Newstalk Breakfast

It’s time for "Did You See”. Where we take a closer look at some of the stories you may have missed in the news this morning. Joining Anton this morning was Mary Hanafin Barrister and Former FF Minister.

How close teachers are to the kids they teach varies significantly by the child’s social class. That’s according to new research published this morning by the ESRI. Research Professor at ESRI and Co-Author of the report Emer Smyth explained the findings with Anton.

As energy prices look set to rise sharply amid the war in Iran, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers has played down the prospect of immediate cost-of-living supports, warning of an “extremely volatile, uncertain and unpredictable” situation and saying the Government won’t act in the short term. Should the Government move faster and introduce supports now or is it right to wait and assess how the crisis unfolds?  To debate was Louise O’Reilly, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Fingal West and Sinn Fein Spokesperson on Social Protection and John Connolly, Fianna Fail TD for Galway West. 

The war in Iran has reached its sixth day, and the US Senate has backed Donald Trump's war powers, after an effort by Democrats to limit them fell short. It comes as Iran has launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, according to the Israeli military and Tehran’s state media With get the latest with Iranian-American Journalist and Analyst Borzou Daragahi.

Three in five schools have unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention difficulties, while almost one-in-five have been forced to drop subjects because they can’t fill positions.  That’s according to a new survey carried out in over 100 second level schools by the Principals and Deputy Principals’ Association of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland. Joining Anton on the show was Michael Gillespie is the General Secretary of the TUI.

The government has confirmed that it will charter a flight to the Middle East to evacuate Irish citizens amid the intensifying conflict in the region. The charter flight will have capacity for 280 people and will be targeted at Irish citizens currently in the United Arab Emirates, particularly those who are non-resident and who are vulnerable and require assistance most urgently.   Included among thousands of Irish stuck in the gulf are the couple John Keane and Eimear Kelly from Cork.

The National Women’s Council are calling for both maternity and paternity benefits to be linked directly to income and expanded to cover at least the first year of a child’s life. They will be protesting outside Leinster House later today. Speaking to Anton this morning was Donal Swan, Women’s Economic Equality Co-ordinator, with the National Women’s Council. 

Israel has launched a fresh wave of strikes against targets in Iran, as the war has entered it's fifth day. Anton spoke to Tara Kangarlou, Global Affairs journalist and author of The Heartbeat of Iran. 

Israel has launched a fresh wave of strikes against targets in Iran, as the war's fifth day comes into view. Donald Trump has said "everything has been knocked out" in Iran, but has reiterated his frustration with Sir Keir Starmer over his reluctance to get involved, telling reporters "this is not Churchill we're dealing with"  All to discuss with Nicholas Hopton, Former UK Ambassador to Iran and non-resident  Senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Yesterday it was announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs  that charter flights are to be organised to evacuate Irish citizens who have been stranded in the gulf  since hostilities began last weekend.  But from an operational perspective, how will this all work?  Joining Anton to explain is Kevin Byrne Airport Safety and Security Expert.