The Tommy Marren Show On Midwest Radio

TD Paul Lawless joined Tommy Marren, to give his reaction to the Taoiseach saying, he is 'not convinced' a public inquiry is necessary into the 2020 murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan. During question time in the Dáil this week, Deputy Lawless asked the Taoiseach if he would support the Horkan family's call for for an inquiry. The Horkan family now have questions into Detective Horkan's murder, in light of recent relevations about the handling of Garda whistleblowers complaints about the holsters.

This morning, Tommy Marren spoke with Orla Freeman, the widow of Shane 'Peach' Freeman. Shane, who was a much loved member of the Kiltimagh community, passed away last September after a six and a half year battle with colorectal cancer. Shane spent the last weeks of his life in Mayo Hospice, where he and his family experienced the extraordinary care and support provided by the hospice staff. Shane was a husband, father of three, teacher, golfer and a keen runner who completed the Dublin City Marathon in 2017 and 2018. In memory of Shane, a group of 56 runners-known as Peach's Runners- will take on the Dublin City 42.2km Marathon this Sunday, to riase funds for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice. Already the group has raised nearly €50,000.If you wish to support the fundraiser in memory of Shane and in aid of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Founation, go to;https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/runningforpeachImage taken from idonate fundraiser page.

This morning Emma Harte, Policy and Campaign Manager at the Irish Cancer Society, spoke to Tommy Marren about the financial impact of cancer. According to news data published by the Irish Cancer Society, cancer patients face costs of up to €400 per month on medical expenses and monthy travel associated costs of up to €300 a week, with many having to borrow money from their loved ones to make ends meet.The Irish Cancer Society is calling on the government to introduce measures to reduce expenses for cancer patients. These include; automatic entitlement to medical cards, the reduction of the drug repayment scheme threshold to €40, free hospital parking for cancer patients, and anyone with advanced cancer or who is nearing end of life, is automatically entitled to the Fuel Allowance and the Household Benefits Package.If you have questions about cancer, you can contact the Irish Cancer Society Support Line at 1800 200 700 or supportline@irishcancer.ie

Join Sarah Jennings in conversation with those impacted by road collisions on every second Sunday of every month at 5.15pm. Funded by the news reporting scheme in association with Coimisiún na Meán.

Listener James told Tommy Marren his issues with the free legal aid program. James believes the free leagl aid programme has been abused and the system needs to overhauled. James told Tommy that broken homes and free legal aid contributing to higher crime rates.

Continuing his investigation into rare diseases, Tommy Marren spoke to listners Mary and Jennifer who suffer from Lyme disease. Both Mary and Jennifer told Tommy about the long processes they went through to get diagnosed, and their experience accessing health care for Lyme Disease in Ireland.

Terry Prone, co-host of the Grey Matters Podcast joined Tommy Marren this morning. Terry told Tommy that new research commissioned for the podcast, shows that women are more likely than men to regularly mind their grandchildren, and far more likely to feel under pressure to do so.

Vicky McGrath CEO of Rare Diseases Ireland spoke to Tommy Marren, about the experiences of people living with rare diseases and the challenges they face when navigating healthcare in Ireland.RDI are running a national patient reporting experience study.The aim is to develop a questionnaire to capture the experiences of people living with rare diseases when accessing and navigating health services. RDI are inviting people living with a rare disease, and family members and carers, to complete the questionnaire and share their experiences.You can check out the study at https://rdi.ie/prem/

Minister of State Sean Canney, gave his reaction to the cancellation of the RSA's €1.5 million plan, to install breathalysers in pubs and hotels across the country. Minister Canney welcomed the decision as the idea was at odds with the governments message that it is never safe to drink and drive.