Morning Focus -Tuesday 28/01/20

Today on Morning Focus, we discussed the latest details on the Coronavirus with Dr Cillian de Gascun, Medical Virologist and Director or National Virus Reference Laboratory, UCD.

Chinese authorities say 106 people have died from the new coronavirus and more than 4-thousand people are infected. The city of Wuhan is at the epicentre of the outbreak but it has spread across China and internationally. Efforts are underway to evacuate Irish people trapped in the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China. It’s estimated there are eight Irish citizens in Hubei province according to the Irish Times.

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Before that, to open the show we discussed how the plans to draw water from River Shannon to Dublin have been criticised, with Gerry Siney, spokesperson for the River Shannon Protection Alliance Group.

Irish’s Water’s plans to draw water from the River Shannon to Dublin has been described as ‘environmentally dubious’.

US-based author and academic Professor Sean Kay says that the project is a “waste of money and risks serious environmental harm” to the River Shannon, and says that instead stopping the leakage of water from Dublin’s pipe network may be a more practical solution.

The River Shannon Protection Alliance Group have shared Professor Kay’s article and says the project is a ‘Victorian solution to a 21st-century problem’

We then discussed the first leader’s debate which took place on television last night (Jan 27) with Political Editor of the Irish Mail on Sunday, John Lee.

Housing, crime and tax were among the issues raised at last night’s leaders’ debate in Galway. Seven party leaders took part with the formation of a coalition government discussed at the beginning. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil reiterated that they would not enter a coalition with Sinn Féin following next month’s vote.

Following from the 10 am News Headlines we were joined on air by founder and chairperson of The Haven Hub, Leona O’Callaghan, following the video of a suicidal Ennis man going viral. A number of videos went viral on Facebook last night surrounding the circumstances of a Clare man who says he was discharged from a number of hospitals despite presenting as suicidal. Over 150,000 people have seen one video posted by a community activist who came to his aid and called on politicians to prioritise mental health in the next Dail. Her plea has been echoed by others in the community, including members of the clergy who have worked with vulnerable people in Clare. Leona says that the circumstances are an all too frequent occurrence.

Then on the show, we heard from CEO, of Health and Fitness Ireland, Muriel Cuddy as she spoke to Clare FM’s Ben Sweeney about a new report which casts a light on the physical fitness of Ireland’s youth. Results show that a quarter of primary school children can’t run properly and half cannot kick a ball.  That’s the finding of a DCU survey of more than 2,000 students between the ages of 5 and 12.

On a different note, Extras Co-ordinator of Smother, Mairead Campbell joined us on-air as the Lahinch series is calling for extras. The West of Clare is to be the setting for an exciting new television programme. Entitled ‘Smother’, the six-part investigative thriller is to be shot in Lahinch over three months, beginning in February.

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To finish the show, Clare County Dog Warden, Frankie Coote joined us in studio for an Animal Welfare Update.