There's nothing quite like an election looming and the budget in the offing to make the work of a journalist more exciting. That's definitely been the case over the past week on Galway Talks.
We started off the week by discussing VAT and the potential reduction back to 9% for the hospitality sector. There is some concern among certain quarters that it might also include big multinationals—something that many organisations, including unions, have not taken too kindly to.
We discussed it on the programme with Galway man and Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, alongside Lorraine Heskin, who is the owner of the Gourmet Food Parlour chain, who have a premises in Salthill. On the opposite side of the fence was Dr. Laura Bambrick of ICTU.
The issue of maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinasloe was brought into sharp focus this week by an Oireachtas Health Committee meeting. The committee heard contradictory information regarding the implementation of the Walker Report at the hospital. The committee heard information that appeared to conflict with previous statements from the Minister for Health and the Department of Health. Both Bernard Gloster (HSE CEO) and Colm Henry (Chief Clinical Officer, HSE) gave evidence at the committee meeting. They were questioned by Roscommon-Galway TD, Dr. Martin Daly. The admitted to him that the report was not fully implemented at the hospital. The ongoing saga has caused significant consternation locally, with many constituents demanding a meeting with the Minister for Health. The Minister has consistently maintained that her decision regarding the future of the services was made based on the "best clinical advice." However, the failure to fully implement the Walker Report is a key point of concern, exacerbating the anxiety among local communities about the long-term security and level of maternity services at Portiuncula.
We're well into September now, and the storm season will be rolling in quick and fast from the south-west prevailing winds.
The issue of the security of our energy grid was brought into focus this week by Fianna Fáil Deputy for Galway West, John Connolly. Connemara was one of the worst-hit areas affected in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn earlier this spring.
We discussed investment into the energy grid between now and January 2026, which will cause a day or two of outages in certain parts of Connemara, from Carraroe right across and into Western South Connemara.
Donald Trump's remarks in relation to autism and vaccines have caused quite a stir in the medical community this week. They have absolutely refuted his claims that paracetamol is linked to rising cases of autism. We discussed this on the programme earlier on this week with the President of the IMO Anne Deane.
The question of funding for the Irish language and Irish language rights was very much put into focus last weekend with the Cearta March on Dublin.
Our reporter Seán Ó'Maoilchiarán spoke to a number of different people and organisations on the ground who were passionate about the language, and who want to see increased funding and increased rights for Irish language speakers. We got a flavour of the march and the athmosphere on the day. Our Community Matters programme featured the wonderful island and islanders of Inishbofin. You can listen back on our website. Our Galway Great on Monday morning is Patricia Forde.
