Community Matters 29oct2024

Community Matters is sponsored by Connemara Credit Union and discusses various topics such as holidays, elections, and the US presidential election. They interview Jackie Lydon, who discusses the importance of this election and the swing states. They also interview Paddy McDonough, a Trump supporter, and Dermot Dunyon, a Kamala Harris supporter. They discuss their reasons for supporting their respective candidates. Community Matters is kindly sponsored by Connemara Credit Union Ltd, incorporating Clifton, Tully Cross and Carndale branches. Connemara Credit Union is here to serve the people of the Connemara area. Main office, Clifton and Tully Cross branch, 195 21101. It's a very good evening and you're welcome to Community Matters. Today is the 29th of October, so a lot's been going on over the weekend, the bank holiday of course and still mid-term break here, clocks have gone back and the dark evenings are ahead of us. But anyway, now that Halloween will shortly be over, I suppose we're all going to be talking about the next big event, which is Christmas, only less than three months away now, believe it or not. My name is Mary Ruddy, delighted to be with you this evening and of course there's a big election coming up and just very shortly we'll be going over to speak to some people in the United States who have declared their support for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump and to get some comments on the thinking, just one week out, this time next week of course will be the day for casting all of the votes and talking about elections, we'll be speaking with Mairead Farrell, who of course the Sinn Féin TD for Galway West, who was just recently appointed to the chair of the Public Accounts Committee and we'll have some other guests as well, but let's go over first of all to the US election. You're tuned to Connemara Community Radio, and why wouldn't you? Well this day next week of course will be the day for the American election, although quite a number of votes have been cast already, mainly I suppose postal ballots, and we thought it would be interesting to see how Irish people who are based in the States are viewing this election, and also I'm very pleased to be joined by an observer, a commentator, a former host with National Public Radio, News USA, and indeed a regular visit to this area and that's Jackie Lydon. Jackie, good evening to you. Good evening, Mary, so glad to be back in Connemara, this is the only way I can get there, I'll take it. And Jackie, you're joining us from Wisconsin. I'm joining you from a very significant swing state, and you know as we get closer and closer to this election, this is one that's going to be so decided on the very margins, most people have made up their minds. You said a few minutes ago, a moment ago, that most of the early voting had been absentee or overseas mail-ins, certainly that's been there, but what we've seen in many states is early voting, which had been sort of a system that the GOP left the Democrats four years ago, and now we're seeing more GOP voters vote early as well. I have voted early, it's for many people, it's just more convenient, so and the turnout, this is a significant thing, the turnout has bested anything that we saw four years ago. That buoys the hopes of a lot of Democrats. Jackie, I'm going to come back to you in one moment, but just to mention that also joining us from the US, from New York, is Paddy McDonough, who divides his time between Wellington and the US. Indeed, Paddy, I think you're better known as Paddy the Yank, and you were a Donald Trump supporter, and we're also joined from Cashel here in Connemara by Dermot Dunyon, who, obviously Dermot, you have American citizenship, and you have already cast a postal vote in support of Kamala Harris. So, Jackie, just again for kind of context, I know you're an observer, but you are declaring you're not a neutral observer in this election. Not at all. You know, I was a journalist for 36 years, full-on staff, and we are never allowed, nor do I have ever wished to publicly take sides. It's different now that I'm not a staffer, and it's different because this election is such an important one. We are seeing a candidate, we are seeing a Republican Party that is nothing like the Republican Party my own family supported when I was growing up. We're seeing so much extremism, promises to persecute American citizens who don't agree with the sitting president, promises to destroy the Constitution. The Supreme Court has let the winner of this election, whoever it will be, have immunity from what are called official acts in Congress. Might that be something like January 6th? Well, that seems to be what it means. So, the stakes have never been higher, and I think that might be the one thing that both sides would agree on, because however the country looks after this election will be determinative for quite some time thereafter, and that's why people are turning out in such numbers. Just explain it to us, Jackie. You know about the swing states, so it's not an overall majority, it's all to do with each state, how they vote. Right. It's all to do with what's called the Electoral College, which is a system that I won't spend a lot of our time going over. I think it has many people scratching their heads, and it dates back to the 19th century, but it's meant to proportionately weight rural and urban states, and the winning candidate has to get to 270 electoral votes. So, both candidates want a Pennsylvania. I've forgotten exactly, I think that might be, someone could correct me, 30 votes. That's considered a swing state. Wisconsin, I know, has 10 electoral votes. Michigan, I think it's something like 16. Again, I can't remember the number of each of these states, but since a state like Florida, where Patty is, is definitely going to go, I'm sorry, you're in New York. A state like Florida, though, is going to declare for, not declare, but the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, will win that. New York, the Democrat will win that. So, those aren't the states where this is going to be decided. The states where this is going to be decided are the seven swing states. Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, and one or two more. Georgia, isn't there going to be another? Yes, North Carolina. Thank you, North Carolina. If I can briefly go to you, Patty, in New York. When did you become an American citizen? 56 years ago. Okay, so quite a long time ago. And have you always been a Republican supporter? No, I was always Democrat. I had Democrat until the last, inside the last 15, 20 years, the Democrats started to change. They were the party of give away everything to anybody that doesn't have nothing, which is okay to help people, but not the way we've been doing it. When I came to this country 60 years ago, the people that sponsored me to this country had to buy a bond, pay a bond for me to stay in America for five years. So, if I caused any trouble inside the five years, I would have been supporting on the spot. Now, you can just go to the border and cross over and do what you like afterwards. And we pay them. We give them a credit card here in New York. We give all the migrants credit cards. And they go to their wherever every once a month, and their credit card is restocked with the 500 or 600 or $1,000. This is incredible. We can't do this in this world today. That's what the Democrats have became. They were a decent organization years ago, but they just couldn't go downhill. I guess they were losing power, and they started to give away, much like Ireland is doing the same thing. So, it's a world phenomenon, as far as I see, with every country trying to give away their money that they don't have. They're talking about the abortion. I am mixed on that situation, because it's terrible what they do to unborn kids. But it has to happen. It's just the Democrats want to destroy America. No question about it. They want to give it away to the illegals. They want to give it away to anybody that comes into the country illegally. You don't have to work. You don't have to have an education. As a migrant yourself, I suppose, you're fairly familiar with the situation. Indeed, there are a lot of illegal Irish immigrants there, as we well know, in Connemara. Is it mainly on the migrant issue, is it mainly because of that, that you're supporting Trump? Yes, absolutely. He was good for the country when we had him. He did a lot of good things, but he's got a bad mouth. He talks off the lip, and he doesn't care. He has no respect for himself or anybody around him, the way he carries on. But he's still a good man for the country. The people made money when he was in it. They all say the rich made money. But if the rich don't make money, how do you get rich? It's not like what we did in the past, the trickle-down effect. That doesn't work. You have to be either for it or against it. It seems like the Democrats don't want the rich men to get any richer, or the poor men to get up in the world. They just want to keep the migrants coming, that's a vote for them. I have no idea in the world how we're going to pay for the migrants the way we're going right now. We're running out of money. We're trillions in debt. Where is it going to come from? And some people would argue that the whole American economy would collapse without migrant labour. That's not quite true. There's always enough labour. Isn't that what the country's doing, cutting out all the help they can? Every day there's a new machinery for a new thing. At the time everybody had to cut hay with a scythe. Nobody's doing that today. There's machines that you can sit in your living room and let your machine out on the farm and cut the hay. So we're cutting out the workers. Dermot, can I come to you? You've already cast your vote, as I said, and you have cast it for Kamala Harris. Do you always vote in the US elections? I do, yeah. I think voting is important. It's just something I think people should do. Particularly if it's a presidential election. This person's going to be in office for four years. This is your only chance to decide who that person is going to be. If you don't vote, then you're letting other people make that decision for you. So I think it's important to vote, and I always vote, yes. Have you always voted Democrat? No, I'm not a registered Democrat or Republican. I would certainly probably lean more towards the Democrat side of the fence. But, for example, if this election was Mitt Romney on the Republican side and Kamala Harris on the Democrat side, I think it would be very close. I wouldn't know which way I'd vote. So it's not a case of I'll always vote D or I'll always vote R. It's a case of who are the candidates and what do I think of them. And are you voting for Kamala Harris or are you simply voting anybody but Donald Trump? Well, I think a bit of both. I think certainly, no more than when I was still back working and I was getting people to work, hiring people to work, there's a few things I'd look for in anybody. Whether it's a co-worker or whether it's the President or anything else. Are they honest? Are they decent? Can they do the job? And I have to say, people get the benefit of the doubt. You assume they're good until they prove otherwise. I've seen nothing from Kamala Harris that would make me say she isn't honest. When I've seen her talking to people, she seems a decent person. And she's had some major jobs. Attorney General of California is a big job. U.S. Senator is a big job. Vice President is a big job. So I can't see any reason why I would not vote for her. Alternatively, Donald Trump, his university was closed down for defrauding students. His charity was closed down for defrauding the donors to the charity. He's been convicted of fraud. So he's not honest. And to me, that's kind of just a huge black mark. And then he was found guilty of sexual assault of a woman. So he's not a decent human being. And I just think that disqualifies him full stop. Paddy, did any of those considerations play... Did you consider those when you were thinking that you will vote for Donald Trump? That he's not a very honorable person, individual. I agree with some of that. He's done some unscrupulous things. But so has she. She was Attorney General in California. All she wanted to do was go into the prisons and make every man that wanted to be a woman. She was there to give them free hospitalization for doing the job. I've never seen her do anything. She's been out of the door all her life. She's never worked for anybody but for the state. She's never worked for a company. I don't even know if she can drive. So I don't see anything good in the woman. She got where she is by patronage with Governor Brown. So I have no respect for the woman at all. She can't answer a question. She's been asked lots of questions. She can't answer them. Trump will give you an answer whether it's right or wrong or an insult. He'll get something out of her. But she's talking gibberish. And she's like a laughing hyena all the time. She laughs off at everything. I've never seen anybody as unqualified as she is. She's been on the dole all her life. Well, probably not on the dole. She's probably a state employee, I suspect. Well, a state employee is the same thing. Jackie, just listening to Dermot and Patty there and their reasons for voting for the particular candidates, is that fairly typical of the kind of debates that are going on now in the states? And then the Donald Trump support for Patty is very much around migrants and the number of migrants coming to the states. Dermot is partly because anybody but Trump, but also he does support Kamala Harris. Are those the kind of dividing lines you're seeing? I think that they would reflect those lines. It's a chosen blindness, though, with a lot of people who think that Trump's economic plans, they've been so denounced by even Nobel laureate economists. According to the nonpartisan Center for the Budget, his economic plans would add $7.7 trillion to the American debt. Hers would add some, too. Hers would add nearly $4 trillion. So either way, it's going to cost money to do the things that they want. One of the things Donald Trump wants to do is deport people, round up people in mass deportations. Now, some people call that bluster. But I want to make a point. To lay aside someone's character and say that 34 felony convictions don't count, to lay aside rallies in which people are called words I couldn't begin to pronounce on this radio, to say that the American immigration system is a garbage can to which you draw garbage. I remember being outside Ballymahinch sometime after 2016, and an American there saying, well, I don't like him at all, but I like his policies. Donald Trump, I think you can absolutely say this, and I would hope that even Patty would agree to this, has given us absolute division. When he says something like, I don't know if Kamala Harris can drive. I mean, come on. That's just silly. And you have to understand that there is a real agenda here of Christian nationalism, of white supremacy, of suppressing the other, of upending the Constitution, of making all the bodies of state responsible, answerable to one man. Now, how far Donald Trump could get with that? Who wants to see it? So, I think that character is predictive. I think character counts. I believe him when he says he wants to persecute his enemies. I believe him when he says he wants to attack civilian cities and countries he doesn't like. I believe him when he wants to put people in jail. So, I think we have, you know, it's what they say about people who long for dictatorship. We are seeing the rise of fascism here in the United States. Some people may not want to call it that, but that's what it is. You see his own generals, his own chief of staff saying Donald Trump is fascist to the core. If Republicans don't want to believe that, I can't, you know, answer to that. I don't know why you would suspend your belief in something like that. I think we have seen so much evidence from groping women to breaking promises to belittling people who he thinks are less than he is as garbage. This is not the United States that most of us wish to live in. Absolutely. But in saying that, do you think that Donald Trump would have those charges ever against him if he didn't run for office? Yes, of course he would. Absolutely not. It's all from the other side. It's the power within us that's causing all these problems. Before Donald Trump... The general that was on the other day, Kelly. Kelly was never any good in that office and he hated to be fired. He never had any goodwill for Trump in the first place. He shouldn't have been there. Paddy, sorry, I'm German. I'm going to cut in here if I can briefly. Paddy, I mean, you know, Donald Trump, who says he's this great businessman and great manager, he's the person who decided to hire Kelly for that job. So, either he's not good at hiring people or maybe Kelly was a good hire and he's just telling people what he thought of his boss at the time. And a lot of people who worked for Donald Trump, I think 40 out of the 44 people who were in Donald Trump's cabins have all said he should not become president again. Yeah, because they're not going to get a job in it. That's the reason they're saying it. 700 members of national security officials who work under the Trump administration, 700, have said he is unfit to be president. That all these people get together in a room somewhere and decide they were just going to gaslight us. I don't think so. They've had direct experience with him. 13 of the people who worked around him in office. His own vice president is endorsing Kamala Harris. Truman said, didn't he get fired too? No, he did not get fired. They were voted out of office. They were voted out of office. Yeah, but he fired himself. Donald Trump got fired. Look, I've been in business in this country for 50 years. And I've hired and fired a lot of people in my time. Now, some of them were good people that I fired, but they didn't get along with me. And I didn't get along with them. And I'm sure anybody that has been in business has the same way to say something. I want people that are with me to work with me. And if you don't want to work with me, then you're goodbye. You're gone. And some of those generals, they wanted war. That's one thing Trump didn't want was war. And now, what have we had since we've got Joe Biden? War. We're fighting wars today. And we'll be fighting wars tomorrow. But we didn't have it during the Trump era. Obviously, I mean, we're not going to change anybody's minds on this. I think you, Paddy, you're very clear about your voting. And likewise, Dermot has already voted. And Jackie, you also have. Just before I just wind up, it's interesting to us here looking at it, how Trump still seems to think he will get the black vote, despite some of the things he has said. Do you think that's going to be the case in this election? I think we saw a real turning point. The October surprise, many people are saying, is Donald Trump himself. Yes, he has Elon Musk and X, which used to be Twitter, behind him. But I think you talked about black men. They are obviously a significant vote. And Harris is getting fewer of them than Biden did four years ago. That's absolutely a concern. However, there are over a million Puerto Ricans living in the swing states, 400,000 in Pennsylvania alone on Sunday. And I always have to wonder how someone can vote for someone who, you know, even the Trump campaign has had to distance himself a little bit from some of the remarks that came out of this crude, racist, misogynistic rally. Those Latinos who were undecided, if they're Puerto Ricans, are probably decided now. This is going to be a really close election. That I think we can all agree on. So this stretch, this strategy for most presidential candidates, is to get all the votes you can. It doesn't seem like Trump has been campaigning very hard for votes, in part because he has all sorts of plans to suborn things if he loses. Because the only election that would ever be legitimate for Donald Trump is one he wins. So if he loses, it isn't that we're in for smooth sailing until Inauguration Day. We'll see what happens. I was interested in the remark about Kamala Harris. She went to an HCBU, you know, a black college, Howard University, in Washington, D.C. To see, I think I also say as a woman, you have to work, you know, Patty talks about you hired and fired people, to work three times as hard to get where you are because of your gender, for example, or the color of your skin. I mean, there's a lot of people here who want to make America work and not be some kind of exclusionary, backward-looking place. And I think that the youth vote has not been statistically polled to the extent that it could be. The polls have been way off. So we'll see. But I think the youth vote is going to be another surprise and strong endorsement for Harris. You think Harris might just get over the line? I think Harris could win decisively and I think Trump could win decisively. That's what you have with a closed election. Either one of them could win by, electoral college-wise, pretty big numbers. I think that it'll be Harris. But whoever wins is going to probably win by, you know, a significant margin because the swing states will tip it. So, you know, it's not going to be 271 to 269. That doesn't work that way. Well, I think the eyes of the world will be on the states this day and next week to see. At what point, then, after the voter cast, how early will we be getting some indications by the next morning? That's a really good question, Mary. I mean, because we count a lot of the election votes that come in as absentee ballots only on election day, it can take time. It can take time in these numbers for states to declare who's won. And those who vote in person, it will always look like that person is winning on election day. But then you've got the early vote and the absentee vote that you're still counting the next day. So things shift. That's what happened last time. I just want to say that the eyes of the world are on this. Because America has always supported its allies. Donald Trump doesn't believe in NATO. Donald Trump, if he's ending wars, it's only because he's siding with dictators like Putin and Kim Jong-il. So the eyes of the world should darn well be on what happens in this election. Because I may be sitting in Wisconsin and you may be sitting in Connemara and Patty in New York and Dermot in Cashel. But it is going to affect every last one of us, including kids and people who can't even vote. So we all need to pay attention. And I suppose, Patty, you're hoping that the outcome will be for a Trump election and Dermot obviously for a Kamala Harris victory. We all have to wait and see. But thank you for coming on and talking about why you've selected the candidate you have. And Jackie, for your overview as well. It was great to talk to you all. My thanks to Jackie Lydon, the former host of National Public Radio and News USA, Patty Leang-McDonough in New York and Dermot Dunyon in Cashel. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mary. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Mary. Lydon's Carpets and Flooring, my column. Huge range of carpets, vinyl, laminate and engineered flooring at competitive prices. Excellent service to the Connemara area since 1994. Call us on 091-555-962 or email lydonscarpets at gmail.com West Coast Insulation, your local cavity wall and attic insulation specialist. Walls pumped with Kingspan Platinum EcoBead. We also supply and fit blown rockwool and mineral wool in attics. Grant of up to 3,250 euro available. For more information or for a free quotation, visit our website at westcoastinsulation.com Call West Coast Insulation on 087-142-1414 or visit our website myinstallation.ie If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach us through the Passionary website or someone else on the mobile phone. Don't worry about any questions or concerns. Call us on 087-142-1414 Perfect for kids, teens and adults alike. Call Killary Adventure today at 095-434-11 or visit our website to learn more. Adventure begins at Killary. Bounce Back Recycling can collect old mattresses and furniture direct from your address. Recycled materials are recovered and diverted from landfill for a more environmentally friendly option. So go green and get in touch today. Collections across Connemara every Friday. Bookings are subject to availability. To get a quote or make a booking, call 091-760877, see bouncebackrecycling.ie or message Bounce Back Recycling on Facebook. Joyce's Bar & Grocery Resets. Services include grocery, post office, petrol and diesel, lottery agents, bar and live music at the weekends. Bar food daily until 6pm. Sunday lunch specials serve from 12.30 until 6pm. Call Joyce's on 095-346-58 for more information. When I got up this morning, the house it was was freezing. I checked the app with one quick tap, the Sweeney Oil Smart Saver. Control your costs and monitor oil levels with the Sweeney Oil Smart Saver. Call Sweeney Oil on 1800 555 999 or visit sweeneyoil.ie Sweeney Oil on Balochist Yulee. The Galway West TD, Mairead Farrell, has been appointed to chair the Public Accounts Committee and in that appointment, two records were broken. She's the first woman to be chair of the PAC and she's also the youngest person to chair that committee. Delighted to be joined now by Mairead Farrell. Good evening to you, Mairead. Good evening, thanks so much for having me on. Not at all. Mairead, can I ask you first of all, have you actually chaired a meeting yet? Yes, so I was supposed to chair my first committee meeting last Thursday when we had the HSE in front of the committee. So that was important, you know, obviously because there's a huge spend in health within the HSE and it's really important that we get the opportunity to investigate those accounts but also, you know, I use it as an opportunity to raise the need for having primary care centres and indeed, as we know, so important is the Clifton Hospital as well just to make sure that we have all the support. So when we're spending that kind of money, it's really important that we also have the support on a regional basis. And I think, while I'm the first woman and the youngest, I'm also the first West of Ireland Public Accounts Committee Chair and I do think that's important to have a Western perspective, you know, in that particular committee. Just for anyone who might not be familiar with the responsibility of the Public Accounts Committee, what is your primary role of the committee at all? We are the most important and most powerful committee within the Dáil, I suppose is the best way to put it, the most powerful committee within the Dáil. So we have the power to compel people to come in front of the committee. So our job of work is to look at how public money is spent, so how taxpayers' money is spent by public bodies, whether that's the HSE, whether it's the Board of the Children's Hospital, whether it's the department maybe, you know, and we also have the OPW in front of us two weeks ago. So it's really to analyse that, to analyse how taxpayers' money is spent and to make sure that it's spent in a proper way. And to be honest, if I'm very honest about it, over the last number of weeks, we've seen how public bodies and how government have wasted taxpayers' money. And it's particularly frustrating, I think, when you live in the West of Ireland and when you see, you know, how a lot of our services, you know, how we don't have access to all the services that we should have, how, you know, the state of our roads, the state of, you know, the access to hospital and healthcare and all those things, and then to see the way our public money is being spent. So when we had the OPW in front of the committee, one of the big things, obviously, that has been in the news is the bike shelter and the security hut. It's probably the most expensive bike shelter in the world at a cost of £336,000. And that is more than the cost of an ambulance on Inishere, which has been campaigned for for decades. We also talked about the modular homes. So, you know, the modular homes that were provided for Ukrainians. And it turned out that the initial cost was supposed to be €200,000 and it increased to €446,000. And, like, that is an astonishing 120% increase in the cost of the delivery of those modular homes. And that was something that I really focused on with the OPW. And it turned out the OPW had said from the get-go to the department that the sites that they had been given weren't suitable sites to deliver these modular homes and would increase the cost. And, to me, it seems that the department just wrote them a blank cheque and told them, just deliver it no matter the cost. And, like, that is deeply, deeply infuriating for every taxpayer. And, Mairead, just to stick with the example you just gave, it's become a kind of bike shelter anecdote now. But in that case, so the department and the OPW appear before the Public Accounts Committee. You can investigate and inquire. But are there any sanctions that you can impose, then, on individuals who are responsible for those decisions? Well, I suppose what we... Well, I mean, really that's then a question for the Minister. So the Minister is the one with direct line responsibility and that's why it's important to keep pressure on the Minister and to hold the Minister to account. It is for us to uncover things, I suppose, that maybe people don't want uncovered. It's also up to us to, you know, to grill them and find out who is responsible for it. And one of the big things with the bike shelter, for example, was that nobody wanted a really famed responsibility. And we finally discovered then, when the OPW was in front of the committee, you know, what board kind of had made the decision in relation to it. So, like, it's terribly infuriating when we see this kind of waste of public money. But that's why it's so important that we have them in front of the committee and highlight these things so that they don't think that they can just get away with it and hide from what's happened. You know, public money needs to be shown and taxpayers' money really needs to be shown the respect it deserves. And I think that's where our committee really has a strong focus. And it can't just be this thing of, oh, shut up, we'll sign off. What was it we saw? There was a department there that spent over £80,000 on a party. I mean, that's crazy. Crazy, crazy money and just total disregard for taxpayers' money. Marie, do you think you'll get to chair many more meetings before the election is called? I think I'll definitely be able to. I'm hoping I'll be able to chair one more, which is next week and then we'll see. But, look, I suppose that's probably the question on everybody's lips. Not because of the committee, but because of when the election will be called. But I think rumour has it that it'll be called on the 8th now. But we'll have to see. I think, to be honest, for me now, the sooner the better. You know, just call it Mairead Farrell, thank you very much for joining us and good luck with whatever remaining number of meetings you get to chair with the Public Defence Committee. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, Mairead. Thank you. Thank you. We are inviting you to become a member of Connemara Community Radio for only €25 a year. Your support would be appreciated. Telephone 095 41616 or you can email info at connemarafm.com Well, just last week the Arts Council of Ireland announced a new initiative entitled the All In Initiative which is targeting people with disabilities. And what makes this rather unusual is that they've done this in conjunction with arts bodies in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland as well, of course, here in the Republic. To tell us a little about it I'm joined by Monica Corcoran, who's Strategic Development Manager with the Arts Council of Ireland. Monica, I gather this, the model of the All In Initiative was based on a pilot scheme that operated in Wales. It's actually, it's even longer than a pilot scheme. It's an actual access scheme called HINT, which is the Welsh for bridge. And it's a scheme that the Arts Council of Wales initiated back in 2014. And it's been proven to have had huge impact so it was basically a scheme that made it easier for people with disabilities to go to arts and cultural events. Whether that was through a free companion ticket but also it made the whole process of booking to go to a venue. There were venues, 41 venues signed up to the scheme and there's over 30,000 people with disabilities in Wales have availed of the scheme. And they did a sort of an evaluation of its impact last year and it was shown to have had significant impact not just on the numbers, you know, that were attending arts and that was impact on the local economies as well around those venues that were offering this greater access provision. So just to clarify, the All In initiative is about access so it's not talking about active participants in the arts. No, no. It's about access to the arts. Absolutely. It's about access to, it's essentially, it's a scheme that's, it's been developed by people with disabilities for people with disabilities who want to help creative and cultural organisations improve their access and to remove the barriers and welcome more people through their doors. And I suppose that includes theatres, museums, galleries, libraries, festivals and lots more potentially. So will this actually get down then, Monica, to things like, for example, wheelchair accessible theatres, wheelchair accessible toilets, in every theatre or cultural forum? Absolutely, Mary. Yeah, absolutely. And it's really interesting because the Arts Council did research last year with publicly funded arts and cultural venues. And we found that actually quite a high portion of venues are wheelchair accessible. That's the publicly funded ones. You know, there's certainly wheelchair accessible going in the door but there are other things, you know, I suppose what people have experienced with disabilities or disabled people have experienced is that there are often barriers to attending, you know, either through, you know, not being able to get the right information before they attend, not knowing, will it be, you know, it might be accessible in the door, is there an accessible toilet there? Or there could be other disabilities like, for example, hearing, you know, where there's sound induction systems for people who have deafness or loss of hearing or, you know, audio description or captioning appears on that. And I suppose the idea is that different places offer different levels and different amounts, you know, to varying degrees. And the idea is that we start to develop a more standardised approach. You know, but I think what's really particularly unique about this scheme is that as a person with a disability I could register my access requirements in one central database. And then any time I'm going to any of the venues that are signed up and members of this scheme, when I make a booking, my access requirements will automatically be flagged with them. They'll know what I need. I won't have to ring the venue in advance and say, now, can, you know, what do I need to do to get in? They will get in touch with me if required, you know. So I think that's what's particularly unique and, you know, you mentioned yourself crossing borders. So it's the four arts councils in the UK that are, you know, doing this scheme and we and the Arts Council of Ireland have joined as a founder partner so that we can invest in the development of this. So it means that, you know, either I, if I'm going to a theatre in London, say the National Theatre in London or something, I could register my requirements and, you know, I would still avail of that same system there or similarly, people, visitors from the UK who have disabilities will be able to avail of it in the same way if you like over here in Ireland. So is it primarily digital or are you supporting venues to become more accessible for people with disabilities? Well, yeah, supporting venues is a key part of it. So venues would become members of the scene through a sort of subscription and they will get with that, they will actually get training in accessibility, disability quality training, they will get lots of resources and supports on a central website, you know, they'll be part of a network with loads of other venues where they can have peer learning and sharing of information but the main thing that is, we're planning for and it's going to take some time now but it's that there will be a standards programme so that everyone will have a standard level of access provision you know and everyone will be offering the same if you like you know and the same language will be used where possible around it and that sort of thing you know. And under this initiative is there support for venues if they have to do some structural work to make the premises more accessible can that be supported under the initiative? Well, at this point I mean I suppose that's something that we will certainly this be supported through capital support schemes like because we actually you know like I suppose the fact of the matter is publicly funded venues are required to be accessible you know like and I think you know with European legislation and everything like Ireland is going to have to you know ensure that that is the case you know going forward and I think that it can be built in more strategically with broader national provision and you know any sort of maybe future capital schemes and that that could be focused on giving support but I can't say whether that will be the case yet but that will be the absolute hope. And Monica in five years time or down the road a bit what would I would love to see an annual arts insight survey with the public you know to look at their patterns in terms of attending events and things and one very startling statistic we had was that people with disabilities were half as likely to go to arts and cultural events as people as non-disabled people so I'd love to see people being active in social life and go to lots of arts and cultural events and it has become easier for me to do that you know so that's ultimately what the goal is. Well I wish you well with this Monica and thank you very much for telling us about this that's Monica Corcoran who's Strategic Development Manager with the Arts Council of Ireland. Thanks very much for joining us today. Thank you very much for having me. Thank you very much for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me.