On The Afternoon Show today Eamon Timmons, Head of Advocacy & Communications with Age Action Ireland joined Gavin Grace following an event today where older people delivered a clear message to the government to stay away from their medical cards in the budget. The IMF has proposed major cuts to eligibility and the introduction of co-payments by medical card holders to save money. After a huge public backlash in 2008, the previous government had to row back on proposals to means test for over 70s medical cards.
Catherine Cox of the Carers Association of Ireland also spoke to Gavin about the results of a new survey which shows that the majority of carers are heavily stressed and have their own health problems, according to a recent survey among members of the Carers Association of Ireland. The online survey conducted (31st October-2nd November) by HSF Health Plan found that 26.7% of the carers who took part rated their stress levels at 5 on a scale of 1-5. Almost 75% said that they were more stressed than 12 months ago and 46.5% said that they were embarrassed to admit to anyone that they had a problem with stress.
Orlaith McBride is the National Director of the Arts Council. She and Gavin discussed how important the arts are for our economy. The Arts Council has cited a recently published Indecon economic report saying that the arts are now more important than ever for Ireland in terms of the employment and revenue generated by the sector and the positive impact, which Irish artists are having on our reputation abroad. The Indecon report cited shows that the arts provide significant direct and indirect employment in Ireland, with the Arts Council’s annual funding supporting some 2,270 jobs. The wider arts sector supports 20,755 jobs and contributes €336m in taxes.
Kevin Doyle of the Evening Herald was also a guest on The Afternoon Show. He told our listeners about how a passenger helped to land a plane at Dublin airport early yesterday morning. The Lufthansa Boeing 747 was en route from New York to Frankfurt with 264 passengers on board when the first officer became ‘incapacitated’ while it was flying over the Atlantic. Once the crew announced that the plane was being diverted, the passenger asked why, and offered his assistance. The German national then helped bring the plane down safely in an emergency landing at Dublin airport shortly before 6 o’clock yesterday morning.
Mike O’Doherty from Crusheen also took part in today’s show to talk about a special screening of a locally made documentary. “Aughty” is a feature length documentary film exploring the people and environment of the Aughties, by Megs Morley and Tom Flanagan and was filmed over the last two years as part of the Aughty Public Art Projects, commissioned by Galway Arts Office and The Arts Council. “Aughty” is a film that documents 18 months in the remote mountain region of Sliabh Aughty, a vast and unique geographical area that spans East Galway and East Clare in the West of Ireland. It will be screened on Sunday night at 8pm in Crusheen Community Centre.
Deirdre Duff is a Cub Leader with the Tulla 12th – a new scouting group based in the town, which has been set up and had it’s inaugural investiture of 14 scout leaders, 26 beaver scouts and 30 cub scouts last Sunday. The aim of the scouts is to learn new life skills, teamwork, self-confidence and reliability while at the same time having lots of fun! If you’re interested in getting involved you can call Deirdre on 087 9417669
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