The Hard Shoulder

New figures from the company running Ireland’s NCT testing show there are now 375,000 vehicles on Irish roads without a valid NCT certificate. Newstalk reporter, Mairead Cleary joined Kieran to discuss the proceedings of a meeting of the Oireachtas Transport Committee this afternoon...

Reports at the weekend suggested successive Taoisigh and health ministers agreed a secret plan to hide the true scale of the State's liability for illegal nursing home charges to prevent massive payouts. Leo Varadkar says he assumes he was briefed on the state's policy towards settling claims in relation to families being overcharged for nursing homes. Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Lab...

Against the backdrop of 8.5% inflation across the Eurozone, the European Central Bank is set to raise rates by half a point tomorrow. This is as prices for goods and services continue to increase at a fast rate. Alan Barrett, CEO of the ESRI joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss...

The organisers of the Women’s Mini Marathon were taken by surprise by a €21,000 bill for the Gardaí’s services last June. No such costs had come in previous years. Gerard McGrath, the chairman of the Women’s Mini Marathon joined Kieran on the show to discuss…

It’s St Brigid’s Day today - the changing of the seasons, and the honouring of St Brigid. Many children around the country will be making little crosses to commemorate the day, and my next guest is concerned that those from non religious backgrounds shouldn’t have to take part. Michael Nugent, the Chair of Atheist Ireland and writer and broadcaster Barbara Scully joined Kieran on the show to discu...

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Clare McKenna, presenter of Alive and Kicking on Newstalk, to discuss neurodiversity...

Every week, Tuesday Travel on The Hard Shoulder with thanks to Emirates, will take a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations Emirates fly to around the world. This week, Kieran was joined by Fionn Davenport, travel writer and broadcaster to look at the beautiful County Mayo...

The launch of the St Patrick’s Festival took place yesterday, and as with many things, many people loved what was on show, and many had issues with it. The theme for the festival is ‘We are ONE’. Kieran was joined by Eric Nelligan, who is an Aontu representative in Limerick and Ray Yeates, who is City Arts Officer with Dublin County Council to discuss… Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Kieran was joined in studio by Fine Gael Senator, Regina Doherty, and Socialist Party TD for Cork North Central, Mick Barry. Continuing the series, ‘Common Ground’, they will debate some of the biggest, most divisive topics around. The series continued with a discussion around 'Is socialism a force for good?'

The GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee has ordered a replay of the All-Ireland club football final. It comes following a hearing last night involving representatives from Glen and Kilmacud Crokes. Off The Ball's Will O’Callaghan and journalist, Conan Doherty joined Kieran on the show to discuss... Image: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

The Taoiseach says he assumes he was briefed on the state's policy towards settling claims in relation to families being overcharged for nursing homes. For more on this, Kieran was joined by John Lee, the Executive Editor of the Irish Daily Mail and Susanne Rogers, Research and Policy Analyst with Social Justice Ireland…

A Welsh branch of McDonald's has started playing classical music in a bid to deter anti-social behaviour. Kieran was joined by George Hamilton, commentator and presenter on Lyric FM to discuss...

Australia is to impose local quotas on their streaming platforms - like Netflix, Disney+ and the rest - as part of a national cultural policy. The Australian Government described it as ‘necessary action’ so that Australia stories don’t get drowned out. Larry Bass, the chief executive of ShinAWil, joined Kieran on the show to discuss...

According to a US psychologist, workers need to be able to brag more like an American to get ahead in the workplace. Meredith Fineman, author of Brag Better, said staff should find ways to communicate their brilliance, which does not always come naturally to us here in Ireland. Kieran was joined by American comedian, Jim Elliott and Orla Donagher. founder of Interview Tutor to discuss…

Has the weed aroma in Dublin city become overwhelming? If so, what can be done to tackle it? And if we were to legalise cannabis in this country, can it be done effectively/efficiently? Journalist & Historian Frank McDonald and Newstalk’s own Simon Tierney gave us their thoughts on that.

Nial Ring - Dublin City Councillor, Stefanie Preisner - Broadcaster and presenter of the ‘Basically’ podcast and broadcaster Louise Cantillon joined Kieran today to answer one question: should we all learn our national anthem?

A record of nearly €170 million was collected in toll charges on the M50 last year. It is almost €30 million more than in 2021, and is also significantly above pre-pandemic levels. For more on this Kieran was joined by Eugene Drennan, from the Irish Road Hauliers Association.

The Taoiseach says an incident at a migrant camp in Dublin has the hallmarks of a racist attack. A number of men with sticks and dogs turned up at a makeshift camp of around 15 tents near Ashtown in Dublin. Kieran was joined by Kitty Holland, Social Affairs Correspondent with the Irish Times. Also on the line was Cieran Perry, independent councillor for the area.

Earlier today Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke on Newstalk Pat Kenny show about how children going to school can get too much homework. It follows a debate sparked by comments made by President Michael D Higgins who suggested their time would be better suited to more creative endeavors. Comedian Jarlath Regan, podcaster behind the number 1 Irish podcast network - Irishman Abroad joined Kieran to discu...

Kieran Cunningham, chief sports writer at Irish Daily Star was tweeting recently about some potential roadblocks around Katie Taylor’s long-mooted homecoming fight. The presumption had been that Croke Park was the likely destination, but we also heard from her promoter Eddie Hearn talking about the proposed May date. Kieran Cunningham joined us on the show to discuss.

“If Ireland doesn't see the emergence of an electorally competitive radical right party that mobilises on anti-immigration, it will be an outlier in Europe.” That is the view of Aidan Regan, associate professor in political economy in the School of Politics and International Relations in UCD, and he joined the show today to discuss his view.

Aisling Larkin, TV Chef and mindful eating coach joined Kieran to take a look at different ways to diversify and enjoy your eggs...

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission say Ireland is currently in clear breach of its international obligations regarding newly arrived asylum seekers. Thirty-one asylum seekers who arrived here this week are currently without State accommodation. Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth joined Kieran on the show to discuss…

Off The Ball's Adrian Barry joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action...

The Dublin Citizens’s Assembly has voted in favour of a powerful new directly elected mayor being created for the city, with ranging powers – similar to other international cities. Kieran was joined by Jim Gavin, chairman of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly and Derek Mooney, public affairs consultant and former Irish government adviser to discuss...