The Agenda

Earlier on in the programme we spoke a bit about the teenage boy who died at a Tusla facility in Dublin,Vadym Davydenko. Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene of a stabbing incident at the emergency residential unit for unaccompanied children seeking international protection in the Donaghmede area of Dublin yesterday morning, in which the 17-year-old was killed and a number of oth...

A young Trim mother who suffered catastrophic injuries during what was meant to be a routine medical procedure for endometriosis last October has been left with life-changing injuries, and she bravely shared her story with us on LMFM. Sarah's injuries resulted from a procedure she underwent in Northern Ireland through the National Treatment Purchase Fund and she says she has struggled since to get...

If you’re thinking about running for a Dáil seat at the next general election – due to take place no later than January 2030 – you might want to start saving. A new investigation has revealed that it costs, on average, over €20,000 between candidate and party spending to run a successful election campaign. The Journal Investigates analysed 528 election expense forms returned to the Standards in Pu...

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Minister of State for Sport and Postal Policy Charlie McConalogue who is visiting Dundalk and Drogheda today. Minister McConalgue will perform the official opening of the new SportUile Office at Lourdes Stadium in Drogheda on Thursday, October 16th at 11 am.   After the event he will meet with a number of clubs at Lourdes Stadium before visiting a...

A popular Drogheda playground has been vandalised for the second time this year, Louth County Council confirmed. The local authority has strongly condemned the recent act of vandalism at Moneymore Playground in Drogheda in the last week which caused “significant damage to the facilities, creating a safety hazard and resulting in substantial repair costs.” The council said the estimated cost of rep...

The Department of Education has been urged to target its “small” allocation of €3 million for additional deputy principals at DEIS and smaller schools. In last week’s Budget, €3 million was allocated towards increasing the numbers of deputy principals in primary and post-primary schools. The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) is hosting its annual conference in Galway...

Louth County Council has confirmed it will be carrying out a full review of its pay parking areas next year, following a motion at the Dundalk Municipal District October meeting that called on the local authority to assess a potential expansion of the pay parking areas. In his motion at the October meeting, Councillor Ciarán Fisher called on Louth County Council to "initiate a review of the existi...

This week on The Agenda we spoke to Independent councillor in Navan, Alan Lawes, about the rise in anti-social behaviour and criminal activity in Johnstown in Navan.  We were joined on the programme this morning by Aontu Councillor in Navan, Emer Toibin, who has tabled a motion calling on Navan Town Council to add their voice to our campaign and write to An Garda Síochána and the Department o...

About 27 staff members are expected to be affected when the Dunnes Stores outlet on West Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth closes its doors for the final time on October 31 — marking the end of more than 50 years of trading at the site. The store is among Dunnes Stores’ earliest branches, and its founder, Ben Dunne, had strong ties to the town. He famously described his apprenticeship as a draper in Dro...

Hospital staff and gardaí have been accused of failing to take the suspected spiking of drinks seriously after an incident involving the family member of a local politician. Fianna Fáil Councillor Audrey Buckley believes proper protocols are not in place to deal with such incidents. “They’re not logged anywhere, so there are no statistics because nobody’s listening,” she said. Councillor Buckley m...

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Ellen Garvey, a Drogheda woman living with Spina Bifida, who is pleading with policy makers to allow Emotional Support Animals to travel on public transport and to be allowed entry to public places. 39-year-old Ellen described her beloved dog, Treasa, as she launched a campaign to allow ‘therapy ‘dogs be allowed to accompany their owners on public trans...

The northern Assembly has rejected DUP objections to dual-language street signs in Belfast. It voted down a DUP motion by 41 to 28 last night - voting in favour of the signs which include both Irish and English, side by side. A spokesperson for Conradh na Gaeilge says despite claims of widespread opposition to the signs - surveys by Belfast City Council found most of the community supported them,...

Midlands-North-West MEP Ciaran Mullooly has warned that small to medium size businesses and social enterprises in Louth, Meath and the Midlands North West Regions risk being unfairly excluded from vital EU and Government supports because of unclear rules that Ireland has failed to fix. Ciaran spoke to us on The Agenda this morning in more detail about this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

A total of 23 Romanian people with criminal convictions have been deported from Ireland as part of an EU agreement. The Department of Justice has flown the 23 men, who are aged between 22 and 49 years, to their home country using a government charter flight this afternoon. Unlike in other recent deportations targeting one non-EU country’s nationals living in Ireland, today’s move comes against a f...

A new Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA) has been established by the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The legislation will aim to protect the rights of all parties involved in assisted human reproduction, including parents, donors, and children born through these technologies. Chairperson of Irish Gay Dads Seamus Kearney Martone said the legislation will ultimat...

As Fire Safety Week begins across Ireland, Meath residents are being urged to look out for vulnerable neighbours by asking three “simple” questions. The campaign, which runs from October 13 to 19, comes amid figures showing that more than 60pc of fire fatalities in Ireland involve people aged 65 and over. This year’s theme, “Together Against Fire,” focuses on community awareness and the role every...

Twenty-five men are taking fresh civil cases against paedophile surgeon Michael Shine and the religious order that ran the hospital where he once worked. Adrienne Reilly, CEO of advocacy organisation Dignity4Patients, said the new civil cases against Shine and the Medical Missionaries of Mary show that “the Shine case is still current because there are still people coming forward for the very firs...

Local TD Ruairí Ó Murchú says commuters using Clarke train station in Dundalk will face even more pressure for car parking spaces after Irish Rail confirmed it's restricting parking at part of the site from today. A bus needed for transfers because of Storm Amy was unable to get past cars parked on a service road accessed from the Ardee Road and passengers at the end of last week returned to their...

Loyalists who vandalised an Irish language street sign in east Belfast say “it won’t be the last”, as police launched an investigation into the “hate-motivated” damage. Police are appealing for information following the “hate-motivated” criminal damage to an Irish language street sign in east Belfast. It is believed the white sign at Shandon Park was cut with an angle grinder, with the Irish langu...

As we watched Ireland’s fashion elite make their way to iconic Irish sites this week for the country’s first fashion week, one designer from Co. Meath is advocating for the small designers continuing to make their mark off the runway. Siobhán Daly Designs was founded in 2016, showcasing the creation of headpieces for occasion wear, necklaces, and earrings, while putting sustainability first. Suppo...

There’s now officially less than two weeks to go until polling day for the presidential election, and candidates are nearing the end of their list of debates. Now only two presidential rivals Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys visited RTÉ’s Donnybrook radio studio yesterday for a surprisingly combative debate. It came as a Business Post/Red C poll, carried out from October 1-7, indicates tha...

The first seven of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas after more than 783 days in captivity in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. The group were handed over to the Red Cross ahead of being reunited with their families at the Re’im reception point near the Gaza border. Israeli ministers had approved overnight a list of 1,718 Palestinian prisoners set to be re...

Residents of a Drogheda housing development are facing crippling electricity bills—some reaching between €800 - €900 and as high as €1,100 this winter, due to what they describe as a “flawed and inefficient smart electrical heating system in their duplex apartments.” Louth councillor Declan Power highlighted the exorbitant bills faced by people living in Tullybrook Court, which is managed by Clúid...

Yesterday on the programme, we spoke to Aime Berns, who is living with a debilitating case of endometriosis.  Amie spoke to us about her anger and heartbreak at the Government ignoring endometriosis care in Budget 2026, despite multiple promises being made to herself and other women living with the condition who are also advocating for more help and better care. Since Amie’s interview yesterd...

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for an update to the laws around the theft of pets. The theft of a pet is covered by stolen property legislation in Ireland, while the Pet Abduction Act in Northern Ireland and England gives specific recognition for the crime. Lisa O'Connor is the woman behind the petition which has over 10 thousand signatures, and she is also the founder of the '...