Morley's Mouthfuls: This week on Galway Talks (29th August 2025)

Health issues were to the fore in more ways than one this week. There was a very public back and forth between the Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and BAM in relation to the National Children’s Hospital.

Closer to home on Galway Talks we focused in on the Rare Diseases Strategy which is being developed for the next five years up to 2030. There are calls for expansion of rare diseases tested for, but also reliability of said tests.

While plans and strategies are important, ultimately it is delivery of changes and implementations of health recommendations that will make differences on the ground. We got to see the real human impact of that when Renmore mother Roisin Costello joined us alongside Anne Lawlor, a founding member and chair of 22q Ireland.

Very poignantly at the end of the interview Roisin laid bare that due to inaction on implementing changes other families have gone through similar situations to her family as genetic anomalies have not been caught by the screening system.

She wants to see and has renewed her calls for a centralised screening lab here in Ireland so that nothing is missed by health officials. Giving families the medical advice they need by making them aware of all the factors going into subsequent pregnancies.

BreastCheck missing screening targets for a second year running also made headlines locally here in Galway. We covered it with Prof. Michael Kerin who is over the cancer programme locally and Edel Shovlin the COO of the Irish Cancer Society.

Staffing dominated the changes needed alongside implementation of recommendations and completed promised infrastructure projects.

In more positive news for service users and family members in Loughrea, the Seven Springs Day Centre fully reopened this week following a long campaign from the Loughrea Concerned Citizens Group.

Mattie Quinn heralded the reopening and put it down to people power, adding that “they won’t be going away” anytime soon.

The Presidential election has remained in the focus and this week on Galway Bay FM we heard calls for grassroots Fianna Fáil members to be given a say in who will contest the race for the Áras.

Loughrea area Cllr. Michael Regan hit out at the top brass of the party and expressed his support for Eamon O’Cuív. He wants to see a democratic process opened up without delay.

We should hear more on the next moves from Fianna Fáil next week when the Taoiseach discusses options with the parliamentary party.

Meanwhile, two Ministers from the party were on Inis Oírr this week to announce the first announcement of the NDP spending ahead of Budget 2026.

The island will benefit from over 35 million euro investment in its pier, some 20 years on from when the project became one of the many victims from the financial downturn.

Better late than ever and a shock to islanders, planning will now begin in earnest to get the most out of this massive infrastructural boost to the area.

Don’t forget we are out and about on Friday next the 5th of September for Community Matters! We will be covering Kilnadeema Leitrim from Finnerty’s Mills in the heart of Southeast Galway. Join us on the morning between 9am-12pm if you are in the area.

Galway Talks

Galway Talks with John Morley is the flagship show on Galway Bay FM and broadcasts Monday to Friday from 9am to 12pm and is the most popular talk show in the Galway region.

The current affairs show features a mix of breaking news, human interest stories, sport, entertainment, history and live music.

From local and national politics to community issues, voices from across the county and beyond discuss and debate the major events affecting Galway, the country and the world.

There’s a lighter side too as we feature the stories of local characters, the talent of Galway’s arts scene and debate the county’s many sporting achievements.

To listen back to previous shows see here. 

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Morley's Mouthfuls