The Hard Shoulder

It's been exactly 25 years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The "people's princess" was beloved by the public and there is still much affection for her. Kieran was joined by Lee Sansum, author and security specialist, who was Princess Diana's bodyguard.

Myozan Kodo, a Zen Buddhism priest, living in Dublin, joined Kieran to take a closer look at Buddhism.

Younger workers face paying an extra €2,500 in taxes so state pension age will stay at 66 years of age. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council have said people no in their 20s, 30s and 40s will foot the bill for Ireland’s growing number of retirees, which is estimated to rise by 50pc by 2040. Kieran was joined by Seamus Boland, CEO of Irish Rural Link and Caillum Hedderman, Environmentalist & Social Ac...

Offenders convicted of the most serious crimes, including murder, could face a minimum term of up to 30 years without parole under proposed reforms by the Department of Justice. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee joined Kieran to discuss the proposals.

A report from the State’s Commission on tax and welfare has said that wealth, property and inheritance taxes should be raised. If these recommendations are followed, it could represent a clear shift in focus to taxing wealth, rather than income. Kieran was joined by Marie Sherlock, Labour Party Senator and spokesperson for Employment Affairs, Media, Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and Barry Ward,...

US President Ronald Reagan back in 1987, imploring Mikhail Gorbachev to ‘tear down the wall, and open up the USSR and that is what Gorbachev did, as the world remembers is legacy following his passing in Moscow at the age of 91. Jon Snow, the former presenter of Channel 4 News, joined Kieran to recall his time reporting on Gorbachev during his years as leader.

The government have proposed a 6.5% pay increase to public sector workers over two years. Kieran was joined by Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME, to discuss his reaction to the proposed deal and where this leave those who work in the private sector.

Aisling Larkin TV Chef and mindful eating coach joined Kieran to take a closer look at blackberries.

All this week on The Hard Shoulder is taking a deeper look into some of the religions that exist in Ireland. Today he was joined by Amanullah de Sondy, Lecturer in Contemporary Islam, UCC, to discuss the Islamic faith and what it means to him.

With the midterm elections coming soon, President Joe Biden putting a student debt forgiveness plan in place, and questions remaining over the raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home, Kieran was joined by Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to give his take on all the stories dominating the American headlines.

Change and Transformation coach, Niamh Ennis, calls herself a “recovering people pleaser”, she joined Kieran to share her tips on how to avoid people pleasing.

Public sector unions are considering the Government’s revised 6.5 per cent pay offer. It follows concerns over the cost of living crisis as we head into the winter months. Micheal McGrath, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform joined Kieran to discuss the proposed deal and comments made on yesterdays Hard Shoulder about the possibility of the country heading into recession.

As students go back to school this week, there are still many who are waiting to receive their school bus tickets. Teresa Mangan, a parent in Skryne, Co. Meath, joined Kieran to discuss the impacts of the long wait, on her daughter who is going into first year.

As the battle continues to try and reduce emissions, one proposals is to ban Sports Utility Vehicles, or SUVs. Michael Taft, researcher with SIPTU, joined Brian Cooke, Director General at the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, to discuss what makes these car's so damaging to the environment and what the impact would be if they were to be banned completely.

32 children in Ireland will be affected by the latest announcement of cancellations of all complex spinal surgery operations over the next three weeks at Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Kieran was joined by Amanda Coughlan, Co-Lead of the Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group, to discuss the impacts of these cancellations.

Recently the Synod in the Catholic Church promised to consider its teachings on issues like LGBT, women in leadership, and more besides. Dr John Murray, who is the Assistant Professor of Moral Theology and Christian Ethics at DCU, joined Kieran to kick off a week long series on religion in Ireland.

An Bord Pleanála were expected to have made a decision on planning today for Dublin’s first supervised injection facility on Merchant’s Quay, which has now been delayed. Kieran was joined byMichael Pidgeon, Green Party Councillor and Mannix Flynn, Independent Councillor to discuss the delay and what it could mean for crime in the area.

With businesses struggling to fight against rising costs, IBEC are calling for specific measures to come in Budget 2023. Danny McCoy, IBEC CEO, joined Kieran to discuss the measures they are hoping will be brought in.

With energy costs at an all time high, retailers and restaurateurs are calling for more support as they start the run into Christmas. Kieran was joined by Duncan Graham, Managing Director, Retail Excellence Ireland, JP McMahon, Chef, author and restaurateur and Gina Murphy, Proprietor of Hugo’s Restaurant to discuss if more support should be made available.

Panda Recycling is to introduce double-digit price rises on households next month affecting over 360,000 customers. The company has blamed surging fuel costs. Emmet was joined by Mick Barry, People Before Profit TD for Cork North-Central and Conor Pope, Pricewatch Editor for the Irish Times.

The number of homeless people in the State has reached a record high of 10,568 people which includes 3,137 children. Emmet spoke to Peter McVerry of the Peter McVerry Trust about the issue.

€309 million was allocated last year for active travel projects however, only 180 million has been claimed so far. Minister Eamonn Ryan has ordered the local authorities to spend the unclaimed funds amounting to almost €129 million. Emmet was joined on the show by Transport Commentator Conor Faughnan and Green Party Senator Pauline O'Reilly.

SSE Airtricity has announced an increase in energy rices for consumers from October with gas bills expected to rise by 39% and electricity by 35.4%. Emmet was joined on the show by Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway, Denis Naughten.

Concerns have been raised over the use of escooters, and the impact they have obesity, with people working or cycling less. It comes as more treatments and medicines become available to treat obesity. Carel Le Roux, Obesity specialist at St Vincent's Hospital, joined Emmet to discuss how best to treat a weight issue.

New CSO figure show that the employment rate in the second quarter of the year was 73.5%.It is the highest rate since the current series of records began in 1998. CEO of the ESRI, economist Alan Barrett joined Emmet to discuss his predictions for the economy in the upcoming months.