The Hard Shoulder

Chaos erupted in the Dáil Chamber once again over speaking time. For the last 3 months, political work has seemingly stalled.This ongoing row has been in the news agenda for months and massively disrupted the government from doing their work.Finally, a vote Dáil speaking time passes - 94 votes to 74.Kieran is joined by Newstalk’s Political Correspondent, Seán Defoe, to recap what has been happening and discuss.

The environmental project, PURE (Protecting Uplands & Rural Environments), has recorded a 22% increase in illegal dumping in the Wicklow/Dublin Uplands when compared to 2023.Newstalk’s Henry McKean visited a secluded beauty spot on the Wicklow - Wexford Border, and sent in this report.

Ransom ‘79, a two-part documentary tracking veteran journalist Charlie Bird on his last investigation and quest for the truth following his diagnosis of Motor Neuron Disease in October 2022 is set to air later this month.Joining Kieran to discuss is John Kelleher, Producer of Ransom ‘79 and Journalist and Playwright Colin Murphy.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said that tens of thousands of jobs in Ireland could be at risk if US trade tariffs are introduced in early April. But, what does this mean for us, and what is the reality of these job losses?Joining Kieran to discuss is Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME and John Fitzgerald, Adjunct Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Kieran is joined by Aoife Lee, Parenting Coach at ParentSupport.ie, to discuss how you can help your child navigate the tricky world of friendships in school.

The Minister for Education has warned schools that she will not hesitate to use the legislative powers to compel them to open special classes to ensure there are enough school places for children with additional needs.To discuss this, Kieran is joined by two parents who have children with special needs.

Are developers the key to solving our housing crisis, or are we simply incentivizing the wrong people? As the government looks to lower developer investment and increase borrowing to speed up apartment building, questions remain about whether this will solve the deeper issues in housing delivery.Joining Kieran to unpack this is Karl Deeter, CEO of onlineapplication.com, and Rory Hearne, Social Democrats TD for Dublin North-West…The Minister for Education has warned schools that she will not hesitate to use the legislative powers to compel them to open special classes to ensure there are enough school places for children with additional needs.To discuss this, Kieran is joined by three parents who have children with special needs.

Whether it’s 75 hard, carnivore-only diets or intermittent fasting, there are a lot of health kicks that try to shave off those extra pounds and get fit.But, without so many diets and trends, what are we losing nutrition-wise when we follow these crazes?Gaye Godkin, Nutritionist, joins Kieran to discuss.

Israeli strikes have been continuing throughout the weekend in the aftermath of the collapsed ceasefire in the region, with Lebanon being hit more recently.Joining Kieran is Dr Mahmoud Abumarzouq, he is an Orthopedic Surgeon in Ireland who is originally from Rafah.Mahmoud joins Kieran to discuss his own personal losses from this conflict.

Passengers around the world had their travel plans disrupted following the fire at a substation near Heathrow Airport.Flights resumed late on Friday but it's estimated around 200,000 people were affected by the closure.Newstalk reporter met with passengers and staff at Dublin Airport.