Galway Bay fm - Galway Talks - with John Morley

Morley's Mouthfuls Traffic was again a big issue this week on Galway Talks, but it was traffic safety, not congestion, that dominated. I went out to Kinvara early on this week and spoke to some of the locals about some of the traffic safety measures they want to see in the village. They want urgently to have two pedestrian crossings, as well as, a number of other knock-on safety measures. It follows two accidents in the village over recent weeks, and they're calling on Galway County Council, TII, and all the relevant stakeholders to get safety measures in place as a matter of urgency. The Global Sumud Flotilla was boarded by Israeli forces this week as they tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. A number of the people who are on the boats, including Salthill poet Sarah Clancy, have been taken as captives and will be deported to their countries in due course, according to Israeli forces. ​Now, they maintain that they are trying to deliver humanitarian aid and are allowed to so by international law, making what Israel did a war crime. Israel says these people are going into their waters and that they need to make sure that there is no weaponry in this aid before it makes its way on to Gaza. ​There is increasing pressure on governments across the world from citizens to put pressure to bear on Israel to end the genocide. Insurance was again a topic of discussion this week. There have been recent hikes by three of the main four providera in the last week, seeing some premiums increase by as much as €600. This follows other increases throughout the course of this year by the majority of the four players in the market, with Level Health increasing theirs back in April. ​We had Dermot Goode, of Health Insurance Ireland on the show. He explained some of the reasons given for this increase in health insurance, including more people going to seek assistance in private health hospitals. ​He also gave some advice to our listeners as to what is best practice to find the best premium out there and the best deal for a given individual and family. He set out the pros and cons to having and not having private health insurance in this country. In a week where local Fianna Fáil Deputy Albert Dolan has brought out a tracker to allow the public to see the breakdown of tenders in the public procurement process, wastage of monies at a national level was very much to the fore again. It centered in and around the €100,000 tender for the bike shelter at the National Maternity Hospital. ​Now, Sinn Féin have called for this to be scrapped outright, while the government parties have said there is a tender process and to wait and see if someone can bring in a tender at an affordable rate. ​We discussed this on the program earlier on this week with Fianna Fáil Deputy John Connolly and Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell. School transport came to the fore yet again this week after nearly a month since schools returned for the new academic year. We spoke to the grandmother of two children with language disorders who had to move to Loughrea to avail of a nearby school at the loss of the services they badly needed in Ballinasloe. ​We discussed this on the program with the grandmother of the children in question, Josephine Clarke. She was joined on the program by local Fianna Fáil representative in the Loughrea area, Michael Regan. ​She is calling for the Department of Education and the School Transport Office to get their school bus route back for her grandchildren so that they can fulfill their education to the full potential. Staying on the topic of schools, two schools in East Galway are still waiting on the go-ahead for much-needed expansions. ​For over 20 years, that's been the case for Carrabane National School in the Loughrea hinterland, but also for Scoil an Chroí Naofa in the Ballinasloe area, but that particular projects stretches out to nearly 30 years. ​We discussed what can be done to expedite the process and give final approval to both projects with Sinn Féin Deputy Clare Kerrane and Fianna Fáil Senator Shane Curley.  

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am  'Severe and damaging gusts' to come as Storm Amy hits Galway   Closures and event cancellations across the city after rain warning overnight  Flooding across the county with Moycullen and Connemara badly affected  Fears Government’s proposed short-term rental legislation could devastate family-run businesses across rural Ireland  10am-11am We speak to Eamon O’Cuiv after Catherine Connolly was criticized by the Taoiseach over hiring a woman convicted of firearms offences  Concern at new influx to UHG maternity unit  We hear about a new project involving the compositions of a Columban missionary priest who lived in Woodford  11am-12pm Galway Thoughts panel - Albert Dolan and Mairead Farrell  Sports Preview 

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am Urgent Call for Road Safety Measures in Kinvara Village   Irish Refugee Council call on Department of Justice to halt voluntary return campaign   We look at events taking place for World Stoma Day this Saturday   10am-11am Protest takes place in Galway City as Israel stops 13 Gaza aid boats carrying 500 activists – including Galway poet   Connacht Tribune Headlines   Health cover hikes to hit families for up to €600 as premiums rise again  First named storm of the season To hit Galway with Yellow rain warning in place   11am-12pm CULTURE CORNER - Eastside Arts Festival  Podiatry conference takes place in Galway  Music Mornings - Opacas 

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley  9am-10am FOI reveals ‘failures’ in enforcing short-term letting rules in Galway City   Transport woes force school change for children with language disorders in Loughrea  Awareness campaign to be launched for sexual violence survivors   10am-11am The Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland Ms Larysa Gerasko joins us    Motoring with Gerry Murphy   We speak to a new Galway Garda recruit about his experience of training and the job   11am-12pm Financial advice with Dave McCarthy We speak to the new CEO of Galway Chamber   History Talks - New book on the history & memory of RTC Galway, GMIT & ATU Galway

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am  House prices in Galway rise yet again   Galway primary pupils suffer from overcrowded classrooms   Good job news for Galway as CLS announced 140 new roles and Datavant adds 40 to its Irish team  10am-11am Calls to end ‘overly prescriptive’ planning process in Ireland  We hear all about this year’s Sleep Out for Simon   11am-12pm Kayte O Malley joins us to tell us all the details of TY Media Week   Evergreen slot   Music Mornings - Dave Clancy  

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am Double gold for Irish rowers at World Championships  Sinn Féin calls for €100k National Maternity Hospital bike shed tender to be scrapped   We hear about events taking place in Galway for breast cancer awareness month    10am-11am Urgent need for construction of two new school buildings in Galway    Irish peacekeepers could be sent to Ukraine 'if called to do so'   We hear about a Galway doctor’s new book – Uprooted Medicine   11am-12pm Galway Greats - Patricia Forde Sports Review

There's nothing quite like an election looming and the budget in the offing to make the work of a journalist more exciting. That's definitely been the case over the past week on Galway Talks. ?We started off the week by discussing VAT and the potential reduction back to 9% for the hospitality sector. There is some concern among certain quarters that it might also include big multinationals—something that many organisations, including unions, have not taken too kindly to. We discussed it on the programme with Galway man and Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, alongside Lorraine Heskin, who is the owner of the Gourmet Food Parlour chain, who have a premises in Salthill. On the opposite side of the fence was Dr. Laura Bambrick of ICTU. The issue of maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinasloe was brought into sharp focus this week by an Oireachtas Health Committee meeting. The committee heard contradictory information regarding the implementation of the Walker Report at the hospital. The committee heard information that appeared to conflict with previous statements from the Minister for Health and the Department of Health. Both Bernard Gloster (HSE CEO) and Colm Henry (Chief Clinical Officer, HSE) gave evidence at the committee meeting. They were questioned by Roscommon-Galway TD, Dr. Martin Daly. The admitted to him that the report was not fully implemented at the hospital. The ongoing saga has caused significant consternation locally, with many constituents demanding a meeting with the Minister for Health. The Minister has consistently maintained that her decision regarding the future of the services was made based on the "best clinical advice." However, the failure to fully implement the Walker Report is a key point of concern, exacerbating the anxiety among local communities about the long-term security and level of maternity services at Portiuncula. We're well into September now, and the storm season will be rolling in quick and fast from the south-west prevailing winds. The issue of the security of our energy grid was brought into focus this week by Fianna Fáil Deputy for Galway West, John Connolly. Connemara was one of the worst-hit areas affected in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn earlier this spring. We discussed investment into the energy grid between now and January 2026, which will cause a day or two of outages in certain parts of Connemara, from Carraroe right across and into Western South Connemara. Donald Trump's remarks in relation to autism and vaccines have caused quite a stir in the medical community this week. They have absolutely refuted his claims that paracetamol is linked to rising cases of autism. We discussed this on the programme earlier on this week with the President of the IMO Anne Deane. The question of funding for the Irish language and Irish language rights was very much put into focus last weekend with the Cearta March on Dublin. Our reporter Seán Ó'Maoilchiarán spoke to a number of different people and organisations on the ground who were passionate about the language, and who want to see increased funding and increased rights for Irish language speakers. We got a flavour of the march and the athmosphere on the day. Our Community Matters programme featured the wonderful island and islanders of Inishbofin. You can listen back on our website. Our Galway Great on Monday morning is Patricia Forde.

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am We’re live from the Annual Pathways to Progress Medico-Legal conference in the Glenlo Abbey Hotel Galway activist on Gaza aid flotilla slams drones targeting boats   We speak to an expert in effective responses to homelessness amongst older people   We’ll hear about Artificial Intelligence and Assistive Techonology and the Impact on Healthcare and Healthcare Litigation  10am-11am New communications network to be rolled out to first responders  Announcement of large scale development in Doughiska   Assisted Decision Making – Progress so far 11am-12pm Sports preview   Galway Thoughts panel - Noel Thomas and Sean Kyne  Women’s Health and Birth Related Injuries – Recent Research and Developments 

Ours to Protect is a unique and exciting audio project – a collaboration of local and regional broadcasters from across the country who have come together to tackle climate change, champion climate action, and inform and educate audiences all over Ireland about how they can make a difference. This week we discuss Energy with Dr William Finnegan, professor of Civil Engineering in the university of Galway and John McGarry, Director of LP3, and hear from schoolchildren across Galway about their thoughts on Sustainabillity. Ours to Protect is brought to you by Galway Bay FM and the IBI and is funded by Coimisiun na Mean with the television license fee.

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am  Planned outages for Connemara electricity supply as ESB to carry out major upgrade of region’s network   Irish Medical Organisation response to Donald Trump’s autism announcement   Recipients of the Galway People of the year awards announced   10am-11am Update on maternity services in Portiuncula   Connacht Tribune Headlines   Mental Health Reform Calls on Government to “Pay the Bill” in Upcoming Budget   Architecture at the Edge Festival returns to Galway   11am-12pm Ours to Protect - Energy