just say there are lots of views and what we want to hear is all different types of views on this programme. Right, we'll be back with more from our great guests after this short break. 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In the final clearance at Watson-Manswear Leather Canny, there's half-priced shirts, polo shirts and knitwear, also half-priced offers on top labels like Super Dry and Penguin. Selected suits and footwear, also half-priced. Don't miss out on big savings in the final clearance sale at Watson-Manswear Main Street Leather Canny and online at Watson-Manswear.com. Also, a great selection offers communion and confirmation wear now in stock. OK, you're very welcome back to the programme. Quick word on this one, too. The European Union leaders have said they would tighten their borders with some seeking more fences and walls while others would rather spend the money on improving living conditions in worst-off parts of the world. Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Denmark were among the 27 national leaders meeting in Brussels to express concern about increasing irregular arrivals with some 330,000 border crossings recorded last year. And it seems to be a bit of a toughening of the stance in Ireland on this matter. Murray, obviously, as a Finnegale MEP or as an MEP, sorry. What is happening here? What are they talking about here? I mean, you know, people will instantly think maybe they're talking about the amount of people that would be coming into Ireland as, you know, not necessarily as part of our commitment to the situation in the Ukraine, but from other parts of the world. Is that what they're trying to address here? Because what we're seeing in Ireland at the moment is being seen in many countries across Europe. Yeah, well, for multiple years and for your listeners in case, we, at a European level, we do not have a strong enough or a coordinated approach to migration. And migration is widespread. It's the movement of people who are in dire need of protection. We have climate refugees and asylums. We also have those who are being trafficked, children being smuggled, search and rescue, in which we see on the Mediterranean and multiple other areas of sea. So it's a wide encompassing. And we simply do not have a coordinated approach. We have some countries on the Eastern Bloc and they often get named in terms of Poland and Hungary and Czech Republic, who are quite strict on how they and what numbers of people they welcome into their country. Given we are the most West periphery, we it's based off the percentage of what your population and your country size. So you'll see Germany and France take, I think Germany in the height of 2014 took well over a million refugees. And it's a case of more and more people are coming. And if they do, how are they being? I use the word process because I think that's inhumane. But for the application is being processed, not them as individuals. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Thank you. And I think that's and as people move, I think as we as we see what's happening in Turkey and Syria in terms of the earthquake, when we see individuals from African countries and South Africa move through and essentially looking for a safe place to call home, we just do not have enough enough coordinated effort and we have a number of countries blocking. I have to say, Ireland has always been at the forefront in terms of welcoming in the the people that need home. And to everybody's point, I think it's been discussed on the show multiple times. Do we have enough space and capacity? We're absolutely at a squeeze, but I do think that doesn't remove us from our international obligations in terms of giving a safe place. But there is also multiple international obligations, such as a refugee arriving in one country. That country, if I understand it correctly, is supposed to deal with them. But what we're seeing is a lot of refugees arriving in Ireland from countries where there aren't direct flights from, for example. Yeah. So we have we have people who would come into their the first country, first first first safe space. And then often what what is happening or what has happened is if they have a family member or friend in another country that they are either moved to or or take their own motor transport to that country, there is issues with individuals coming in illegally across every country, not just in the European Union, not just in Ireland. And and to the T6 point, he made he did an interview yesterday in Brussels. And it was a case of being fair to those who need protection and to be hard on those who perhaps do not need a safe space do you feel and are not fleeing and need to be returned back to the country. Do you feel this could be characterised that was the government hardening its approach, you know, maybe off the back of off the back of protest that we're seeing around the country. Absolutely not. No, I think as a country, that's not us. And I think something previously said, the the the loud minority is getting coverage on press, but certainly not a reflection to this country and not a reflection of the government. And I think it's fair to say, for any representative, regardless of the political party, it is not. There is a narrative, though, coming from some countries in Europe around fences, walls and this Trumpian nonsense. And I haven't seen it. And I would be very surprised if it would come from any representative in in Lentzter House and certainly as as Irish representatives in the European Parliament. All right, Mary T, would you welcome European leaders looking at tightening the borders? I mean, obviously, in terms of I think fencing of walls is probably nonsense, really. I don't think we'll ever see that. But yeah, I think what's important to remember is that no one's illegal and seeking asylum is a recognised right. And so I agree with Maria and I think it is positive that, hopefully, there is a push for more of a coordinated approach at EU level, because that is certainly needed.  But I think at the same time, we also need a coordinated approach in Ireland to dealing with, you know, immigration at the moment and refugees and asylum seekers. We don't have an all of government approach. You have, you know, Roderick O'Gorman, who's been, you know, ad hoc every so often sending out requests for, OK, we need more hotels, we need this. It's just, you know, in the midst of a housing crisis already, it beggars belief that we're still in this situation where, you know, Finafall, Finnegale and the Green Party cannot get it together to come up with a coordinated whole of government approach to dealing with. I thought we haven't seen really any solutions coming from the opposition either. I think it has to be said at this point. I mean, if there were a blueprint that was on offer post next general election, you know, we don't really know how any party or non-party person might propose to deal with all of the issues which are interconnected. Well, I wouldn't say that's completely true. I remember watching their last week, their staggering figure from Rosemary Conway Walsh of Sinn Féin saying that, you know, why aren't we looking properly? And this has been said for over a year now since the Ukrainian war started. Why aren't we looking at holiday homes? There are so many vacant holiday homes. And she said 10,000 in Mayo alone was the figure. And all of the derelict buildings that are, you know, around... Well, it would have been very interested if the millions upon millions of euros that were pumped into a limited enough number of individuals and into hotel accommodation, whatever, if that actually had been distributed, you know, in other words, people had been given more of an incentive to develop some of their property or a holiday home, it'd be very interesting to see where we are now because we know in Donegal very few people were taken up on offers of their property because instead they were being pumped into, you know, overcrowded rooms, hotels, not really suitable accommodations. So, you know, I think a lot of mistakes were made some time back. And just before I bring Leonard in, right, because Leo Radkar is talking about illegal immigrants. Not sorry, he's talking about people traffickers. And then they're also talking about people coming in from outside Europe on an irregular basis. Who were they talking about really from your perspective, Mary T? You know, because as you say, everyone's entitled to seek asylum, is that what you said? So, who...  Because I would like to know what exactly they're talking about. Exactly, Greg, that's a really good question. And I also had the very same question myself because, you know, what does a regular mean? Someone fleeing war, someone fleeing persecution, the impacts of climate change, and famine?  So, I don't know, you know what I mean? So, maybe that language kind of would fit in with what we've heard from Downing Street from times now. But I don't know who... Leonard, I'm going to bring you right in now. But just in case Maria has an insight, this from a European spectator, who are they actually talking about? I think he must be chatting with people from safe countries. Like you say, there's a narrative coming out of the UK, it's in Bulgaria, that 20, 30,000 have landed from Bulgaria, you know, seeking asylum in the UK. Like, from my perspective, I just think that all governments have been caught in the back foot, like even in Ireland, in the last year and a half, 70, 80,000 people come in. You know, how do you... how do you actually get... live in accommodation for that kind of numbers? I just think the government have been caught on the back foot as on the fact that Donegal, you have six or seven thousand people have been accommodated at Donegal, which, you know, that's fine.  You know, we have 1,400 children here in national school. That's 10% of the population that has come into the country.  It's very easy as just as you said, you have certain people providing accommodation in certain areas and making money out of it, Greg, and just push them all that way. There's no coordination here at all, like, you know, to make it fair around the country, like, you know, we all have our duty to help these people, but it's just... I just think it should be done in a fair way now. Yeah. Maria, who are these people they're talking of? Well, to Leonard's point, to Leonard's point, from my work in European Parliament on the Fundamental Rights Committee, what we often look at in areas of migration is those that are not in countries of war-torn conflicts or are not under persecution and are just looking for a better way of life. Exactly as thousands of Irish have done for generations and cities like Boston didn't turn away, thousands of others based off geographic size either. So I think there is a coordinated effort and issue and much joint-up thinking needed. I agree with both on that. But I also think when movements of people are coming in, it's varied in multiple wars, not just the war against Ukraine, not just the humanitarian crisis that we see in Turkey and Syria right now, but they also create impact too as people arrive. And we need to put people and move people safely and securely with their families if they arrive with them. And on the positive though, I must say, you know, I spoke to many teachers at national school level who are only delighted. A lot of schools have been saved by that. Exactly. So there's pros and cons to all. I fundamentally think, though, the issue is we simply are not communicating effectively. And we're not having conversations with communities. And that's something I think we certainly need to address. And I say that as a final representative and as a European Parliament representative because it's not so hard. In terms of communicating, would you be in favour of consultation? Well, if we can call it whatever we want, a consultation, openness, dialogue, looking at different cultures, and then also being real about, as I just mentioned, in terms of school numbers have increased, teachers have been more secure in terms of numbers. We have skills shortages in terms of local, small, small, small businesses that are needing support. So I think, I think there's, there's a lot of pros and cons to everything. And ultimately, the fundamental piece of keeping people safe and welcoming and reducing the small minority that is very, very loud. It's something that I think we should, we should all echo and be proud of, that we're welcoming people into our country. I do, and Marion T, I have to mention the elephant in the room before we move on here. And Maria quite rightly points out, you know, people should feel welcomed and safe, but you know, there's an awful lot of people in this county and in this country that don't feel safe, where they are either. And I think that is always going to complicate this country's response to everything because there's an awful lot of people, and not least here in Donegal, that don't have somewhere safe to live, that don't feel safe in their homes, that can't get accommodation themselves. And I don't know how you ever going to message this in a way that makes them feel any better about their situations. Well, I think, you know, it's remember last week, there was big discussion about this with regards to, you know, what provides a fertile kind of breeding ground for, let's say, far right or for discontent. But specifically, I think you're referring to the defective concrete crisis in Donegal. You know, remember, we've upwards of 7,000 homes that, you know, are in various stages of decay because of light touch, no regulation for decades. And, you know, the situation there is we've families trapped in very dangerous, unsafe homes with nowhere to go because, you know, there's no nothing to rent. And the anything that's been available and has now, as we know, been taken over to respond and rightly so to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. But again, you know, the anger shouldn't be directed towards, you know, people fleeing conflict, because at the same time, Greg, as you know, we heard just this week that the Donegal County Council are refusing to even approach the Department of Housing to propose that they could take on a modular home scheme to try as a solution to try and re-home families affected by defective concrete. So, you know, for me, you need to kind of look at where you need to abortion blame and all of this. And the the resourcing issue has not to do with refugee, you know, entering this country and seeking safety. It is absolutely with our government, you know, they're a time and time again, they're failing people, they're failing refugees as well, because let's not forget, you know, we have a an apartheid system for want of a better word in terms of how we treat refugees coming into this country.  So they're, you know, failing, desperately failing refugees, some of some of which, as we've seen as well, have been forced to to sleep in tents and make phone encampments and then have been attacked. And then at the same time, you have defective concrete homeowners and who are failed by by the government again. So yeah, it's very easy to kind of it's easier to blame perhaps refugees and it is. The decision makers, is it? Yes, exactly. It's absolutely the decision makers. We have the solutions, you know, just implement them. Leonard. Yeah, I'm kind of good at contradicting, but I know what you're saying, but you know, you said there about thousands of holiday homes. What are we going to do with these holiday homes when it comes to June and July when these owners comes back? I agree that the government needs to get ahead of this. I agree on the Micah thing. You know, in the next hopefully in the next year or so, we're going to have hundreds of families getting their houses rebuilt. These people need so much to live. Rents have doubled and around certain parts of Donegal Hall, which is just it's not sustainable, but to just say that there should be a solution. You can't bring 80 or 90,000 people into your country and just home them straight away. I just.  We have a population in excess of five million, right? I'm not great in percentages. Seventy thousand people, if we use that number, you know, what is it between one and two percent? Something like that there?  If you know, an extra two percent can cause all of this all of these problems. I mean, that you know, it is it's a very small amount of people. Relative to the overall population, you know, since COVID has just stopped the car, you know, cost of building has gone through the roof. Like it's just not viable for some people to build houses now. Like you would. And after the crash, just everything just stopped. We've been just popping a perfect storm. I'm not sure if that's not an excuse to say we shouldn't be able to house these people. But we have a storm coming in Donegal in the next couple of years, you know, we're going to need hundreds of houses for families like just where they can move out and get the house to be built. And that's what I want to make Greg about the fairness about moving people around the county. You know, we have now, I think something seven thousand asylum seekers in the county, you know, and you have other counties that are probably more wealthy than Donegal probably in better shape. And they've a third of that number like, you know, I think I don't think we're taking any any more in at the moment. I think it's been accepted that in terms of of our services that Donegal is a capacity. A caller says I have Irish, the Irish have worked and helped to build any country they immigrated to in the past and can continue to do so. They also contributed to the economy of that country by paying rent and spending their money in the country. And I could go on and on and on. I respect everyone's point of view. But I also want to recognize the fact that pre the war on Ukraine that one in 10 people in Donegal 10% of the population are not Irish there. And that doesn't, you know, they're here working, contributing, working in the health service. 15% around the country are not Irish. They've always been here. They're working in many different types of job providing vital services. We're talking as if like we we were just, you know, this homogenous group of people up until about, you know, 12 months ago, we have in this county alone 15,000 people doing exactly what the young people leaving and going to Australia are doing now. They're over there living, they're working, they're making their lives there. This is, as I say, pre pre war, Maria. I think we need to to recognize that and recognize the fact that one in 10 people listening to this show may well be not Irish and feel like they're going, well, hold on a second. I've been part of this community for 20, 30 years or whatever it might be, you know? Yeah, absolutely. I think I think we've we've a really proud tradition of, you know, the coin, the cave meal of Fulccia and people have called. I think that's probably one of our greatest success stories of joining the EU 50 years ago that our country has developed and grown and Irish Ireland, Inc. has welcomed in not just Europeans, but further afield and people have called the likes of Donegal the most West periphery of our European Union home. I do take the point from both Mary T and Leonard. There needs to be a coordinated approach. We absolutely need movement and a positive 100% redress system for families affected by that affected block scandal. And that's what it is. But that actually that absolutely cannot also take away from to your Greg's point that that people are calling our in their home. And I hope they continue to do so and that they don't hear that loud minority online or through the deep dark web of other channels and think Ireland is not a welcoming space because that's certainly not where we are. And I would hope many of your your listeners would also agree with that. All right, let's take a quick break back with warm weaning trade is on fire for more in your farmers journal is Paul Mooney. As weaning prices keep climbing, we look at what's driving demand. Sheep farmers await competition authority investigation on Kildare chilling sale as lambing season kicks off. Our special focus advises on how to keep a lid on costs. New time scheme find out what new equipment and grant rates you can apply for factories pushing beef farmers to cut emissions by 30%. 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Now, our guest today, and I should mention this more regularly, I normally do, Maria Walsh, Finnegal MEP for Midlands North West, Mary T. McBride, defective blocks campaign of human rights and global development consultant, and Leonard Watson, owner of Watson's Men's Wear and member of Lettricenny Chamber. And we hear you in other capacities as well, Leonard, a very important voice in the region, I believe. I mean, we really should be speaking about this for very much longer, but just maybe to start the conversation and be conscious that we have to have it, I suppose, on the right way too. But I would be very concerned and I've expressed it on the show and want to know what we can do, either as a program, as a station or as a society, to tackle, which has been referenced by both the coroner and on guard of Shia Khanna, the level of suicide in this county. And I have to say too, particularly amongst young people, I know far too many people or once or twice removed who have taken their lives in recent times. Leonard Watson, as I say, you know, we have to be, I'm conscious that I don't want to trigger anyone who's not in a good place at the moment and we'll have some information later on that we hope people will avail of if they do feel like that. But we're going to have to come up with something coordinated, I think, to treat this like the I don't want to put a word on it, you know, but there's an awful lot happening and it's not anecdotal. It's the information is there and we're going to it's worrying. It's very, very, very worrying to me. You're correct. You're right. Unfortunately, we all we all know too many people that for some reason or other have decided that they just want to take their life and it's it's an awful thing to think that you're in that space where you think there's no alternative. It's it's getting and you know, it's getting people into the space where they see there is an alternative. Like, you know, I remember chatting to a guy a couple of years ago who would have had a had a serious drink problem like and but he got it through the other side. He's very successful now in it. And like I said, you're the kind of person should be sent in through schools. You know, you were the guy that was at his lowest but came back, you know, it's nice to show these people that there is there is an alternative. You know, that there's there's people out there that can help them, you know, groups like a groups like Peter House that you know, for years they're saying that young men didn't talk. They wouldn't talk with their troubles. And and I would all say the few of the people that I would know that maybe took their lives. They were the happiest person in the room when you went into that room. They were the life and soul of the party. And that was a scary part where you never seen it come in life. So as you say, Greg, I just we need to get the space where people feel there's help there for them and that there's there is light at the end of the tunnel and should that be around mental health services? Like, I would be very critical of that, too. I don't think the services are up to you. You're hearing people about going into going into the service and after they have been put back out of the service, you know, and just, you know, once you tell a doctor how I feel, OK, that's OK. And that's not OK. Like, you know, it's very, very easy just to say, well, they said they're OK. I always remember a priest tell me a story, Greg, one time where a mother rang and begged him to ring the hospital to get him to keep her son in and the priest rang the hospital and the nurse said he was Japanese. She says, yeah, I know what you're saying, but there's nothing I can do. He's told the doctor, he's OK. Three days later, that young man took his life, like, and that's that's not good. It's not good enough, like. Yeah. I mean, obviously, there are serious gaps, right? But we have had I don't think we've ever had any more support groups. I don't think we've had any more awareness and conversation in our schools. Yet we are seeing record numbers of young people presenting with mental health problems, self-harming. And and and still even even though we talk about it, right? It continues to happen and it's happening in greater numbers. Now, Mary T, I don't know if we need to rip up the approach, not in terms of the services or what have you and relook at how we're dealing with this. Because, as I say, this and and I'm open to correction on this, but I don't recall that ever being as much in terms of, you know, first port of call supports, supports in the schools, people being supported in schools, right, some great policies in schools. And as I say, we saw statistics recently that an awful lot of people are still suffering greatly with their mental health. So we I don't know, I just feel we maybe need to retain what we have but start at the beginning as to what's happening here. Well, I will actually contradict you, Greg. You don't mind, but, you know, we just have to kind of look at give a bit of context. So in Ireland, we're and Maria will know this and we are consistently among the highest in Europe. And when it comes to youth suicide, you were always in the top 10. Other countries have, you know, improved their numbers over the years, but we just seem to remain the same. And then let's not forget it was just this morning that the United Nations Child Rights Committee has said it's seriously concerned, quote, unquote, by Ireland's lack of and inadequate mental health services for children, noting that some of them are waiting for over a year.  But for a child, that's a lifetime. I mean, it's just cruel. And so, you know, I would disagree. The gaps that I talked of were in terms of the gaps that I was referencing and you know much more about this than I were the supports, right? But I don't want I was trying to choose my words so as to not to discourage someone who feels that they need help seeking help in the first instance. OK, that's what I was trying to avoid. But I know in schools, there's an awful lot of work being done to have a conversation. But I understand exactly where you're coming from. And maybe we need to be a little bit more frank in the conversation. So continue your point there, Mary T, please. Yeah, no, absolutely. There are great services out there. And, you know, even just thinking about big mental health prices we have here in Johnny Gall is again linked to the whole Micah issue and defective concrete homeowners. Remember, was it at the end of 2021, the Micah Action Group did a survey of homeowners and I mean, it was just staggering. Ninety six percent had reported that they had, you know, what they would consider good mental health prior to discovering that they had defective concrete in their home. And afterwards, it's 84 percent now have mental health issues with 25 percent suffering from depression. And they're, you know, through IFAN, you know, In a Shown Development Partnership and that and DLDC. They have put out supports, mental health supports. But but again, you know, they're and they are there for people to reach out and that and others. And but I just think there needs to be more resourcing, you know, OK, more of them. Yeah. Yeah. Maria Walsh, I know this is something you're passionate about and you're even speaking about it this morning. And I the time got away. I mean, this one, but I want to return to this one in a more meaningful way as we always do. But just particularly what's your views, though, for the last few moments that we have for the last few minutes? There's no panic on you. Just say whatever you want to say. Yeah, no.  So I want to give great credit to you, Greg, because you are always choosing your words and making sure people are safe in their home, listening to you. And I think that's incredibly important. I think to both lenders and charities, point you asked for a word earlier on. And I think we're in a silent pandemic when it comes to mental health and we have been for generations. It's not just in the last months or years. It's generations. Death by suicide is our second leading cause of death for young people across Europe. And ultimately where I would see and want to see this going is exactly how we treat a COVID. We have expertise right across Europe, indeed across the world. We're so technologically connected and driven that there's expertise that we can bring in and we're failing. We're failing the generations to come. And when you look at, and I often, I have no problem taking swipes at my own lads and ladies when I need to in terms of full scale and government, I have called endless times for an increase of mental health spend. We're in and around five or 6%. We should be at 12% like the WHO recommends. But there is an amazing resources to your point, Greg, in Jigsaw, in Letter Kenny, in a multitude of community groups and schools that are doing well-being programs. So there's always a safe space to go and speak to somebody. But I think each and every one of us has an opportunity to upscale and rescale in our mental health training in terms of active listening. When you ask someone, how are you? Are we waiting for the answer? And that's just a basic necessity I think we need, but we certainly need to go to places like incentives to make sure people are looking at the mental health services as a career and not just falling into it in a reactive measure because someone in their family unfortunately took their own life or suffered from depression or eating disorder, which we are seeing arise. So I want to make sure my few words are one of encouragement. There's a lot going on, both online and offline. There's so many places and spaces to go and seek support. So I just ask anybody listening today is listening tomorrow and the days ahead and know that there's support there. And actively, I think all four of us are in our own networks are making sure as much change can be called on and faster. Right, we'll continue talking about that on this program, but I want to come back to it in a long time format and be delighted if at least some of you could join in that conversation. Maria Walsh, as always, thank you very much for your time. Great to have you on on the program. And Mary T quite rightly pointing out the gaps. And we all know people that have been waiting to access to CAMHS for six, 12 months. That is a huge part of it and I fully recognise that. And your experience, your knowledge in this area. So thank you very much for your input. I really do appreciate it. Take care of yourself, Mary, Theresa McBride. And last but certainly not least, Leonard Watson, as always, Leonard, great to have you back. It's been a while. Take care of yourself. Thanks very much, Greg. All right, thank you very much indeed. All right, we'll be back after the news and obituary notices. We at Highland Radio love Irish music and we want to show our support. Throughout Irish Music Month this March, in partnership with Hot Press Magazine, we're asking you to support the Irish musicians, artists and bands who make every party, every drive home and every day magic. That's right, to celebrate Irish Music Month on Highland Radio, we're asking you to support Irish artists and musicians by buying Irish albums, Irish tickets, Irish t-shirts and Irish music merch. Irish musicians have shown that they are right up there with the best in the world. So let's support them by buying Irish, proudly supported by Highland Radio, Hot Press, IBI and the BAI Sound and Vision Fund. Take something old and make it new with the vacant property refurbishment grant. Get up to 30,000 euro for a vacant property or 50,000 euro for a derelict property to help you create your new home. Plus the scheme now includes cities, towns, villages and all rural areas, so there are more options than ever. Breathe new life into an old home. Head to gov.ie forward slash vacancy for more information on how to apply, an initiative of the government of Ireland. With 231 well underway, are you calling in for a look? Sure call in for a cup of tea or a coffee and let our sales executives show you the options available in our new key range. With an unbeatable range of vehicles, there's only one garage to visit for your next purchase and that's iMotors. Visit us in letter Kenny or Malin or visit imotors.ie. Banking can make you feel a bit... Huh. So why not switch to a provider that helps you take control of your finances? The On Pust Money current account lets you see exactly what's going on with your money and gives you control with the tap of a button. Switch with the On Pust Money app or pop into one of our 900 plus post offices. You don't even need to make an appointment. Take back power over your money today. On Pust is authorised by the Minister for Finance, provide payment services and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland in the provision of such services. Like to eat well all week at amazing Aldi prices? I like the sound of that. Feed your family for five euro with a delicious chicken casserole. And from February 2nd, enjoy Super 6 fresh meat offers like specially selected Irish Angus Steak Mince 5% fat, now only $3.99. And try our Aldi Savers offers like mummy and mini size 2 nappy 60 pack save 32% now only $1.79. I don't like it, I love it. Aldi, every day amazing. And on the Highland Radio app, this is Highland Radio News. Good morning, I'm Jade McClaffrey with your news at 10 o'clock. A man has been remanded in custody after being charged with the murder of an Irishman in Australia. Demi and Conlon died after being found with the gunshot wound in Oberyn about two hours outside Sydney on Thursday. 57-year-old Luke Simon appeared in court, charged with Mr Conlon's murder and is due to appear again on April 5th. The Irish Aid Agency goal says it's going through heartbreak after 26 members of its staff died following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. It says some staff members are still unaccounted for. More than 21,000 people are confirmed to have died in the disaster. Deputy CEO of Goal, Mary Liz Hout, says the impact of the earthquake has been devastating. Much of the week has been, you know, to really try to understand, to secure knowledge about where our colleagues were, to account for all of them. It's been an ongoing effort for those who were identified quickly as well and safe. They participated in trying to locate all of their colleagues. Donegal County Council is being urged to give more priority to the development of the prior school building in the old Lifford Army barracks as a location at which people can access the Donegal Archive. Councillor Jerry Crawford told Highland Radio News that the council has agreed to the move and some money was set aside at the last budget meeting. However, he's unhappy with what he says is a lack of momentum and he's calling on the council to be more proactive. Prior school was agreed as an excellent location to be the face, to be where the public wanted to act, both the service. There was funding set aside, the budget, to set up and look and to see exactly what it would take to make that possible. I feel that hasn't been pushed on hard enough, it's been too sluggish, and that there isn't the proper attention being given to the archive section that I feel should be given to such an important and moving asset. The iconic Northwest 200 and all other motorcycle road races in Northern Ireland have been cancelled this year. The Belfast Telegraph today reports the soaring cost of public liability insurance led to the decision last night by the Motorcycle Union of Ireland with costs to club exceeding 50,000 euro. They say national road races have seen rates treble since 2022. The major fishing representative bodies again come together as EU-Norway fishery talks enter a fifth round. EO Donald, chief executive of the Irish Fish Producers Organization says industry representatives have worked closely together to press for a fair and meaningful reciprocal deal for Ireland. He says while the process is dragging on, it is better to have no deal than to have a bad deal. Donemary Doherty has more. Speaking in Brussels, Mr O'Donnell said the key challenge at the moment is Norway's demand for new and additional access to Ireland's blue-whiteing grounds. He stressed that if the EU wants to strike a deal for such additional access, there must be some adequate compensation for the Irish fishing industry, particularly as it comes at a time when the Irish fleet is still reading from the Brexit legacy. Sean O'Donnell, CEO of the Kelly Beggs Fishermen Organization added the industry has been highlighting the critical importance of this issue since the start of these negotiations and the EU should not be granting this additional access unless it is paid for by the transfer back of blue-whiteing quota to Ireland. Brendan Burn of the Irish Fish Processors Exporters Association said Ireland is facing into the worst year in its fishing processing history with Brexit quota cuts continuing to bite hard along some fishery closures. He said it's time for the EU to recognise this and strike a fair deal for Ireland. Two Donegal Attractions have been honoured by CIE Tours as the company's first award ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic. The CIE Tours annual awards of excellent honour, the facilities and attractions which most impressed the 25,000 US visitors the company brings to Ireland each year. Donald Kavanaugh has more. At last night's awards ceremony, Donegal Castle and the Schleif League Cliffs both received merit awards in the Visitor Attraction category. Merit awards are presented to hotels and attractions which achieved a customer satisfaction rating of 92% or higher from CIE Tours visitors to Ireland last year. Speaking at the presentation, CIE Tours CEO Elizabeth Krabble said the Irish holiday experience is unique and its popularity is very evident in the strong rebound that was witnessed once international travel reopened. She paid tribute to the resilience of their tourism partners who, having had a very difficult few years, enthusiastically welcomed back visitors. Ms Krabble added bookings for the coming season are ahead of expectations and 2023 looks set to be a very positive year for tourism in Ireland. And now for the weather. Quite cloudy today and perhaps misty at times with possible outbreaks of light rain or drizzle. Overall, plenty of dry weather with occasional sunny spells with highest temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees. That's all for now and we'll be back with more at 11 o'clock. The obituary notices for this Friday morning, the 10th of February. The death has taken place of Jimmy Vicky O'Gallagher, Stromarten Derribeg. His remains will repose at the family home today and tomorrow from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. with rosary each evening at 8. Finewal mass on Sunday morning at 11 in St Mary's Chapel Derribeg with interment afterwards in Mahara Gallon Cemetery. The funeral mass can be viewed live on Keir and Rorty Funeral Director's Facebook page. Family Flares Only please, donations in lieu to the Donegal Hospice. The sudden death has taken place of Hugh O'Donnell, Donnelly Guidor. His remains will repose at his home from four o'clock on Saturday until rosary at nine and again on Sunday from three o'clock to half past six. Removal to the Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnelly, for seven o'clock reposing overnight. Finewal mass on Monday morning at 11 with interment afterwards in the Adjoining Cemetery. The funeral mass can be viewed live on Keir and Rorty Funeral Director's Facebook page. The death has taken place of Kathleen Lapsley, 36-odd willing convoy formerly of 297 St. Unan's Terrace, Ruffaux. Her remains are reposing at her brother-in-law, Tony Sweeney's home at 36-odd willing convoy. Finewal from there tomorrow afternoon at half past one for two o'clock funeral service in St. Unan's Cathedral, Ruffaux, followed by burial in the family plot in the Adjoining Graveyard. All floor attributes welcome, house private please from 11 o'clock tonight and before the funeral tomorrow. The death has taken place of John McCormick, Key Street, Moville. John's remains are reposing at his home with family time please from 11 o'clock tonight. Finewal mass tomorrow morning at 11 in St. Mary's Church, Bally Brack, Moville, followed by burial in the Adjoining Cemetery. Family fars only please donations if desired to Nazareth House Fawn Patients Comfort Fund, care of any family member. The death has taken place of May Brown, Ney Ross, Cretland, St. Johnson. Finewal from her home tomorrow morning at 20 past 10 for a requiem mass in St. Bethan's Church, St. Johnson at 11 o'clock in term and afterwards in the Adjoining Cemetery. Donations in Louis-Floris please to the Donegal Hospice, care of quickly funeral directors. Family time please from 11 o'clock tonight. The death has occurred of Katrina Redmond, 72 Ashlawn Letter Kenny, reposing at her late residence from 2 o'clock to 9 o'clock today. Finewal from there tomorrow morning to the Church of the Irish Martyrs, Bally Reign, for 11 o'clock requiem mass which can be viewed online at the Church of the Irish Martyrs YouTube channel followed by burial in Cornwall Cemetery. Family time please on the morning of the Finewal. Flowers welcome or donations if desired to the oncology unit Letter Kenny University Hospital, care of Pascal Blake, funeral director. The death has taken place of Elish Carl McBride, the Chaperral Broad Road convoy. Her remains are reposing at her late residence. Finewal from there tomorrow afternoon at quarter past 12 for one o'clock requiem mass in St. Mary's Church convoy with burial afterwards in the family plot in the Adjoining Graveyard. Family time please from 11 o'clock tonight and before the Finewal tomorrow. All flowers welcome. The death has occurred of Margaret McCaverty, Boyle, Mill Road, Dunlowe, formerly of Leigh Branagh, are in More Island. Her remains are reposing at her home from 11 o'clock this morning. Finewal mass tomorrow at 11 in St. Crohn's Church, Dunlowe with interment afterwards in Quich Island Cemetery. Mass can be viewed live on the St. Crohn's Church webcam. Family flowers only please. The death has occurred of John Bradley, Fannett, Donny Goll, Warren Point, County Down, Belfast, County Antrim and Crawley, England. John's remains are reposing at St. Mary's Church, Fannervolte, in Fannett. Requiem mass this morning at 11 with burial afterwards in the Adjoining Graveyard. Requiem mass can be viewed live via the St. Mary's Fannervolte and St. Columbus Mass Mount Facebook page. Family flowers only please. Donations in Louis of Desard to the St. Vincent de Paul care of any family member or McIntyre funeral directors. The death has taken place of Elizabeth Lizzie Gordon, Domain Convoy. Finewal from her late residence this morning at quarter past 10 for 11 o'clock Requiem mass in St. Mary's Church Convoy, followed by burial in the family plot in Ahearne Cemetery. Family flowers only please. Donations if desired to the Irish Cancer Society care of any family member or Terence Matlintuk, funeral director. House private please. Before the funeral. The death has taken place of Gertie McDade, Ney Devine, Letter Kenny Road, Lifford, reposing at her home. Finewal from there tomorrow morning at 20 past 10 for Requiem mass in St. Patrick's Church Murlach at 11 o'clock in term and afterwards in the Adjoining Cemetery. Requiem mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam. For more details including any family health guidelines for wakes and funerals, please go to HighlandRadio.com. We're actually here. Robbie Williams. Fame can take one stage. Mix and Robbie.com. Purina. The county's number one talk show, the 9 till noon show on Highland Radio. It's time for NCBI Bingo on Highland Radio. It's Friday the 10th of February. You're playing on the yellow sheet. The reference number is S10. It's game number six. The numbers are 65. 29. 27. 26. 67. 50. 5. 56. 32. And finally, 89. Phone your claim to 9104823 before 8 tonight. Leave in your name, contact number and the name of the shop where you purchased your book.  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The Local Insurance Network to act trading as Local Insurance is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Local Insurance is a tight insurance intermediary of Acorn Brokerage Limited. Acorn Brokerage Limited trading as Acorn Insurance is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. PDO thread lifts. The ultimate non-surgical lift for the skin, improving facial contours, lifting and tightening jewels, the neck, cheeks and eyebrows are available at Janice's Aesthetics and Skin Care Clinic, Edoor. For help choosing the right aesthetic treatment for you, contact Mary Ferry, your aesthetic practitioner. Also offering fat-dissolving treatments, dermal fillers and laser treatments for all skin conditions. Hair and makeup packages also available. Janice's Aesthetics and Skin Care Clinic, Edoor. 07495-32575. OK, you're very welcome back. Following the news, obituary notices and the quick break, it's good to have you back on the show. Some of the callers here are saying, will Bertie give up his state pension and other? Who introduced self-regulation in the building, training, including mica blocks in houses in Donegal? Bertie Hearn will sort out that mess. Another, I think it would be a big loss for Donegal if now, Doc, we're lost. I had such a bad experience and down the country. OK, that's a random one in on that issue. Remind Maria Walsh that the Irish went to work throughout the world not to get a free ride with handouts. Again, I'll just point out that 10% of the population of Donegal pre the war on Ukraine, and as conscious in case they're listening and feel offended, live at work and have made their lives here as well. And I presume others are looking to attain that the same as we do when we travel abroad, as you've just quite rightly pointed out. My employer offered four houses at the start and nobody got back to him. He eventually gave up. It seems to be a few individuals who are getting the money. I know half a dozen people who, even under the latest round, 160-odd people, you know, the latest round of a call out for homes. How many of them have been accommodated now at this stage? Or how many of them have been used for accommodation? Finafall living in the past parted on a lot of good, but also a lot of bad decisions. I mean, he's not going to run for the party again. They just have welcomed him back as a member. And he believes he's got a role in progressing the situation in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. A caller says, why should someone with a holiday home be forced to give it up to solve a problem? No one should be forced to give up any type of their housing to fix a problem. But they should be given proper compensation for it if they choose to.  All the money seems to have gone, you know, in certain areas. If that money had been given to people with holiday homes, they may have been able to... They might have been encouraged to do so. But they weren't the rough at 400 quid or something. 5,000 asylum ceaseless could not produce any documentation that is worrying. The government's accepting that's the state of the situation at this stage. That being said, they are all photographed and fingerprinted and what have you. Political parties should not be setting up hospital groups, especially as someone somewhere against abortion. That's a presumer reference to AIME to. Does everyone agree with every element of health care either? Do you know what I mean? Presumably, you can have a stance on an issue that is, you know, that is a part of hospital care, but still at the same time seek for a hospital to be improved in other areas, can't you? It's a question, not a statement. A call that says every country needs border controls. Try to get into Australia, New Zealand, USA, and many more without the right documentation. I want to mention that there's a raffle taking place in Bonkranagh Post Office today to win a number of hampers. It's to raise funds for Pieta House. So if you want to support Pieta House and potentially win a number of hampers or one of a number, don't forget you can enter that raffle at Bonkranagh Post Office. Donna Marie, I just have the details of our next guest there. Please, if you don't mind, I forgot to bring them in with me. If we keep changing our religion to please people, it's more or else nonexistent. So many changes have happened with scandals. To me, I don't know what to believe anymore. Yeah, I can understand how it can be difficult to sort of find your place or space in all of it, especially if it might feel like the goalposts are changing. Can I identify with that parent concerned about drugs in Inishon? Same story, guards not interested, don't seem to understand the principle that a drug dealer is like pollution, eventually becomes rotten, no one wants to hear.  The young people in their house, or at least one of them have now began taking drugs.  Right, we're joined on the programme now by Sinn Fein Deputy Pierce Daherty. Good morning to you, thanks for joining us, Pierce. Good morning to you, Greg, thanks for having me. Right, we're speaking in the context of the Donegal People's Assembly. It's taking place at the Baller Art Centre, Baller Buffet, this coming Monday, the 13th of February starts at 7pm. What is the purpose of this? Well, the purpose of this, Greg, is it's an initiative by Sinn Fein for a start-off, so we've had two people's assemblies already, one in Belfast and one in Derry, and they'll be very, very successful. People are able to make commissions, or make submissions in relation to where they see the future of Ireland, the challenges, the obstacles, the opportunities. So people can make submissions, and we've had a large number of submissions already, so you can do that through the Sinn Fein website, and the submissions will be published, or a range of them will be published at the end of these meetings. So the Donegal leg, as you said, is in the Baller Theatre at 7 o'clock, and what this is, is about a conversation on Irish Unity. What will a new Ireland look like? I've spoken in your show before, I'm an Irish Republican, I get up every morning, I want to see an Irish Unity, that's my raison d'etre, I believe it's in the interest of everybody, I think we will have a better health service, better education, better employment opportunities, and many other reasons, but it's not simple, and it's not a romantic idea of a Fort Greenfield. To do all of that actually will require, it'll create huge opportunities, but it requires change, so we need to start thinking about what does it actually mean, what does it mean for a health system, what does it mean for an education system, does the challenges we have in Lettercanny University Hospital, would they be addressed if we had an all Ireland health system, or not, and that's the type of conversation we want. What we don't want, Greg, is we don't want just a Sinn Féin making, you know, full of Sinn Féin people, because we've been discussing Irish Unity for as long as I've been around, what this is really geared at is a wider conversation in the community, and that's why we have set it up in the way that it's set up, that there's an independent chair, that there's panellists there who represent certain sections of society, or our interests in society, and I think the panel that we have established for the Donegal event on seven o'clock on Monday is second to none. And we'll talk about that and maybe run through it, but you know, I mean, obviously a lot of us, I tend not to, but a lot of us look at Irish Unity or not as black and white, or green and orange for that matter, but this is a very, very different country, a country that's changing all of the while. There's many people that have very different views and some that have no views whatsoever. And when it comes to the question time, when that does happen, the people will want to know, well, what does that mean for how their current life changes? You know, they might feel better that the Six Nations is part of the Six Nations, sorry, the Six Counties is part of, you know, the wider New 32 County Republic, but at the end of the day, you still have to get up on a Monday morning, go to work, pay your mortgage, access your GP, your school, your healthcare. Do you know what I mean? You might feel a bit better if that's what you want, but people want to know, well, what difference will it make in their lives? And I'm sure the people of Northern Ireland very keen to sort of maybe have some insight to that as well, beyond really what a lot of the debate has been about here to form. Yeah, that's exactly it.  But it's my job to convince people who maybe aren't convinced up until now that it's in their best interest, recognising that there are people out there who are unionists and aren't going to become non-unionists in the morning. You know, it's in the name, they believe in the union and that's a legitimate aspiration to have. But there is provision in the Good Friday Agreement. It's 25 years old this year. It allows for a referendum on Irish Unity. I think everybody, including unionism, accept that there is going to be a referendum. Obviously, they will fight to the nail to have, you know, the vote that they remain within the union. But we do see changes that are happening in the north and the demographic changes that have been happening over many, many years. They're very, very clear that they're reflected in a number of elections in terms of unionism losing its majority in five consecutive elections. You know, something that was never supposed to happen 100 years ago when the north was partitioned and it was gerrymandered and it was set up and the way it was set up, you know, a Protestant parliament for Protestant people. But the key thing is, is those votes aren't necessarily, or actually aren't, sort of transferring to sort of a nationalist ideology or we don't necessarily know as well. You know, so those are the... Well, I think they're probably the biggest draw in the wind is what happened in the assembly elections. You know, it was never, ever conceived when the north was created that you would have a republic in the nationalist as First Minister in the north. And that just shows you what is happening out there in terms of changing, but you don't take it for granted, okay? So we know that there's going to be a referendum. We will argue for a positive vote for a new Ireland in that referendum. But the crucial thing is, and let's not repeat the mistakes of Brexit. Let's actually think it through, discuss it through. What does that actually mean? For us, we believe this is a unique opportunity. Very few nations have an opportunity to reinvent themselves. And this is an opportunity to reinvent ourselves to actually not just join the sticks with the 26 counties because nobody's asked you to argue for that. But we're arguing is about a new Ireland. And that means an Ireland that is inclusive. Just what you said, you know, it's an Ireland very different from where it was. Like a united Ireland might not be what republicans or unionists envisage right now. It might be a completely different type of a united Ireland. Absolutely. It's not me that will write the script or design which way what a new Ireland will look like. It has to be all of us. I want to have my part in it. I want to play my part in it as a republic and as a leading member of Sinn Féin. But the key thing, and this is the reason why these meetings are happening, this belongs to all of us and it's going to affect all of us. When this referendum happens and if there's a positive outcome to this referendum, then it does affect health. It does affect education. It does affect your quality of life. It does affect agriculture. It affects sports. It affects tourism. It affects everything. So let's have a conversation in relation to what that means. And it also means some very difficult decisions. You know, I can remember, you know, and I've made this point a number of occasions, a member of the Orange Order, who we've been, you know, we've invited the Orange Order to this event. It's really important that we hear voices of people who aren't convinced and who are opposed and all of that needs to be inclusive. But I can remember somebody from the Orange Order phoned me up and said, Pearson, if there was a united Ireland, would we be allowed to march on the 12th of July? And my argument is, of course, like the point here is that Orangeism is a part of our tradition. It's a part of our heritage. And, you know, to me, our tricolor is the best symbol in terms of a new Ireland, but there's not one thread more green in that flag than there is orange. You know, and these are the type of conversations that we have. Not just how those traditions of unionism would be inclusive, including the new Ireland, but how would they not just be respected but actually cherished? Because there are a million people or close to that that have a different, a very strong different view. But there are demographics. There are things that are changing, which is showing very clearly, including in the polls, that a referendum will happen, that it's likely a referendum over time will be a positive outcome, which means we're going to have a united Ireland. And that's why we want to have an inclusive discussion. And we would love to see community groups, sporting organisations having these discussions themselves. This is our contribution to it. It's not about owning the space. It's not about dominating the space. There's civic organisations like Ireland's Future. They put 5,000 people into the three arena where they had a massive, inclusive conversation on Irish unity. The Tisha was there, the Mary Lou McDonald was there. You had famous actors and musicians were all part of it. And that's the type of inclusive discussion we want to have. You say, obviously, listen, you shouldn't find a Republican party. They're organising this, so it's going to be seen a certain way. You talked about wanting to hear unionists' voice. This is the third, I believe. Have you heard them at these meetings? Well, look, I've been involved in different initiatives in terms of Irish unity in the past. I remember nearly a decade ago in Derry where we had a big public meeting in the Millennium Forum there. Where unionism worked hard with that discussion on the platform with myself and others, talking about why they don't want a united Ireland. We've had spring schools where we've had loyalists come to and we've invited loyalists to our spring schools and they make these arguments. There's no point having a conversation just between ourselves. This conversation has to be inclusive. But if unionism don't turn up, that's okay as well. Because for those of us who believe in Irish unity, it's about putting some meat on the bones. It's about actually looking at it in more detail. And that's why what we have done in this people's assembly isn't set up like a panel of all campaign-elected representatives or speakers or all the rest. We have actually gone to the head of enterprise in the county and the region and asked that person to come up. The head of education, the former head of local authority, experts in different fields and health campaigning, they're the people that we want to address. I don't know what they're going to say. I think most of what they're going to say is they're going to say that if they're saying to you, we're working very closely with the education in the north and it's working well if it's the council. They're going to talk about the establishment of the city status. If it's the letter, Kenny Chamber, they're going to be talking about how they work hand in hand to the mutual beneficial for both with, you know, and you talk about someone who's creating jobs. It's about the Northwest being seen as an attractive region with no border for it to come in and invest in. I mean, that's what they're going to say. But then how does that all, well, I'm sorry. I don't mean that as that negative, by the way, but I presume that it is because that's a lot of positive stuff there. But how does that progress the conversation? Do you feel? Well, I think like if you look at if you look at the panellists there, you know, you have the former CEO, Futhers and the girl there, the me, hello, Haney, who was a former director in Donegal County Council, he'll chair the event. So it's not just about what the panellists are going to say. And they'll answer questions. The floor contribution. But it's also people that are coming from the floor that have different views and different questions. And hopefully, well, if there's lessons to be learned from the other two people's assembly, this will actually spread. It will encourage debate. It will, you know, people will come with their own ideas and their own challenges and, you know, and so on, so forth. But yeah, the experience here in Donegal has been, of course, we need to work across the border. Of course, we need to work on an all island basis. But in doing that, and we can see that with, you know, the great work that Donegal and Derry, Derry City are doing and Derry Instraban and local authorities. But we've still got all those challenges in terms of the border. We've still got all those challenges in terms of regulatory environment. So we want to hear what that would mean in relation to... So where have you been? Where have you held them so far? There's one in Donegal. Where have the other two been? The Alps has been the first and Derry has been the second. So this is the third. There's a plan that this will go across, right across the island. Yeah, because that's what would interest me. This would, I'm not saying this doesn't interest me. Don't get me wrong. But I'd be very interested to see what people in Kerry think or what people in Cork think or what people in Galway think. Or how many might even turn up that aren't very, you know, aren't Sinn Féin fans supporters, for example? Do you know what I mean? Like, everyone's going to have and say in this, if you go further south, are people less interested? Are they less likely to engage? You know, as I say, this is very worthwhile. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting otherwise. But I think it's when you start heading down the extreme south of the country, west or east or central or wherever it might be, it'll be very interesting when that happens to hear what regular folk think. I think I think it's a very good point. And my own view has always been this. If people if people recognize that the referendum is likely to happen in the next number of years, which I strongly believe it. And as I said, unionism, you know, the former leader of the DUP came to Clint East and says, unionism needs to prepare for this referendum. There's an acknowledgement that this referendum is happening. So I think when people start to realize we're going to have a we're going to have a referendum on Irish unity in the next number of years. I think people will take a lot more interest in it because they'll actually look and say, well, can some of the problems that they're facing and there are many daily lights actually be addressed in terms of Irish unity and how can it be? Probably in the past, all they've really thought about a lot of people, not stereotype in everybody. A lot of people have thought about is a romantic idea of Irish unity of, you know, they're the history that we learn at school and the tensions between orange and green and all of that and the conflict in the north. The conversation that we're happening today, I would strongly argue that 10 years ago, we wouldn't have been able to have the type of event that we're having in the Ballard Theatre on Monday. But you also might not have been using the same language that you're using now either. And that's true as well, although, you know, I would point to documents that we've published many, many years ago, talking about an inclusive discussion that has been very, very hard issues. You're choosing your words very carefully and they are, they do sound very inclusive. But I think that's part of maybe why we couldn't I don't want to put words in your mouth from 10 years ago. I'm just getting a sense that this conversation, maybe not with you, but with someone else might have felt a little bit different, you know what I mean? Well, I think it's a safe space for people to have this conversation now because you're seeing, you know, as I said, you're seeing Ireland's future, organizing main big political events, big conversations in relation to Irish unity. You're seeing other political parties, the FDLP, have their own initiative unit. Well, I've done some stuff on this here. Other members of political parties have addressed meetings that we've organized ourselves. You've got different civic societies that are doing stuff in relation to this here. And, you know, for us, it's absolutely fantastic that the likes of Paul Hannigan, you know, the head of ATU or university here in the Northwest is going to be one of the panelists. It's fantastic that Noel Duddy, who's been instrumental in relation to cancer services, which is based on a regional basis, cross-border, have been secured. Is there to speak about the health challenges, you know, that we have the head of the Letter Kenny Chamber of Commerce talking about the issues that she will want to address in terms of Tony Forrester, who's done so much in relation to, you know, enterprise here, not just in Donegal, but also cross-border, recognizing the impacts of Brexit. Sheamus Neely, our former CEO of Donegal County Council, again being as one of the panelists and Professor Perry Scott. Like this is the Vice Chancellor of University of Ulster, a former board member of the IDA, former president of Sligo IT. These are very serious people that are making their time available to have a discussion, to answer questions, to give their opinion on what is the future. Yeah, and I presume all of those opinions are being formed, and are formed through conversations like this. But as we mentioned, and we'll wrap up shortly, Pierce, and I'll remind people of when it's on and how it can evolve. But this country, as we've said, it's changing all the while. This county's changing dramatically now. Its demographics are changing for a number of reasons. What is, and one of those reasons is gonna be immigration and people moving it. What is Sinn Féin's policy, current policy, if in power today, in terms of immigration and recognizing people's concerns? And I'm not talking about the extremes. I wanna take that out of it and just focus on people with genuine concerns, right? What is your party's policy? What would you do now that's different to what the government's doing? Other than saying, well, we need to provide more housing, we need to provide more services, we need, I'm not talking about stuff that might take five or 10 years to kicking. On about now, what is, would Sinn Féin be doing now that's any different to the government, if anything? Well, first of all, that is that the issue would be doing different from the government because regardless of which government's in place, you have international obligations in relation to people who are seeking protection in your country. That's the same in Ireland as it is in France, it is in Spain, it is anywhere else. When people are fleeing war-torn areas and seeking international protection, you have obligations internationally in relation to them. What you have an obligation as a government is to plan for that, to prepare for that. Now we have unprecedented levels in relation to as a result of the war in Ukraine. But we're a year into this now, Nairi. And a year ago, the government were talking about 200,000 people that we would need to accommodate. A year on, we're about a third of those figures and we are at crisis point. There is a failure to plan here. There is a cause, but let's just say there's a snap election and we are where we are, right? So would you be doing anything in terms of moving people into areas, different areas of the country? Would you be doing anything different in terms of people arriving here without any documentation? Just into the everyday work that would have to be done right now, what would Sinn Féin be doing now different to what the current government is doing? Well, first of all, there's an old debate in relation to how people are processed in relation to international protection. We have many people who, for example, are in centres at this point in time who have had approval in terms of their international protection and their status to remain here. Yet they're still in centres because there is no accommodation for them. And so there's major problems, there's major backlogs. There are people right across the country, businesses who are actually offering accommodation in relation to people coming in here and they can't get the accommodation approved because the department is basically, is collapsing. Now, there's an unprecedented amount of work that that department has gone through. I understand, for example, they've made a request for additional staff that was rejected by the cabinet. So, say a business then, say a business in, I'll pick a town, I don't want to pick it, say Donegal town, right? A business approaches the department and says, we can accommodate here, we can accommodate, you know, 250 refugees, you know? And you're saying the government's dragging its feet in relation to that. Would you, do you think if someone offers the accommodation it should be just taken up? Do you think there should be consultation with them? No, but I'm moving the question forward, Pierce. I understand, I'm just answering the point. That is not the point at all. It's not a case of somebody offering accommodation and therefore they're just taken up. First of all, what people expect is a response. That's the first thing. And I'm not talking about Donegal, I'm talking about different parts of the country here. The people expect a response, people expect to be able to be told yes, no, or maybe or whatever. The issue here is it's not just about accommodation, it's about services, it's about making sure that communities are supported and equipped in relation to able to do it. So everything from schools to medical and all of that needs to be taken into account. The problem here is we don't have, we don't have a strategy, a long-term strategy. Like there is no strategy that the government have told us in relation to, well, where's the extra accommodation coming from or how we should require it or anything of that nature. So there is, and you're not just hearing it from people in the opposition, you're also hearing it, you can see it this week being reported by backbenchers in Finnegeal and Fianna Fwelsen. There is no information coming out here from... So how would you be judging, how would you be judging, say for instance, how many refugees Donegal can take? Are you saying you would do an assessment of GP services, school places, capacity in the hospital? That's what happens. Like that's what happens and the local authority has a role in relation to this. So the local authority has a role in relation to informing the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in relation to the service. So say all local authorities say, look, we are really at our... We are really, you know, at capacity here, all local authorities from Dublin to Donegal. But they're not saying that, they're not saying that. See, this is the issue, they're not saying that. And if you look at certain parts of the country, you will see that there's a far lower level in relation to those seeking international protection, mostly in war in Ukraine than there is in other areas. So, you know, there has to be a proactive plan here. It can't be a seat of the pants thing all the time. We recognise that this is a crisis, this is a war, this is unprecedented. But we are a year into this and we haven't still, we don't have a plan in relation to where the accommodation is going to be acquired. And there is a lack of communication in relation to leaders in your community, whether they're elected representatives or not. What we get is we get an email sometimes, sometimes not, and there's an email on the day basically saying that X amount of people are coming to your community. There is no discussion whatsoever. Then we're trying to figure out, is the GP's been contacted, has the school's been contacted and all of that? The guards aren't even contacted in a lot of cases. It's not quick enough in terms of the planning here. Okay, well, listen, hey, in one form or another, I'm sure either directly or indirectly, this'll probably form some of the conversation as well at the Ballot Arts Centre, Ballot Buffet Monday, the 13th of February, 7pm. It's the Donegal People's Assembly, the Commission on the Future of Ireland. Sinn Fein are the organisers, but Pierce has made it clear that everyone is welcome. You turn up on the night or on the evening, is that how it's done? You can register with Eventbrite, so there's a link there on all our social medias as well in terms of registering with Eventbrite, and a large number of people have registered already with Eventbrite, but you can also attend on the night. So we're encouraging people. We've invited a lot of, we'd like to hear from community groups, representative organisations, this is a set of invited people from the unionist community, also to the event, but look, come, have your say. If you don't like the idea, tell us that. If you think there's a question in relation to, you know, what some of the panellists should say, or maybe give your own thoughts, be part of it anyway, because this train has left the station, and in my view, it's only going to one station. You're going to have to choose a different metaphor, Pierce from here. That's might be fine, Dan and Dublin. There's no trains leaving any stations around here. But hey, that could form part of the conversation as well. That's exactly the type of conversation, because why don't we have rail here in Donegal is the cause of partition. They all island rail review. The reason the only chance of getting rail back in Donegal, I've raised this with the minister, is an all island approach. Again, a lot of these things come back down to partition and Irish unity, whether it's health, education, jobs, economy, deprivation, rail, even trying to get into the European Cup finals or the World Cup finals, it all comes down to should we have one team, should we have two teams, all of those kind of things. These are things that interest people and have your say. All right, thanks very much for your time by the way. I think I took more of your time than you probably expected. But anyway, I just wanted to ask some questions that would be coming in as well. Right, okay, coming up after 11, it is just time to chill out a little bit. You know what I mean? We chat five days a week here, a lot of positive stuff, a lot of issues, trying to fix stuff. Hey, by the way, thank you so much. I find it a bit cringy talking about the listenership figures because everyone does it and I hate to be like everybody else. But that being said, we have to recognise something that over the course of the last year, we've had a huge increase in people listening to the Ninetyal Noon Show. And even over the last three months, we've had thousands of people, more people tuning in. And the figures cover North Donegal, they're fantastic. Eight out of 10 people in our area here, eight out of 10 people listen to Island Radio in the week. Isn't that remarkable? Only two out of 10 don't. And we're gonna have to get used to listening to us on a weekly basis. But I think that's just absolutely phenomenal. But thousands more, one, two and 3000 more per hour, depending on the hour, tuning into this show, which is great, you know, because other news services, it's gone the other way. We're not news, just news, but you know what I mean, it's great to see that we're booking a national trend and we really appreciate it. Highland Radio and I are the second most listened to local radio station in the country. It's getting neck and neck in that regard with our old friends down at Midwest. But by far and away, we have the highest market share of any station in the country, local, national, international, it doesn't matter with them. Our market share is massive. And that's thanks to you switching on in the morning and staying with us all day or for long periods of time. That's what the market share is. So we really do appreciate it. And when I say that, I mean genuinely, our fair we're talking about and going saying, well, haven't we the best listeners? And that doesn't include a million live minutes watched every month, a million live minutes watched every month across our social media for the show. We really appreciate that. And also our great friends out living in different parts of the world who tune in. Unfortunately, the figures don't count you as well. So all in all, we are continuing to grow. And in this day and age, it's fantastic. And it's all down to you guys. So thank you very much indeed. Right, let's take a break. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at highlandradio.com. Is the appearance of your staff important to your business? It's the first point of contact for customers when entering your premises. At C&M embroidery and letter Kenny, they have a huge range of clothing covering all areas of the workplace. It's widely known that customers warm to and trust employees that present themselves well. Have your company name embroidered or printed on all your work uniforms. Contact C&M embroidery on 07491 28097 and get your staff looking their best. 2023 is already turning out to be an electric year for Hyundai. Why? Because Hyundai is the best-selling electric car brand in January 2023. And the IONIQ 5 is now officially Ireland's best-selling electric car. You make 2023 the year you make the change to fully electric driving. Your local dealer is Diverse Hyundai Canal Road Letter Kenny, call 9-1-22-600. Ireland's biggest ever tribute weekend is coming back to Donegal. Trip Bash 2023 is taking place at the Clanry Hotel Letter Kenny on the 10th and 11th of February. The nation's very best tribute acts take to the stage with a fantastic award-winning Johnny Cash and June Carter tribute show Cash Returns. The sell-out show Mac Fleetwood as Fleetwood Mac. The smash-it ABBA tribute with Bjorn Identity and the show-stopping Queen tribute. Limited tickets available now at the hotel reception and online at eventbrite.ie. Trip Bash 2023, the perfect Valentine's Party weekend. Are you involved in a digital project in your town or community? Would you like to share in a 100,000-euro prize fund? The .ie Digital Town Awards shine a light on the achievements of local towns for digital projects in health, education, tourism and community. To enter the .ie Digital Town Awards, visit weare.ie, terms and conditions apply. Join me, Sinead Black, for a weekend of social dancing, music and crack in the Connacht Hotel Galway. From Friday the 24th to Sunday the 26th of March, myself and my band will be joined by T.R. Dallas, Jack Kyo, Alex Black, The Break Free Band and the Galway Dancers. To secure your place, call 08-6-231-9845 or visit SineadBlack.com. I've lost my car keys, lost my car once in a multi-story, lost my patience, my hair, lost that a while back. But this week, I found things I thought had gone forever. The crackle of needle on vinyl, leaves, crunching. I found them all at SpexSavers. I got free hearing aids with PRSI and now those sounds are back. So's my jar de vivre. Still can't find those keys though. Book a free hearing test today. Terms and conditions apply. See our website for details. I'm Dee Dam Demir John from Oxfam. Right now, we are working with partners to respond to the devastating aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that did Turkey and Syria. More than 200 after shocks fall out. Thousands of lives have been lost and the number keeps rising. Your help is urgently needed. Donate now at OxfamIsland.org. If you were thinking of changing your wash machine, consider the brilliant 8KG 1400-spin washer from Bloomberg. Raymond Sweeney here at Ben Sweeney Ironix. If you often need laundry washed in a hurry, this brilliant wash machine will get your daily clothes clean and fresh in under 30 minutes, saving money on your energy bills and giving you back valuable time. It also comes with a seven-year parts and labor warranty for peace of mind. Call in to us and see for yourself at Ben Sweeney Ironix Port Road Letter Kenny or in the shopping center, Dunlowe. Order. There's a lot to be said for it. Not the restrictive always play by the book straight down the line kind of order, but the order you place for a brand new 231 Audi. 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Don't just take off, take it easy. OK, so, Mr. Drizzle clearing. So overall plenty of dry weather today with some occasional sunny spells. Temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees in moderate occasionally fresh west to southwest winds. So let's go now to Ballywood, Bally Shannon. It's like Hollywood down there at the moment. Michael Daly operates, Daly's Donegal Facebook page. He joins us now. Hi, Michael. Hi, Greg, how are you? Good to have you with us. Right, more power outages in and around Bally Shannon. You know, I'm sure you wouldn't be highlighting it, Michael, unless there was a bit of a trend and a lot of inconvenience ongoing. What's happening? Do you think? Yeah, well, Greg, I suppose most recently in the last three days, we've in an area where I live, but extends both sides of the river are heading out towards Baleek. We've had five outages in the last three days and it's a trend that sort of it was beginning. I was beginning to notice it and sort of log it in the back of my head because I live in this area. And I wondered, I said, but that's a lot of outages because through neighbors, I asked did anybody have records of the outages and then information came to me and to cut a long story short, over a period of actually just less than a year from the 14th of the first 22, which is on things they last year to today, there's been, from my figures, 14 outages in that time. So, you know, I remember several times being here at home and the power going out and kind of it was almost a novelty to it at the start because basically it was great to see that all the technology being turned off in the house where teenagers tend not to talk to you. And so we actually played cards, they kind of liked and all that.  But, you know, right through February last year and then it kind of waned but picked up again October we had one since Steven's Day, another and then in January and February, it's not been good. We've had a lot of outages and people, I eventually, I was kind of reluctant to do it because I was personally involved in it because I live here, but eventually I put a piece up on my own page and I was taken aback by the reaction from others. Yeah, Michael too, because there's- A lot of them who have a lot of detail. There's a group of us that it's an inconvenience, isn't it, like you talk about, you know, when the router's down, you have to get the deck of cards out and what have you, but I'm sure there's a lot of people affected too, whereby, you know, maybe young babies in the house having to boil kettles, make bottles, or people who are carers. Do you know, it sort of goes beyond inconvenience into actually really having a detrimental effect on people.  Funny, one of the people who contributed, actually I took a note, I kind of sort of anticipated your question and I won't name her, but she's there on the page. I'm going to look at the comments. Fully reliant on electricity for heating, hot water, and cold water, cooking and hybrid working. And I wondered about the cold water, but the reason for that is probably that the water system's on the pump.  But for a lot of people out here in this area, it really is affecting their lives. And I understand that ESB networks have had a, you know, a series of properly put together complaints from people basically outlining the extent of the issue. And to be fair, they have responded. And last week we thought we had crossed the Rubicon and that this might be sorted because they had crews in the area and everything was going well, then power went out again. So I'm not sort of sure what exactly is the problem, but in response to some of those complaints, the ESB said, well, I read what they said. They said, they have not yet found the fault on the line. They have teams of men working on the line and they've narrowed it down to a particular area. Hope to have it resolved very soon. And then another comment from a person who got a response from the ESB said that the fault arises when there's a period of extended rain, you know, I'm not trying to be smart, but, you know, it's not the sunny side, Donegal, we do okay as we get extended rain. The odd spell of weather, yeah. We practice on trees and that sort of thing. Because, and it is interesting to say that, because I think we probably have one of the most resilient networks in the country because of the weather that we get, you know, and we have great teams that quite repair it. So when there's a niggly problem like that, and it's more than niggly for the people you've mentioned, we hope they get on top of it and provide the people of that part of Balashan in the same service that the rest of the canteen enjoys. Yeah, yeah. And just for the benefit of your listeners on it, it's very rural of Balashan and as I said, it goes out the old bleak road. I'm not sure if people would be familiar with that. Where I live in the NAD, they're right out towards, and there's an irony here. Where I'm talking to you from now in the house, as crow flies, there are two hydroelectric power stations about a mile and a half for me. And perhaps another two miles from me, there's a wind farm. So I know the two things don't tally. We don't get her power directly from the wind farm or elsewhere, but that's sort of beginning to annoy people as well. You can hear the whoosh of the turbines. But you've got to, yeah, you've got the turbine to kind of run in, and then things fall. All right. Come here before I let you go. Nader or Nader? Nader for me. Now, come here, what is the either side here? What would Nader or Nader? Where does Nader come from? Why Nader or own Nader? I don't know, but we almost, it's about the KNAT, H-E-R, and now I see versions of N-A-D-E-R, but no, it's been Nader with a K. And I suppose the one thing, Greg, just to kind of, I sound like I'm being a politician here, but in fairness to the crews, many of them may know well, some of them, I was actually at school, but who'd been out here during the night and all the rest of it. You know, they are doing as much as they can to resolve the problem. It's just, you know, if you've got 13 of those in 12 months and six of them in three days, people get a bit crispy about that kind of stuff. I think so, and rightly so, yeah, of course, because it is a very expensive commodity as well at the moment, let's not forget. Well, there is that, Greg, and the other thing I wasn't going to say, because some of your listeners might say, like, you know, in an area like this, it's not a massive number of people. I estimate it's probably affecting about in total 5 or 600, but, you know, we pay our bills too, so that's why I kind of raise it on the pay. And we appreciate you sharing it then with us as well, Michael. You can check out more from on Facebook, Daily's Donegall Facebook page. Michael, thank you. Thanks, Greg. Let's wish us to everyone. Thank you very much indeed for that. That's Michael Daily, as I say, Daily's Donegall Facebook page, 0860-25000. Right, okay. I think the amount Ireland traveled out is not the same as just how much as how came in. We are swamped and on our knees. How you feel, I'm not in any way contradicting that, but 70,000 is a big number, of course, but should it swamp a population in excess of five million? Greg, we need to raise the issue of disabled people getting respite, families are struggling, and we need help. We'll come to that specifically, rather than not just a text, okay? So I'll try and remember to start that on Monday, right? So we can afford that the time it clearly deserves. Hi, Pauline McLean here, sharing something really important.  So call 112 or 999 if you see any of these FAST signs. F for face, has it fallen on one side? A for arms, can both be held up? S for speech, is it slurred? T for time. It's time to call 112 or 999 FAST. Learn more at irishheart.ie. The initial Gateway Hotel Bonkranagh will be holding their annual wedding fair on Thursday the 16th of February from six till nine p.m. View the hotel for your dream wedding day. Meet with wedding suppliers and speak to our award-winning team on the night. For more information, call us on 074-93-6114. There's an M&S dining for every occasion from a midweek stir-fry to a Friday night pizza, comforting pasta to gastropub classics, family dinners to date night indulgence. Whatever you fancy, this is restaurant-quality food that's worth staying home for. Available in store now. This is not just Dine-In. This is the home of Dine-In from M&S. On the road to places I... Fancy weekend away. Join me, Schnee Black, for a weekend of social dancing, music and crack in the Connacht Hotel Galway from Friday the 24th to Sunday the 26th of March. Myself and my band will be joined by T.R. Dallas, Jack Kyo, Alex Black, The Break Free Band and the Galway Dancers. To secure your place, call<PHONE_NUMBER> or visit schnadeblack.com. New this weekend home store and more. All car accessories are half-price. But better hurry, because when all the half-price car accessories are gone, they're gone. Also, all frying pans and all pots and planters are still half-price. But when all the half-price frying pans and all the half-price pots and planters are gone, they're definitely gone. Drop by your local home store and more, or visit us online at homestoreandmore.ie. Home store and more. A happy home. At F&F, there's 25% off Ladies and Men's Nightwear until this Tuesday the 14th with your Tesco Club Card. That's 25% off PJs, loungewear and nightwear. Just in time to add a little oolala to Valentine's evening. Now that's worth popping in for F&F. Fashion at Tesco. Products subject to availability. Available in the majority of larger stores. Counties number one talk show. The 9 till noon show on Highland Radio. OK, Michael and Finula will be in studio with us really, really soon. But in the meantime, let's get a news update at 11 o'clock and we say good morning to Jane McLeafordy. Thanks, Greg. Cleaner Richardson will take up the role of assistant Gareth Commissioner tomorrow. With 30 years service, she will be responsible for the Northwestern region. Gareth Commissioner, Drew Harris has welcomed her promotion saying it will be of great benefit to the force. The prospect of a link between Letter Kenny and Derry will be included in the All Island Strategic Reel Review according to the journal.ie. However, the review notes a new line would need to be built as the tracks between the two have been taken up. The publication of the review may be some time away yet as ministerial approval will be needed from both jurisdictions and that will not be possible until an executive is formed at Stormont. The Irish Aid Agency goal says it's going through heartbreak after 26 members of its staff died following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. It says some staff members are still unaccounted for. More than 21,000 people are confirmed to have died in the disaster. The iconic Northwest 200 and all other motorcycle road races in Northern Ireland have been canceled this year. The Belfast Telegraph today reports the soaring cost of public liability insurance led to the decision last night by the Motorcycle Union of Ireland. A Donegal TD says more people should be questioning the decisions and the role of the Attorney General. Deputy Pringle was speaking in the doll during statements on the nursing home controversies after a report from the Attorney General defended the state's legal strategy to fight claims from medical card holders wrongly charged for private nursing home care. Two Donegal Attractions have been honoured by CIE Tours at the company's first award ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic. The CIE Tours Annual Awards of Excellence honours the facilities and attractions which most impress the 25,000 US visitors the company brings to Ireland each year. And now for the weather, quite cloudy today and perhaps misty at times with possible outbreaks of light, rain and drizzle. Overall, plenty of dry weather with some occasional sunny spells, highest temperatures, 10 to 12. That's all for now and we'll be back with more headlines at 12 o'clock. Thank you very much indeed, Jade. And we'll be back with more after this really short break. COVID-19 and flu viruses are circulating in the community. Keeping up to date with your recommended vaccines will make sure you have the best possible protection from serious illness. And everyone aged 18 to 49 can now get a second COVID-19 booster vaccine from the HSC Vaccination Centre or a participating GP or pharmacy. See what vaccines are recommended for you on hsc.ie or call our team in HSC live on 1800 700 700 from the HSC. 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. Who said you have to plug in to drive electric? Find the drive you've been looking for with e-power now available in the new Nissan Qashqai, a unique electrifying experience now unplugged. Nissan, innovation that excites. At last, a technology that's impossible to ignore? Here we have a device that grows... People's attention. Introducing a technology that's truly impossible to miss. Imagine a technology where it's impossible to scroll past your ads. Welcome to radio, advertising that's unscrollable. Visit radiocenterireland.ie to see what radio can do for your product or brand. Weanling trade is on fire for more in your farmer's journal, his Paul Mooney. As weanling prices keep climbing, we look at what's driving demand. Sheep farmers await competition authority investigation on Kildare chilling sale. As lambing season kicks off, our special focus advises on how to keep a lid on costs. New time scheme, find out what new equipment and grant rates you can apply for. Factories pushing beef farmers to cut emissions by 30%. And we examine how farm partnerships can break down. Only inside this week's Irish Farmers' Journal. Every year in the GAA, something unique happens. First-class rivals suddenly become first-class teammates. Fiercinter 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 line 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. COVID-19 and flu viruses are circulating in the community. Keeping up to date with your recommended vaccines will make sure you have the best possible protection from serious illness. And everyone aged 18 to 49 can now get a second COVID-19 booster vaccine from the HSC Vaccination Centre for a participating GP or pharmacy. See what vaccines are recommended for you on hsc.ie, or call our team in HSC Live on 1800-700-700 from the HSC. Five minutes past 11 on this Friday, the 10th of February, and it's time to welcome back into studio our dynamic duo of Michael Letty, writer and blogger. Hi, Michael. Hello. And Fanoda Rappertop, need to come up with some words for you as well, I don't know. Awesome. There we go. That's what I'm saying. Never wrong. That's another one I like to think about. I'm honest. These are good descriptions. Right. We want you involved in the conversation at Radio Land or if you're watching us as well. You can text or WhatsApp or wait 660-tell us. Tell us 1,000. Oh, wait, 660-21,000. Tell us what you're watching or what you've been doing from phone or what? Oh, wait, 660-21, 20... 25,000. Oh, wait, 660-25,000. Do you know I read that number a million times a year? It's a Friday. It's definitely. 0749125,000. I skipped breakfast. That's if you want to call us, by the way. It's amazing, really, how it can affect your mind. OK. Michael, have I got a hold of your list here? Yes. OK, it's very small. Yeah, but we don't ever get to anything anyway. We only pick one or two things, so I just... Wow. You know, that's kind of like an executive decision. In fairness. Well, it just... He's phoning it in. It seems like it was just as well to just keep to... Right, OK. Shall we start with something on regular telly, Vera? What do you think, Finula? That's on your list, isn't it? Sorry? Yes? Finula? No, it was on my list. Oh, it is on my list. I forgot all about it. Vera is back. That's the Friday we'll cover up as well. No, because it's not one of the new ones that's on my list, I promise, because actually it started last week. OK, that's great. But it's the new series of it, and it's season 12, and it's supposed to be the final series, even though they haven't officially said it. But in fairness to poor Brenda Blech and getting in and out of that jeep can be a bit... It's a lot. It's a lot. But it just... I had it down on it because it started back, it's season 12. It's been a while, and we've kind of lost an awful lot of the sort of long-form detective stuff that's been going on. You know, there used to be Morse, there used to be Lewis. They all sort of finished Endeavour, which was... Silent Witness. The silent witness. It now only runs for a very short run, and it runs over the two days, whereas these are the ones that UTV do, and they're actually like a double-up. So they run for the two hours and 20 minutes or whatever it is for the whole thing to go through, and that's exactly what Vera does. I love all these kind of detective-y drama things. McDonald and Dodds is back on now as well. So they're not going out of fog? It's just... Well, a lot of them just came to an end. OK. It was a thing. Because Happy Valley, would you count that? That finished up during the weekday or last week, didn't it? No, oh, Happy Valley, you see, would be a different thing. It was always an hour long, and it was always weekly. Oh, I see what you're saying, right? What I'm saying is, these are kind of like the big... The way they did them was nearly the way they did the old Agatha Christie's, the way they did the Poirot's. You never watched Poirot over six weeks, even back in the day when you watched everything week on week.  It was very unusual at the time for them to be that long, instead of being week by week, would you agree with that? Yeah, absolutely 100%. Yeah, I know the type of thing. The type of shows you're on. And they're just in this kind of detective genre, and they've done these in the exact same way. You don't have... You literally sit there for, like, a movie. Yeah. Every week is like a movie, but there's 10, 12, you know, 10, 12 episodes in every one of the series. And so beer is done like that. It's absolutely fabulous. You can watch any of them back there. I've watched the whole series back, I'd say, about twice over the course of the 12 years that they've run it. But basically what it is, it's just this small... Anybody who knows Brenda Blehin, the Irish actress, she's kind of like a, you know, shortened stature no more than myself, slightly retunned. And she would be of a mature years. And she is this kind of hard-nosed, just detective. She just goes out there and does the job. Yeah, she's not a heavy drinker. She's not a heavy this. She doesn't have any major... Is she miserable?  No, she's not necessarily... 24 hours to crack the case? No, no, it runs over the length of time that it runs. But the cases are actually always really interesting. They're both about stuff in the UK. And it's beautiful where it's set. I'm never 100% sure where it's set. But I think it's kind of like Yorkshire up around that area. Picture-esque murders. It's absolutely stunning. And they're just really good to watch. That, as I said, season 12 is back on, but on ITV3 and 4 and that kind of thing, you can watch the old ones. McDonald and Dobs is the same kind of thing, but it's like a modern-day version. It's just a safe pair of hands, isn't it? It's just a safe bit of programming. Yes. It really is. You'll sit down and you watch it and you just really enjoy it. There's a lot of red herrings. I love McDonald and Dobs in particular. I think it's a fantastic show. It's very smart. There's kind of a lot of smart writing in it.  You know what I mean? It kind of flips and changes. Designed to throw you. Yeah. And there's a lot of cast. You know, there's a big