The Hard Shoulder

Governmental talks will now commence over the next weeks as parties set out their stalls on what the priorities might be, from Finance, Health or Education.But, should Ireland’s defense and security be chief amongst them? That’s the thinking of Dan O’Brien, Chief Economist of the Institute of International and European Affairs. He joins Kieran to discuss.

Every Tuesday on the Hard Shoulder, a guest comes on to but their favourite book on the Bookshelf!This week, Restauranter, Broadcaster and Author, Sallyanne Clarke, joins Kieran to talk about her favourite read.

The BBC faces backlash as it holds its decision to continue airing episodes of Masterchef while it investigates allegations by 13 individuals of sexually inappropriate comments made by Wallace.While the MasterChef Christmas specials have been cancelled, the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals, which airs on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with Gregg Wallace as a judge, will continue to be aired as planned.Meanwhile, Wallace has apologised for suggesting allegations against him came from "a handful of middle-class women of a certain age".Meirion Jones, former editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, who worked for the BBC for over 25 years, joins Kieran to discuss.

Has the advent calendar lost its way? How big of a business are they around the Christmas season?Henry McKean has been investigating, and joins Kieran to share what he’s seen and heard.

Ruth Roberts, from Cogs Brain Shop joins Kieran to discuss this year's Christmas Gift Guide, and hopefully give you some ideas for if you are stuck for inspiration in the coming weeks!

The new secretary-general of Nato has warned Donald Trump not to push Ukraine to sign a peace deal that would see the leaders of Russia and Iran “high-fiving”.Mark Rutte also warned such an agreement would create a “...dire security threat not only to Europe but also to the US”.So what should America be doing when it comes to Russia and Ukraine?Jeffrey Sachs is an Economist and Public Policy Analyst, who is a Professor at Columbia University, and joins Kieran to discuss.Image: Reuters

Fianna Fáil are set to lead the next government, but who will they go into a coalition with, and will we see a fully formed government?New Fianna Fail Deputy for Wicklow-Wexford, Malcom Byrne, new Independent Deputy for Dublin Bay North, Barry Heneghan and former Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin North West & Former Government Minister, Pat Carey join Kieran to discuss.

The prospect of another Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil government is becoming a quick reality as the combined numbers are nearing that magic number of 88 for a majority.However, another party might be needed to get them over the line, who could that be, and what demands would they have?Joining Kieran to discuss is former Tánaiste Joan Burton and Fionnan Sheehan, Ireland Editor at the Irish Independent.

All this month the Hard Shoulder is looking back on 2024’s biggest moments in the news, and who were at the heart of it.One of the highlights of the summer and the year must be when Team Ireland sent over 134 athletes to the Paris Olympics, which garnered the country’s best medal haul ever, with four gold and three bronze.Joining Kieran to look back are two of those athletes, Phil Healy and Sophie Becker.

Aoife Lee, Parenting Coach at ParentSupport.ie joins Kieran in this week’s Kids Health Check to discuss how to handle your child’s tantrums.