Newstalk Breakfast

Crowds gather at notorious Damascus prison as Syrians search for missing inmates. We get the latest on the ground there with Sally Hayden, Irish Times Correspondent in Damascus .   

Independent TDs are likely to seek ministerial office in exchange for supporting a new Coalition as the prospect of centre left participation in government recedes after failed talks between Labour and the Social Democrats. We heard from John Cummins, Fine Gael TD for Waterford and on the Negotiating team. 

Syria's ousted President Bashar al Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed.   We get the latest on the situation there with Paul Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University.

Move Ireland, the organization which helps to rehabilitate men who have been violent in their intimate relationships will launch its Strategic Policy Plan today.  Dr Michelle Walsh, CEO of Move Ireland explain what the report will tell us today.

A plan to introduce “speed awareness” courses in lieu of penalty points is to be put forward to government by the Road Safety Authority.  We discuss these plans with Shane O'Donoghue, Editor with completecar.ie.

Around 55,000 ESB customers were still without power last night following storm Darragh. The supplier said the scale of damage caused by the storm has had an extensive and widespread impact on the electricity supply. We got the latest on the situation with Brian Tapley, ESB Networks Regional Manager. 

Syrian rebels declared they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad after seizing control of Damascus, forcing him to flee and ending his family’s decades of autocratic rule. We get the latest from Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Middle East Correspondent .  

Home Alone is the theme of this year's Late Late Toy Show, with 32 kids representing their county in a Toy Show Parade. Henry McKean got a sneak peek and met Patrick Kielty at the RTE studios. He sent this report: 

Dublin Bus will expand their 24 hour service in the run up to Christmas. We get all the schedule details with Blake Boland, Spokesperson for Dublin Bus .

Old fairytales come with a heap of stereotypes from wicked stepmothers to damsels in distress but should we add caution warnings to them for our children? We ask Genevieve Roberts, Author and Parenting Columnist with the iPaper.

The number of landlords registered with the Residential Tenancies Board increased by 5.7 per cent between September 2023 and 2024. This is despite concerns landlords are “fleeing the market” because of measures such as rent pressure zones. We discussed this further with Carol Tallon, CEO of Property District.

The Garda Representative Association is seeking an urgent meeting with the Justice Minister over concerns with new proposed conduct regulations, set to be introduced on January 1st. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Ronan Slevin, General Secretary of the GRA .  

The Sports Law Bar Association Conference which will be held today, aims to discuss topics such as athlete selection, integrity in sports and lessons that can applied from the Paris Olympics 2024 to the LA Olympics 2028.   We heard from Gavin Noble, Performance and Marketing for team Ireland and Chef de Mission for LA 2028.

There has been a 20 percent increase in animal cruelty cases in Ireland this year. So reported the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose CEO Pat Watt spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

Two Status Orange wind warnings and several Status Yellow warnings have been issued as Storm Darragh is set to hit Ireland. We get the latest on the weather warnings with Linda Hughes, Meteorologist with Met Eireann .  

A manhunt is underway in New York City after Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth, was fatally shot while on his way to a conference yesterday. Joe Marino, senior reporter with the New York Post has the latest. 

Teaching unions have expressed “serious concerns” after guidelines issued earlier this week for project work at Leaving Cert level stated, artificial intelligence can be used by students as source material.  We speak to Michael Gillespie General Secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland to discuss their concerns further.

South America's Mercosur trade bloc will meet in Uruguay today with speculation the group could use the event to announce a long-delayed trade deal with the European Union after last-minute negotiations to get it over the line.   Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the government to veto the deal and he explained why to Newstalk Breakfast.

“Ireland is in a favourable position. But a lot depends on how the next government budgets and how it manages corporation tax.” - that’s according to a new report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. We discuss the findings of this recent report with  Seamus Coffey, Chairperson of IFAC.

Fianna Fáil has announced the appointment of a Negotiations Steering Group to represent the party in discussions with other parties and independents.   Among the members of the group is James Lawless, Minister of State for Transport and TD for Kildare North. 

The woman who was seriously injured after being assaulted at a soup run in Cork city has died in hospital. Vanessa O'Callaghan was found unresponsive by Gardaí on Patrick's Street at about 8pm on Sunday evening. Speaking to Jonathan this morning was Shane O'Callaghan Fine Gael Councillor for Cork City.

A High Court hearing on legal costs for the civil case brought against Conor McGregor by Nikita Hand will take place today. Frank Greaney, Newstalk’s Courts Correspondent explains what will take place today.

Dublin City Councillors agreed to a motion calling for the introduction of ultra-low emissions zones, based on World Health Organisation Guidelines for air quality. The motion was tabled by Social Democrats Councillor Cat O’Driscoll who spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

The National Transport Authority has forecast that the development of the proposed new rail link between Navan and Dublin is likely to cost up to €3 billion. To discuss this further we spoke to Brian Caulfield, Associate Professor at the School of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.  

Daniel Lambert, Chief Operating Officer of Bohemian’s Football Club joined Shane this morning to chat about their annual Christmas appeal in aid of children in Direct Provision.