The Mick Clifford Podcast

While the western world has faced major upheaval in dealing with the pandemic, the developing world has a whole set of different, and largely more dangerous problems.John Wain, who hails from Cork, is currently based in the UN in Geneva but spends a lot of his time in the developing world, building shelters for refugees fleeing war, violence and famine. He joined Mick on the podcast to talk about the challenges faced in these regions and why in particular the lockdown solution may not be a good idea for the poorest countries in the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest on the podcast Eddie Hobbs has some strong opinions on how the country is going to come out of the current crisis, the role that the banks must play and the repeated failure in official circles to recognise the importance of small business. He talks about how we are facing into a New World Order in which “radical centralism” will be in vogue and political power will revert to the people in a manner not seen in decades. He also talks about the collapse of Brendan Investments, the vehicle of which he was the public face and how that and perceptions around it had a devastating impact on his reputation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The public health emergency and lock down has for many people provided space to reflect on how we are living as a society. Are our priorities as they should be? How do we measure success? Is there a better, more sustainable way of living?Ten years ago university lecturer Anne Ryan attempted to answer some of these questions in a groundbreaking and prescient book, Enough Is Plenty. Anne is also a co-ordinator in the organisation, Basic Income Ireland, which advocates for a system of Universal Basic Income. On the podcast she explains her philosophy and where it has been put into practice with some encouraging results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Harris was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum at the age of five but by the time he was nineteen he had established the organisation ASIAM that today is the leading advocacy group for people with autism and their families. During the current health emergency people with autism have their own unique struggles and Adam spoke to the podcast about the challenges that are arising at this time. He also explained how he was given the opportunity to reach his full potential and how society today has made some advances in observing the human rights of people with autism yet there remains a lot more to be done. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One figure who has emerged in the current pandemic to provide reassurance about the direction of the country is Tony Holohan. The chief medical officer at the Department of Health has been a nightly figure on TV screens as he gives his daily press briefing about infections and, sadly, deaths.But who is this high profile doctor and civil servant and how did he arrive at his current station? This episode of the podcast attempts to answer these questions with the help of our guest, long time Irish Examiner health correspondent Catherine Shanahan. Catherine also gives her opinion on whether or not the recent subsuming of private healthcare into the public system can be sustained in the long run. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The changes imposed by the onslaught of the corona virus have affected all areas of society but most particularly those who work in the healthcare system. Professor Ronan Collins is a consultant physician in geriatric and stroke medicine at Tallaght University Hospital. Since the outset of the crisis he has noticed a worrying trend among some people who are reluctant to contact health professionals even when they show worrying symptoms of conditions such as stroke.He spoke to the podcast about the responsibility that we all have to ensure that fears about the virus and its impact on hospitals does not discourage people from addressing their own urgent health concerns. He also spoke of his optimism that as a society we can come through this better and why, despite working in the public health system he believes we should not retain the current, temporary one tier model in health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly two months after the general election and in the midst of an existential crisis we still don’t have a government. Fianna Fail and Fine Gale are involved in talks that some suggest would make a slow bicycle race look at a Grand Prix event.So when will be have a government and if two of the three big parties do manage to come to an agreement, who else will go in with them? Joining Mick on the podcast to discuss these issues was Irish Examiner political editor Danny McConnell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alison O’Connor has like many people been reflecting in recent weeks on the nature of life and death as the country endures what amounts to lockdown and the virus takes lives at an increasing rate. She talks to Mick Clifford for today’s podcast about how the bereaved at this time are being robbed of the rituals that constitute the comfort blanket that usually provides solace in days after a death. She reflects on the more mundane and even blackly humorous aspects to working from home and being in closer proximity than usual to our nearest and dearest and wonders how as a society we will have changed when it’s all over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Against much expectation from pundits, Holly Cairns was elected as a TD for the Cork South West constituency in February’s general election. Her party the Social Democrats had virtually no presence in the constituency and the candidate had only last May been elected to Cork County Council for the first time. She is now the only female TD representing any of the Cork city or county constituencies.She spoke to Mick about the new Ireland she intends to work towards, combining farming and politics, and how soon after her election she was approached and offered sympathy for her new station as a politician’s wife! (Her partner, Christy O’Sullivan, is also a TD for the constituency). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The onslaught of the Covid 19 virus is expected to put our hospital service under severe pressure. Among the biggest worries will be whether the system will be able to cater for all those who are worst affected by the virus, and particularly patients who will need assistance in breathing through ventilators.Throughout the world there is a shortage of ventilators to deal with this crisis and already in Italy doctors are being forced to choose who should have access to the life saving equipment. In this country, a number of different groups from engineering backgrounds are attempting to fast track the production of ventilators. One of these, the Covid Response Team, is attempting to design and build a “battlefield ventilator” in a matter of weeks. Mick spoke to the group’s founder, John Wallace who runs his own specialist engineering company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.