The Agenda

“Until I see a wastewater treatment plant that's fit for purpose, I will not be zoning any land south of Dundalk”, Councillor Shane McGuinness has said in response to a call from Minister for Housing James Browne to local authorities to zone more land for housing. The Dundalk South councillor has called out Louth TDs and Senators based in the county for not doing more to resolve the wastewater tre...

Fears of a ‘quiet epidemic’ of young people addicted to nicotine have been raised by Dundalk councillor Ciaran Fisher, who says upcoming legislation on vaping ‘doesn’t go far enough.’ The new ‘Nicotine Inhaling Products Bill' is set to come into force early next year, which will feature a raft of restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes, or vapes, as they are more commonly known. The new laws are...

The new Garda Commissioner is considering the wider use of Tasers and prioritising “increased visibility”. Justin Kelly made the remarks at his first press conference yesterday, having been appointed to the role on Monday. The Commissioner, who noted that Tasers were already in use by some units, said he will give “careful consideration” to expanding their use to frontline Gardaí. We were joined o...

Gardaí investigating the ­disappearance of a young boy were told he was found dead in bed and secretly buried “in a panic”. A woman told gardaí the child had died in his sleep of natural causes and that she and her then partner had secretly buried him in waste ground in Donabate, Co Dublin. A search for the boy, who was last seen when he was three-and-a-half years old and would now be aged seven,...

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by CEO of Development Perspectives, Bobby McCormack, who is going to talk to us about Dawn Meats submitting a second planning application to Meath County Council for an eight hectare subsurface irrigation development at its Beaparc site.  The proposed project would include a filter pump house, storage tank, pipework, and valves to disperse treatment e...

Gardai have launched an investigation into claims that a child has been killed and secretly buried, it has emerged. Detectives in north County Dublin sealed off a house as part of the probe over the weekend – after a woman told them her ex-partner killed the child. It's understood the child, a boy, has been missing for several years and would be aged around eight if they were alive today. However...

The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland says she has boycotted products she believes are linked to Israel and has urged others to also search their conscience on the issue. After UN-backed experts declared a famine in and around Gaza, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said she had “cut all relations” with companies that she believes support the war against Palestinians. “I don’t drink Starbucks and I don’t...

The overall cost to the State of paying private operators to run public transport has hit nearly €300m. Figures released to Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly show that since 2018, €250m of that alone goes to Go-Ahead, which operates outer Dublin, Dublin commuter and two orbital routes in the capital. In February, the NTA published a letter of intent to continue its relationship with Go-Ahead, despite criticism...

***TRIGGER WARNING: UPSETTING/DISTRESSING CONTENT*** A mum fears she will be killed when her violent ex-partner — who threatened to pour boiling water over her during a brutal assault — is freed from prison next week. Louise Jackson revealed to LMFM how she has now installed new security measures at her home and in her car ahead of former husband Mark Jackson’s release from Portlaoise Prison....

A Sinn Féin councillor has criticised the government for “failing” to address the Garda staffing crisis in Meath, as two newly attested members were deployed to Navan Garda Station. The new recruits are part of a cohort of 154 probationer Gardaí who graduated from the Garda College in Templemore last week while another 201 trainees are beginning their studies this week, with a further graduation s...

Concerns have been expressed about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots by children amid warnings of inadequate safeguards. Online safety charity CyberSafeKids said young children are being exposed to misinformation, privacy violations and harmful advice. It is calling for greater regulation of AI chatbots at EU level. New research from CyberSafeKids shows a big increase in AI chatbot...

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Independent local Councillor and Leas-Cathaoirleach of Trim MD, Noel French, who spoke to us about his recent motion to Meath County Council in relation to IPAS centres.  The motion by Councillor French is calling on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to remove the section 5 provision for IPAS centres and ensure that all IPAS c...

Peader Tobin , Aontu Leader Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly, who took to social media over the weekend to question the prices of hotels in Dublin.  In his post on social media Platform “X”, Ciaran wrote:  “One night’s b & b on a week night : 453 euro? : Is this for real @crowneplazadub?? On a Monday night in late September ? There must be an issue here . Expl...

Southwest Airlines in the US has just changed its long-standing policy for plus-size travelers, one that for over 30 years allowed them to get a second seat for free or be reimbursed if needed. But now, that’s no longer guaranteed. So, what does this mean for passengers of size? Is it fair to ask them to pay for an extra seat in order to fly comfortably, or even to fly at all? Editor of travelextr...

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Theresa Cassidy, who is a school secretary at Gaelscoil na Rithe in Dunshaughlin for  the past 27 years, yet she has no entitlement to a public service pension.  Theresa spoke to us live from the picket line where she and her colleagues were striking for equal rights within in the sector. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...

Sport Ireland is set to develop a new “respect the ref” campaign in response to what it has identified as a rising incidence of abuse and disrespect towards officials. The €70,000 project aims to develop a new “national behaviour change campaign”, that will be rolled out across the sector. “This campaign will be built on a strong evidential base and informed by the perspectives of stakeholders,” S...

Data centre operators are contributing a significant amount to local authority budgets through commercial rates, a new investigation has found. Councils receive an estimated €62.5m each year from data centre operators as part of their collection of commercial rates, based on this year’s calculations. The Journal Investigates has previously mapped all of Ireland’s data centres believed to be in ope...

Over the past number of weeks on the programme we have been speaking to parents about the ongoing issue with school buses, particularly in County Meath. We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Ballivor mum, Karen Smith, who was issued a bus ticket for her child but received an email only last Thursday to say that there would actually be no bus for her son, who is going into his 3rd year of se...

The government has been urged to ‘act rationally’ and come to a ‘fair agreement’ with school secretaries and caretakers as industrial action at local primary and secondary schools enters its second week. Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú said he and his party ‘are in full support and solidarity’ with the Fórsa trade union members who started indefinite strike action last week over pension parity and ot...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.