The Agenda

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Meath Biodiversity Officer Ben Malone, who told us all about the Meath Biodiversity Action Plan for 2025.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A military tribunal in Lebanon has sentenced to death a man accused of killing Irish soldier Seán Rooney, according to Lebanese news reports. A United Nations peacekeeping force was targeted in an attack on their UN vehicle in the village of at Al-Aqbiya, Lebanon, in December 2022. Private Rooney and a number of his colleagues were injured in the attack. Pte Rooney later died. The men were part of...

The agreement of an outline trade deal between the EU and the US has one main advantage – it avoids an imminent tariff war between the two sides which could have gotten nasty. However, sources say it will take some time to work out the full impact of the deal on Ireland. And there is no doubt that the EU has conceded on a number of points to the US and that this comes with some considerable econom...

Football fans should not have to pay road tolls this weekend as they travel up to watch Kerry versus Donegal in the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park, according to Michael Healy Rae. The Kerry TD and Junior Minister suggested that the removal of motorway tolls would reduce traffic on the roads and the financial burden on fans. Minister Healy Ray joined us on The Agenda this morning now to talk to us...

The outbreak of a rare bacterial infection, listeriosis, in Ireland is “unusual” in that it relates to food that should be reheated or cooked, a professor in microbiology has said. Experts have called on members of the public to ensure they heat pre-prepared food products “thoroughly” to reduce the risk of further infection. On Wednesday, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) confirmed an ad...

Cocaine use at the debs has become “more and more common” over the years, a journalist has warned.  As the debs season gets underway - across the country events are held from June up until the end of October - and the prevalence of drug use is on the rise.  A recent study showed that alcohol consumption is declining among young people, however, the rise of anecdotal reports of drug use a...

The US and the European Union are closing in on a trade deal, reports suggest, centred on a tariff of 15 per cent to apply on EU imports into the US market. Given that this news emerged only hours after other reports that the talks were in trouble and the EU was preparing more powerful retaliation, we need to be careful. There still seems to be some way to go in these talks. This could be an emerg...

The ‘war on drugs’ had been lost, Dundalk TD Ruairí Ó Murchú recently told the Dáil. The Sinn Féin deputy was speaking during a debate about the Proceeds of Crime Bill and said the war on drugs had been lost, “in the traditional sense in which it is understood.” He said that while there had been work done by the Criminal Assets Bureau and the public liked seeing ‘criminals pay’, there needs to be...

Drogheda's Mayor says it raises the question if the capacity is there for all the housing being granted planning permission. The Mayor of Drogheda has highlighted how home buyers are unable to move into a new housing development on the north side of the town as connections by Uisce Éireann are still awaited. Labour's Michelle Hall asked at Louth County Council's monthly meeting if there was any wa...

Yesterday the Gorvernment unveiled its new Action Plan on Insurance Reform with a range of priorities aimed at lowering insurance premiums. This Action Plan covers the remainder of 2025 to 2029 and will build on the progress of the 2020 Action Plan. The Action Plan is focussed on 6 key themes, each with a range of specific actions to deliver better outcomes for consumers and businesses. Minister o...

Kneecap have described the decision to ban them from Hungary as 'political distraction' Irish rap group Kneecap said "there is no legal basis" for Hungary banning the act from entering the country ahead of their scheduled appearance at a music festival. The trio, who are outspoken supporters of Palestine, were due to perform at Sziget Festival on 11 August and remain on the line-up on its website....

After four months of a near-total Israeli siege, Gaza’s few remaining hospitals now have wards for the growing number of malnourished children whose tiny bodies are just the width of their bones. Doctors are famished to the point that they have dizzy spells as they make their rounds, medics say, and the journalists documenting their caseloads are often too weak to even walk to the clinics. Executi...

Clubs in Meath are facing levies of up to €500 per month in order to service a proposed €2 million loan towards the re-development of Páirc Tailteann. This emerged from Wednesday night's County Board meeting in Dunganny which, in the main, dealt with the proposed financing of the Stadium project and how the County would fund its share of the total outlay needed to bring the redevelopment to fruiti...

Figures released by Early Childhood Ireland show that early years services in Meath have a shocking 21 per cent staff turnover, as childcare facilities struggle to retain staff. To help address recruitment and retention challenges in Meath, Early Childhood Ireland is calling on the government to name a date to bring Early Years and School Age Care graduates' pay within public sector pay and condit...

Groups in Louth working to prevent suicide are voicing concern over a worrying number of tragedies in recent weeks in which people have lost their lives to suicide. “We have noticed a worrying spike in the number of suicides in the county over the last month and we want to let people know that we are here to help,” says Mark Gordan PRO of SAFE Castlebellingham, a mental health and suicide preventi...

Unions have described Government plans to cut the VAT rate for the hospitality sector in the budget as “economic vandalism” after it emerged such a move could severely limit the room for other tax cuts in the budget. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe confirmed on Tuesday that moving ahead with the plan would carry a full-year cost of up to €1 billion from a tax package worth up to €1.5 billion...

Landlords are turning down pet owners because they worry about the smell of their animals, a spokesperson for the Irish Property Owners Association has said.  A petition demanding the Government bans rental agreements that do not allow people to keep pets has been signed by over 20,000 animal lovers.  The move comes after Dogs Trust revealed they have been inundated with surrenders by he...

Yesterday on the programme we spoke to one of the two mother and baby home survivors who are bringing judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth over the compensation scheme it approved last year, as the State says they don't meet the strict criteria set out in legislation. The High Court has been told that two institutions - one in Meath and anot...

Videos have been circulating on social media over the past number of days claiming that 50 migrant men have been placed in The Ashbourne Court Hotel in Ashbourne. This morning on The Agenda we spoke to local Fine Gael Councillor Alan Tobin and heard from Meath TD Gillian Toole, who say these claims were false. Councillor Tobin is also calling for a clampdown on social media companies allowing this...

The High Court has been told that two institutions - one in Meath and another in Dublin, were left out of the Mother and Baby Home Redress Scheme as they did not provide ante or post-natal care. Two survivors are bringing judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth over the compensation scheme it approved last year, as the State says they don't mee...

The Health Service Executive has said it has no burial records for the 80 children who died at Galway hospital having been admitted from the Tuam mother and baby home during its operation. Research uncovered by local historian Catherine Corless in 2014, showed there are death certificates for 796 children who died in the Bons Secours Catholic-run home between 1925 and 1961. Reporter at The Irish E...

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to a Drogheda man who says he is “sick and tired” of the anti-social behavior and violence in Drogheda. His comments come after a daylight brawl took place in the town last week. He says Drogheda has become a “no go area”. He told us about how older people in the area are now terrified to leave their homes and go into the town, even during the day.  Hosted...

Louth County Council has agreed to hold a special meeting next month on the Local Property Tax. As it's a revaluation year, they have to make a decision before their normal workshop in September which takes place ahead of their annual budget meeting. They must decide by August 31st whether to amend the LPT Base Rate, and if they do, they must decide how many years it will apply to (up to 2030). Fi...

Housing is the biggest winner from the review of the National Development Plan (NDP), with the department to be given €35.9 billion to spend between 2026 and 2030. The Government this afternoon unveiled the updated spending ceilings for Government departments, which has come from the sale of AIB shares and the Apple Tax money. While the envelope of money for each department was revealed today, unl...

We are joined in studio this morning on The Agenda by Dr Donncha MacGabhann from Knockainey, Co. Limerick, who has launched his Irish Presidential Election Campaign. Dr MacGavhann wants to place greater emphasis on the President’s role as guardian of the Constitution – a major focus of his vision for the office. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.