Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What financial contributions did Michael D. Higgins make to the state?
So, on behalf of the state, I'd like to thank Michael D. Higgins for his 2.6 million. Yeah. He gave 2.6 million euro back to the Exchequer. Now, 0.6 million or 600,000 euro was part of this 1938 allowance. Oh, you know about the 1938 allowance. It provides expenses for presidents.
So while they're in office, if they have to spend money on something, I don't know, hospitality, I suppose, they're allowed a certain amount of money over their term in office, their seven years. And if they don't spend it, they give it back. So 600,000 is that. But the 2 million, this is the important bit.
The €2 million that Michael D. Higgins gifted to the state comprised of €1,310,491 in Oireachtas and ministerial pensions and €689,474 in pay over the last 14 years. Now, that's very generous of him. That's very generous of him. But it does highlight the amount of money that our politicians are getting in state pensions. So €1,310,491 in Oireachtas and ministerial pensions.
Chapter 2: How does the amount politicians earn in pensions affect public perception?
I remember calculating a while back Remember there was a tranche of Fianna Fáil politicians who retired quite young, like in their 50s. And I remember doing the calculation on the amount of money they'd earned as politicians, as in working politicians, and the amount of money they were going to earn as retired politicians.
And my calculations, now they weren't very specific, they were quite rough, on the back of an envelope type calculations. My calculations said that they were going to earn more retired than they did working. Michael D. Higgins, what's he living on? What's he living on? That's very generous, isn't it? That's very generous.
Other people might decide to keep the money and give it to charities of their choice, which is maybe a better thing to do when you realise that we're going to be the richest country in Europe by 2030. Yes, the IMF are predicting that Ireland is going to overtake Luxembourg. in the next four years and we'll be top of the pile, top of the league.
People will be looking up to us and going, oh, look at you, you're really rich. You're the richest country in Europe. Yeah, on paper we are.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of aging radiotherapy machines in Ireland?
But then you read today that cancer experts, for example, these are just two examples. Cancer experts have warned that over 80% of Ireland's radiotherapy machines need immediate or imminent replacement. with little or no active planning, planning to do so. So Dr. Barry from the Irish Society of Radiation Oncology
has said that it does not mean that more money or staff is needed, just rolling funding that would be required in any event to replace these machines. So the consequences of the aging machines will impact directly on patients with breakdowns resulting in missed radiation treatments, delayed treatments and longer treatments.
50% of patients with cancer in Ireland will require radiotherapy during their illness. And yes, there's been no planning. They're not been replaced. You see, but we're a very rich country. We're going to be the richest country in Europe by 2030 in four years time.
And then the president of the Irish Prison Officers Association, Peter Redmond, he's telling us that there are now a record 5,909 prisoners in custody. despite the fact that Ireland's prison system has a capacity of 4,736. That means there's a shortfall of 1,173 bed spaces. For example, in the Midlands prison, that has a bed capacity of 891, but there are currently 1,128 prisoners in custody.
Chapter 4: How does Ireland's wealth compare to its healthcare system?
160 prisoners are sleeping on a cell floor. But we're going to be the richest country in Europe in four years' time. Our prison service is in a mess. It's a complete mess. And the result of that is that when people are released from prison, they re-offend.
If you look at the prison system in places like Norway, the percentage of people who re-offend when they get out is way, way, way, way, way lower than in Ireland. And that's because of overcrowding, inefficiencies, lack of investment. But we're going to be the richest country in Europe in four years' time. The richest country in Europe in four years' time. Oh, yeah.
to De Pan, not Japan, De Pan, D-E, new word, P-A-N-N-E, in Belgium. It's a little town on the coast. And every year in the Lost Shrimp Pub, they have an annual Screech Like a Seagull competition. I kid you not. Yes.
Chapter 5: What unique competition is held in Belgium involving seagulls?
It's the work of a guy called Claude Willert. Interesting looking guy. He has that mad curly hair and a white t-shirt with the emblem of his festival on it. The Seagull Screeching Festival. And he wears a white skirt as well. And he's very enthusiastic. Very enthusiastic. Why do you run a seagull screeching competition? This is Claude.
Because people need to have more sympathy for this beautiful seabird who is an acrobat in the air. Seagulls were criticized by humans. I think that we have to learn to live with them.
There's one of the contestants. It's European. It's the European gold screeching championships in Japan.
Chapter 6: What skills are required to participate in the Seagull Screeching competition?
That's Japan, not Japan. In Belgium. And they come from all over. There's a comedian there from Spain. There's hen parties there. There's a juvenile and an adult section. And what are the judges looking for? This is Claude again.
First of all, I think that participants have to observe seagulls. And if you can combine that, because the jury gives 75 points for the street and 25 for behaving like a seagull.
So you have to rob people's chips then. There's a little video on the Irish Times website. I think it's from Reuters originally. And you can see the type of people who are involved. There's a woman there in her 40s and she's saying, when I hit 40, I decided I was going to do silly things.
Chapter 7: What humorous anecdotes arise from the discussion of sports and competitions?
And one of her silly things is to take part in the European Gold Screeching Championships. Now, it doesn't... I can't find who won. Well, actually, I can't find this person's name, but if I was a judge, I would just go, you have it. It doesn't matter. You have it. Have a listen to this, right? This is a human. This is a human. That's very good. That's very good. That is...
What do you do with that skill? What do you do with, I don't know, but congratulations and well done to Claude Willert and everybody at the European Gold Screeching Championships in Japan. Yeah, Japan. Frank J. Byrne, last in heaven, is writing to the Irish Times today.
Chapter 8: How do dreams reflect our subconscious thoughts and experiences?
Sir, just when I thought I had seen it all, today I witnessed a youth nonchalantly, there's that word, nonchalantly, travelling on his e-scooter while wearing a blank. So, I witnessed a youth nonchalantly travelling on his e-scooter while wearing a blank. What do you think? A bathrobe. A bathrobe. It was in broad daylight. I have so many questions. Frank J. Bourne, Last in Heaven, Dublin Nine.
We should play Blankety Blankwich every day. You know, that's what they used to do. They'd read something like that and they'd go blank. And then you had to guess what the word was. So it was pyjamas there for a long time. Now it's bathrobes. I'm not surprised. It was a logical conclusion, wasn't it? If you're wearing your pyjamas out in public, why not wear your bathrobe?
I have found of late that the lines get blurred between inside the house and outside the house. And as you get a lot more comfortable in what you're wearing inside the house, you're more likely to wear it outside the house. And I think people don't care anymore. That pomp and ceremony about dressing up. Like when you look at the two kings, you know, himself and King Charles in their tails.
And they're white vests or white waistcoats. And they're white dickie bows. It looks absolutely ridiculous to me. Absolutely. Does it not look ridiculous to you? Now, look, I wore tails in my time. My brother had a tails wedding and top hats. There's a picture somewhere of an ill-fitting top hat sitting on the top of my head.
I have a particularly large head and whatever happened when we went to get fitted for the tails and the top hat, they obviously didn't
measure my head properly so when I had to put the top hat on it was sitting just balancing on the top of my head as opposed to on my head anyway looks ridiculous looks ridiculous have we not gone by all that past all that it's about what's you know it's utilitarian that's that's a utilitarian what's comfortable and what's functional yeah but look you know punches down people dress fair enough fair enough maybe it's an age thing maybe it's an age thing
So watch out for the people on the e-scooters and the bathrobes. At least if it was a brightly coloured bathrobe, Frank, you'd be able to see them. Increasingly, people on scooters, they're like those sort of drone things, those airplanes, the black ones that look like a bat and they can sneak under the radar. Like people dress all in black clothes on a scooter.
And of course, on a scooter, you're not moving in any way, unlike a bike. So you're all but invisible. And they're upon you before you even know it. No high-vis vests, no helmets, no lights. Anyway, I could go on. So at least, Frank, you notice the person with the bathrobe on the e-scooter. That in itself, yeah.
I was talking to somebody the other day and they were saying to me, listen, love the podcast, but sometimes I feel like I'm missing out, you see, because I didn't hear it on Tuesday. And then I don't know if I should listen to Tuesdays before I listen to Wednesdays or Thursdays. And I said to the woman, if you missed...
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