Joining Gavin Grace on today’s edition of The Afternoon Show was Michael Culloty of MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service. They discussed how anyone seeking deals with their bank over debt will have to make drastic lifestyle changes under proposals to be announced next week. Homeowners looking to write off mortgage debt will be told, for example, to drop their health insurance and sell off their second car. New criteria setting out the living standards for people having debt written off will also force people to: take their children out of private schools, give up foreign holidays and get rid of Sky Sports. Up to 100,000 families are currently in arrears of at least three months on their mortgages, while the average borrower in trouble has four other debts. The new minimum income guidelines will be issued by the head of the Personal Insolvency Service, Lorcan O’Connor, and Justice Minister Alan Shatter next Wednesday.
Maureen Mulvihill is the Health and Promotion Manager with the Irish Heart Foundation and joined the show to talk about the group’s calls for a 10% tax to be placed on all sugar – sweetened drinks. According to the Irish Heart Foundation, such a levy would be easy to implement, and would significant reduce the obesity epidemic here. One in three Irish adults are overweight – while one in four is obese. And 15 per cent of two to four year olds are regarded as overweight.
John Kennedy, Editor of Silicon Republic also discussed how the popular video-sharing network YouTube – home of cat videos, Gangnam Style and the Harlem Shake – has reached the milestone of more than 1bn unique users per month, which means almost one out of every two people on the internet visits the site on a monthly basis. John also spoke about how today is also Twitter’s seventh birthday. And although no-one was there to read it, Twitter’s creator Jack Dorsey sent the message on Day 1 that read: ‘just setting up my twttr.’ Now around 400 million messages are sent every day.
Also on today’s show we heard another instalment of our “Calling Home” series. Today Gavin spoke with Clonlara native Ben Honan, who is now living in London. Ben is working in the financial services sector in the UK capital. He talked to Gavin about why he made the move across the pond and how his new lifestyle is suiting him.
We want to hear your stories – if you or a loved one has emigrated or has swapped life in Clare for another country we’d love to talk to them about their experiences. Please contact Clare FM on 065 682 8888 or see clare.modus.ie or email gathering@clare.fm
Mary O’Donoghue from the West Clare Family Resource Centre in Kilrush also let listeners know about the March Tea Dance at Knockerra Community Hall. The West Clare Family Resource Centre will be hosting a Tea Dance next Sunday, March 24th, at the Community Hall. The Railway Fellows will be playing music and there will be a Guest appearance by Cois Cein dance crew. For more details see www.kilrushfrc.ie.
Stephen McDermott – Clare FM’s resident movie reviewer was in studio to talk about the latest releases to cinema and DVD. He reviewed The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, starring Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey and the tense thriller, End of Watch starring Jake Gyllenhall.
To contact the show please email afternoon@clare.fm
