The Agenda

Sinn Féin TD and member of the Oireachtas Media Committee, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, has responded to the staff sentiment survey, reported in the Irish Daily Mail, which found high levels of distrust of RTÉ’s leadership among staff.  The party’s Arts and Culture Spokesperson said the breakdown of trust was clear in responses RTÉ gave at Committee in recent weeks when he questioned them over contr...

US President Donald Trump has announced that Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire. The announcement comes after Iran launched an attack on American forces stationed at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, in what it said was retaliation for US strikes on three of its nuclear sites over the weekend. The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran - Qatar s...

Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O'Rourke, has raised the need for one-to-one support and engagement for Wellman's workers with the Minister for Social Protection in the Dáil. Deputy O'Rourke says while the immediate focus is on securing as many jobs as possible at Wellman's, it is equally important that the Department of Social Protection provide comprehensive support. Deputy O’Rourke joined u...

Louth County Council are taking steps to “shutter” vacant social houses at risk of vandalism or anti-social behaviour, councillors heard at their monthly meeting. Cllr. Sionainn McCann highlighted a number of incidents in the county where tenants had left a property “and very quickly they became subject to anti-social behaviour.” She told the council that in one instance gardai had to be called to...

Louth County Council is inviting residents across the county to take part in a new Community-Led Property Marking Programme, aimed at reducing theft and improving community safety. The initiative will see local volunteers receive training in the use of specialist property marking equipment. Once trained, volunteers will assist neighbours, businesses, and local groups in marking valuable items such...

A young woman who was left permanently scarred following an unprovoked acid attack is hoping to raise funds for reconstructive surgery to help her regain her confidence. Joanna Grabczak, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Ireland since the age of five, was just 20-years-old when a woman walked into the fast-food restaurant where she was working and threw a cup containing sulfuric acid...

Legislation to ban imports from Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory is due to come before Cabinet this morning to be approved by Government ministers. Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris will present the proposed legislation, known officially as the Israeli Settlements Prohibition of Importation of Goods Bill 2025. Senator Frances Black, who tabled the Occupied...

House price inflation has reached a ten-year-high, according to the latest report from property website Daft. Prices increased nationally by 3% during the second quarter of this year, with the typically listed property cost reaching €357,851. They are almost 13% higher than last year and 40% higher than pre-covid levels. As has been the case for successive reports from Daft, low residential supply...

Ireland recorded the sharpest rate of increase in agricultural produce prices in the EU in the first quarter of this year, the bloc’s statistical agency Eurostat has said. Irish agricultural prices were up an eye-watering 19.3% compared with the same period of 2024. The average increase across the EU was just 2.6%. With prices in Irish supermarkets for beef, milk and butter all rising fast – 2 lit...

Ireland South MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a member of the EU Parliament’s Petitions Committee, has launched a formal petition to the European Parliament calling on the European Commission and Council to review Israel’s compliance with the human rights clause (Article 2) of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and determine whether continued trade with Israel remains compatible with EU law.  She h...

The Government needs to urgently restrict a loophole that allows commercial tanning salons to advertise their services amid an “epidemic” of skin cancer, a dermatologist has warned.  Currently, the law bans tanning salons from advertising sunbeds because of the link between sun beds and skin cancer; children are also banned from using them altogether.  However, some tanning salons are no...

A decision on public access to online council meetings in Louth was pushed back by councillors after fears around security, intimidation and content being manipulated by AI were aired at Louth County Council’s monthly meeting. Councillors highlighted how commentary around contentious issues had become “venomous” in the last year, and raised their own fears about personal security and that of counc...

Almost €1m was spent on enhanced security at six sites where modular houses for Ukrainian refugees were to be built, new documents show. The Office of Public Works (OPW) has outlined there was a total cost of €942,305 to provide security services to sites for modular homes.  The costs are associated with the construction of 246 modular homes across the country. Political Reporter at the Irish...

A traumatised woman who was sexually abused by her brother over 1,000 times said last night: “He will always be a monster.” Michelle Cooke was speaking as her older sibling Kenneth prepares to be released from Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison next month. The paedo targeted his younger sister when she was between the ages of seven and 11. Michelle spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to te...

US president Donald Trump has brought up the possibility of regime change in Iran following US military strikes against key Iran military sites over the weekend, even as top members of his administration insisted the US was not seeking to topple the Iranian leadership. In a social media post he said: “If the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn’t there be regime ch...

Tributes have been paid to “genuinely lovely” Kofi Owusu from Dundalk, Co Louth, who died while swimming in Laytown, Co Meath on Friday. The 15-year-old had completed his Junior Certificate exams just 10 days ago. Kofi was a pupil of Coláiste Chú Chulainn in Dundalk. School principal Thomas Starkey said Kofi was a very caring young man with a wide circle of friends. Thomas Sharkey joined us on The...

Ciaran Mullooly MEP has welcomed the recent landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in favour of Cavan farming couple, Peter and Rose O’Reilly, which firmly upholds the property rights of farmers and their entitlement to adequate protection and compensation. This ruling establishes a vital precedent: when the ESB—or any other agency empowered by legislation to enter private land and erect permanent i...

Aontu leader Peadar Tóibín has said the number of council-owned homes across Ireland that are empty is “akin to exporting food in the middle of a famine”. Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon during Leader’s Questions, Tóibín said he had submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every Local Authority and that the information he received “contradicted the information the Government is givin...

An Irish woman who accused Madeleine McCann’s suspected killer of rape has says he could of been stopped. Hazel Behan accused Christian Brueckner of raping her at her home in Portugal in 2004. He went on trial in 2020, accused of raping the Dublin woman and a number of other women, but was aquitted. She has now said he could have been stopped from attacking other women, and potentially kidnapping...

Henry Mount Charles, the owner of Slane Castle in Co Meath, has died aged 74. Popularly known as Lord Henry, he was best known for introducing a series of rock concerts to Slane Castle. Bands who played there include U2, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, REM and Bruce Springsteen. In a statement his family said he died on Wednesday night. He had been suffering from...

An opposition TD has spoken about the negative impact of alcohol on her life as she raised concerns about a possible delay in the introduction of health-warning labels on drinks products. Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney told the Dáil she has not drunk alcohol for more than 13 years. Deputy Gibney spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Sky Ireland is set to use private investigators to monitor WhatsApp chats to detect who is buying dodgy boxes. And in a significant escalation, the broadcaster is now considering civil action against individual users for the first time. However, the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) will meet the broadcaster to discuss whether such methods are legal according to GDPR privacy law. About one in fiv...

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Sinn Fein TD for Louth, Ruairi O Murchu, who is calling for a Ministerial answer on the €40 million hole in SOLAS budget for ETBs - apprenticeships etc.  Solas is the State agency responsible for the further education and training sector.  Through ongoing engagement between Solas and the ETBs, a funding pressure has been identified for the 2025 appr...

The boathouse of the Boyne Fishermen Rescue and Recovery Unit on the Marsh Road was broken into over the weekend in a mindless act of vandalism. A number of vehicles and the parts of the buildings were damaged in the incident which occurred in the early hours of last Sunday morning; Gardai are investigating and it is understood that a suspect has been identified. Alan McCrohan, Public Relations Of...

Fianna Fail Meath County councillor Sean Drew has been elected the new Cathaoirleach of Kells Municipal District.  He was elected by four votes to two over Sinn Fein nominee Cllr Michael Gallagher at the annual meeting of the MD on Monday afternoon. Councillor Drew was proposed by Cllr Mike Bray and seconded by Fine Gael’s Cllr Eugene Cassidy.  Sean Drew spoke to us this morning on The A...