Trina Mara is joined by Claire Irwin who is the Quantity Surveyor on RTE's Room to Improve with Dermot Bannon.  She explains the benefits of using a QS, the grants available to homeowners and answers your construction questions.  

Her own website is www.irwinconsulting.ie 

Andy Kenny from Misneach Ukraine has an update for us after asking our listeners to donate their old crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, boots from fractures, first aid kits, adult incontinence products, hoists and commercial gym equipment.  They're still collecting this equipment to bring to Ukraine and help the injured in their rehabilitation but they're also looking for shoeboxes for the children.  You can fill these with colouring books, crayons, markers, sweets, new hats, new gloves, new scarves and thermals.

Misneach Ukraine are also looking for dog crates, clean pet bedding, worming tablets etc to help animals that were left behind.

They're also in need of drivers in Ireland to collect this equipment - you can volunteer to do this as a one-off or whenever you have time. Van drivers especially needed for larger items to be collected across the country. 

www.misneachukraine.com

Lynne McCormack from FRS Recruitment chats to Trina Mara about how to optimize your annual leave days.......you could get lots of extra days off by choosing your dates carefully

www.frsrecruitment.com

The new series of "Room to Improve" with Dermot Bannon is back on RTE Sunday nights and you might want to take on a home improvement project yourself but what's the best way to finance it? Paul Merriman from www.askpaul.ie offers his advice 

Mick Finn, Cork Independent Counsellor chats to Trina Mara about a proposed tax break for those who volunteer in their community.  Would you give up more of your time to volunteer if you paid slightly less tax? It would certainly encourage more people to give up their time.  

Melanie Kevelighan from Dogs Trust Ireland chats to Trina Mara about the horrific case of animal cruelty they came across recently where a litter of puppies were dumped and left to die in a plastic bag.  Just two pups from the litter called "Faith" and "Hope" have survived.

www.dogstrust.ie

Dr.Jennifer Owens from The Glow Clinic chats to Trina Mara about the beauty trends that will be left behind in 2023.

www.theglowclinic.ie 

Paul Merriman explains the Ask Paul savings challenge for 2024 where you can save either €1,378, €5,000 or €8,000 by the end of the year.  

www.askpaul.ie

Ciara Conlon is a productivity and leadership coach who believes the key to maintaining resolutions is to develop daily habits.  She has launched the Life Flow Planner to help boost your productivity, enhance your mindset and help create habits that stick.

www.ciaraconlon.com

The legendary singer Paul Young plays Ireland in February - the Cork Opera House on the 27th of February, the University of Limerick on the 28th of February and Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on the 29th of February. 

He chats to Trina about singing the opening line on Band Aid's "Do they know it's Christmas?", how he came to support Genesis on their World Tour even though he was as big as they were and his experience of appearing on "This is Your Life" with Michael Aspel.

www.mcd.ie