The Neil Prendeville Show | Cork's RedFM

00:00 Cook. 00:00 If you don't wish to blame them, that's your prerogative. It's time to talk. Absolutely crazy, Neil. What one done after last? 00:06 Neil, my mother thinks you're a gemmy god. 00:09 My child is not worth the money. Where's your humanity? The Neil Prenderville Show on Red FM. Where's the humanity of disgovernment? The Voice of Cook. 00:18 Keep out of the conversation. The Neil Prent of a show with Elevate Credit Union. Morning all. Text 0868 104 106. Just a big shout out to all of you in Cove this morning because a massive big ship, cruise ship, the MSC Virtuosa arrives this morning. 00:36 8,000 on board. That'd be 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew. It's enormous. I failed actually and gave up trying to count the amount of floors on it. in Cove this morning I don't know how much is left actually in the cruise season out of Cove but good luck to each and every one of them and hope they enjoyed all of their stays in the beautiful beautiful county of Cork now from the sea to the air lads and this is dominating all of the newspapers and online this morning I can tell you panic at 34,000 feet Terror on hijacked flight is the headline making the red tops today. 01:14 Oh, my God. There was a relief pilot. There were two pilots down at the back of the plane that were passengers at the time. And it was one of those relief pilots that helped to land an Israeli bound jet after one pilot stabbed the other pilot in the cockpit. and allegedly tried to crash the plane. Now, the hero, which was one of the relief pilots who was literally a passenger being flown to fly another plane somewhere, raced forward as the attacker was pinned to the ground and he pulled the Fly Dubai Boeing 737 out of a nosedive. 01:50 It dived 17,500 feet in something like 30 or 40 seconds. I mean, it was game over. They're calling it the Israeli 9-11 in the headlines this morning. And Israel believes the plane hijacking was an attempt at a 9-11 style terrorist attack. Passengers stormed the cockpit to head off what could have been possibly a crash into a skyscraper in an Israeli city. So it's unbelievable. The first officer seized control from the pilot on the flight, stabbed the pilot mid-flight. 02:28 First officer is apparently obviously not being questioned by authorities. He's... 02:35 an Oman citizen, Omani. 02:38 And the pilot who he stabbed, the captain, is Indian. And all of this happened mid-flight. Now, even though the pilot, the captain, had been stabbed, he still managed to open the cockpit door, right? Because you can't get in from the outside So even though he was injured and stabbed, he did manage to open it as the plane went into a nosedive. And it was at that stage that two off-duty pilots, one of them British apparently, raced up and one took control and pulled it out of a dive. But other passengers as well came to the assistance and managed to, I suppose, managed to take control and to grapple with it. 03:16 What they're saying now is a terrorist act. And they subdued him with headphone cable by all accounts. So all of the papers this morning go into it in quite some detail. And of course, with mobile phones now and what have you, there's lots of photographs. And I imagine online, many, many videos as well circulating. But my God almighty, it would have been... It would have been absolutely beyond tragic. I mean, if you look at the numbers on board the aircraft, you're talking about an awful lot of people. 03:47 I think it was like something like 150, actually give you the exact figure, 174 passengers on board, including 27 children and four cabin crew. So we're talking about a major tragedy this morning if that had not been averted. In other news stories making in print and online this morning, unfortunately, a lot of it in this country has to do with money. And I mean, no matter what we look at this, it's money wasted. They're talking about the 100 million that was paid to providers of accommodation for IPAS applicants. 04:20 You see, what happened is the contracts got cancelled because they decided to start winding down, certainly, the Ukrainian accommodation aspect of it. So when contracts started, but also for IPAS applicants, they had to pay money anyway in compensation to those that they had promised inside contracts for. That's the story in the start today where the taxpayer, again, has been hit with $100 million. 04:45 because of that bungle. And if you think that everything was sorted and ironed out with the children's hospital, probably the most, well, I don't think probably, definitely the most expensive hospital ever built in the world and still not fully open. 2.24 billion, which has kind of changed out of 2.3 billion is the cost so far. And there's problems with the bathrooms. Apparently 240 bathrooms need to be fixed from fiasco to fiasco to fiasco. 240 bathrooms and of course that further delays the completion and we still don't know when everything will be finished I spoke a lot recently about speed cameras whether they're the GATSO vans or whether they're stationary cameras, but there are more of them around the country now in all sorts of different places. 05:34 Some would suggest that some of them at least are shooting fish in a barrel, particularly if you need to drop from 100 to 80 or from 80 to 60 and you don't get enough time to do it. But apparently the Independent this morning talks about 2,800 fines having to be cancelled in because of two particular speed cameras, and all of the fines have to be refunded to a total of €445,000. 05:58 One is in County Mayo and one is in County Kilkenny. Did you know that in a four-year period... 06:05 There's been €138 million generated through fixed charge penalty notices from speeding cameras, the GoSafe cameras. €138 million. Now, you're probably saying, well, if people didn't speed and break the law with regards to... 06:23 speed limits, then we wouldn't be talking about huge amounts of money being made from penalties, financial and penalty points. But anyway, apparently one of these cameras didn't have the correct certification and the other one was actually recording in the incorrect townland from which it had been licensed to be in. It'd be like saying that it was supposed to be in Carragalline, but it was actually supposedly filming in Cove kind of thing. And so they were all thrown out. And then, and other aspects then with regards to law and order, we don't know how much the Donald Trump visit to Ireland is going to cost. 06:54 I don't know why it's taken so long since 2023 to find out how much the Joe Biden visit to Ireland cost, but the Garda policing operation for Joe Biden cost £31 million that it'd be picked up by the taxpayers. So you can be damn sure that Donald Trump will be that with bells on, probably fairly far north of £31 million, of which £664,000 was spent on hotel accommodation alone for members of Angarda Shecona. I don't know why... they even hone in on, on Garda Chikana spent 660,000 on hotels. 07:27 I mean, where in the name of God do I expect people to stay if they've been brought up from all different parts of the country in tents in the Phoenix Park? But anyway, wait until we find out how much the Trump visit will cost. And then the Taoiseach makes the papers this morning because he wants to sprinkle some good news like fairy dust saying that, you know, if people think that it's €7.50, the increase that's on the table for the pension, think again. He is saying that it will be higher than that. How much higher? I don't know. Will it be a 10 or a week? Would it be 1250? Would it be 15? I suppose they're tantalisingly teasing those of pension age and you'll just have to wait and see. 08:03 But he's certainly saying it will be higher than the 750 that's been mooted about. Everything gets leaked, doesn't it? It's like a leaky tap in this country with all sorts of stuff out. And, you know, the papers also this morning talk, and I probably should have mentioned this when I was talking about fixed penalty notices and cameras and people speeding. It's kind of half-related in the sense that it involves cars. And maybe we would like to see more of this where the Competition and Consumer Protection Association Commission, I should say, are investigating dodgy car dealers. Because the examiner this morning talks of a car dealer that has been sentenced to four months in prison and another one's been fined. 08:39 Why? Well, they weren't divulging to customers that the cars that they were selling them had been previously written off after they were crashed. Fairly serious stuff, don't you think? One is a guy called Andreas Malaukas. The other is a fella called Brian Healy. They're from Lucan Auto Sales in Dublin. Misleading customers about the history of their second-hand cars. I wonder how prevalent is this in the second-hand motor trade industry. Get in touch if you've any evidence of it. Text 0868104106. But your man got four months in prison yesterday. 09:10 That fella got fined 1,500 euros. 09:13 He was ordered to pay costs of three and a half thousand and compensation to a consumer. Obviously, I would think someone who bought a dodgy car of nearly two grand. So the first was a 161 Ford Focus. It was crashed and it was classed as a write off and subsequently sold to an unsuspecting customer. The second was a 142 Audi A5 crashed, written off in the UK, sold by them, never disclosed its crash history. And you can't be doing that, lads. And it's interesting to see somebody going to jail for something like that. 09:43 But I think there are few enough people who would disagree with it. And then... 09:48 But this was April 1st when I saw this story. I don't know what to say about it, to be quite honest. If I could speak Chinese, I'd do this bit in Chinese, but I can't. But certainly in the not too distant future, we will have five county councillors and 18 members of council all able to speak Chinese because they've been sent for Chinese lessons. Front of this morning's Echo says that five county councillors and 18 members of staff are learning Chinese as part of an eight-week course being provided free of charge by UCC. 10:23 I think it's probably a very, very difficult language to learn. But they figure they need to do it because we have a partnership with Jiangsu province in China. And it's only the mannerly thing if we have Chinese dignitaries and Chinese people coming over from China that they should be able to speak a bit of Chinese. But I don't think you'd learn much Chinese in eight weeks. 10:46 I know I certainly wouldn't. So for those of you that are saying, who's paying for it? Who's paying for it? Well, nobody, actually. It's a free course at UCC. Maybe we should all be learning Chinese, to be quite honest with you. The way the world is going these days and everything that's coming out of China, they're absolutely rocking in the free world, aren't they? Oh, and again... This is not me in any way, shape or form piling on against the jabs, whether it's Sozempek or Wegovi or Munjara or whatever you're having yourself. But apparently the research is out saying that it triggers nutrient deficiencies. 11:18 You end up not producing enough keratin, the protein of which nails are made of, and your nails will fall off. and you'll also lose your hair. Now, that's in extreme circumstances, but they are saying in the mail this morning that it can lead to patients' fingernails falling off. Maybe that's a price worth... 11:38 Or maybe that's a risk worth taking if you want to lose vast quantities of weight. But 60% of people on the jabs suffered from conditions including losing nails, nail discoloration and hair loss. I pass it on for what it's worth. And I think it's absolutely appalling. I've seen the photograph of the Zara costume for children. That does look to me without any question or doubt as if it is a concentration camp usually. uniform that millions were made to wear in many different concentration camps across europe during world war ii and the fashion chain zara has to pull the striped children's costume from its website because it's been accused that it resembles the jewish concentration camp uniforms not just jewish actually there were many many other people from many other walks of life who were in concentration camps that shouldn't have been in there nobody should have been in there wearing the same, as they call them, striped pyjamas. 12:35 It's no wonder that people are offended. It's very upsetting and it's just not on. There is some lighter news making the papers today and one of them means that if you really, really want to clock up your steps, follow a toddler around the house on any given day. A helpful tip next time you're trying to get your steps up, try running around after a toddler. And many people can relate to this. Children aged three or four can rack up to 30,000 steps a day. And if you're constantly chasing them, you also will do possibly up to 30,000 steps a day. 13:11 How do we know this? Well, Spanish researchers actually took 3,500 children and they put a step counter on their hip. And they clocked up that some of them were active for up to 29,300 steps per day. Meanwhile, for adults, really, they'd want to quicken their step and get to the appointments that you make with friends faster. I don't actually know now whether this is a battle of the sexes type story. 13:40 I'm talking about how late is actually late for an appointment or a date or meeting somebody for lunch or a drink. But they're saying this morning, 29 minutes. 13:49 And anything after 29 minutes is actually too late and rude. But turning up 15 minutes late is said to be fashionable. Now, for anybody that is on time, and forgive me, I have an awful lot of faults, but being late is not one of them. I suppose it's a life on radio and constantly looking at time and clock. But God almighty, there are people in my life that are always late. They lose complete track of time and could never be early or never even on time for anything at all. But they're saying 15 minutes late is fashionable, but 29 minutes is rude. 14:22 And push it to an hour late and you might as well not turn up at all. But I don't know whether this is women or worse. 14:29 I probably would get absolutely slaughtered if I was to even suggest that. How could I say it? But I do know of a group of women who all know that if they say one o'clock, they mean four past one. That if they say one o'clock, they potentially won't turn up until 20 past one. And everybody knows that. And they adjust their own clocks accordingly because she won't be there at one. She'll be there at 20 past. So I'll arrive at 20 past. You know, that kind of thing. But why can't people be on time? They say 31% say the ability to fire off one of these sorry, I'm running late texts has made lateness more acceptable. 15:05 It's like, I mean, if you're genuinely the odd time late, that's acceptable. But you know this thing about five minutes away? That's the biggest lie that was ever typed or said ever. Five minutes away means you're about a half an hour away. You're just getting into your car at home and you're just trying to stall the ball. So less of that, please, if you don't mind. 15:26 The Neil Prenderville Show on Red FM. Conversation, that matters. 15:31 Part of the conversation, text 2868104106, being fashionably late, fashionably late. Pa said, I was taught in the military that being on time was being late. Be a couple of minutes early. That makes sense, actually, if you've got an important meeting, right? Or say, for instance, an interview. Don't arrive on time, arrive slightly early. Or if you also are meeting somebody, could be business related, whatever the case may be, try and get there ahead of them because it gives you the opportunity higher ground, they say. But anyway, what do I know? Text 0868 104 106. 16:03 We were talking yesterday and I've had a lot of texts and emails on this. God almighty, the phones really lit up yesterday talking about the cost of living. And I suppose that's what Moat was all about, really, the cost of living protest as opposed to just fuel and energy costs. But we were talking about all sorts of different things with regards to bills and all of the extra increases on everything. And when you add them all up, they do amount to thousands and thousands of euro every single year. And it got me thinking as to whether people actually have money at the end of a month where they can actually set aside. Do you remember when you could save money, for instance? 16:36 It could well be for a rainy day or it could just be getting into the habit of saving. I wonder how relevant or prevalent that is anymore. with the cost of everything. But we decided actually to take to the streets when we were talking about the cost of living and saving. Seamus was out yesterday asking Corkonians whether they have savings or whether they struggle to meet the end of the month or is there anything left at the end of the month? Is there anything that they could possibly put aside? Have a listen to this. 17:02 You have savings. No. No. No. It's, like, impossible. Is it? Yeah. It's, like, ridiculous. Like, do you have savings? I have, like, 100, that's it. 100,000? No, just, like, 100 euro. 100 euros. 17:17 And you find dipping into that every now and again, do you? 17:19 Oh, for definite, yeah. Definitely. Definitely 5 or 20 or 50. And sometimes I can't put it back in for, like, weeks. 17:27 And what were you hoping to try and save for it? 17:31 good bit of money for the for like deposit for renting or just to have a good bit of savings in general because having a savings makes stuff way less stressful okay so constantly under stress oh yeah paycheck paychecks don't last at all no you can't even get everything done on one paycheck anymore it's kind of gone in 60 seconds oh yeah yeah 17:51 Are you in a similar situation? Yeah. 17:54 Even though I'm living at home, it's difficult to save. Because between bills and everything, it's gone. 18:00 And what I'm living on isn't even... 18:03 It's not even enough. 18:04 And what were you hoping to save? Is it similar to your friend here for rent? 18:09 Yep. Move out of home. But I can't. I'm financially stuck. Yeah. 18:15 Yeah, I have savings, but it's very hard to save. Very, very hard to save. 18:19 And are you saving for anything in particular? 18:22 Just saving in general, I don't know, like, it's good to have savings, I suppose. 18:25 Just to have her any day, is it? Yes. The affordability, I would imagine, has gone completely, for young kids anyway. 18:32 Do you have savings yourself? 18:35 A little bit, a little bit, not much. 18:36 But not enough to... Gumhead. Be gumhead, yeah. 18:41 Well, they say you should have about three months wages behind you in case something goes wrong. Do they? I'd say more than that. More than that, I'd say. You wouldn't have that, would you? Well, that's a very loaded question. That's a personal question. Do you find yourself dipping into savings every month now? 19:03 You do. 19:05 Occasionally. And would you be saving for something in particular? 19:11 Old age? 19:12 Yes. 19:14 Retirement? 19:15 You don't think the pension would cover? No. 19:17 No. The ordinary pension? No. You couldn't live in it. 19:21 I don't know how people live in it. 19:22 I don't either. 19:24 Have you savings? Are you able to save? 19:26 Yeah, I'm saving at the moment now anyway. At the moment since I've got this job. Okay. 19:32 And are you saving for anything in particular? 19:34 Just for life, just in case. 19:35 They say that you need three months wages behind you just in case the car breaks down or you have to replace the washing machine. 19:42 That's just handy to have savings anyway, like, it's handy. The price of everything now anyway is ridiculous. You would need a backup savings plan. 100% you would, definitely. 19:50 And do you have one yourself? 19:51 I do, I do. 19:52 Is there much there? 19:54 Not anymore. Not anymore, because I have to use it all so often. 19:57 So you find yourself having to dip into it every now and again? 20:00 That's 100%, 100%. With the prices of everything going up, with food, everything, electricity, everything. 20:06 100%. 20:06 Are you able to save on a monthly basis? No. 20:09 Do you have savings? 20:10 Very little. 20:11 And do you find yourself tipping into that then? Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah. Anytime you have a few pubs put together, something comes in. 20:21 Oh, is there something special you were saving that money for? 20:24 No, not in particular, just nice to have a... Just to have a buffer. 20:27 Yeah, exactly. 20:29 Text 0868-104-106 from the streets of Cork yesterday. Meanwhile, from the streets of Cork to a train. I'm assuming that the quality will be all right here. We'll drive on because Peter's actually... Yeah, can you hear me, my man? Can you hear me? 20:42 I can. I can, Neil. I can hear you all right. 20:44 I'm on the train to double end at the moment. I hear you. There's another protest being planned at the moment, is it? At the Garden of Remembrance that you're going up there. 20:52 There is... 20:54 There is the students in Ireland and there's about 15 colleges and technical universities are meeting at the Garden of Remembrance and they are marching to the Dáil because of the cost of living for students. Now, I was an ex-student union president at Cork RTC. I was in Moat last weekend. I was down at Whitegate because I'm the guy that treated people that were pepper sprayed down below there. 21:21 I'm an ex-nurse. and makes medic. And long story short, can you hear me there? 21:27 I can. I'm curious to hear a little bit more about you treating people for pepper spray. 21:33 Yeah, there was about 14 people pepper sprayed below there. And two of them were a father and his 14-year-old son. People say that 14-year-old child didn't exist. I can tell you he did. And he was out the next day in Cork City at the protest that was there. But Neil, we'll move on from that. Oh, no, don't move on. 21:53 Hang on a second. Just the 14 people. How do you treat them? 21:59 You treat them by flushing their eyes, each alternate eye with water for about 10 minutes and then remove the pepper spray from their face with baby wipes pulling away from the eyes. And it was only the way there was women in living in White Gate that actually came down with baby wipes from their own children and babies to actually help us to clean their faces. 22:21 Would you describe it as extremely excruciating to be pepper sprayed? 22:26 yes yes it is yes it is but need more important than that listen the local property tax let's look at the details on that park city council went for the full 25 increase that they're allowed yeah there was no negotiation there was no consideration of people's positions they went in full whack and who proposed it neil It was Sean Martin. Who's Sean Martin? He's Micheál Martin's brother. He's a city councillor who hasn't seen a hard day's work in his life. 22:59 I don't know anything about who proposed it. You want to be able to stand over that. All I know is that they didn't go for the 25. They settled on 15, wasn't it? 23:10 Okay. I probably guess that might happen at some stage with regards to phone lines on trains. Text 0868 104 106. Pick up the phone on 0818 104 106. Get involved in the conversation. And many people did actually yesterday with regards to the cost of living. They're looking down on us. Jack Chambers was telling people last year before the budget, you won't get this, you won't get that, while he earns thousands a week himself. When the truckers were out on the roads protesting, the government got a major fright. Now they know people are getting sick and tired of what's going on, says John in Cove. 23:43 We need to keep the pressure on. Brilliant show highlighting the poor management of Ireland. We need to bring back Eddie Hobbs and the Show Me the Money TV series to carry on with these exposures. Regarding the protest in Moat, I wondered if any of those at that meeting go and protest against Trump when he came to visit Ireland. After all, Neil, a lot of the fuel hikes are a consequence of his actions. There are also cries from the top table at that meeting that the lefties better clear off. That says a lot about who's running those meetings, says Ray. 24:13 And there are many more. The term entitled really boils my blood. Far too many people here seem to feel they're entitled to handouts, while others like myself in a working middle class have to constantly work long weeks and take on additional overtime. Just to make ends meet. 24:52 Where's the story there? 24:54 We will keep electing the same government. Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil together might do a good job, maybe. I'm an OAP and work part-time to keep my head above water because I wouldn't survive on a pension. My son is in Canada and can't come home due to the situation here. It's very, very frustrating. So your son actually would prefer to be here rather than Canada, but he knows that the numbers don't add up. Actually, do you know something? I ran out of time on a different couple of topics. I'll come back to text throughout the course of the morning. It's talking about what would happen if society actually went dark when it comes to the use of IT and digital technology, including the fact that much of it now controls how we spend our money. 25:34 And with AI, anything in the future is potentially possible if AI goes rogue and decides to engage in any kind of cyber warfare attacks and shut systems down. Amongst them, of course, it could be our digital currency. I was talking about it happening at the weekend where I was going around like headless chickens because they had no cash and nobody was able to tap on the hooky-ha because, of course, there was no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth. That's the importance of cash, I would think. It prompted a text from Denmark, Dave, who's always listening over Denmark when he joins me this morning. 26:05 Dave, good morning. Good morning, Neil. How are you? I'm good. You wanted to pick up on cashless society and the digital age. Go ahead. What's it like there? 26:16 Ah, it's kind of supposed to... Well, I think there are more people using card here than cash, definitely, compared to Ireland. There's no doubt about that. What prompted it was I broke my telephone there about two weeks ago and, you know, I was actually out sailing, believe it or not, with my ex-brother-in-law and... 26:36 what happened was I said oh Jesus the phone and I was totally locked out of everything here you're completely locked out if you don't have your phone here you're in serious trouble because you needed to access everything you have we have what's called my ID we have all this 2FA you could carry around card versions though couldn't you Yeah, you can, but the problem here was, I was out with one of my customers, a guy called Michael, a lovely, lovely man who's been involved in the military all his life. 27:10 He was actually a Russian translator for the Danish military, amongst other things. And he's written a few books, and I was out with him, and he's worked, he worked the last part of his life, he was self-employed within IT, his own IT business. 27:25 And I was out there and I was telling him, you know, I said, Jesus, you know, I said, the problems I had downloading the apps because I'm not a Danish citizen. 27:33 That's something else, you know. But just, you know, it's changed. Before trying to access my ID, you had to either have a Danish passport, a Greenland or an Icelandic. The point is... It's just, what he said to me was, he said, Dave, you know, he said, it's unbelievable how vulnerable they've made us. In other words, the Danish states. Like we don't have any mail, we don't get any letters at all from the states. It's all in your digital e-box. 28:06 I need my ID to get into all. 28:08 Do you get alerts that you have mail? 28:13 Yeah, you do. But you can choose that yourself. You can do that if you want. But it's being able to access it. Now, the point here is that we've got them, I was saying to Viv the other day, like about two years ago, we got handouts here, especially in Bonhoeffer, because we're the most eastern point in Denmark towards, we're in the Baltic Sea, and we've got Russia next door, among sort of things. 28:35 And so we were giving these handouts about what to have. And one of the things is, you have to have cash on you. And it was really funny because my bank doesn't do any cash at all when you go into the bank. Now, there's an ATM. But when you take the cash out or you put cash in, they want to know where is that money coming from? What are you going to use it for? Et cetera, et cetera. 28:57 Even if it's small amounts of money. 28:59 Yeah, they do. That's my bank anyway. 29:03 It does. 29:04 Does that happen? Have we reached a point in Ireland where a bank hasn't got an open teller counter where you can withdraw cash yet? 29:13 Yeah, we don't have that here. In my bank, anyway. And I know the other bank, one of the other major banks, they're the same. And over here on Banhan, it's just there is no cash at all. 29:22 So there are still a few tellers, not many. There might be six or eight actual kiosks, but you'll only find maybe one, possibly two if you're lucky. 29:31 So they're discouraging it anyway. 29:33 They are big time. And the problem now, what has happened now is, I've said this on the program before, Denmark is one of the most, if not the most digitalized countries in the world. The whole system here is interlinked. It's all digital, right? So if they come in and the possibility is because they tell us this on the news, you know, every now and again, you get them on and like, you know, whatever ministers are on and they're telling us about, like, we have to have cash in and this and that, but we have to have some, you know, like the bottles of water and this and that, whatever, food, tin food, whatever. 30:08 And they tell us as well every now and again, the water treatment plants here, they were hacked, I'd say, like 15 times, like kind of a day or something, they were talking about. 30:21 And, you know... What do you mean, hacked? Now, like, IT hacks or poisoned? 30:26 Yes, yeah, IT hacks, yeah, IT hacks, yeah. And it's happened here as well. And the point is, you have a country that is... Look, it's great when it works. Everything works, and it's brilliant. And it's, wow, it's easy for everyone. but it makes you extremely vulnerable as well. 30:42 But anything could be potentially hacked, couldn't it? Like a traffic management system. I mean, if somebody was smart enough to be able to hack one of those, they could cause chaos on our roads. Like they could hack a banking system. They could hack, well, we've had hacks within the HSE and things like that. They have, yeah, exactly. 30:58 And look at the cost and the problems that came out of it. And that's what's happening here now. They're starting to realise that We're extremely vulnerable because if one good hack and the whole system goes down, it's not just the HSC. Everything is interlinked here. 31:16 But we have some retail here now that refuses to take cash, for instance. And is that happening there as well where they say, no, it's only card or tap? 31:26 it is but it's not that much I mean most places I've tried when I use cash or card I always have cash on me all the time and the way look at this look card or cash I've no problem with them look at them like this you know you get two groups of people one for and one against and you know it's like electric cars and non-electric everyone's getting into their groups and fighting one another over it Look at it as cash and a card. You've got two cards in your hand. You know what I mean? You've got two possibilities, two choices. That's great. By removing one, you're taking the choices away from us. 31:58 I have no problem using my card. I have no problem using cash. But when you start removing one of them from us, you're taking the choices. Then you're making us more vulnerable as well. I've had it here as well with colleagues as well, the younger colleagues. 32:11 that I've known here and worked with. And we've had here on Bonn Hall, in Denmark as well, when I lived on mainland Denmark, I can remember certain occasions where the cables were cut by whatever ship passing by or whatever between Sweden and Denmark. 32:25 And the electricity was gone for hours. 32:28 I mean, the whole of Zealand was just... Point being that we're completely and utterly dependent on our mobile phones and on network availability. 32:41 Yeah, completely. 32:43 Absolutely. 32:44 So, you know, having a few quid always on you is never a bad thing. I can only see positive things with it. Okay. Okay. 32:51 We have been talking about the cost of living here and the cost of everything else, you know. Scandinavia is a very, very expensive part of the world. Denmark as well, I believe, has the highest tax rate in Europe. It could be as high as, what, 60%? It depends. 33:07 I can tell you, I'm paying about, I pay about 42, it's 42 or 3%. 33:16 Same as here. Same as here. 33:19 Exactly, right? 33:20 But hang on a second. That's all very well, but we need to add another seven onto that for universal social charge. And people need to remember that every single time they talk about tax rates. It's a nonsense to talk about 37% or 42%. You need to add seven to it. It makes it 49%. Really, to be honest with you, our tax rate is 50% here, to be honest? 33:42 It is hard. You know, people always say that to me as well. Oh, but it's really expensive in Denmark. And the more I look at it now, it's actually more expensive in Ireland. I mean, the rent, just take the rent alone. I mean, you know, here, like, look, I have to kind of talk about on Holland mostly because that's where I'm living. You never, ever, ever, ever hear anyone talking about the cost of living at all, at all. here because it's not a problem. Now, whether there are a few people there that have a problem with it. 34:11 What about fuel? What about energy costs? What about home heating? What about gas? What about supermarkets? What about petrol? 34:18 Nothing. Well, petrol is expensive here. Obviously, it's the same here. It's gone up a bit. 34:24 You know, for me, it's not a big problem in that regard because I'm using, you know, I'm running the business and it's just the price has just grown the business a small bit, but it's only a small bit. 34:36 relative to the price increase of the fuel but you have How much is petrol a litre? The last I saw was about like 17 or 18 kroner so that would be around around kind of 2 euro maybe 2 euro 10 or something I suppose for petrol and no one complains about that No, you might hear somebody saying, oh, did you see the price of it today? But no, nothing like what you'd hear in Ireland. But I think people in Ireland, they're being hammered. 35:08 They're being hammered. And like when you listen to that solicitor that spoke on the program yesterday about the wages, the expenses, what they're getting. 35:20 It's complete madness. Madness. And like, you know, we listen to people on the show and other programs, you know, and, you know, I follow a lot of the news office in Ireland and, and I'm just kind of like, what's happening there? You know, these people that are just like the politicians, they are not listening. They are not listening. And, and, It's just, Jesus, man, you know, something has to happen. 35:44 All right, my friend, stay in touch. Thanks for listening. Always good to hear from you. Denmark, Dave, text 2868104106. I pay my local property tax by the week out of my old age pension over €9 a week. 35:59 It's my house. Nobody else owns it. I'm a widow. I've been here for over 30 years. I've received no help from this government. Why am I subsidising expensive apartments? Why am I subsidising social housing? We don't pay at all, including accommodation from migrants and non-Irish residents, when many of these people appear to have more money than I do. 36:19 The City Council will always outvote Sinn Féin and others because Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael have the numbers. In my view, that's far from democracy. These two main parties seem to have control over the Lord Mayor role. Yes, they do, because there's a mayoral pact that involves Fianna Fáil, Fianna Gael, Labour. and the Greens. So ultimately, they will always have the major say in everything. This should be challenged. Blue Shirts and Martin, it's disgraceful. 36:45 Thank you for being outspoken. Thank you for continuing what you do. Love listening to the show. Well, I don't know about being outspoken. I suppose what I'm trying to do is just to keep people aware as to what's going on and the state of play. Maybe you might say that's the way I see it, but others might see it differently. You're entitled to. Get involved. Text 0868 104 106. 37:06 All right, I have three kids aged eight to 14 and I struggle like never before. I've literally nothing today and have to wait for payment tomorrow to come in to go shopping. I have so many bills, car insurance, my son's soccer membership, my daughter's gymnastics, gas and electricity is beyond me. I've worked and loved my job, but since my son got sick, I had to leave and I'm his only carer and I can't work for now. Life is so, so difficult as a single mum with these mad prices. 37:37 I just paid €1,400 from my daughter's car insurance last week. €720 for my car insurance. €750 for the house insurance. Are people paying their TV licence, I wonder? Well, are you? Because I have no idea where you'd even find it if you're paying that kind of money. All in one bunch. You see how they come along like buses in twos and threes. Two different car insurance and a house insurance. €750. 38:03 720 for your own car insurance and 1,400 for your daughters. Oh, my God. And look at the insurance company's profits, lads. Unbelievable. Either way, back to the phone lines we go. And Ken is on WhatsApp and listens in Sweden. Ken, good morning. 38:19 Hi, Neil. How are you? Good, man. Thanks for listening. 38:21 You've been there, what, 14 years now? 38:24 Yeah. Okay. And your call prompted the call from Dave in Denmark. Go ahead. 38:29 Yeah, I just listened to Dave there and it's the same... Same situation we have here as well about cash and with the telephone and if you lost your phone or something happened, everything is digital. 38:42 Like we get all pay slips, everything official from the government all comes through like a digital letter system. Everything's on apps and telephones. 38:54 So if we lose our telephone, we're reduced. 38:57 Does anybody use cash anymore? 39:01 Well, there'd be a few who use cash, all right, you know. 39:03 All right. 39:03 But you said in your text it's frowned upon. In what way? 39:08 Well, like, the only places now that take cash are the petrol station if you want to buy food or if you want to go to the off-license, because that's all governed by the government as well, the off-license. 39:22 So they're the only places really that take cash anymore. 39:25 Everything else is tap with your card. So, like, if you went... 39:29 Well, okay, so if you went into a coffee shop or a restaurant, would they take cash? 39:37 Most, no. And they have a note, like a... a sign outside the door that says card only. 39:43 Right, okay. 39:44 So, like, nobody carries cash anymore except for the big, those three that I mentioned. 39:48 Okay, okay. 39:49 So, it's very hard for, like, for kids, you know, if you give them a bit of pocket money, everything has to be, like, on the telephone, you know, you, like, revolute them. 39:58 I think what's very interesting about this in the digital age that you're describing, that everything is linked to your PPS number, is it? 40:09 But if everything is linked to your PPS number, there's a 365 every day, every hour, every minute your spending has been tracked. 40:19 Yeah, absolutely. Because they also have, they call it loyalty rewards or whatever. But if you go in and buy something in H&M or something, they'll ask you, oh, are you a member? But your membership is linked to your PPS number. 40:37 So everything is tracked and recorded. So they know exactly what you're doing. 40:42 But if you fill out whatever you need to fill out to get a loyalty card from a supermarket chain, do they ask for your PPS number? 40:50 Yeah, everything is connected to your PPS number. Oh my God, that's so dangerous. 40:56 Yeah, it is, yeah. 40:57 And I think every year they come out with like... 41:00 Like a leaflet, they give us like an updated version of what will happen if war comes and everything. 41:06 We just got one of those little booklets there recently. 41:09 Same thing. 41:11 And it gives you a guideline what they recommend you should have at home. But they also say you should have cash at home. You know, you should have maybe, maybe, I don't know, maybe two grand. A couple of years ago, it was two grand. Now they brought it down to like maybe 500 quid. 41:27 Keep it in the house in the event of a cyber attack or some kind of a national emergency. 41:36 Yeah. We had last year one of the big grocery chains, let's say, like a Tesco or something. That was hacked or something. And the whole thing was down for a couple of days. 41:49 Is it a worrying thing that we live in a society that if your phone goes dead or it's broken or you can't charge it or it's flat, you're in real trouble? 41:58 Yeah, I think it's a huge role of reliance on technology. 42:03 You know, yeah, I mean, if something happens, like if something was to happen, it doesn't matter how much money you have in your bank account. If you can't access it, then what good is it to you? 42:13 Yeah, but that could be, I know what you're saying, but equally, if you kept an awful lot of cash in banks and you had a statement that said you had tens of thousands of euro in your bank account and in the event of some kind of a cyber attack and you lost it, you lost it. You know what I mean? It's not recoverable. If the bank goes bust, you've also lost it. But if you have the cash on you, that's a completely different story. 42:41 Yeah, that would be completely different then. But a lot of Swedish people don't have cash at home anymore because they just can't use it. 42:48 You know, they don't use it in everyday life. 42:52 So that's it. It's kind of like a catch-22 situation. You should have cash at home if something happens. But how can you use it? 42:58 Okay. And what took you to Sweden 14 years ago? 43:01 A woman 14 years ago. 43:07 Where did you meet her? No longer married. 43:09 I'm divorced. No, we met abroad. 43:11 And you decided to stay on? 43:14 Yeah, I stayed on, yeah. This is home now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 43:17 Cost of living? Any problems there like we're having here? 43:20 A bit more expensive than Ireland, but it's like, I wouldn't be coming home, to put it that way. 43:29 Yeah, okay, okay. That's a good one. 43:32 Listen to the program all the time there above people. coming home and advertising for people to come home and then the whole problem with the housing and everything. If people have a good life somewhere else, why would they come back? 43:45 Okay, and could I just ask you finally, is there any kind of shortage of housing or the house price is insane or is it impossible to rent a house or an apartment? 43:55 No, if you were selling, maybe, the market's gone down a bit. But if you needed to find somewhere to rent, you'd find somewhere, no problem. 44:05 No problem. No problem. We don't have that problem. Okay. I was just chatting with Denmark, Dave, earlier on. And the lads here, when they were sorting out the WhatsApp call with you, had to look at your profile picture. And just like Dave... When corkmen go over to Scandinavia, they all grow big long beards and end up looking like Vikings. What's the deal there? Is it to keep you warm? 44:27 Yeah, it's for the winter. 44:29 Keep your face warm in the winter. I made the mistake of cutting my beard the wrong way. So I had to take it all off. 44:37 And yeah, it was really cold the day after. 44:39 Are you being serious though? You'd grow the long beard for the winter, is it? 44:43 Well, I have it all the time now, but I won't be getting rid of it. The winter's coming, so I'll have to leave it grow a bit longer. 44:50 Okay. We've got two Vikings listening to us so regularly. Dave in Denmark and Ken in Sweden. Thanks for listening. Thanks for jumping on. Appreciate it, Ken. Mind yourself. Take care. No problem, Neil. All the best. Text 868-104-106. We'll pick it up after 10. 45:08 Be part of the conversation, the Neil Prent of a show with Elevate Credit Union. It's day four of our ticket giveaways with the Saw Doctors who are playing Virgin Media Park on Saturday, July 3rd. Something nice to look forward to all of the gigs across the summer, right? The Stunning are supporting, so you get a really great gig, a double whammy of a gig. Saw Doctors celebrating 40 years on the road. So we've got tickets to give away just before midday. They're thereabouts when I open the phone lines and you're listening out for this piece of audio. 45:40 Alrighty, a little bit of a clip of the Saw Doctors. Listen up for that 0818 104 106 when I play it again a little later on this morning. Let me get straight to the phone lines here because Nora has a lot on this morning, I can tell you that. Currently minding grandchildren. What are they doing while you're talking to me, incidentally? 45:57 I put on high story. 46:02 So what have we got, an hour and a half? 46:11 I won't keep you. They're three, six and eight. So they're demanding. How come they're at home? 46:17 No electricity in the schools and the creche. 46:21 No electricity? 46:23 No electricity or water, yeah. Is it still out? I think they're doing some works on it, you know. Okay, had it anything to do... Down this area, down this area near Donnelly. 46:33 Okay, because I'm just wondering, are there still power outages following all of the big wind there a couple of days ago, you know? 46:39 God, there's some wind, I tell you. 46:42 It's quite open where they're living here and you could just get blown away around the side of it. Of the house. 46:48 Donna Rail. Okay. So, while they're watching Toy Story, do you sit down and watch Toy Story with them? 46:55 Oh, I would. Oh, yes. They love that. Yeah? I have to watch... I watch Horrid Henry with them the other day, you know? Once I sit with them, they love it, you know? 47:09 They make comments. I make comments to them and, you know, they interact. 47:13 Ah, they love spending time with Granny. You should be out there cleaning your daughter's oven. Do you hear me? 47:23 She's delighted when I'm here. 47:26 Do you do things like that? 47:28 Of course I do. I have a place shining. My place isn't. The house is stick and span when I leave. Oh. 47:36 It's a win-win for your daughter then, isn't it? 47:40 Talk to me. She's a great mummy and I like doing things for her. 47:45 She is and you're a great granny in fairness. She's a busy girl. Would you mind telling me about the hens because I've been talking a lot about hens and foxes on the air recently. 47:55 Go on. 47:57 Look, I probably, I'm listening to all about the cost of living stuff and I know talking about hens now but I was listening the other day about the lady with her hens, God love her, that were killed now my experience is that once they find a weakness either in the hen house or the fencing they come back until your flock is gone they come back you know take one in the mouth and go on I've seen them take they like them live they like to take a fresh chicken how do you know all of this have you well I know you have hens because you sent me photographs of them go on And the biggest thing about it is the fox. 48:35 Remember, anyone with hens, the fox now calls during the day. There's no bother to them. They'll come up to your door. They'll come up to my front lawn and they've taken the hens. You see, hens are wonderful species because they're a bit like humans. They're gnoop. And they stick with each other and they don't bother with other hens. Do you know what I mean? 48:56 Yeah. 48:56 They're very interesting to watch. Watch them carry on. 49:00 But they're totally vulnerable, aren't they? They really are. They're the softest, gentlest creatures. 49:06 But they're deadly when you get to know them. When they're comfortable in their surroundings and they will isolate other hens that they don't like. You know? Okay. And they'll isolate hens that get sick. We don't want anything to do with her. She's weak. 49:18 Okay. 49:19 And... Also, the rooster has favorites, and you know they're favorites because the feathers are kind of taken off the head, you know, the back of the head. So the favorites are always like going around like, you know, divas, you know, they're like, I'm his favorite, you know, that kind of way. They're very interesting to study them, you know? And I have to take out some hens to isolate because they haven't detected it. How many have you got? 49:45 No, no, listen, I'm only left now with what I've sent you because... I used to get them from the Little Farm Rescue. 49:53 You had Harry and you had Tommy and you have a rooster called Paddy. 49:59 They're still with me. I still have them. 50:01 I photographed them up on the sofa watching television. 50:05 That's Paddy. That's the silky. That's the little silky. He's very territorial with me. He doesn't like anyone touching me or going near me. Do they lay eggs? No, not roosters. I kneel. They're roosters. Roosters don't lay eggs. 50:21 I didn't know they were all roosters. I thought only Paddy was the rooster. Sorry about that. 50:25 Sorry. 50:27 Of course, they're all male. What am I talking about? Harry, Tommy and Paddy. I am stupid, aren't I? I'm totally stupid. 50:32 No, no. If you're not used to having him, how would you know, you know? 50:35 Well, you'd think I'd know by their names that they don't lay eggs, for God's sake. 50:42 The other thing I want to tell you about roosters is it's very important to have a rooster with the girls because a couple of reasons. The main one is... When the fox is around, they roar and scream and shout. But the hens are kind of, the hens will chuckle and, you know, they might run a little bit. But the rooster will really scream that there's a predator around, you know? 51:03 Yeah, yeah. 51:04 And the other thing was the poor rooster, and I witnessed this, Neil, and my heart was broken. The most beautiful rooster a couple of years back. 51:12 And then the fox come during the day. 51:15 And I'm in it with this, I kind of leave them down by the door and I feed them and walk around with them. I used to go up the field and all with them, you know. It's just lovely. And I had gone in home and I came back out and had the rooster roaring and he was sighting the fox's mouth. And I saw him and I just said, drop him, drop him. You know, leave him go, leave him go. No, he ran off up the fields with the rooster roaring in his mouth. It is the saddest thing. 51:40 But you see, I was chatting with the mammy of a six year old and then I was talking with the mammy of a 10 year old and they have hens and they have the run and the coop and everything. But the 10-year-old had like 40 hens at one stage and every single one of them was killed by a fox on the one night. 51:56 Yes. 51:57 And I couldn't understand. 51:58 You see, I can't understand that myself. I know there'll be feathers left, but no dead hens, you know. In my experience, I can only talk about my experience, of course, but I do know the weasels can do that. They can get into the poop and just kind of kill for sport, you know. 52:14 So there could be weasels around as well because I'm near woodland, obviously. 52:18 No, but if they said to me that it was a fox, that's all I know. But I was wondering, why would the fox not just take one and leave the others alive? 52:27 Yeah, that's my experience of them. Once there's a weakness in the coop or... you know, the fencing, they will come back and they'll clear out your flock if you don't secure your housing properly, you know? 52:39 Yeah, it's so important, isn't it? 52:41 But they do come during the day. Now, the other thing is, it works, you know, I mean, it works for me again. They love dog nuts, the foxes. 52:51 So my son used to be laughing at me. He says, you're a gas woman, you're feeding the foxes and you want to keep the foxes away from your hens. But apparently, if we go way over by the ditch where they come in and just throw dog food, sorry, dog nuts. 53:06 They'll take those and leave the hens alone. 53:09 They're hungry. That was the plan. 53:12 All right, okay. But they still wanted raw chicken, didn't want chicken if they could. 53:17 Okay, well, listen to me. I'm learning all of the time, for sure I am. I want you to get back now to watching Toy Story. Which one? Is it Toy Story 1, 2, 3, 4, 5? Which one? 53:29 Oh, good question. Let me just ask them, don't you? 53:33 Darcy, which time is it? One, two, three, or four? Five. 53:38 Five is the new one. All right. Well, get back to it and enjoy it with your grandkids. Well done. 53:43 Take care, Nora. Bye, bye, bye. 53:46 I actually came across another lad last night. A buddy of mine said, you need to check out a fellow called Adam. He's got an Instagram page called Well and Good. And I did take a look at him because apparently he started in the egg and the hen game at the age of eight. And by all accounts, it all started off as a project that he did in fourth year in school or fourth class, I suppose, in school. And it just took off and he stuck with it. And now he has his own business, like loads and loads of eggs in all of the cartons. And there's photographs of them with stacks of them. I think it's his it's his own business now. 54:18 And the idea kind of was something they came up with at the age of eight. And he's thriving now. I'm fair play to him. All right. So you come up with an idea as a kid and you can turn it into a career, which is great in itself. Anyway, keep them coming. Text 0868-104-106. Please, could you wish a very happy birthday? Shout out to my mum, Brida Walsh. I believe she's a buddy of yours. She turns 65 on the 1st of October today and unfortunately received some bad news today. So I'm doing my best to put some cheerfulness into her day. I know it would be a well-needed smile on her face if you could wish her the happiest birthday with so much love from Pedro, Lorraine, Dave, Thomas, Elaine, Peter, Mary, Becky, James and all of the grandchildren who are too many to mention. 54:59 Very much appreciated if you can do this, Neil. Maybe before half past ten. She's a big fan of yours. So thanks again, Mrs Lorraine. I do know the one and only Brida Walsh and you would not meet a nicer woman. So I want to wish her all of the best and also a happy birthday for today. Happy birthday to you, Brida. You wouldn't meet a kinder, more considerate woman. Really and truly, she is generous of spirit and gives so much of her time and efforts to so many people. She's just really very kind person. So well done, Breida Walsh. Congratulations and happy birthday to you. 55:31 And I'll see you soon. 55:31 Get on to Prenderville. 55:33 Text or WhatsApp Neil now. 0868 104 106. 55:38 The Neil Prenderville Show. 55:41 Let me catch up with texts and emails. My husband and I have three kids and we both work. Last year we could afford a holiday. Last year we could afford the school tours and last year we could afford to save. This year, no holidays and we can't save. It's a struggle. You're just left deflated at the end of every month. Why in the hell don't American presidents pay for their own travel costs and safety when they come to Ireland, whether it's Trump or Biden? I don't know. We know that the Biden cost was 31 million. Who knows what the Trump cost will be? Probably north of that. On speed cameras, just wanted to let you know that anyone travelling from Cork to Tralee around the Farron 4 railway crossing should be aware that a new camera has been fitted there. 56:18 I'm sure a lot of people aren't aware of it. The speed limit passing the camera is 50 kilometres. I'm sure that's catching a lot of drivers who might think it's 80. I was parked in the pub car park waiting for a flight and I noticed quite a few people going well over the 50 kilometre limit. I hear the fine is €160. Yeah, and penalty points too. Just giving you a heads up. Thanks for that, Nick. Thank you. Hi, Neil. Tax is only 52% on income over 44 for a single and 88 for a couple or 53,000 for a couple where one person is working. 56:52 Our tax system is actually quite progressive. Yeah, but listen, so you have to keep on bearing in mind the USC charge, which can be up to 7%. So technically you're 52, not technically, I mean in reality, it's actually 59%. That's what I was saying earlier on. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm genuinely shocked by the stats you give out. 57:36 This information should be on the front page of every newspaper and displayed in every pillar or pole in the country so people can really see what's going on, says Shell. And Desi was shocked as well because he gave out some quite alarming stats yesterday. Complete and utter breakdown. on lots of different things but I don't have time to repeat all of that I'm sure you heard it anyway I was shocked to hear about the 100 million that the government have to pay to 93 different properties because they entered contracts with the owners to have the properties fitted out to accommodate IPAS migrants but the properties were never used You're right, Desi. 58:10 £100 million had to be paid all the same. Now the government's being sued over the contracts and the total amount, £100 million. More money wasted. It's unbelievable. Well, we needed accommodation and we still do to a large extent, whether it's for IPAS migrants who are going through the system, international protection orders. or whether it's people genuinely coming here, well, I mean, we don't know until they're processed, seeking asylum or refuge. So that will continue anyway. Now, the whole Ukrainian property thing is kind of up on its head because that's been wound down. 58:42 But just for the record, two different people said they were shocked by stats. I don't know whether you know it, but just for the Ukrainian accommodation for, here's a typical year, 2024, the taxpayer in the state spent 1.2 billion. That's what the figure was, 1.2 billion for Ukrainian accommodation in 2024 alone. But if you look at the combined figure from 2022 to 2025, it's 4 billion. 59:08 So it's $4 billion for those years for Ukrainian accommodation. But you also need to look at the same period for IPAS accommodation. So if you look at 2022 to 2024 for IPAS, that's $2 billion. So in the space of, say, 22, 23, 24 and 25, it's over $6 billion was spent. 59:29 Now, some may well say that that was money well spent. You're entitled to say that if you wish. Others perhaps might suggest if we had that six billion to spend on other things, maybe we wouldn't be in as much trouble and people wouldn't be struggling as much. So six billion from 22 to 25 when you cue the two of them together. Text 0868-104-106. Pick up the phone on 0818-104-106. 59:52 There are many texts and yesterday I was talking to people who are really, really struggling. And some of them are young and some of them have their own businesses and some of them are self-employed. I'm self-employed and I paid into the system for years. I became seriously ill in February and I'm still unable to work. When I asked what support was available, I was told I wasn't eligible. And I was asked whether I had savings that I could perhaps use. After paying PRSI throughout my working life, it's incredibly frustrating to find that when you're genuinely unable to work, the support available to you is so limited. 60:26 Self-employed people deserve social protection systems that recognize the contributions they make and provides meaningful support when illness prevents them from earning a living. People are entitled to be angry and to demand answers. If the rules leave someone who has spent years contributing with little or no support when they become seriously ill, then those rules deserve to be examined and challenged. And rather than making claims about who gets preferential treatment, I'd like to see the government publish clear figures showing exactly what supports are available to self-employed workers compared to employees. 61:01 Micheál Martin and the government should be listening to people in this situation and explaining what they intend to do about it. Do you know what? I think that's one of the greatest scandals of our country, to be quite honest with you, because I'm hearing time and time again, and surely be to God, there's more to this story than I'm hearing. Self-employed people who have paid into the system for years and years. 61:22 If you have a disability or if you can't work or you have an injury or you're seriously ill and you can't work, when you ask for support, financial support, you're told, no, use your own life savings. In other words, you're told to just sling your hook. 61:37 I can't understand that. I just can't get my head around that because self-employed people pay the very same income tax and pay the very same PRSI contributions as anybody else who would be deemed to be employed. So they shouldn't be treated differently. How come that's never been challenged? I just don't get that. Anyway, to the phone lines, pick up the phone 0818 104 106. Richie, good morning. 61:59 Good morning, Neil. 61:59 How are you? Just as a, by the way, on that one, because I know you work for a living. I think you're even self-employed. Is that right? Yes. 62:06 Yeah, you'd find it very hard to get any assistance whatsoever from the government. Now, they'll say that they apparently changed some of the rules there a few years back, but anybody I know who's self-employed, they wouldn't get anything. 62:20 You'd have to go through all your assets first before you get anything, you know? If you have any bit of savings or any kind of extra asset like a second house or whatever. 62:29 But why pay income tax or PRSI then if you can't draw on it in the time of need when people who are doing the same kind of work but are deemed to be employees get a disability or a welfare payment? 62:42 Well, these are questions that politicians would deflect from. I mean, they'd probably just, you know, like Micheál Martin and Harris now, they'd say, well, lessons will be learned and we're looking at it down the line and all this sort of rubbish, deflection, deflection. They won't ever answer that straight question. You know, as soon as they're asked a different question. 62:58 But it's unconstitutional. It's undemocratic. It's wrong. 63:02 Yeah, but you run deep pockets now to take on the government with something like that, you know. 63:08 I mean, you saw what they did at that time with the food protesters there. They said that they'd freeze the bank accounts and everything because they went up against the government. You know, this government, I mean, people are bitching about Trump being a dictator. This government is unbelievable in terms of dictatorship. 63:26 I understand all you're saying. I really and truly do. But so if you're self-employed and you have the bravery to take a risk and start up your own business and you thrive at it and you do really well, all right? And you pay your income tax and you pay your PRSI and you pay your capital gains tax and you pay your corporation tax and everything associated with your own business. 63:46 In times of need, they're saying, they're giving you two fingers, not just to you, but to your family as well and your children. They would prefer that you'd starve than help just because you're self-employed. 63:55 Yeah, and the banks treated you appalling me as well. I can remember being with banks and they'd say, no, you wouldn't really qualify for that sort of finance now. And then they'd say, if my employee came in here with a P60 showing the same income, would you give it to him? Yeah, because his employment is secure. I said, but he works for me. If work dries up, he's going to go before me. Madness. Absolutely. 64:19 It just made no sense to me, you know. OK, well, thanks for answering that. I know I put you on the spot, but fair play to you. 64:24 No, that's OK. OK, so... 64:26 our over-reliance on mobile phones and digital technology, it's a really broad brush. You have another example. Go on. 64:35 Yeah, I was flying over the channel recently and then I pulled out the boarding card printed and as soon as she saw it coming out, she said, no, we can't accept that. It has to be on your phone. 64:48 Didn't even try to present it to the scanner or anything just that. So I had to get up. My phone is dead. 64:53 Your phone was dead? 64:54 No, my phone was, you know, I had to get up my phone instead. Oh, instead. But I printed it out. I was thinking this is easy, you know, because if my phone does go dead, you know what I mean? At least I have this as a backup. 65:03 So the printed version has a card, has got a, it's scannable. It's a scannable board. Yeah, the scan thing. Yeah, yeah. 65:11 But she didn't even try to scan it. It's got a QR code on it. 65:15 What's the problem? 65:15 Yeah. She wouldn't, she just said they don't accept it. It has to be on your phone without even trying to present it to the scanner. 65:23 I mean, look, people, they are way over reliant on their phones and technology, you know. I mean, you come to the toll there. 65:31 And there's people with their phones, they're twisting them, turning them upside down backwards, trying to pay for the toll. This isn't working. They take it back in their car and they're looking at something else. You're just so over-reliant on it. It's incredible, you know? 65:42 But at least up until last weekend anyway, when I was going through tolls, you can still bung a bit of cash at them, which isn't too bad. 65:49 You can, although there's no personnel on any of the tolls now anymore. 65:55 Yeah, there is. 65:57 Not on the Cork one. 65:58 No, maybe not Carrick Tool, but certainly up the country there. And very pleasant people, I have to say, and very friendly. 66:04 They are known, fair enough. I mean, when they had them in Watergate, I still remember saying to one guy, they put up the toll by 10 cents or something, and he said, they're getting it in the neck from most motorists as if it's their fault, you know. They're giving out to them at the toll, you know. 66:21 It's crazy. 66:23 Are you still lifting cars with the forklift? 66:26 Well, if they block my gate, I wouldn't do, yeah. The sign is still there, Neil. And my gate is normally fairly clear, yeah. 66:36 I'll tell you something. I shared some of her audio on my own Instagram page back when you were telling us that story. And it was one of the biggest performing posts I have ever put up. I don't know if you saw that, the massive amount of people. I didn't actually know. Oh, man, they were saying 10 out of 10, 100%. Go, Richie. Way to go, man. People loved it. Yeah. 66:56 Well, I think people are fed up with the entitlement of some people. I mean, I did come in here an odd time on a Sunday. 67:02 Everywhere is closed here on a Sunday. And that sign, and you come in, and in fact, recently there was a car parked at the only gate with that kind of a sign on it. And he's parked at it. I couldn't believe it. And he came running out and jumping into his car. 67:15 And he's like, look around you. You can park outside the building you actually went into, but instead you parked outside that gate as if it was like he was testing it. 67:23 Oh no, it's just that some people would threaten to do something like that. Lift someone's car with a forklift. You actually do it. 67:30 Well, I need access to my property, so yeah, I'd be lifted over there. No problem at all, yeah. 67:37 Okay, have a good day. Cheers. Don't park in front of Richie's gate. There's a price to be paid. Take care, Richie. Take care. Text 0868 104 106. Morris, good morning. 67:46 Neil, how are you, boy? Somebody reminded me of Enda Kenny back in the day where he was quoted as saying, no house owner should ever have to pay a tax on their own home. 67:56 Ah, yeah. 67:56 Well, it happened. It happened. It happened. 68:00 It's happened with NPT, with USC. You pointed out yesterday, there are taxes on your bank card. There's a tax on your visa card. We have a Nora levy on fuels. You know, how much is all this adding up to since they were introduced? And what's it being spent on? That's what I'd like to know. 68:17 Well, I rattled off 40 different taxes yesterday. And I'm quite sure I could have gone on for another 10 or 20. But anyway, you know. 68:24 Yeah, yeah. And like the LPT in particular, now in the USC, right? And those bank card chargers and visa chargers, right? 68:31 They're all a product of the bailout back in 2010, right? They were all introduced then because we didn't have enough money to pay all the people that we owed money to as a country, okay? Now, I've seen somewhere this morning... that the interest on that is 650 million a year at this stage now. And apparently that bailout costs 42 billion. Okay. No, I didn't get to read the whole article because I'm flying every morning. I'd like to be like, you know, sitting in the studio and fly through the nine papers and you can pick up what you like, you know. 68:59 I know it sounds it sounds boring but I'd actually enjoy it anyway look so I picked that is that easy is it is that easy is it well I wouldn't say it's easy but like it's a lot easier than doing school runs and dealing with children and teenagers and that you know but anyway thanks for reminding me of how lucky and blessed I am you're lucky trust me you're a fellow who can go back to France in September in a camper do you know Most of us have to just mutter on with it. But do you know what I was thinking? 69:29 And I'm only thinking out loud here in O'Neill, right? You might share my top hat and you might not. People out there might and they might not. But I want to take us all back to July 1922, OK? When we had a civil war kicked off in this country. And we had a part of the country that we're living in. There was a line between Limerick and Waterford, right? And that was unofficially known as the Munster Republic, right? And I often think... Would we be better off if we did have a Munster Republic? Because a lot of our taxation goes to paying things around Dublin. 70:01 Oh, listen, you heard all about Metrolink, didn't you? The 19 billion euro project, as if they hadn't enough transport systems already up there. 70:11 There you go. There you go, right? No, I'm not talking about a hostile kind of thing. Imagine if that was there. Imagine if we did have our own state, if Cork had a legislative power, and not too dissimilar now for what's in Cardiff, right, in Wales, okay? If we had our own legislative thing, our own taxation powers, like you were talking the other day about Flacule and Heron, and how the city council would have to expend three million of this to bring that to Cork. but the benefit would go to the exchequer. 70:39 You see, if it's worth 100 million, it's the publicans, the hotels, the restaurateurs, the taxi drivers, they'd all get a great boost out of it, absolutely. 70:48 But all the VAT receipts... And their rates and all, yeah, yeah, yeah, and that would go to Dublin. 70:53 Yeah, wouldn't stay in Cork, no. 70:55 That would head off up to Dublin. No, look at Dublin on the map. Look at Ireland on the map, right? Look at Dublin. Big... The first thing you see when you open on Google Maps is the main roads of motorways. So you have a big blue road going around the city, which is the M50, and then you have a spider web of motorways leading out of Dublin to various parts of the country, us now being one, right, the M8, right? Now, other than that, if you want to go to Limerick, Neil, you might as well be driving on a road in Bangladesh. If you want to go down to Waterford, it's fine in places, but again, you can end up on that bad kind of a road too, right? 71:27 What is this county... generating in taxation what's Waterford generating in taxation what's Limerick generating and Kerry as well right what are we all generating together what are we contributing to Ireland and what are we subsidising in other parts I'd say with tech pharma and IT that we would be far outperforming any other part of the country I would say we'd have a very buoyant economy if we had nothing to do with Dublin and I'd be looking at it from the point of view of the taxpayer in Belfast not a shilling of his taxes is going towards Metrolink in Dublin 71:59 Yeah, because unfortunately there's a thing called the border there and it's ruled by Britain. 72:03 Yeah. 72:04 And you can drive across it but don't even know the thing it's there. 72:07 Yeah, yeah. So how do we make this happen? How do we split from Dublin? How can we make this happen? 72:14 We just, I don't know. It's a big ask. Like I said at the start, I'm thinking out loud here, right? 72:20 But, like, would you not say, look, we want an autonomous region. We don't want to be part of the Republic of Ireland anymore. We want to be south of Ireland. We want our own parliament. We want these six counties to be our six counties. You can have everything else in the middle. And that wouldn't be long putting a stop then to the Metro North project, you know? 72:40 Yeah, but you'd have to get the people of Waterford and Kerry and Limerick and Tipperary 72:47 I'd say they have the exact same sentiments Neil now, right? I'd say they're all driving on the same roads, they're putting up with the same service deficiencies, they have the same hospital issues, the waiting lists, all this. The crap going on in this country is unbelievable. I've seen the headline, I was just in the garage a while ago and I've seen the headline on the Daily Mail. 73:08 I didn't buy the paper, obviously, I just had a fast look. 73:09 But something about an LNG terminal... Why didn't you buy it? 73:13 I don't have time for papers, Neil. I miss them terribly. I used to read a lot of papers like you, right? And I missed them, right? Because there was nothing like sitting down with a newspaper and flicking through it, you know? But the headline was, an LNG terminal in County Clare. I think the cost of it is going to be £85 million. And the people who are supposed to build it were told, look, even if it doesn't get built... we'll still get the money off the Bored Gas people to know that the customers will tariff them to give it to you. So basically, the individual customers are going to pay for the terminal for, I don't know if it's Bored Gas or who's going to operate it. 73:48 That's 85 million. And then there's the 100 million that has to be paid to IPAS accommodation providers, even though the accommodation isn't going to be used. 73:56 There you go. 73:56 No, I mean, I get what you're saying. Like, there was a time, actually, when... I mean, if you go way back along, Waterford was the capital city of Ireland. It was the main port. It was the biggest city. And then after that, Cork was very much so because of our superb port. Dublin kind of just got it like, I don't know why, just out of a bit of good luck at some stage. 74:16 Dublin was picked by the British to be the capital of Ireland. Yeah, yeah. They decided because it was an easy crossing from North Wales to Dublin. 74:24 Yeah, yeah. picture the ships back then were sail ships they could have taken a day or two to get across the Irish Sea you know so it would like really all the commerce and all the industry and everything was Waterford Yawl and Cork 74:37 in Cork the south of Ireland and then the British came in with British rule for hundreds of years they established Dublin as the capital Belfast was their second city on the island Cork was forgotten about you know all Cork was was a naval port for the Royal Navy okay okay so we need to be we need to be pushing the agenda that we need to go solo and is it a Munster is it a Munster Republic or is it a Cork Republic Well, we could start with Cork, Neil. And if the boys want to join us, you're more than welcome. 75:05 And who'd run Cork then? 75:09 Whoever we elect to run Cork. Yeah, OK. We'd have an election then. 75:13 But we could get rid of all. Do you see all these little Irish acts that have been introduced by Fianna Fáil Fianna Gael? 75:20 we can have a repealing referendum then to be removing them. 75:23 We throw out everything and start again with a clean slate. 75:26 Well, you don't throw it all out, obviously. Academics would advise you how to do this, you know, but I mean, you have the option then of introducing things that you would never get into the Irish constitution because of the heavy duty agricultural vote up the country, do you know? 75:40 We have no interest in farmers then, of farming or anything, or growing things. 75:44 We do, we do, but I'm just saying, we've got a lot of tax coming, we can share it out nicely. 75:49 We'd be like Switzerland. 75:51 Ring of Skiddy is like a Luxembourg, when you look at it. 75:56 Now I'm getting excited the more I'm listening to you, actually, to be quite honest. 75:58 I am. Think about it now. Have a good think about it. 76:02 I'll think about it. I should have so much time on my hands, I just sit around thinking about things all day long. 76:07 We'll have a newspaper for day one of the days, will we? We'll sit down and we'll pick one. 76:12 Why don't you buy them? You say you used to love, is it they're too expensive? I love them. 76:18 I don't have the time anymore, Neil, to be honest with you. I'm running around the whole time. Like you're getting bits and pieces. You go through them in the morning and you pick out the bits and pieces. So I'll get the good stories there. And, you know, a lot of the times it's yesterday's news anyway, you know, because of the tech world. 76:34 You know, everything is just moving into a digital world. Even the print media realise that they really need to migrate everything now to online. They're getting that, you know, they're getting that. 76:41 All right, my man, food for thought. Food for thought. Appreciate it. Take care, Morris. Text 0868 104 106. 76:45 Your thoughts on that? 76:48 Get on to Prenderville. 76:50 Text or WhatsApp Neil now. 0868 104 106. 76:54 The Neil Prenderville Show on Red FM. 76:58 Somebody sent me a copy by email of a letter that's sent out to... primary school parents, I would like to update you regarding four school closure days during the 26-27 school year. They're part of the learning programme to implement the new primary curriculum and they have dates for language awareness professional learning days for teachers. They have the OID Professional Learning Day is another one. There's a third one, Whole School Professional Learning Day. And a fourth one, OID Professional Learning Days. 77:30 So I guess that parents have to paddle their own canoes on those different days. Teacher Training Days, they call them historically, isn't it? Teacher Training Days. They're always done in the middle of term. And they're always done during the working week. And, of course, parents then have to panic all over the place to try and readjust their calendars. And some people, of course, have to take time off because what else do you do if you've got smallies who can't go to school? Teacher training days. Your thoughts? Text 0868 104 106. Meanwhile, Nora, good morning. Now... 78:00 Goodbye Neil, how are you? 78:01 Well, now I'm good, thanks. I read out a text that you sent me some days ago regarding Jack. So it's lovely to chat with you about the little man himself. Because we've been talking a lot about honesty boxes and having hens and eggs and making a few bob. Tell me about the small fellow, 10 years old and started out with the help of his granddad, was it? 78:24 Yeah, my dad and himself, every bank holiday, went on to Kim Ellachmatt down in Limerick and did arrive home with him. 78:33 And so we ended up, we started up to coop and everything for him. And then, of course, he ended up with 10 hins then. Then he was getting, there was only 20 hins there. So there was a load of eggs. So we said we'd do the honesty box up at the gate. And he started off with that and all the neighbours were great. They were all coming over to him and everything for the eggs and stuff. And then he ended up getting another few. And then Glenville were looking for them. The world got out. 78:59 The village of Glenville also wanted Jack's eggs, is it? 79:02 Jack's eggs, yeah. And, like, they're out in West. They're, you know, they're not getting any food or anything like that. They're just getting all the scraps from the table, like. And they're out, they're proper eggs, like. 79:16 Okay, so they're proper free-range organic then. 79:19 Free-range, yeah. 79:21 Okay, so he started off with eight eggs and then built himself up, bought them regularly in a Kilmalachmar. But they're not in a coop or not in a kind of... No, they're out around the way. 79:33 No, they're not enclosed at all. They go in under their house and everything. Like we have, just to protect them from the fox, it's a wide area we have. And then we just move that area in every couple of months just to get them into the green grass then again. And they move on then again. So it's like the cows, you move them on every so often. 79:49 And how many eggs would he have daily? 79:53 So he ended up, he had 40 hins. 79:57 He ended up with 40 hins and he'd have 38 to 40 eggs a day. 80:01 And yeah, so he'd be out in the morning before he'd go to school, leave him out, he'd click, whichever, then you'd have some hands in would lay in the afternoon. So he'd click them. Like some days, neighbours would call, people would call up and they'd say any eggs. I would have to go out and check to see if there was eggs outside because he never had the eggs. We'd have only had all the broken eggs for ourselves. 80:20 And 80:21 Forgive me, does a hen just lay one egg every day? Is it every day? 80:25 Yeah, they lay every day. We actually got, there was a thing there going back a couple of months ago, a fella got an egg inside an egg. We actually, we get loads of double yolk eggs. 80:40 Explain that to me. I know about the double yolks. 80:42 Yeah, the double yolks. But it was an egg inside an egg. So it was like a shell. 80:47 So like it was one egg, but it was like two shells. But like it was an egg inside an egg. 80:51 Oh my God. Isn't it amazing? 80:54 I never took a picture because I was after cracking it. An egg within an egg. 80:57 Isn't it an amazing thing that a hen can actually produce, manufacture and lay an egg in 24 hours? Yeah. 81:03 What the heck is that about? Yeah, and Jack, he's been amazing, like, there for the school, during the Christmas show and stuff like that, for the Christmas fair in Glenville. The last two years, he's done it, and he brought down all his eggs. He spared all his eggs. He told all the neighbours there was no eggs for two weeks. He was collecting all the eggs, and he was bringing them down. He set up his table below, and, like, he charged two euros for his box of eggs. Is that all? Two euros for six eggs? Yeah, that's all, yeah. six eggs, two euros. And he made up to one of the girls below and handed over all the money for Marymount. 81:38 Isn't that a wonderful thing to do? 81:39 Yeah, it was 100, 150 euros. I think he made that day. What an amazing info. And he gave the full amount of it. 81:46 So tell me, unfortunately, unfortunately, recently, disaster struck, devastation. 81:53 Disastered, disaster struck. So Mr. Fox called, went out one morning, and we made sure to decide the fox got in with spin a peck one fox wouldn't do what was done so we were left with two hinges So those who were protected, then we put them just into a coop and just to keep them safe. 82:14 Are you telling me, and listen, I don't mean to upset you, Anthony, but are you telling me that there was more than one fox got in and killed 40 hens and six ducks? 82:23 Yeah. Yeah, and our six ducks. We travelled the length in the breadth of the country looking for ducks because a lot of people loved the duck eggs. 82:34 and the ducks were gone as well. 82:36 How did Jack feel when he discovered that? 82:39 Oh he was devastated devastated like yeah but so we've we've started there now again just we got a couple of hins there from there now so he'll be on the way back down to Kemalach there now for the bank holiday and is he going to leave them free range and organic? Oh yeah he'll leave them free range yeah we've the fins patched up now again where they got in and just it's protecting them with the fins like yeah it's just they keep burrowing in and burrowing and they could be a week at it and you won't see where they're burrowing in like And then they just come back, they come back then and they just, they'll do their job. 83:17 And do you have any thoughts as to why a fox will kill all of the hens and kill all of the ducks when really all they need is one for feeding? 83:27 For feeding, like, yeah, but they'll burn way in the storm. 83:31 they'll store them for however long they need food in from, like, yeah, for themselves. Because, like, if they have cubs, I see it's cubs season as well when it was done. Like, the cubs are coming out, the foxes are teaching the cubs what to do. 83:47 Oh, it's nature can be cruel, can't it? Yeah, but as Jack said, Mamie, do you have to eat? That's what he said one day. Yeah. 83:56 because like we say go back a couple of years ago when the one taken or the two taken I'd always say do you know like the fox needs to feed two do you know maybe he was hungry or something it's a life lesson I know it's a tough life lesson for a 10 year old primary school you would mind the one or two but see the disaster and then like the nine one night and do you know you could yeah it's a constant battle like just keeping him protected he'll rebuild he'll rebuild up his supply he'll rebuild yeah so Glenville watch out November coming now he's 14 hens now so they're they're sat laying now so we've got three eggs now they're very small now so we'll wait now till they get to a good size of all the hens names does he know them all some of them yeah he'd know the black and the white ones like there's them with the leghorn ones and do they have personalities do you think All they do, like, yeah, they do, like, they'd be picking away, they'd come up, the picked ones would always come up, 84:50 and we'd always know a layer of things, we'd always know which ones are laying, because they'll duck down. 84:56 So we say, if you walk up beside the hen, and the hen's standing beside you, and they duck down, that means they're actually laying. 85:02 Oh. 85:02 They're a liar. They're more of a piss. That's amazing. They'll be still kind of little chicken when they're running around the place. And does he... You can't catch them or anything. 85:11 Yeah, does he deliver, like, and does he box them up in egg boxes? 85:14 Yeah, he goes off on a Sunday, then. He's the roads, Glenville roads, Dune Peter road. He goes around to all the neighbours and he goes in and he has a chat with him and all. 85:22 He's a wonderful young fella, isn't he? He's a wonderful young fella. 85:25 He's doing that now since he's 13. He's 13 now. He's just been into prostitute this year. 85:29 He's had it three years, yeah. Because there's another lad called Adam I saw on Instagram. 85:33 Adam, yeah, he's not too far, actually, from us, actually. Oh, do you know him? Yeah, I know my husband, Brian, knows him, but I don't know him personally, but we know him. He's aged and stuff like that, yeah. 85:42 So I'm told he started at the age of eight and he's a grown adult now. He's a young man. Yeah, he's a grown adult. It's a full-time business with him. 85:50 full-time business for him, like, and he's absolutely amazing, like, what he's doing, like, he's a lovely, he's a lovely fellow from Vine and Sage, you know, I just hear my husband chat away about him, so. 86:00 Oh, great stories. I'd say, I'd say, in fairness, I'd say Jack's eggs make a fine scrambled egg now, or a fried egg of a Saturday morning. 86:06 Oh, fabulous. 86:07 The best of it. 86:08 Yeah, they're gorgeous. Casey? And it's the colour of them, like, it's the yellow, the colour of them, like, you'd know the difference in them, like, 86:15 KC here at the radio station got a whole box of double eggs recently. All of them had double yolks in them. How come that happens? 86:24 Yeah. It's amazing. It's been out. It's out in the grass and every whole thing. It's the natural ground. It's the natural stuff they're getting from the ground. 86:36 well listen to me I'll drop in a box Jack oh my god there's no need if you're passing you'll have it for Christmas morning alright Nora you're lovely so regards to you and Grandad Davey and also to Little Jack as well give him our best will you of course bye lovely chatting with you take care text 0868 104 106 Be part of the conversation. The Neil Prent of a show with Elevate Credit Union. You're listening out for another cue to call for Saw Doctors tickets. 87:08 We've got them to give away for the gig, Virgin Media Park, July 3rd. So this is what you're listening out for sometime between now and midday. 87:18 All right, covering a lot of ground this morning and lots of different topics, of course. And you have to have the fun as well. And there are lovely things going on out there with the initiative of people, particularly young people, particularly young lads who are setting up their own little businesses. That also prompted a call from Marion and Belgoolie. Marion, good morning. 87:34 Good morning, Neil. 87:35 And you are Mammy to an interesting group with very interesting names. What are they? 87:42 Yeah, so with the ducks, I have a me, so Davy Duck, Count Ducula, Countess Ducky, Jemima Puddleduck, Cheese and Quackers. I think that's all of them ones. Then we have Amelia and Abigail Gabelgeese. And there's, I don't know, there's so many of them. There's loads of chickens, Rhode Island Reds, Silkies. 88:06 We've got Dutch Bantams, a Seabrois. Yeah, there's a whole mix. Why? 88:12 Why? In the name of God. 88:14 Why? 88:15 Because I decided to get one hen one time and then it just kind of expanded and I ended up going, taking them to the Quark Summer Show and to different shows where you, it's basically like a dog show, but you take your chickens, your ducks instead. 88:31 Do they, I mean, do they lay eggs? Do they have baby ducks? 88:35 Yeah, well, they lay eggs. The ducks don't seem to be broody, so they haven't, like, sometimes they might sit on the eggs wanting to hatch them, but then kind of get distracted and forget about them. But the silkies, we had a bunch of them eggs, and it was actually a Japanese bantam mother that was, like, 13 years of age. She hatched all them, and they weren't her babies, and she then also hatched a bunch of brown ones for us. So you can put the eggs from... other hens that aren't broody under the broody hen. They will hatch themselves. 89:06 That's interesting, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. 89:09 Looking after other people's eggs. How bad. Surrogate ducks and surrogate hens. That's it, yeah, yeah. So with all of these ducks and hens and geese and others, does Mr Fox ever call? 89:23 Yes. So we had over the years like lots of fox issues. So we've had, you know, different coops and we've like put the water down into the ground, but the fox has managed to dig under and get in and take them. 89:35 Basically, everything we tried wasn't working until we decided to buy a border collie puppy from a farmer. So we looked him up on the farmer's journal and then he said it was like the puppy's robbing train to be herding farm dogs. 89:51 And he was like, are you going to be using it now for herding sheep? Answering to particular whistles and what have you. 89:55 Exactly. So they were like, the farmer said, are you going to be using it now for herding sheep or for cattle? And I said, no, no, for some birds. 90:04 But no, it's worked wonders in the last five years and he's outside, like they're all in the kind of, at night we lock him into the back area so they have a garden and it's kind of like a shade and a run and the dog has his bed in there and they do and he keeps them awake. So he's had no issues until earlier this year when Aver, the Border Collie, which is named after the hero in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He snuck into the house and decided to sleep the night in the couch and no one copped it. 90:35 So that night we did have a fox come early in the morning and took one of our brown hins and then came back to take another hint so that's what they do they come and take one take it back and then come back to get another so Pepper the rooster he's a Rhode Island red he actually took on the fox and fought it in the garden so my husband woke up and ran outside when he heard the commotion and saw Pepper the rooster like with his talons jumping up and banging into the fox like literally attacking he kept the fox away Yeah so a rooster definitely helps the flock but he was a bit shaken after then he had a load of feathers taken out of him. 91:12 He's a brave rooster. He was a bit hoarse from all the cock-a-doodle-dooing. Cock-a-doodle-doo! 91:20 But apart from that he was grand. 91:21 Did the border collie get the sack then as the guard dog? 91:25 No, he was told he must do his night shift from now on. He's allowed in as much as he wants during the day, but you have to do your job at night because he would get jacked otherwise. 91:36 You should be doing a daily journal. 91:38 Because there's many, many stories. That's a fabulous story regarding Pepper the Rooster. Oh, there's loads of stories, yeah. And do you have any cows or sheep or hens? 91:49 No, I'm only in a country house. I don't have room for, although annoying me, I would probably find a way of fishing a cow in the garden. But no, just the chickens and the dogs. And we've cats and then we've other animals like lizards, pet rats, mouse, cats. 92:07 turtle, snakes. Yeah, we have a whole kind of farm going on. 92:14 Yeah, we have a ball python, a corn snake, two bearded dragons, a leopard gecko, a morning gecko, a Chinese pond turtle, fish, two rats, two gerbils, a mouse, a rabbit, ten cats. And the cats are all rescue cats. They all have something... wrong with them. Like one fella was born blind. There's another one. She has like oncodystrophy so her nails don't grow properly. 92:45 A bunch of them have no teeth. They're all rescues like that. 92:49 You're like Mrs. Doolittle. 92:51 Oh yeah, definitely. Dr. Doolittle. You should open Marion's Open Farm. 92:57 Yeah, I probably should. Everyone's saying I have said to people if they wanted to bring their children over they should... 93:05 Would it be safe with rats and snakes, though? 93:08 No, probably not. I'd probably get in trouble for something eating, a child or something. 93:13 You keep doing what you're doing anyway. 93:17 It keeps you young. 93:19 That's it, yeah. 93:20 And regards to all of the above, including Count Ducula, Countess Ducky, Cheese and Quackers, and Jemima Puddle Duck. 93:30 Yeah. 93:33 And they're salt and pepper, the rooster. So pepper is obviously the main boy. Salt is his brother. So he recently had a bunch of children. Well, you know, there's a various amount of mothers because, you know, that's what he's like. It's just a free love farm. 93:51 Oh, that's it, yeah. But one chick didn't hatch in time with the others and the mother didn't want to sit on the eggs anymore once the one says about five or six of them hatched. That's why she doesn't abandon the rest. So one started hatching himself, so I had to peel him out of the egg and he wouldn't bond then with the rest of the chicks or the mother because they didn't, you know, that's it, like they don't take care of it. So I've been raising him indoors then. So he's been sitting up on the computer on my desk, working with me every day, like, and he thinks I'm his mother. 94:24 So I just have a desk chicken. I think he's going to be a rooster as well. It's too early to tell, but I think he will. So I'm just going to have a giant Rhode Island red on my desk. 94:33 Oh, my God. I don't know. There's a lot of chaos going on there. Way too much chaos for me, I would think. 94:40 I prefer the quiet life. I leave you to it. See you, Marion. Good luck. 94:48 All right. Take care. Bye. 94:49 I'm dizzy from the list of inhabitants. Anyway, text 0868104106. Somebody taking me to task because I talk about all of the different teacher training days and it wrecks the heads of parents. Neil, would you come in on a weekend or evening to do training? No, nor would I. So why should teachers? They work hard enough and they have to deal with 20 to 30 kids on a daily basis. Why? What should they what they should do? 95:14 on these in-service days is get a sub-teacher in to cover the classes so the kids can still go to school. It's not teachers' fault that they have these training days. Blame it on the Department of Education. Well said you. I agree. I look at things differently when people correct me and show me the way and show me the light. So thank you for it. 95:34 Get on to Prenderville now. 95:36 0818 104 106. The Neil Prenderville Show. 95:41 Morning all. The time will come where instead of pepper spraying protesters, the government will simply switch off a person's digital profile. No rent, no groceries, nothing. If you ask for help, you'll be told to refer to that booklet that was sent out in September 2026. That's the emergency booklet you're referencing that everybody got. and continue to get over the last couple of weeks. The ironic thing is that the massive companies that now run this country and we are totally dependent on are here because of the tax deals they are getting. And yet we as citizens are hammered by tax and it's getting worse thanks to the government's stranglehold and the power they have, says Anthony. 96:17 Your man worried about our tax paying for things in Dublin? What about our tax paying for every problem in the world and giving it to non-working immigrants in the country? We need to cop on and wake up. Irish economists say Ireland will go bankrupt if they keep paying illegal immigrants who don't work. That's why Sweden and Denmark are stopping people entering unless they have money to work. It ain't rocket science. Well, it ain't rocket science to just allow people to apply through the proper channels and get themselves a visa and come and start a new life here and have money to support themselves. 96:51 I gave up being self-employed when I got cancer and I had to work on through chemo. I was told by a woman in welfare that I was probably a millionaire, says Pa. There is a huge level of unfairness going on here with people who are self-employed and how they're treated if they get sick and people who are employees and how they are treated. If they get sick or they need long term or short term benefit payments, they will get it. But if you're self-employed, you don't, even though even that's a real injustice, even though you're paying tax PRSI and PAYE. 97:23 I'm texting in about the state pension. We're constantly told Ireland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, right up there with Luxembourg. Yet our maximum state pension is only about 299 euro. 97:36 In Luxembourg, it's several times higher. It's well over 2,000 a month for a full pension. Now, I'd have to fact check that if you don't mind, because that seems like a lot higher. Well, it doesn't seem like it. It is. Plenty of other wealthy European countries leave us in the halfpenny place. People don't realise how low ours really is. How can a country this rich leave its pensioners so far behind? What I think is extraordinary about that is you have a contributory and a non-contributory. And I know I mentioned this earlier on in the week. And if you worked all your life, 45 years all your life, and paid all of the taxes you were asked to pay, when you draw down the pension at the age of 66, you get €210. 98:13 If you never worked at all your entire life, as in never did anything, and I'm talking about people who draw social welfare payments for illness or disability, I get all of that. But I'm just talking about lazy people who say never, ever, ever wanted to work. They took everything they could get that they felt that they were, inverted commas, entitled to and sat back and took all the moolah. They never did a tap. When they hit retirement age and draw down the pension at the age of 66, they get 10 euro less than you that worked all your life. 10 euro less than you that worked all of your life. 98:46 In Luxembourg, the minimum pension is set at €2,376 per month after a full 40-year career. 98:56 Thank God I'm sitting down. So in Luxembourg, you work all your life. 99:02 The minimum pension that you will get, say, for instance, after a typical 40-year working career is €2,376 per month. So here it would be €1,200. 99:17 €1,200. That's a big difference. Isn't that a huge difference? They get twice the pension rate. Twice. 99:25 So that's kind of getting a bit more value for everything you've put in over the 40 years, isn't it? Rather than 10 euro more a week, as opposed to somebody who was just too lazy to ever work. 99:37 I don't get it. Like, I just don't get it. But anyway, what do I know? I'm just passing on the data for you. Text 0868-104-106. 99:45 So your calls and comments are welcome. That's what this program is all about. And for mention, can I just mention also that we're hearing that the domino scheme in the CUMH may be pulled because of staff shortages? What's that? I asked this morning when they told me. Well, a lot of Cork mums would have used this service, which allowed people living close to the hospital to go home soon after their baby was born. Well, they do go home soon after their babies are born. But how soon is it? 100:14 Say, for instance, if it's a thing called the domino scheme, how quickly would you be out? 100:20 Within 24 hours, they told me this morning when I asked. And I'm curious, I'm a man, I don't know. Is it possible after such a big thing to do to give birth to a baby? I mean, it's got to be exhausting. It's got to be tiring. There must be elements of pain involved in it, discomfort and things. To literally get up and walk out of the hospital after 24 hours after giving birth? 100:45 I mean... 100:46 Fair enough if you can. And it depends on what the labour was like. And I suppose some might suggest, is it your first baby or your second baby or your third baby? So if they're getting rid of this domino scheme, what does that actually mean in terms of the length of stay and things like that? 101:03 If they don't have the staff, maybe, is it that they don't have the staff to check that you're able to go home within 24 hours and get out there quickly? Would people not, forgive me now, but would a woman not prefer to wait? 101:16 And take a few days to see looking at two women through the glass, both of whom have had children. Would you not prefer to kind of chill? 101:24 Oh, I'd be there for the month if I could. But Viv was on the domino scheme, all right. That wouldn't work for me at all. 101:30 So why is that an option? 101:32 It's just if there's no complications and if things are straightforward. 101:36 Just go home. 101:37 Yeah. And you don't even have to go to the hospital then for appointments. We just went off to Fimburs. 101:42 It's brilliant. So many people do use it. So we do need to look into it. 101:45 So if they're withdrawing a thing called a domino scheme, what does that mean? 101:49 I don't know. I'm going to have to look into it. It makes no sense to me because I think the midwives aren't available to do it. So maybe there's more midwives doing the scheme and maybe they need to be drafted into the actual CUM. 101:59 Could you just not say, thanks very much. Where's my baby? I'm off. 102:03 I would have thought actually it makes more sense because people are moving through the system quicker. And like, you know, it's a quicker process. But I have no idea. I was in there for four or five days. I was like enjoying my meals, having the ball with my baby. Don't rush to go home. I get it. All right. 102:19 All right, anyway, text 0868-104-106. I ran out of... Well, it was actually because PJ was on a train, and sometimes those lines can drop when you're on a train. You just take the rough with the smooth... But I think he's in Dublin now. PJ, good morning. Good morning, Neil. How are you? 102:35 I'm outside St Patrick's Hospital in Dublin. 102:37 Okay, so you are going to this protest today at the Garden of Remembrance. 102:42 Yes, I am, because I am an ex-Judy President... from the days of Cork RTC. And we are all fighting the same fight. The nurses are coming out in Dublin and marching on the 14th of October. 102:56 You've got public sector workers on a work to rule as well at the moment. You're probably aware of that. 103:02 Yes, and the Psychiatric Nurses Association have joined it this morning. Neil, we're all fighting the same fight. There's no use fighting five separate fights when we can all combine our resources and our people and our numbers and show the government that we mean business. 103:17 And what is the fight, PJ? What is the fight? Cost of living, I know. 103:21 Yes, it's not alone cost of living, Neil. But it's also just, it's almost a societal thing so that people can actually, young people can see this country as a country to live in, remain in, work, buy a house, raise a family. Because without families, we don't have communities. Without communities, we don't have a country. And it's down to that simple an issue at the end of days. Like, for example, I was speaking to a student this morning on the train. He told me in MTU, in Parchment Square, it costs £8,000 for a full academic year to live at Parchment Square. 104:01 It was Parchment Square college accommodation in Cork, is it? 104:06 Yes, £8,000. And he said that's basic accommodation. In the city centre, he said there's another one charging £13,000. Neil, that's beyond a mortgage for most people. 104:16 £13,000 a year. 104:18 They're modern, but they're not fecking palatial, I would think. 104:22 But let's look at that. Let's look at that, Neil. You're paying for one person a bedroom, basically, and some shared living space. That is a mortgage. That's beyond my mortgage when I bought my first house in Ring of Skiddy back in 2002. But, Neil, as well as that, we're being lied to. Look, we're being promised 40,000 houses this year. The fact of the matter is from the construction industry, which I gave you a researcher, the facts and figures on everything this morning, there was only 16,000 foundations dug in 2025. 104:55 The foundations of 2025 are the completed houses of 2026. 104:58 Oh, for God's sake. 105:00 Is that right? Let's give some of them our apartment blocks. OK, so one foundation is maybe eight to 12 apartments. But Neil, that might bring it up to maybe 20,000 housing units. Listen, we're being lied to. And we're being told on data centres that the current price on data centres... People are wrong. It's actually 19.1 cents they're being charged. 105:22 I thought it was 14 cents. 105:24 It's a little higher, but it's still... No, they're actually talking about reducing it from 19 to 14 cents. 105:29 Yeah, but we're paying... We could be paying 35 to 38 cents a unit. 105:34 38 euros is the average price. And Neil, they are proposing a simultaneous increase for residential customers. 105:40 of 8% on the 8th of October. 105:44 Yeah, when they're dropping it to the data centres by 33%. And not only that, Neil, but given that the average cost of network services is £7.65 for the residential customer per month, What is it for the 10th century? 106:04 What's going to change though? Because we talk a lot about it and we're banging out statistics and talking about it unfair. 106:10 Two things need to change. Two things need to change in this country. Number one, you get the government that you vote for. People need to stop voting Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael because the fact of the matter is they have held the power for 100 years. Now they're wedded bliss together. But people vote for the local Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael TV and they forget that that local vote has national consequences. 106:37 Here's the thing there, right? That's an excellent point you made there. And we need to remind ourselves of that from time to time. There was a difference many years ago between Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael. You could drive a coach and horses between the differences in policies. They're the same now. 106:53 They're both EU lapdogs now. Let's call them what they are, Neil. Because the God's honest truth of it is, you were talking about the local property tax in Cork. They're hoping that by increasing it by the full amount of 25% of €12... 107:10 It was a certain rate of 12%. They put it up by the maximum amount, 25%, from 12% to 15%. 107:19 Last year they increased it by 12%. That's Cork City Council. Now they're increasing it by 15%. And they could go as high as 25%. 107:28 Who was that motion made by? Who spoke on behalf of the Fianna Fáil party to that in relation to that? It's on the Earth, independent article this morning, Sean Martin. 107:37 But Sean Martin refused to agree to allowing City Council and the City Manager to increase it by 25%. He said no to that. 107:48 At the end of the day, Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael supported that motion and allowed the increase to go through. That is the reality of it. That is the reality of it. 20 voted for it, 7 voted against. Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael have their boots on the necks of the people in this country. I was up in Moat, I was on the 9 o'clock news on Sunday night, and I'm going to say there, I'm going to say no to what I said then. And I'm saying this to all Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael members, all councillors, all TDs, all ministers, and all the way up to Harris and Michal Martin. 108:21 If you feel so concerned about us as people and voters in this country, at the present, your parties have your boots on the necks of the Irish people. If you feel so concerned, then walk out of the party. Walk out of the party. Leave it. Go to an alternative. Because that's what we need in this country. What is that alternative? A viable alternative. Well, the God's honest truth is independent Ireland... Sinn Féin, A&T and the independents and the whole lot of the opposition need to really start talking about their commonalities rather than squabbling about their... 108:59 So you mean they need to start talking to each other, is it? 109:02 They really need to start talking to each other because we are the voters in this country and we are demanding change. So we need to move more to the right, do we? 109:15 No, no, we need to move to common sense. No, that would be moving. Yeah, well, maybe common sense is to move a little to the right. 109:23 This is simply a matter of right and wrong at the moment, because here's the choices if you're an elderly person. Your choices this winter are between eating and eating. If you are a working man or a working woman, on a Wednesday, your choices could be petrol or nappies. 109:42 That's the reality that's in this country. You can order heating oil in this country and it's €1,700 in Dundalk. 109:51 You can throw a stone across the border and the same fill of heating oil is €1236 when you convert it over. I mean, they can reduce the carbon tax. They can reduce it down to an absolute, literally nominal amount. 110:07 I believe all of this is because they know that the people just whinge and they'll complain and do nothing about it and just take it. That's why. 110:15 That's why we need to stop. That's why we need to stop. I'm actually sat outside a psychiatric hospital here, St. Patrick's in Dublin. 110:22 I don't know how each psychiatric hospital in this country is not full to overflowing without youth that are absolutely so stressed and are working families that they're so stressed and so put to the pin of their collar that they need to literally give up. 110:42 I really don't know. I'm a carer for a severely autistic son. I'm an unacknowledged carer. My partner gets the carer's allowance. But we have to fight for what we get when we should get it by rights. 110:57 And I know of so many other people that they're fighting to stand still. And you can't make two cakes out of one cake. 111:07 Well, our generosity would seem to know no bounds for others. But when I hear case histories of many Irish people, I see a completely different set of scenarios. 111:18 Let's look at the local property tax. The City Council say that they're going to raise £766,000 from it to plug a hole in the budget. In the last period, we gave Ukraine £125 million. 111:33 40 million and 125 million in the last six months that's 290 million now what in the name of god that could do so much for every county and corporation and city council throughout this country it could do so much to help people our sense of priorities is absolutely skewed we are no use to anybody else if we're no use to ourselves first we need to solve our problems first and giving money away hand over fist. 112:04 The EU, out of all tax money, including Ireland, gives Ukraine 1.5 billion per month. Per month. And they've been doing that for the last year. 112:15 That's an EU figure. That's an EU figure, yeah. Mind you, in 2024, the cost of Ukrainian payments in Ireland for 2024 was 1.2 billion. 112:29 And we even paid a couple of million for their pets. 112:31 Well, if you look at 22, 23, 24 and 25, the figure for Ukrainian, looking after Ukrainians here, it was 4 billion. And for IPAS, all of the different IPAS, these are the characters coming in looking for, you know, refuge because they're freeing war. 22, 23, 24 was 2 billion. So in the space of those five years, it came in at 6 billion. 112:58 You're making my argument for me, Neil. 113:01 You're making my argument for me. 113:02 But Michal Martin was on Fox News there not too long ago. 113:09 I sat opposite on the Board of Management when I was a student union president with Michal Martin and he was a TD and a city councillor. And that man was useless then. And I said it at a voter confidence meeting, a protest in Dublin. His decisions are dangerous now. They are dangerous for the lives of people. If Michal Martin was a scaffolding on a building site, the HSA would close the site down. 113:31 HSA, the Safety Authority would close the site down. 113:34 They'd close the site down because Michal Martin is no more able to deal with reality than a fish can ride a bicycle. 113:42 He has said that... 113:43 He's the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time. 113:45 And why is he there then? Is there no one better? 113:48 Well, the God's honest truth is there were supposed to be people dying up behind him when they weren't happy with him. But at the end of the day, they're all happy to have their snouts in the trough, Neil. And that's the God's honest truth. And we need a new alternative in this country. 114:00 Will you stay in touch with me? Don't be a stranger, all right? Particularly with regards to... Let me know how that protest goes, right? 114:07 When Anthony was down in Whitegate, I was actually the guy that... As I said, I treat people with pepper spray. Anthony is a fierce good buddy of mine. So anytime that you get in touch with Anthony, give me an old buzz as well. And I will certainly make time out of my day. 114:21 All right, Peach. Appreciate it for now. Take care of yourself. Much obliged. 114:23 No problem. Okay. 114:25 All right. Okay, makes very, very strong, interesting and passionate points. How about you? Can you do the same? Get involved. Text 0868104106. Pick up the phone on 0818104106. Anne, do you mind if I just take a quick break? Do you mind if I take a quick break and come back to you in two seconds? Can you hold on one second? Is that all right with you? 114:44 Anne? 114:45 Hello. Can you just hold on two seconds? I'll be back to you in two seconds, all right? Don't go anywhere. 114:49 Listen to The Neil Prendiville Show wherever you go. Download the Go Loud app, the new home of Red FM. 114:56 The Neil Prendiville Show on Red FM. 114:59 All right, what a morning. Lots of topics covered on this here show from foxes to hens to ducky ducks and now to stags. Stags, and I don't mean going away with a bunch of guys with fellas getting married. I'm talking about four-legged stags. Anne, good morning. 115:12 Good morning, Neil. Oh, my God. I'm lucky to be talking to you at all, I think, am I? 115:17 Absolutely. 115:19 I can tell you what happened to me there about two weeks ago. It was Sunday, the 13th of September, and I just want people to be aware, Neil. That's why I'm telling you the story. Myself and a pal were coming from the INEC in Clarny, having gone to Riverdance, and on the main motorway about quarter past 11th, I mean, I'm not a fast driver. I was coasting along very smoothly. And it was only at the very last second we saw this huge stag on my side of the road. 115:52 And I can only but describe to you that he was like a tank after colliding with the side of my car and a bit around the front as well. It literally happened at the blink of a switch. 116:04 And both of us were in a complete state of shock afterwards. It was really, really shocking. 116:10 And apparently they're all over the country, but particularly on the Macoom, Clarnia Macoom motorway. 116:18 I thought those... 116:21 I didn't know anything about stags, but I remember covering this story about small fallow deer. Very small are supposed to be native to that area. But you're talking about a stag. Like, I know that deer have been killed by small little ones have been killed, unfortunately, trying to cross the road. But this is a full on stag. It must have been some thump. 116:42 It was unbelievable, Neil. And to be honest with you, it was like a tank that literally collided against my car. He was a huge stag with huge horns and everything on the road. I don't know where he came from because it was pitch black and neither of us saw him until the last second. This was a stag, not a small little deer. So I would say beware. Everyone needs to be 110% aware, but none of us, you can never be ready for something like this either. 117:14 Because they're the same colour as the dark. 117:17 And what happened next? 117:19 What happened next? Well, the car was still going. So I just kept driving home to Balancholic where I live. I didn't stop because I was afraid to stop when the car was still going. Because if I'd stopped, I was afraid I'd be stuck at the side of the road. Don't ask if it happened to sag afterwards, I don't know. 117:41 I just kept going. What speed were you doing when you hit him? 117:46 I was actually very... I'd say I wasn't even doing 80, to be honest with you, because I'm actually quite a slow... I'm a very slow, cautious driver. But there was no way I was doing more than 80, and that's been honest. 117:59 And I think if I was doing any more, I might have been in trouble because... 118:04 I mean, I was very lucky he didn't come around the front of my windscreen and come to it. 118:08 Yeah, through the windscreen. Oh no, he wouldn't. 118:09 Exactly, because, I mean, I could have been another statistic or up in Sue H for the next six months or so. But both of us now, thankfully, escaped unharmed. And I couldn't even get out my driver's door when I got home. I had to get out the passenger side. 118:25 And, of course, there was nearly 2,000 euros worth of damage done to the car. Crikey. 118:30 Oh, my God. I know. OK. Listen, you must have got one hell of a fright, you and your buddy. One hell of a fright. 118:37 We did, to be honest with you. We were shook for shelter, and that's been honest about it. 118:42 But we were both so thankful to have come out of it alive. 118:46 Stags are huge, massive things. 118:48 They are. They are. And I mean, as I say, it was just like a tank coming in against my door. 118:56 The best part of it is that we came out of it alive. Absolutely. Don't know about the stag though, that poor stag. Absolutely. I didn't wait around to find out. 119:04 I know, it's just we put motorways where they live, you know what I'm saying? They follow the same kind of paths instinctively for hundreds and thousands of years. Planck a motorway in the middle of it, they still want to get across it. It's awfully worrying from the point of view of... you know, not wanting to hit them or kill them. But listen to me, you are so, so lucky. Somebody texted, just as you were speaking, something similar happened to us in the outback in Australia, except it was a massive kangaroo. Only that we were driving a 4x4, we would be dead. You know? 119:36 Yeah, I mean, I'm driving a Toyota Oris and I was just very lucky. I didn't career either to the other side of the road. So, I mean, my other pal who was with me complimented me for excellent... 119:48 But I could compliment her as well for being such an excellent passenger. I think both of us, we were very, very lucky when all is said and done. But I think the message I need to get out there is that it's not just that road. Apparently they're all over the country on the country roads and you just don't know the day nor the hour they're going to hit. But apparently they do come out late at night and at dusk, you know. 120:12 Just be wary and aware. Yeah, you're absolutely right. 120:16 Yeah, I mean, I don't know what the solution could be, whether they, I mean, culling is an option, but I don't know if it's the overall solution. But certainly on the other flip side, the motorist needs to be safe driving, you know. 120:29 Absolutely. Thanks for that. Glad you're OK, Anne. I'm very, very, very, very lucky that the stag didn't hit you front on right through the windscreen. We mightn't be talking to you at all. Completely different story. You'll be dealing with a tragedy on the Macroon bypass. You know, the domino scheme, Neil, that allowed women who give birth to get home earlier is being pulled from the CUMH because there was not enough staff in the hospital. So the midwives are needed in the hospital, not out in the community and doing the domino clinics. CUMH, you see, are 80 midwives short. 121:01 80 midwives short. I'm a midwife in the CUM, so don't give up my details on air. 80 midwives short. That's a statistic I won't forget for a while. Gloria in Middleton says, having a baby is the most natural thing in the world. Many families opt for home births and don't go to hospital at all. Lots of mothers would choose to be home from hospital ASAP to rest and be with their families. You can't beat being nourished and loved by family. Many mothers have toddlers at home and they want to be with them too. 121:32 It's not necessary to remain in a sterile hospital at all. Home is always home. And that's the opinion of Gloria from Middleton by text to 0868104106. Can I just mention, and I know we spoke with Nora there and she coming back from the INEC at Riverdance. 121:51 Sooner or later, we'll have our own big, massive version of that on Leeside, won't we? At the moment now, it's just an open patch of ground. But at least we have the Opera House. And tonight, the great Jimmy McCarthy plays the one first of two sold out gigs at the Opera House. He's playing tonight and he's back again on Tuesday, the 20th of October. That's also sold out, which is fantastic in itself. And I know that he did a string of sold out gigs at the Whitehorse in Balancolic recently. Declan Sinnott was with him for those ones. They must have been great gigs. They completely sold out. 122:21 I didn't even know they were on there. But nonetheless, they also, I actually think he did a gig in Collins as well on Douglas Street. So he's back with a bang and he's touring and he's playing live and it's great. And everybody is so excited to welcome Jimmy McCarthy, the McCroom man, the proud Cork man, back on Leeside tonight for the first two gigs at the Opera House. It's going to be a great night and great to have him up on the stage and back gigging and also back on Leeside. For all of the business, text 0868-104-106. Pick up the phone on 0818-104-106. You couldn't make it up, lads. 122:51 I mentioned earlier on this morning that there was a massive big liner came into Cove overnight. It's called the MSC Virtuosa. It arrived this morning just for an overnight tonight, leaving again tomorrow. 8,000 on board. There are 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew. So they all got off this morning, apparently, down in Cove. And people are starting to contact me now saying things like, huge liner down in Cove this morning. They knew this was happening. And there's only one train on. And the tourists can't get out of Cove. 123:23 And they're asking everybody, where do we go? How do we go see things? What's the story with the train? Buses and coaches. 123:32 To be honest with you, they are in a beautiful town, the beautiful town of Cove, particularly nice when the sun is shining. But I think they might have had other plans. How come this couldn't have been anticipated earlier, knowing that there was like 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew getting off a cruise liner first thing this morning? I don't know. As the fella says, you couldn't make it up. You couldn't make it up. I'm going to have to park a lot of stuff for now and come back to it in the morning. But I didn't want this opportunity to pass and catch up with Sharon Hussey. You might remember, because we covered the story for so long, I wanted to check in. 124:03 And we did from time to time with the protesters in Knockpogue, who had a people power victory of sorts this week. And amongst them, Sharon Hussey, who was fighting the good fight for months on end. Sharon, good morning. 124:15 Hi Neil, how are you? 124:16 And I say of sorts and I'm not taking from the victory as such but the proposal was to cut down all of the trees. What's the agreement now? 124:26 So yeah, it was 22 trees and now we've gotten them to agree to cut only 10. 124:34 A win's a win I suppose, is it? 124:37 It is, to be fair. Look, we, you know, I mean, we're all realists. We all have common sense. You know, we walked the walk with the engineers. And once they were able to explain to us why each tree had to go of those 10, we could justify it. We could go back to the community then and relay then the reason why. And to be fair to the council, obviously, to get to this point, and now that we're here, I'll give credit where credit's due. The reason they would chop, say, two of the four trees in one area is is in order to protect the other two trees that get to stay, which is a total different frame of mind as to nine months ago. 125:12 You know what I mean? 125:14 Why do they have to cut any? 125:17 for different reasons. Obviously, they're still going to put in the cycle lane. Certain things like one tree has to go for a disabled parking spot. Look, we can't argue for that, you know what I mean? 125:27 And then there's other residents, you know, not every single person on this street wants to save the trees. Some residents do want the trees to go. And look, you can't fight with people who have that outside their front door either. So there's a couple of reasons why we're down to 10, and it's hard to argue with, but... we're going to remain seeing an avenue of trees. And that's the most important thing. And the Chessie tree outside my house is going to remain and we'll collect Chessies for many more years. 125:52 And that's the thing to hang on to. That's the headline that I loved yesterday. The Chessies will be connected for many years to come. 125:59 Yeah, and they will. And I was taking videos even of my children collecting them every morning because I was thinking, is this going to be the last year that they get to do this? You know what I mean? And it just means so much. As I've always said, these trees are more than just a structure. You know, they have sentimental value as well to them, as well as the purpose of them. And it's just a great win for the community that, you know, we didn't give up and we kept on going and we got to where we wanted to. 126:22 Fair play to you. And we have many more kilometres of cycle lanes now that will be hardly ever used. that's for sure yeah but listen thanks so much for always highlighting it it's a lot we appreciate that that you gave us you know the airtime I know listen the airtime is here for the people of Cork or people of anywhere to share their stories or their needs so I'm delighted for you all Sharon get Chessie get Chessie pick is it Chessie season 126:45 Yeah, it is. Oh, my God. They're bags of them. Bags of them. I'm just literally, as I'm talking to you, I'm looking at a woman, picking them up and putting them in a bag. 126:52 Does anybody play conkers anymore? Do they play conkers? 126:55 My son came home with one from someone drilled in and had their shoestring on it. Yeah, it still happens. 127:00 Well, I hope he's got a champion conqueror that out-conquers all of the other conquerors for many days to come. 127:05 Well, you know what? Now we might have a little block party and everyone can come up and play conquerors and celebrate the win. 127:10 Well said, well said. Thanks, Sharon. Mind yourself. Take care. Congratulations to all. Love the show this morning. Listening from the Netherlands, would you mind wishing my daughter Ciara O'Riordan, who's graduating in The Hague University this afternoon, completing her law degree, all of the best, says Sean. Happy to do it. And listen, we have people listening all over the world. It's one big global radio community. Because online and digital and apps and all sorts of things, that's one of the upsides to it all. It gives us much more connectivity. Text 0868104106. Pick up the phone on 0818104106. 127:41 Oh, and by the way... Back after the break. 127:48 The Neil Prenderville Show on Red FM. 127:51 With Elevate Credit Union. Now with seven locations across Cork City and County. 127:58 On Red FM. 128:00 Conversation that matters. 128:01 Be part of the conversation. Just interestingly, just coming across my desk that Micheál Martin, well, he certainly doesn't talk to me, but he does talk to Fox News and he spoke to them overnight. Apparently there's some audio that's being shared now. He did the interview last week when he was in New York, but it's only been published by Fox News overnight. He says that he is open. 128:24 to publishing crime statistics broken down by nationality. 128:29 He says he's open to that. Now, if he's open to it, then it should just happen, right? Because many have been calling for more detailed information on the nationality and ethnicity of suspects and people convicted of serious crimes. Because we have so many different nationalities here now, perhaps we need to know where everybody is from. 128:48 But he's worried about how those figures would be interpreted. He says he's not opposed to publishing the data, which would be quite interesting at the moment with my own freedom of information request to Cork City Council and Cork County Council with regards to housing lists. But in this interview, he rejected claims that Ireland is overrun by immigrants because Fox said to him, They said Ireland's overrun by immigrants, right? But he says the country is changing and it's changing because of legal migration and because of our economic growth. 129:19 Now, go tell people, of course, who literally have no money and no food on the table by the end of the week or the month or can't put on the heating or pay their bills. about all this economic growth. He says that Ireland's asylum seeker system has been too slow, but they're trying to speed it up and they're considering stricter citizenship requirements. I actually thought that was going to happen, the five years to eight years. Is that still only a consideration? But he said that he supports publishing more crime data, including nationality information, because he says then that will counter the distorted perceptions because he says crime is not specific to any nationality. 129:58 He goes on to say other things like that. But this is a little bit of audio. I've only got about 15 seconds of it. But the takeaway from this is that he's up for publishing data and breaking all of the breakdowns with regards to data involving crime. 130:12 I've no issue with data and I've no issue with sort of having, because that can inform, because sometimes you get a kind of distorted picture. So as I'm concerned, data is important and people are understanding that, but I don't think crime is specific to any nationality. 130:26 No, it's not specific to... to any nationality, but you would want to know prorata with people who are living here, how much criminality is engaged in by virtue of your percentage of the population. So if he's up for it, let's see if it will happen, right? Let's see if that will happen and we'll have to wait and see what happens next. So that story obviously is going to be picked up by the different news platforms, I imagine, I hope, you never know anymore in that regard. Either way, our lines stay open. You can text 0868-104-106, pick up the phone on 0818- 104, 106. And right across the week, we have Saw Doctors tickets to give away for the gig, which is happening on July 3rd at Virgin Media Park. 131:02 They've also got the stunning on the show as well. So it's a really great gig. Tickets for sale, of course, wherever you get your tickets, including on Ticketmaster and what have you. But we have them to give away all week. Well done to Damien Cronin in Toker, who's a big fan of the Saw Doctors. You're well sorted and set up for the gig. We'll give away some more tickets tomorrow and Friday. And any other business that we missed out on today, we'll pick up on tomorrow. Can I also... I also say thank you so much to Barry's Tea. I didn't necessarily want this time. Believe me when I tell you, I have plenty tea. 131:32 But they sent me a hamper of tea for correctly guessing all of the Barry's Teas in the recent tea test. And they've sent me one of everything they do. And if you think they just do red label and decaf, you can forget about it. They have a massive range and it all arrived in a big, huge box. And they said, following your recent tea test, We are delighted that you correctly identified our tea. Here's a few tea goodies for you to try. We hope you continue to enjoy Barry's tea. Absolutely. Out of my cold, dead hand, it will always be a cup of Barry's tea. 132:04 Have a good day. 132:05 I'll see you tomorrow.