On today's Morning Focus with Gavin Grace
The budget is looming, as we know, and those who care for the nation's children in creches and preschools have identified their 3 priorities – affordability for parents, sustainability for early childhood educators and quality for children. This 'wish list' comes from a survey of more than 700 childcare facilities – published today – by Early Childhood Ireland. Teresa Heeney the CEO of Early Childhood Ireland spoke about the results of the survey.
How healthy are you? Most of us think we're in good physical shape, but the first ever 'Healthy Ireland' survey tells a slightly different story. The survey shows than just 1 in 5 of us now smoke, but around 60 percent are overweight. Two-thirds of us aren't getting enough exercise and half of us know someone with dementia. The report, published yesterday, is a snapshot of the nation's healthy and it's a wake-up call when it comes to the nation's well being. Kate O'Flaherty, director of Healthy Ireland and Wellbeing Programme at the Department of Health spoke about these new figures.
Anne Marie O'Reilly from the Clare Citizen's Information talked about the Irish Water Grant. The last 24 hours have seen a huge surge in applications for the €100 Water Conservation Grant. 703 thousand 850 have been received by the Department of the Environment and some 1.3 million households have registered with Irish Water. The deadline for receipt of applications for the grant is midnight tonight (Thursday).
Four of Ireland's rugby heroes will set themselves the challenge of getting to Limerick's Thomand Park from the Aviva in Dublin, while confined to wheelchairs. It's all in the interests of raising awareness of accessibility issues for those with disabilities and to highlight the IRUPA's injured Rugby Player's Fund. The journey of Jamie Heaslip, Felix Jones, Shane Byrne and David Wallace is the subject of a documentary to air tomorrow (Friday) night on TV3 at 10.30. The show is the brainchild of Stephen Cluskey who himself has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident at the age of 18. Stephen joined us this morning for a chat about this great fundraiser.
AA Convention Ennis – Ireland's relationship with alcohol is undoubtedly a difficult one. Almost every celebration and sporting event involves drinking – often to excess. Those who become addicted to alcohol struggle with constant temptation and the road to recovery can be a long one. For those recovering from alcohol addiction, the AA is a lifeline, and the organisation holds its 26th annual Clare convention this weekend in Ennis. The event, which opens tomorrow evening (Friday) is open to all and focuses on the theme of Serenity, Courage and Wisdom. Ahead of the convention, 'Tom' and 'Isabelle' shared their stories with Gavin.
MÓRglór Award for Eoin O'Neill takes place Saturday the 10th of October at 8pm for €20. Clare FM's Eoin O'Neill is a musical giant in the county renowned for his stylish and sensitive playing. On Saturday night, he'll receive the MÓRglór Award. The prestigious prize is named after Clare’s cultural ambassador and visionary, Muiris Ó Rocháin. It's sponsored by glór and developed in partnership with Dr. Tim Collins who is an adviser to glór. In a concert to express thanks to Eoin, on Saturday night, and to celebrate his achievements, glór has lined up some of the most renowned traditional musicians and singers in the country and the county. Eoin, who plays bazuki, was joined in the studio with Brid O'Gorman, playing flute, Tim Collins, playing concertina and Liz Kelly who is the Interim Director in Glór.
