Newstalk Breakfast

Hurricane Helene made a historic landfall as the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend. We get the latest on this with Jacqui Goddard, US correspondent from the Times of London. 

‘Take a Minute Before You Bin It’, a new campaign by MyWaste which aims to tackle the disconnect between our good intentions and actual binning habits. We get the details from Dr. Joanne Rourke, spokesperson from MyWaste. 

Today the Ombudsman for Children’s Office is calling for fair and equitable access for all students to Transition Year. For more on this we heard from Eric Nelligan, Teacher, assistant principal and Aontu Spokesperson on Education. 

Leo Varadkar has called for all parties to make pledge on Irish unity. The Former Taoiseach says new ideas like the Dáil sitting in Stormont at times or British passport-holders in cabinet need to be considered. We get reaction from Doug Beattie, Ulster Unionist Party Justice Spokesperson and MLA for Upper Bann .  

Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein’s Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for finance joined Shane this morning on the show to discuss to discuss plans to abolish the hated USC ‘bank bailout tax’ on earnings up to €45,000, as part of Sinn Féin’s alternative budget 2025. 

More and more gyms are having to introduce policies around phone use. In particular, fitness influencers/‘content creators’ are causing stress and disturbances for some gym goers with their tripods and selfie lamps.   How do you feel when you see someone recording in the gym? Our reporter, Josh Crosbie has been finding out.

Bodywhys, the eating disorder association of Ireland’s annual report has seen an increase of 19.5% accessing eating disorder support services.  Speaking to Shane this morning was Harriet Parsons, Psychotherapist and Training and development manager at Bodywhys.ie.

Israel's military chief has told troops that airstrikes in Lebanon will continue in order to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and to prepare the way for a possible ground operation by Israeli forces. We get the latest on the situation there with Edmund Bower, Times Reporter and Journalist in Lebanon .  

The Health ­Insurance Authority (HIA) is determined to get providers to reduce the overwhelming number of plans in the Irish market. There are currently 349 schemes on offer, making it difficult for consumers to compare them.    We discuss this with  Dermot Goode, Total Health Cover which is a Lockton company.

Israel reportedly killed a top Hezbollah yesterday amid bombings that have left over 500 dead far. To discuss the latest updates was Professor Emeritus of peace studies at Bradford University Paul Rodgers. 

 The HSE has published the Breastfeeding Action Plan Progress Report for 2016 to 2023 ahead of National Breastfeeding week, next week.  Joining us now to discuss the report findings is Laura McHugh, HSE National Breastfeeding Coordinator. 

 Several families who lost loved ones in the Creeslough explosion have called on the Irish government to set up a public inquiry into the tragedy. Shane was joined on the show by   Darragh Mackin, Solicitor with Phoenix Law representing the families and also Hugh Harper, the Father of 14 year old Leona Harper who lost her life in the tragedy .

TikTok has become an entry point for self-diagnosis of ADHD, but a lack of regulation and the blurring of boundaries has experts worried – that's according to an article in the Telegraph. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Professor Susan Young, Clinical Psychologist.

Five organisations representing students, universities, business and academic research have joined forces to call on government and opposition parties to invest more in Higher education  and research.   To discuss further Shane was joined on the show by Jim Miley Director General of Irish Universities Association, one of the organisations part of this joint call.

Skyrocketing costs are imposing unsustainable burdens on an industry that is vital to Ireland’s economy,” that's the view of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation CEO Eoghan O’Mara Walsh who spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

A top Hezbollah commander has been 'killed in Beirut' according to Israeli Military, as Netanyahu warns Lebanon strikes won't stop. We get the latest on the situation there with Justin Sahlani, Freelance Journalist in Beirut.

New research, conducted by the Survey Centre of American life found that men are experiencing a particular form of isolation, coined as a “friendship recession”. The study also found that the percentage of men without any close friends jumped fivefold, from 3% to 15% since 1990.  Joining us now to discuss the reasons behind this “friendship recession” is Jill O'Mahony, Sociology Lecturer at S...

Today the National Women's Council are launching a new Gender Quotas Alliance calling for statutory gender quotas at local elections.  The Alliance includes academics; Traveller, migrant, and disabled women’s groups and they are calling for the implementation of statutory gender quotas for local elections. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Claire McGing, Academic researcher covering wom...

Israeli strikes over the last 24 hours have killed at least 492 people and wounded 1,645, Lebanese authorities said. One Lebanese official said it was the highest number of violent deaths in one day since the 1975-1990 civil war.  Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Daniel Rubenstein from the Israeli Citizen Spokesperson’s Office and former social media advisor to Israeli Prime Minister,...

Recently the show we spoke to columnist Brenda Power about her concerns around the new surrogacy laws.   She wrote in the Sunday Times that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission have concerns that our new health act allows for the trafficking of women and babies. We get reaction to this with Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery-Kearney.

Ireland’s culinary history runs far deeper than the stereotypical potatoes and stew. That’s according to Dr Mairtín Mac Con Iomaire, Chair of masters in gastronomy and food studies in TU Dublin, who has served up a deep history of Irish food in his newest book. 

The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland’s latest Housing Market Monitor shows that demand for home purchases remains robust but the increasing share of apartments in new housing developments may affect the speed of housing delivery in 2024  Ali Ugur, Chief Economist with the BPFI talked us through the findings.

Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon have killed at least 356 people, according to the country's health ministry. We get the latest from Alistair Bunkall, Sky’s Middle East News Correspondent .

A garda manhunt is underway for a “white middle-aged male” in connection with the hijacking of a vehicle that had a five-month-old baby girl inside. We get the latest from Colm Keena Reporter with The Irish Times.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has confirmed that plans to introduce hate speech laws have been dropped. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Dr Amanullah de Sondy, Head of the Study of Religions & Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam at UCC .