Lunchtime Live

Milan has introduced a total ban on smoking outdoors in the city… Those caught lighting up on city streets could face fines of up to €240.  So, would you like to see outdoor smoking banned in Ireland? Andrea is joined by listeners, including Tom Gleeson from New Nicotine Alliance Ireland, to discuss.

With Christmas right around the corner - what are your favourite Christmas memories? What traditions do you have with your family, and how are you spending it this year? Joining Andrea to share their favourite festive memories and more is Presenter of the Home Show, Sinead Ryan, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly and Today FM’s Cathal Minogue.

It can sometimes be easy to forget, with all the shopping and presents, but Christmas is a Christian holiday. And, while a lot of people might no longer be practicing – many will still attend Mass over the Christmas period. So, should non-religious people attend mass at Christmas? Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

Apparently, bingo is the newest old craze among young people! Buzz Bingo owns 82 clubs in the UK – and say they’re expecting record numbers this Christmas because of all the young people going. So, why is it so popular with younger people? Joining Andrea to discuss is Will Meara, CCO of Bingo Loco, John Purcell from Rock Bingo Cork and Emily Keegan from the Newstalk Newsroom.

All this month, Lunchtime Live is doing Christmas specials to give you plenty of time to prepare for the big day, and hopefully batch cook some bits in advance to make Christmas a lot easier! For the last Big Batch of the year, Paul Knapp, aka @thefirefightingchef on Instagram, joins Andrea to discuss how you can cater for vegans and vegetarians at Christmas!

The taxpayer is subsidising 50 private secondary schools by more than €140 million a year, new figures show. What do you think about giving funding to fee paying schools? Should taxpayers be subsidising private schools? Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

A huge trend this year online has been hosting and learning how to create a gorgeous table for guests coming around to your house this festive season. And a big part of that is the concept of ‘tablescaping’: landscaping your table for want of a better description! Joining Andrea to discuss how you can do it on a budget is ‘Home of the Year’ star, Jen Connell.

Journalist Niamh O’Reilly has decided she’s pushing back on manspreading with a bit of womanspreading of her own! She joins Andrea to discuss why, and explain what exactly womanspreading entails…

Sinéad O’Connor is in the news today because her Bray home is up for sale, but… should the State buy it to convert it into a music museum? The seafront property is back on the market after the owners were blocked from turning it into apartments. Now, fans want to buy it and transform the six-bedroom home, where Sinéad lived for 15 years, into a museum and music school for teenagers. What do you th...

Singer Daniel O’Donnell has been warning people about scams going around, where people are posing as him online in a bid to steal money… Daniel joins Andrea to discuss. Image: Kip Carroll

From UFOs in Athlone to business booming in Coppers - Newstalk’s Eamonn Torsney has the stories from around the country that you might have missed this week.

Should LED headlights on cars be banned? Keith Fay has written that he has sent a complaint to the RSA, believing that they are too dangerous. Keith, Dave Humphreys, Motoring Journalist with CompleteCar.ie , Nadia Adan, owner of Ashford Motors and more join Andrea to discuss.

Should it stay or should it go? What trends should we carry over to 2025 and what should be binned? Well, The Home Squad: Jenny Sheahan, Irish Examiner Columnist and former winner of ‘Home of the Year' and Emma Delaney, Senior Interior Designer from April & the Bear join Andrea to discuss.

It’s the time of giving and receiving... But it can also result in so much clutter! So, how can you avoid your home becoming a hoarder’s paradise and maintain your living spaces during the festivities? Kim and Lynn, founders of ‘A Sorted Affair’ met on the set of a home renovations show and quickly discovered they shared a passion for organising and decluttering  - now they’re offering advice...

Figures today show that school attendance is down below pandemic levels... What is this down to? What are your thoughts – are we doing enough to encourage young kids to attend school and to teach them a necessary discipline in the process? Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

There seems to be certain careers where you see a higher percentage of women over men or vice versa. One to buck the trend is Seán Dowling, who is among few men serving in the maternity ward at the Rotunda Hospital. And while keen to share that this is a profession men can consider, he’s acutely aware that it is a female-dominated world. He joins Andrea to discuss his experience.

A night-time welfare area, designed to support safe and enjoyable nights out over Christmas, will open this weekend near College Green in Dublin. Is this a good move? Do you think it’ll make a difference? Andrea is joined by Ray O’Donoghue, Dublin’s Night-time Economy Advisor, Jessica Woodlock, Newstalk Reporter and more to discuss.

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Andrea is joined by Grame McQueen, Media Relations with the Dublin Airport Authority, to answer any of your travelling questions!

Board games are back – and they’re not just for Christmas – apparently, Gen Z have turned to the old fashioned games to entertain them! But why? And what are the best ones to play? Board games expert Ruth Roberts from Cogs The Brain Shop joins Andrea to answer your questions.

It’s often seen as something we need to shed in order to be seen as forward-thinking and cosmopolitan: our accents… But, are we in danger of losing an essential part of who we are? Are rural and regional accents on the decline in 21st Century Ireland? Well, it’s the title of a theatre piece by actor and writer Emmet Kirwan, who takes his show on a new nationwide tour early next year and says: Acce...

Lucy from Crookstown in Co. Cork joins Andrea to share her harrowing story of a potential theft at her parents’ graves… Colm Kieran, Funeral Director with Kieran Bros. Funeral Care and from My Fair Well Wishes, a funeral pre-planning company, also joins to discuss what could have happened.

Lunchtime Live's Reasons to be Happy looks at some of the news stories that you might have missed that will leave you feeling more optimistic. Today FM’s Cathal O’Sullivan joined Andrea in the studio to put a smile on your faces…

President Michael D Higgins reacted yesterday to the claims that Ireland is anti-semetic. Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, accused Ireland of delegitimizing and dehumanising Israel… In his speech, Michael D said, “To say that the Irish people are antisemitic is a deep slander…” What are your thoughts? To discuss, Andrea is joined by Columnist with the Irish Independent, Ian O’Doherty, ...

Welcome to The Pod Squad! We review podcasts every Tuesday so you always have something new to listen to. This week, Off the Ball’s Cameron Hill and Journalist and Stylist Laura Mullet join Andrea to review ‘The Good Whale’! Image: New York Times

Andrea’s guests: Clare woman Laura O’Connell and Hanna Celsie from Dublin are just back from Dubai where they competed in the first-ever Formula Woman Nations Cup qualifiers. They were among a group of 50 women from around the world taking part in the event... They join to discuss the experience.