Newstalk Breakfast

Last week Elon Musk’s Twitter removed the legacy blue tick of verification from accounts that failed to pay the €11 per month subscription. While it seemed to be a black and white policy, there has been confusion in recent days; from Musk paying for the subscription of some celebrities such as Stephen King and LeBron James - to the reappearance of the blue tick on the profiles of others, such as B...

A team of Irish soldiers and diplomats is being dispatched to Sudan to assist Irish people in leaving the country in response to the worsening violence in the country. Up to 12 members of the Army Ranger Wing are to accompany a small number of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin spoke to Shane this mornin...

Tech giants have secured gas hook ups for 11 new data centre generators, with 18 new data centres expected by the end of the year. Data centres in Ireland are they are friend or foe? To debate on Newstalk Breakfast was Bríd Smith, People Before Profit TD and also Sean Canney, Independent TD for Galway East.

The Covid pandemic may be over, but cancer patients and their families will be counting the cost of Ireland’s long lockdowns for years to come. That was the stark warning from former HSE boss Tony O’Brien in the Business Post yesterday. Speaking to Ciara with more on this was Professor Seamus O’Reilly Consultant Medical Oncologist at Cork University Hospital.

Donald Trump is set to visit his luxury hotel and golf resort in Doonbeg, Clare for a two-night stay in May. Rita McInerney, Business Owner of McInerney’s Shop in Doonbeg explained how they feel about Trump's visit.

New laws will come into force this week to provide a legal basis for people who may have difficulty with their decision-making capacity. The Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Act will replace the much-criticised ‘Lunacy Regulation Act’ of 1871 and the associated Wards of Court system. For more on this change Shane spoke to Sage Advocacy CEO Mervyn Taylor.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors have called for an external investigation following the resignation of an investigator with the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission after alleged links to Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch Speaking to Ciara with more on this was Conor Lally, Crime and Security Editor with The Irish Times.

I've decided to keep my own name after getting married- if a man doesn’t traditionally change his name, why should I? Those are the words of RSVP Journalist Áine Kenny and Áine told us the reasons behind writing this article.

The Government has been asked whether it is "tenable" for Robert Watt to continue as Secretary General of the Department of Health following his appearance at the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Wednesday. Róisín Shortall Social Democrats’ spokesperson on Health spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

Minister for Justice, Simon Harris has called on all parties to vote for the renewal of the Special Criminal Court following the Regency trial verdict earlier this week. To debate this further Ciara was joined on the show by Liam Herrick, Executive Director of The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, and Michael McDowell, Senator, Former Tanaiste, and Minister for Justice.

The Irish Times reports that the changes which will go before cabinet next week include the decriminalisation of doctors, a change to the waiting period to access termination medication, and changes to the granting of abortions in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities. With more this Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Alana Ryan Women’s Health Co-ordinator at the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

All things considered: Report calls for Ireland’s abortion rules to be relaxed - Ciara Kelly and Ciara Doherty discuss.

The HSE has said there has been a significant increase in STI rates since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted chlamydia and gonorrhoea seeing the most notable rise. Dr. Derval Igoe, Specialist in Public Health Medicine at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

Tomorrow marks Earth Day! And it seems that long Summers with extreme heat may have already become the new normal for Europe. This has been confirmed by new research from some of Europe’s leading scientists, for the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast this morning was Dr Carlo Buontempo the Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

As the summer Dáil terms begins, Government has published the items that are top of the agenda in the coming months, one bill that has been left on the shelf is a bill to allow a mayoral election in Limerick. Speaking to Ciara this morning was John Moran, Former Secretary General of the Land Development Agency who was at the front of the campaign for a directly elected mayor, from Limerick.

All Things Considered: Cost of the Weekly Shop Ciara and Shane discuss this.

The Times this morning has said more Britons move to Ireland than Irish move to the UK. Brits have been choosing the west of Ireland over places like Devon or Cornwall, Joining us today was Maeve McCarthy of Charles McCarthy Estate Agents in Skibbereen.

Top civil servant at the Department of Health, Robert Watt, is to face questions at a Dáil committee this afternoon, following criticism of the botched appointment of former chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan to an academic post in Trinity College Dublin. John McGuinness, Fianna Fail TD and Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform joined Newstalk Breakfast this mornin...

Ireland has by far the highest per capita death rate for animals used in botox testing in Europe. So found a new EU study. Dr Dan Lyons Policy Consultant Irish Anti-Vivisection Society spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

Today, the Social Democrats will bring forward a Dáil motion calling for a 10 percent tax on vacant housing. But would such a tax make any difference to solving the housing crisis? To discuss this we were joined by Dr Sarah Hamill, Assistant Professor at The School of Law in Trinity College Dublin.

Ranging in age from 36 right up to 75, the current Transplant Team Ireland panel of 14 inspirational men and women are currently competing in Perth at the World Transplant Games. We were joined today by two members of the team- Bryan Duignan and Mairead O’Mahony. Anyone who wishes to support organ donation is encouraged to carrying an organ donor card. Cards can be requested by visiting the Irish...

Ireland’s rate of inflation will average between 4% and 5% this year, down from the current rate of 7%. That’s according to Finance Minister Michael McGrath who has published a Stability Programme Update, a key economic document required under EU rules. He joined us today to discuss.

Extravagant children’s birthday parties are on the rise, and it has its roots in Instagram-parenting. Kirsty Blake Knox, Journalist with The Irish Independent have described this phenomenon as ‘wedding-fication’ of kids birthday parties – this has its origins in celebrities bragging about their parties on social media. She joined us now today to discuss.

Many of us ask our smart assistants about the weather or about the news, but would you turn to Siri or Alexa to talk out your issues? Programmers are working to create artificial intelligence companions to help users with issues, from the trivial to the more serious sides of life. Newstalk’s Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly brought us more details on this.

A lack of apartments and the underdevelopment of sites in Dublin are a key contributor to the housing crisis. That’s according to an analysis from Property firm Artis. Tom Philips, Managing Director of Tom Philips Associates and Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture and Planning at UCD, spoke to