Newstalk Breakfast

A 71-year-old French man accused of drugging his wife so that he and dozens of strangers could sexually assault her at her home has told a court 'I am a rapist’ . We get the latest from the court case with Nabila Ramdani, French Journalist and Author of ‘Fixing France: How to Repair a Broken Republic

There’s cause for concern on our roads with a massive increase in the number of learner drivers involved in fatal collisions as well as rising no shows for driving tests.  We hear from Dominic Brophy, Director of the Professional Driving Instructors Association. 

The European Union has called on member countries to ban smoking and vaping in many outdoor areas including playgrounds, swimming pools and restaurant patios as part of a crackdown on second-hand smoke.   We got reaction to this with Professor Luke Clancy, Director General of the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland .

There was a wave of exploding pagers across Lebanon and Syria yesterday. The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and it’s neighbouring countries. For the latest on this Shane spoke to Dr Tom Clonan, Security Analyst and Independent Senator.

An Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michéal Martin joined Shane this morning live from the Fianna Fáil Think In!

Irish children are overweight ‘because they are driven everywhere’ that’s the view of Roisin Garvey, Green Party Senator & Deputy Leader of the Party. Roisin explained her statement to Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

The death toll across central Europe from the worst flooding in decades has risen to at least 16 after Storm Boris brought a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours. We get the latest on the situation in Romania with Andra Miron Diaconescu, Editor-in-Chief at EuroNews Romania. Also speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Independent Climate and Environmental Researcher Sadhbh O'Neill.

The scale of dereliction across the country has been laid bare with commercial vacancy as high as one in three in the worst-hit areas. To discuss further we spoke to Roisin Murphy, Architect, Conservation Activist, Artist & Lecturer in Griffith College Dublin.

A survey of farmers conducted by Opinions Research has found that 82% of respondents claimed that rural Ireland is not receiving adequate investment in critical infrastructure like roads and broadband.  We hear from Denis Drennan, President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association  and also John Moran, Mayor of Limerick .

An ‘explosion’ of presentations to adolescent addiction services is currently being caused a cannabis-like substance known has HHC.  Currently available in vapes and edibles in Ireland, HHC is not subject to any legal restrictions at present as it is currently not classified as a controlled substance.  To tell us more about this is Professor Bobby Smyth, Chair of the addiction facul...

The Universal Social Charge was introduced as a temporary tax in 2010 but remains in place despite budget surpluses. And yesterday, the finance minister avoided confirming if the USC would be reduced by another 0.5%, as it was in last year’s budget.   One person who believes it should be scrapped is Daniel McConnell, Editor at The Business Post and Danny explained why to Shane this morning.

Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald joined Newstalk Breakfast ahead of the party's Think in.

The 76th primetime Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles last night. To give us a rundown of the winners and losers, we were joined on the show by Scott Bryan, BBC TV Critic.

The Inheritance Tax Reform group will meet tonight to discuss the divisive tax. They maintain it is unfair and wants it abolished. We discuss further with Dr. Barra Roantree, Assistant Professor of Economics at Trinity College along with Colm Brophy Fine Gael TD for Dublin South West .  

Four staff have been suspended following allegations about abuse of toddlers at a Dublin childcare service. Joining us with the story was Social Affairs Correspondent with the Irish Times, Kitty Holland. 

At least eight dead and tens of thousands are without power as heavy rain and gale force winds cause havoc across central Europe. For more on this we spoke to  Derek Scally, Irish Times Berlin Correspondent who is currently in Vienna .

The Green Party think-in which gets underway today. What will be on today's agenda? We heard from Roderic O’Gorman, Leader of the Green Party and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Former President Donald Trump was rushed to safety following an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf course. We get the latest on this with David Smith, Washington Bureau Chief of The Guardian joins me now.

 Students from economically advantaged families are more likely to be able to take part in private tuition to avoid educational disappointment – that's according to research from the ESRI.  So, are grinds reinforcing educational inequality?  We discuss with Sheila O’Malley, Parenting Expert and Keynote Speaker.

Irish universities risk ‘quiet and gradual decline’ due to funding shortages. That’s the warning from the provost of Trinity College Dublin, Professor Linda Doyle who explained why to Newstalk Breakfast.

The Irish Medical Organization (IMO) has called for the Government to use some of the proceeds from the Apple Tax to address major infrastructural issues in the Irish health services.     We speak to Dr Denis Mc Cauley, GP and president of the Irish Medical Organisation to discuss this.

It’s been almost 3 weeks since the Dublin Transport Plan was put in place to help reduce traffic flow in the city centre. But what sort of effects has it had on bus users in particular? We speak to Billy Hann, CEO of Dublin Bus.

An Tanaiste, Micheal Martin has said that Sophie Toscan Du Plantier’s murder case should have gone before a jury and noted that 'we failed in our duty to find a convict a bloody murderer’ . We discuss this further with Mick Clifford, Special Correspondent for the Irish Examiner.

The People Before Profit–Solidarity think in will take place in Dublin later today. We ask what is on the agenda at the think in with Mick Barry. People Before Profit Solidarity TD for Cork North Central. 

The UK is set to ban junk food ads before 9 pm and introduce a total ban on paid-for online advertising from 2025 in a bid to tackle childhood obesity. We get a reaction to this with joined by Dietitian, Orla Walsh.