The Hard Shoulder

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said there are 489 patients on trolleys waiting for admission to a bed today. Kieran was joined by Priscilla Lynch, Clinical Editor of the Medical Independent and Diarmuid O’Dalaigh, owner of Oaklodge Nursing Home in Cork to discuss...

New analysis has found a 22% difference in the pass rate at two of the country’s NCT testing centres last year. The Independent.ie study found that the centre in Deansgrange in Dublin had a pass rate of 62.65%, while the centre at Derrybeg in Donegal had a pass rate of just 40.01%. Dave Humphreys, motoring journalist and Road Test Editor for CompleteCar.ie and Shane P O’Reilly, Independent Cavan C...

Sean Binder is set to face trial tomorrow, more than four years after he was arrested. He faces charges including people smuggling and being a member of a criminal organisation. Sean joined Kieran on the show from Lesbos in Greece...

Ex-boxer David Haye has set tongues wagging with unconfirmed rumours he is in a throuple with singer and presenter Una Healy and model Sian Osbourne. According to the Irish Sun he told friends and family he was. Posting photographs on social media getting close on a sun holiday and holding hands in London. Henry McKean has been out and about asking how commonplace are these type relationships? Ima...

This week has been the worst on record for overcrowding in hospitals here. Between Tuesday and Friday this week the Irish Midwives and Nurses Association say there were almost 3,000 people on trollies. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly joined Kieran in studio to discuss the current crisis...

As January draws to a close, Brianna Parkins, Irish Times Contributor has been writing about alternative New Year's Resolutions as a woman with ADHD. She joined Kieran in studio to discuss...

This week has been the worst on record for overcrowding in hospitals in Ireland. Co-Leader of the Social Democrats and TD for Dublin North West, Róisín Shortall joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss..

Pete Lunn, Behavioural Economist at the ERSI joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to chat through the science behind how our brains perception of time...

Dr Peadar Gilligan, consultant in Emergency Medicine at Beaumont Hospital, and Member of IMO Consultant Committee joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder whilst on a break from his shift to discuss the ongoing hospital crisis..

People will remember the sights and sounds and memories of Italia 90 with Toto Schillaci knocking Ireland out of the World Cup. This evening in Dublin Castle a free football sticker exhibition opens celebrating Ireland’s ties with Italy. Henry McKean went along for a sneak peek...

The national trolley figures were at 838 today, down from a peak of earlier this week of 931, but still way above what would be normal for January. The INMO have been reporting nurses in tears at the pressure being put on certain hospitals. Kieran was joined by Finian McGrath is a former Junior Minister at the Department of Health and Keith Walsh, who is a writer, broadcaster and mental health adv...

All this week, we’re commemorating the fact that it is 50 years since Ireland joined the then EEC - now the EU. And plenty of different characters have walked through the corridors of power in Europe. Kieran was joined by John O’Brennan, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at NUI Maynooth to discuss...

Fine Gael TD for Galway East Ciaran Cannon and Minister for State, Anne Rabbitte had bags of excrement thrown at them at a meeting last night. It’s lead to calls for the perpetrators to be caught and prosecuted. Ciaran Cannon joined Kieran on the show to discuss...

According to a new survey of millennial and Gen Z workers, some of the perks that create a better workplace include life coaches, cakes and pets in the office. Kieran was joined by Peter Cosgrove, Managing Director of Futurewise, Niamh Maher, Creative Director with Journal Media and Ciara Murran, Head of Communications at Dogs Trust Ireland to discuss...

Sarina Bellissimo, host of The Bellissimo Files Podcast joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to take a look at some of the film and TV coming to our screens over the next year...

There are 838 patients on hospital trolleys across the country today, the second highest figure on record. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly's asked the HSE to source all available capacity from private hospitals - including beds and diagnostics. Kieran was joined by Liam Doran, former head of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and former member of the Slaintecare Implementation Council  to...

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran again for the series 'The Shopping Trolley Hotline'. The series will give listeners pause when they’re filling their trolleys, to consider their options. This week Simon and Kieran took a look a the different baked beans options on the shelves...

According to Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Beaumont Hospital, Peadar Gilligan, five thousand more beds are needed in the acute hospital system. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says 700 people are on trolleys according to the HSE. The INMO say yesterday there were more than 900 patients were waiting for a bed. This has dropped to around 800. Meanwhile the INMO have called for mandatory mask wearing in...

As of January 1st, Canada enacted a wide-ranging ban on the purchase of residential property by non-Canadians for two years. It’s all with a view to tackling surging house prices in the country, but what does this policy hope to achieve? And how exactly does it work? Kieran was joined by May Warren, Housing Reporter with The Toronto Star to discuss…

Today marks one year since the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing in Ireland. Was it the right decision and how has it been working? Kieran was joined by CEO of Drink Aware Sheena Horgan and Columnist for the Irish Times, Ian O’Doherty to discuss the effect of minimum unit pricing…

With the New Year comes a new batch of technology trends for people to get their heads around. Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to chat through some of the pieces of making waves in the tech world... Image: PA

Research from the Road Safety Authority has raised concerns that increased fines may not be an effective way of curbing reckless driving, with the suggestion that drivers are of the belief that they were unlikely to be caught, due to a perception of “not enough [gardaí] policing the road.” Kieran was joined by Michael Healy Rae, Independent TD for Kerry and Shane Ross, Former Minister for Transpor...

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Clare McKenna, presenter of Alive and Kicking on Newstalk, to discuss the some the alternative ways to make New Years Resolutions...

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has recorded the highest number of patients waiting without a hospital bed since 2006. Maurice Quinlivan, Sinn Fein TD for Limerick  joined Kieran on the show to discuss...

John Lee, Executive Editor of the Daily Mail Group joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to look towards the 2023 political year and what can be expected...