The Agenda

The shocking terrorist attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia was condemned as a “devastating act of violence” at the December meeting of Louth County Council. Cllr. Michelle Hall spoke on behalf of Labour councillors on Louth County Council when she expressed sympathy and condolences to those affected by the mass shooting on Sunday evening in Sydney. At least sixteen people were killed, and m...

In a year marked by economic uncertainty, international conflict and an accelerating pace of global change, international and national crises are sources of increasing concern to Irish people, new survey findings have revealed.  According to the 2025 Annual Attitudes to Mental Health and Stigma Survey published by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, almost half of respondents (48%) say inter...

Louth Fine Gael TD Paula Butterly has said that cabinet approval to publish the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025 is a major step in improving the technology available for the Gardaí. Deputy Butterly said: “Gardaí can often be left spending countless hours searching through videos or CCTV searching for evidence. “We want to equip An Garda Siochana with the technology they ne...

Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, alongside party representatives from across County Meath, last week met with officials from the National Transport Authority (NTA) to confront the escalating transport crisis facing the county’s growing population. The meeting, held at Leinster House, covered a comprehensive list of deficits and required interventions across all modes of public and act...

A flurry of new social housing will be advertised on Louth County Council’s letting portal ‘CBL’ in the run up to Christmas, it emerged this week. Dundalk councillors were provided with an update on the units coming on stream across the county in the final weeks of 2025. These include Approved Housing Body (AHB) developments in both Dundalk and Drogheda. Councillor Kevin Meenan told the meeting co...

Louth County Council has opened public consultation on the Draft Town Centre First Plan for Clogherhead, and locals are being strongly encouraged to take part in shaping the future of the seaside village. The plan, developed in collaboration with the Clogherhead Town Team, community groups, local stakeholders, elected members and specialist urban designers — sets out a long-term vision for revital...

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, has announced the allocation of €3.2 million to expand domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services. The allocation follows a targeted funding call by Cuan, the national agency for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.  Nearly 300,000 euro worth of funding has been granted to Louth and Meath with services in L...

Drug-driving prosecutions in our district courts have surged, with 2,050 people before the courts up to October 2025 alone for drug driving offences, according to figures supplied to Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú by the Irish courts service.  A total of 1,499 people faced district court proceedings for drug driving in 2024, but this has already risen by 37% in the first 10 months of 20...

Farmers will be setting off later this morning to join their colleagues from across Europe at a protest in Brussels later in the week. They're concerned about the CAP budget, trade deals including Mercosur and excessive regulation around the cost of doing business. They'll be driving tractors today from the Irish Farm Centre to Rosslare and will get on a ferry to France for the demonstration in Br...

Last week on the programme, we heard about “authoritarian” moves by Donald Trump’s administration to ask travellers, including from Ireland, to hand over five years of social media history. The new policy has been branded “a massive overreach” that would damage relations with the US. Under the new policy announced this week, all tourists, whether they require a visa or not, may have to undergo soc...

The widow of a man who died in a road crash has condemned as “just appalling” a Department of Transport proposal to remove roadside memorials.  Officials believe the tributes should be banned on motorways, dual carriageways, regional and local roads where the speed limit is above 60km/ph.  A spokesperson said existing memorials could remain, so long as they are not a “clear hazard to roa...

Targeted reforms to improve the Assessment of Need (AON) process for children and their families have been announced. Legislation will be required to introduce the reforms which Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley acknowledged would take time. Minister Foley said the reforms will lead to a faster and more efficient way of carrying out AON reports, instead of "tying up therap...

Ireland's first women-focused taxi service is set to launch in Dublin this month, giving women the option of choosing a female driver. LadyCab says it will offer safer journeys for women who can use its app to request a female driver. Founder Emanuela Negura said she was determined to make a change in the industry after experiencing first-hand "the dangers" of the capital's nightlife. Emanula was...

Two people whose partners killed their children have demanded it should be mandatory for people to be involved in the mental health treatment of their partners in relationships where there are children. Una Butler and Andrew McGinley say this single measure would save lives and question why successive governments have so far refused to act. Andrew McGinley, whose three children were killed by thei...

A “robust” age verification tool is being developed as part of the creation of a digital wallet to verify the identity of social media users in an effort to keep children safe online.  Communications Minister Patrick O’Donovan recently announced that the government will commence a pilot programme of the wallet early next year. The wallet will be available as an app and allow the government to...

Ged Nash, Labour TD for Louth has said time is running out for parents to shape the future of primary schools in Dundalk.  Deputy Nash said parents have a "historic opportunity" to take part in a survey about the role of religion in primary schools which is being conducted by the Department of Education.  In a statement, Labour's spokesperson on public service reform said the results of...

Fianna Fail Councillor Sarah Reilly has called for renewed urgency on progressing both the Lloyd Amenity Plan and the Kells Public Realm Plan, saying that Kells must be ready to take advantage of funding and development opportunities in 2026. Speaking at the December meeting of the Kells Municipal District, Cllr. Reilly said the Lloyd site had recently enjoyed national attention thanks to its appe...

On the day that Australia’s world-leading under-16 social media ban due to child safety concerns came into effect, Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, launched a new report - Digital and social media marketing of alcohol - detailing the nature and scale of digital and social media alcohol marketing and the exposure of children and young people to...

There will be no live streaming of Louth County Council meetings in 2026, after a review identified concerns about “unauthorised” recording, staff confidentiality and data protection. Calls emerged earlier in the year for Louth to join other local authorities around the country in allowing the general public to access meetings online. But, Louth council meetings will remain “in-person only” for me...

Bill 2025 would ensure workers can remain in employment until they reach the state pension age. Senator Nelson Murray said: “Many people want the freedom to remain in the workforce up to the state pension age but can’t because of contractual restrictions. “New legislation being brought forward by the Fine Gael Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, suggests a consent-based a...

Yesterday on the programme we read out a Whatsapp message we had received from a Drogheda man named Wayne, and it said:  “Hey Adrian, Wayne here from Dundalk. Could you please see what your LMFM listeners think about this please? I can't believe that in 2025 there is no real talk about cannabis being legalised in Ireland... In Ireland every weekend, and you especially see it in the run up to...

ADHD Ireland addressed the Joint Committee on Drugs Use in Dáil Eireann yesterday to discuss new, groundbreaking research from Citywide and Trinity College Dublin which reveals that 51% of adults in drug treatment services screen for ADHD. ADHD Ireland is calling for urgent improvements in services for those with ADHD. The organisation is highlighting the serious impacts of undiagnosed ADHD, linki...

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee has outlined a €1.7 billion defence spending plan that will run until 2030. It will aim to speed up the modernisation of the Defence Forces and to improve defence capabilities across land, air, maritime and cyber domains. Speaking at the Curragh Camp in Co Kildare, Minister McEntee said she is really pleased to have brought the plan to Cabinet this week for the D...

The continuation of Ireland’s nitrates derogation is welcome, necessary, and a direct result of hard work by Irish farmers and political negotiators, MEP Maria Walsh has said.   MEP Walsh, a full member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, has consistently lobbied for the extension of Ireland’s nitrates derogation and has engaged with Commissioner Roswall in Brussels and in Ire...

Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) and Access for All, are urging the Government to introduce an immediate emergency winter payment for people with disabilities. The call comes as the coalition held a public demonstration outside the Dáil today, Tuesday, 9 December, 12.30pm to 2pm, demanding urgent action for disabled people facing rising costs and reduced s...