Newstalk Breakfast

Today is animal welfare day and the government has announced funding for a range of initiatives. Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue explained what the government is doing to mark this day.

Flu, Strep A, and overcrowding - what does the rest of the winter hold for our hospitals? Speaking to Dr. Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer with the HSE.

Sir Cliff Richard has announced the release of his first dedicated Christmas album in 19 years, “Christmas with Cliff”, and Sir Cliff joined Ciara this morning.

Ireland is preparing to be plunged into sub-zero conditions by an Arctic air mass, which is likely to bring the coldest weather since Storm Emma, four years ago. Night-time temperatures are set to drop to –6 degrees celsius and some counties can expect snow, hail, sleet, and fog. Deirdre Lowe, Meteorologist with Met Eireann spoke to Newstalk Breakfast with an update.

Where are you from? - A harmless question or can it be more loaded than it initially may seem? Founder of GORM Media, Mamobo Ogoro spoke to Ciara this morning with more on this.

Culchie Christmas. The original Black Friday. When rural Ireland made their annual pilgrimage to Dublin, on the eighth of December. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast Columnist with the Farming Independent and Author of ‘Matters of Great Indifference’, Jim O’Brien.

With many people likely to receive drones as Christmas presents, the Irish Aviation Authority has launched campaign warning operators against the misuse of their devices. For more on the campaign, Shane spoke to the Irish Aviation Authority’s Drone Manager, Enda Walsh.

Three in four workers in Ireland have experienced workplace discrimination that’s according to the 2022 Workplace Equality Survey. Breda Dooley from Matrix Recruitment, outlined the findings in this report.

Today is national missing person’s day. Trevor Deely disappeared 22 years this week – the same age he was when he disappeared. Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Trevor's brother, Mark Deeley.

Parents have been urged to be vigilant for signs of the bacterial infection Strep A after a five-year-old girl died of a severe form of the illness in Northern Ireland and as a possible link to the death of another child in the State is under investigation. Scott Walkin, Irish College of General Practitioners lead for infection control & Mayo GP explained the signs of a strep A infection.

Ireland is continuing to increase the amount of waste it is producing with the country now in danger of missing 2025 recycling targets set by the EU. That’s according to a new report from the EPA this morning. Warren Phelan, Programme Manager in the Circular Economy Programme and, Green Party Spokesperson for Transport, Climate Action and Environment, Brian Leddin..

Sinn Féin’s Education Spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire joined to discuss teacher waiting times and how it is taking so long to register with the Teaching Council.

Stop trying to sanitise ‘Fairytale of New York’ declares political journalist, author, and contributor to Spiked Online, Ella Whelan. We ask is censoring the F word in Fairytale of New York an act of cultural vandalism?

Met Éireann has warned that temperatures will fall to -4C later this week and has predicted hazardous conditions with sharp to severe frost and icy surfaces. Brian Farrell, spokesperson for The Road Safety Authority told us what advice should people be following.

Ministers later today are expected to sign off on the creation of five new surgical hubs across the country to deal with the backlog of planned operations. The hubs, at a cost of up to 100 million euros will focus on high-volume surgeries. Ciara spoke to Anthony Staines, Professor of Health Systems at the School of Nursing and Human Sciences in DCU, and asked is this the solution to our hospital w...

On December 6, 1922, the first anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State formally came into existence. Today marks the centenary, but what is its legacy, and has it been a success? John Bruton, Former Taoiseach spoke to Ciara this morning.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive has said it expects there will be enough emergency accommodation beds in the capital to meet demand, as temperatures are forecast to drop to -6 degrees this week. But is this good enough? And will it be enough to meet demand should cold spells continue into the coming months? To discuss we heard from the Founder of the Peter McVerry Trust and Social Campaigne...

Price pressures will remain unless housing supply increases significantly - that’s according to a report today published by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of Banking & Payments Federation Ireland outlines the key findings.

Ireland’s gas consumption will have to half by 2030 if we are to meet our climate targets. That’s according to a new analysis from UCC and Friends of the Earth which has been examining Ireland’s energy needs and our reliance on fossil fuels. Speaking to Ciara this morning was Hannah Daly Professor in Sustainable Energy at the School of Engineering at University College Cork.

Last week on the show we discussed the ongoing teacher shortages and recruitment difficulties, and a number of people got in touch with us about their difficulties registering with the Teaching Council. Kevin Feeney is an English teacher who had to wait 3 years to register with the Teaching Council and Kevin spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

Prince Harry speaks of the "leaking and... planting of stories" as part of a "dirty game" in a new trailer for the Harry and Meghan series on Netflix, due to be released this Thursday. Former BBC Royal Correspondent, Jennie Bond spoke to Ciara about her reaction.

If you’re out and about this festive season watch out for digital pick-pocketers, who are reportedly targeting those on nights out. Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly joined us with the details.

Workers with five or more years of PRSI contributions will be entitled to 60pc of their gross weekly salary capped at €450 per week. Michael Taft, Economic Researcher for SIPTU joined Ciara to discuss further.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland has been tasked with exploring options around the future of road tolling, which could include a multi-point tolling system. Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Economist with the ESRI, Barra Roantree, and Independent Limerick TD, Richard O'Donoghue.

A protest has taken place in Bantry in West Cork over the weekend by families of children with learning disabilities, over the uncertainty of a support facility. Those who attend the CoAction Child and Family centre may have to be relocated over plans to turn the building into a residential unit for people using a separate CoAction house. Newstalk reporter Josh Crosbie has met with parents who are...