The Hard Shoulder

A PSNI initiative is now offering motorists who have been caught speeding a choice: accept penalty points or face stern questions from a panel of primary school children.Longford is one place where this initiative has been used for a while now, and Shane is joined by Janine Bartley, Community Safety Coordinator at Longford Local Community Safety Partnership to discuss…

This week, Ciara was joined by Off the Ball’s Ger Gilroy and Meghann Scully, Broadcaster and Presenter of ‘28 Ways to Save the World’ on Newstalk to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

As minds are focused on the war in the Middle East, battles are still continuing on the frontlines in Ukraine’s war with Russia. But, as this war effort drags on, Russia is solidifying its presence in Eastern Ukraine by pouring millions of dollars into a buildout of transport and trade infrastructure in a region that it is calling “New Russia”...Karolina Hird is a National Security Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War, and joins Ciara to discuss.

The retirement age for some school bus drivers is set to increase to 72 from next September…Joining Ciara to discuss is Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Sean Canney.

The ‘Chinese baddie’ diet, SkinnyTok, undereating: these are some of the worrying diet trends we are seeing online. But, what impact is that having on people's health?Joining Ciara to discuss is Sarah Keogh, Registered Dietician.

Off The Ball’s John Duggan joined Ciara on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend’s action…

New guidance from the UK government is recommending that children under the age of five should be limited to one hour of screen time a day, while under twos should not be watching screens alone at all. The government says they accept that there are quite a lot of unknowns when it comes to screentime for kids, and it is best to take a precautionary approach.Ollwyn Moran, Founder of Cognikids and Neurological Development Therapist, joins Ciara to discuss the new guidance, and look at some of the impacts of screentime on children.

The man accused of the attempted murder of three children and the assault of a care worker on Parnell Square in Dublin in 2023 has been found fit to stand trial by the Central Criminal Court. 52 year old Riad Bouchaker of no fixed abode was found fit to mount a defence and stand trial once certain accommodations were provided. Newstalk’s Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney was at proceedings this morning and joins Ciara to discuss.

The Cadbury's drumming gorilla ad from 2007 has been voted people's favourite advert of all time.So, what makes an ad so memorable?For more on this, Ciara is joined by Claire Hyland, Head of Insights and Strategy at Thinkhouse…

Senator Aubrey McCarthy has said that he forgives the man who was jailed on Thursday for threatening to kill him and the CEO of his charity, Tiglin.Senator McCarthy joins Ciara to discuss.