The Hard Shoulder

Mice spotted ‘scurrying along skirtings’ in the canteen, a ladybird infestation in a TD’s office and seagull troubles are among pest-control issues in Leinster House…Joining Ciara with the story is Darragh McDonagh, Freelance Journalist.

Almost 320,000 households were unable to pay their electricity bills in full last December, marking a sharp year-on-year increase and pushing arrears to record levels, but why are costs so high?For more on this, Shane is joined by Muireann Lynch, Senior Research Officer with the ESRI.

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and David O’Callaghan from the Here and Back Again podcast joined Ciara and Shane on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

The Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has said he would rather invest the money that could be spent on train catering carts on new transport lines, querying Irish Rail's stated cost of around €2 million for bringing back the tea trolley on the Belfast and Cork lines after Covid.Should the tea trolley be rolled out across the country once again?Joining Shane to discuss this is Newstalk’s own Shane Beatty and Barry Kenny, Corporate Communications Manager with Irish Rail.

Singer-Songwriter Tolü Makay joins Ciara and Shane for this week’s Thursday Interview!

90% of Irish people believe eulogies at funerals should be allowed, that’s according to new research conducted by RIP.ie. Despite this some priests don’t allow eulogies during masses.Joining Ciara to discuss is Fr Paddy Byrne, from Abbeyleix in Co. Laois.

St Patrick’s Day celebrations have started early for The Temple Bar Pub, in the heart of Dublin city.They have erected a 12 ft statue of St Patrick on their building hovering over the tourists below. Already, you can see tourists stopping to take pictures standing below him. It has been gaining negative comments online.Tom Cleary is the Manager of The Temple Bar Pub and joins Ciara to discuss. Also joining Shane later to give their reaction is Lindsey, a resident of Temple Bar.

A new study from the ESRI has found that school absence leads to lower educational qualifications and poorer wellbeing in early adulthood. The report details that even a short spell of absence of one to two days at age thirteen are linked to lower Leaving Certificate grades. But are these figures a little too stark and is it putting the focus too much on parents?Joining Shane to discuss this is Freelance Journalist Niamh O’Reilly and Rachel Harper, Principal at St Patrick’s National School, Greystones.

Does it annoy you if your partner stacks the dishwasher wrong, or your housemate puts it on half full? What about if your kids put the cutlery facing the sharp side up? There are many bug bearers when it comes to the dishwasher, but what is the best way to stack the dishwasher and are you doing it wrong?  Joining Shane to discuss is Ann Russell, TikToker, cleaning expert and author of @How to Clean Everything’.

Transport Minister Daragh O'Brien has said that members of a planned new public transport security service are to be given powers of arrest and pursuit.For more on this, Ciara is joined by Dermot O’Leary, General Secretary of the National Bus & Rail Union.