The Agenda

Gardaí have found gang affiliation clothing and memorabilia as part of searches against the international Black Axe fraud and money laundering gang. The Black Axe gang operates as a mafia-style organisation which originated in Nigeria and has an estimated 30,000 members across dozens of countries worldwide, including having members here in Ireland. The homes of 11 senior gang members, also known a...

Today marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leading to the most devastating conventional conflict in Europe since World War II. From day one of the invasion, fierce Ukrainian resistance has kept Russia from achieving its goal of dismembering the Ukrainian state. We were joined on The Agenda this morning by a Ukrainian woman named Santa, who fled Ukraine 4 years...

European leaders will mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by reaffirming their political and financial backing for Kyiv, as a top EU official in Brussels played down the prospects for a peace deal in the near future. Ukrainian cities continue to face sustained bombardment from Russian missiles and drones. Targeted attacks on critical energy infrastructure have le...

Following the government's late evening announcement that there will be no SNA cuts in September, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education and Youth and Meath-East TD, Darren O’Rourke TD, has said it is a reprieve for schools, families and SNAs, but warned that the fundamental issues at the heart of the policy remain unaddressed. Speaking in advance of Tuesday’s Dáil debate on Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion,...

A 16-year-old girl who died in a hit-and-run in Navan, Co Meath has been named as Mia Lily Keogh O’Keefe. The young girl was killed after being struck down while out walking with her dog on Saturday evening after 8pm on the Slane Road in the town. The driver fled the scene but a man in his 20s has since been arrested by investigating gardaí. In an update this morning, a garda spokesperson has conf...

A 12 year old Drogheda United fan ended up in the Emergency Department of Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda on Friday night, after he was struck by a flare fired from the Away fans end at Oriel Park during the Louth derby. The boy sustained burns to his face and hand but was not hospitalised. During the game flares were fired at the newly laid artificial playing surface leaving over 30 burn...

The HPAT for medical students is a “performance of cruelty” and should be scrapped, a consultant psychiatrist and associate clinical professor has argued.  The Health Professions Admission Test is an examination used to help universities select students who apply to study medicine.  It lasts for 2.5 hours and tests applicants on logical reasoning, problem solving, interpersonal understan...

A 12 year old Drogheda United fan ended up in the Emergency Department of Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda on Friday night, after he was struck by a flare fired from the Away fans end at Oriel Park during the Louth derby. The boy sustained burns to his face and hand but was not hospitalised. During the game flares were fired at the newly laid artificial playing surface leaving over 30 burn...

There are roughly 4,500 empty beds free for either Ukrainian nationals or asylum seekers at present, but they cannot be offered to more than 500 male applicants sleeping on the streets, an Oireachtas committee has heard. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard that there are about 53,000 beds available in the system at the moment. Just under 36,000 are designated for international protection, wi...

The Bettystown–Laytown area has been hit by a rising crime wave, and a new Garda station for the area needs to be built urgently. The claim was made by Senator Alison Comyn in the Seanad, and she is demanding that the Justice Minister, Jim O'Callaghan, intervene to resolve the issue. She said she had received a plethora of emails in recent days from concerned residents worried that crime is spiral...

Abuse received by politicians is predominantly aimed at women, Louth councillors have been told.  Councillors were told during a presentation by the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) that all political parties are facing issues getting people to run in the next local and general elections.  A spokesperson for AILG said parties are particularly struggling to recruit female cand...

Talks were underway at Drogheda United on Thursday to try broker a boardroom solution following a fractious 24 hours. Joanna Byrne remains as co-chair of the club despite claiming she was asked to resign on Monday due to her calling on the FAI to boycott the Nations League games against Israel later this year. Ms Byrne was speaking in her role as full-time serving Sinn Féin TD for Co Louth. She wa...

In light of the publication today of North Kerry CAMHS Lookback Review Report (Maskey 2) ADHD Ireland calls on both the HSE and the Department of Health to ensure barriers around funding, recruitment and Clinical Governance are resolved so that long term solutions are implemented to deliver world class outcomes for all our young people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louth FF TD, Erin McGreehan, has been informed that €154.1 million has been committed to flood relief and coastal protection projects in Louth.  However, she stressed the urgent need for interim flood defence measures while the major projects in areas like Ardee, Drogheda, and Carlingford are progressing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the first time since 2019, the EU’s main recruitment pathway for permanent careers in the EU institutions – the AD5 Generalist Administrator competition – has been launched, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and at the Department of Defence, Thomas Byrne, has confirmed. . Thomas also Comments on Drogheda United and Joanna Byrne Ho...

was delighted when officials overtunred decission Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meath man who kept horses in what the judge describes as harrowing conditions pleads guilty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Government’s apparent new criteria for children to qualify for Special Needs support has drawn criticism, with one Navan Cllr describing it as ‘stripped back and narrow’ Aontú’s Cllr Emer Tóibín says: “I am deeply concerned over talk of Special Needs Assistants (SNA) Cuts and Redeployment. I have been contacted by so many SNA’s over the last few days who have told me that this government appea...

Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, has expressed serious concern that there will not be enough school places for children in Dunshaughlin this September, warning that the issue has now become an annual crisis. Teachta O’Rourke is seeking a debate on the issue in the Dáil this week and is calling on the Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughten, to take urgent action to ensure that eve...

A judge in the case of two survivors who were excluded from the mother and baby home redress scheme has delivered a landmark ruling that the children’s minister was wrong in not considering adding two homes to the compensation deal. John Duncan Morris, who was in Stamullen in Co Meath, had taken the High Court action over being excluded from the redress scheme. They are two of an estimated 19,000...

Defence minister Helen McEntee has put forward a proposal for the Irish Defence Forces to board Russian oil tankers as a “deterrent”. The Meath-East Fine Gael TD said there is already a law in place that allows the Defence Forces to do this if there are “concerns” and her proposal specifically relates to Russian “shadow fleets”. The Minister said the details are set to be fine-tuned with engagemen...

Bar sales in Leinster House increased by 34pc to nearly €445,000 last year, with current or former TDs and senators knocking back shots of tequila and sambuca, along with €27 measures of premium whiskey. Politicians racked up almost €60,000 on their tabs during the year in the parliament’s two pubs: the Visitors’ Bar and the Members’ Bar, exclusively for current and former Oireachtas members. Host...

Calls to restore Drogheda Borough Council have returned to the political agenda after councillors backed a motion seeking Government support to reintroduce borough‑level powers to Ireland’s largest town. The motion, tabled by Cllr Kevin Callan at February’s meeting of Drogheda Borough District, comes as the national Local Democracy Taskforce prepares to publish its recommendations this spring. Cll...

Bernard O’Byrne has called on sports administrators to “make a stand for Palestine” after standing down from the board of Fiba Europe. The former Basketball Ireland and FAI chief (who is from Athboy) had tabled a motion calling on the European body to suspend Israel from competition over the country’s actions in Gaza last November. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a stormy start to 2026 with the bill for severe weather impact on Louth coming in at €1.2 million, the council have confirmed. The figure was revealed at Monday night’s meeting of Drogheda Borough District, where councillors were told that repeated weather warnings in January and early February had left the county’s road network “riddled with potholes”. The discussion prompted Fine Gael...