Today on Morning Focus, Niall Maloney, Director of Airport Operations at Shannon Airport joined us on air to discuss how Brexit will affect travel from Shannon.
Friday saw the much drawn out Brexit saga take a step forward – when Britain formally left the European Union at 11pm. An 11-month transition period has begun after they left the bloc. Not much will change until a new agreement with Brussels is negotiated. However, we discussed whether it will affect your travel to and from the UK via Shannon Airport.
If you missed it, you can listen back below:
Before that on the show, we were joined on air by Marie McMahon, Mid-West Hospital Campaign Member following from a march which took place in Limerick to protest for improved healthcare ahead of General Election 2020.
An estimated 2,000 people attended a protest in Limerick over the weekend to demand a better health service in the Mid-West. The Mid-West Hospital Campaign saw people from Clare, Limerick and Tipperary assemble at St John’s Hospital in Limerick and march through the City. The campaign is calling for the government to reopen the Emergency Departments at Ennis, St John’s and Nenagh, and to declare the trolley crisis in UHL a national emergency.
Next on the show, MS Sufferer, Robert Joyce joined us on air to discuss a programme which has been set up by NUIG to address the wide-ranging symptoms linked with MS and functional difficulties associated with cognition and focus on rehabilitating them.
Nine thousand people in Ireland suffer from MS – and just over half of them are estimated to have difficulties with cognition, which can have a large impact on their quality of life. They’re looking for participants for their 9-week programme, if you or someone you know is interested in taking part you can get in contact with the programme via email – cobms@nuigalway.ie or via phone on 087 449 1154.
If you missed the interview, you can listen back below:
Then on the show, Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sgt. O’Rourke joined us in studio to seek your help in solving local crimes.
Following from that Dr Rose Fitzgerald, Specialist in Public Health Medicine with HSE Midwest joined us on air to talk about the latest details regarding the Coronavirus. Meanwhile, Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team say that advanced plans are in place to deal with emergencies such as the novel Coronavirus. The plans, they say have helped them to respond to previous incidents such as pandemic influenza, SARA and MERS. They also say that there are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Ireland. BUT how would the region’s main hospital manage someone presenting at UHL with a suspected case of the virus?
Next on the show, Sean Defoe, Group Political Correspondent joined us on air to chat about how Sinn Féin are tied lead with Fianna Fáil in the latest poll. Sinn Féin have taken a shock jump in the latest Red C/Business Post opinion poll and are now tied for the lead with Fianna Fáil. This puts Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael under pressure as they’ve both insisted they won’t be doing business with the party after this Saturday’s election. It promises to make the last few days of campaigning very interesting – with some commentators saying there’s now a possibility that if the numbers go their way, Sinn Féin could lead a coalition that has both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in opposition.
To wrap up Morning Focus today we took a look back at the latest action in sport with Rory Hickey and Clare FM’s Hurling Analyst, Tommy Guilfoyle.
It was a good weekend for Clare’s sporting outfits.
A Tony Kelly masterclass and eleven points helped them hold off a resurgent Wexford as they took a three-point win, while Colm Collins’ footballers returned to winning ways with a one-point victory over Kildare. Elsewhere, Clare got their Camogie League campaign off to a winning start with an away victory over Offaly in Birr.
If you missed it, you can catch it below:
