Lunchtime Live

Tech companies are using the same techniques as dog trainers to keep children hooked onto their apps…

That’s a claim from Dog Trainer, Behaviourist, and science graduate, Deirdre Ryan, who joins Andrea to discuss. Also joining to discuss is Lecturer in Cyberpsychology, Dean McDonald.

With the rise in popularity of larger vehicles like SUVs, many are questioning whether car parking spaces are becoming too small to accommodate them.

Traditional parking spaces, designed for smaller cars, may no longer be adequate for today’s larger vehicles.

So, are cars becoming too big to park?

Andrea is joined by Dave Humphreys, Motoring Journalist at CompleteCar.ie, as well as listeners, to discuss.

“After not speaking Irish for 10 years, Kneecap inspired me to take up the teanga…”

So writes journalist Ciara O’Loughlin in the Irish Mirror. What impact has the group had on use of the language?

Ciara joins Andrea to discuss, along with Chris McCaffrey, Irish Language Activist and Hazel De Nortuin, People Before Profit Councillor in Dublin.

Today is the International Day of Happiness!

The sun is shining, it’s a glorious Thursday – so today, absolutely everyone must do one thing, even one simple thing, to make themselves happy.

To discuss the day, Doctor, Author and Well-being Expert, Dr Mark Rowe, joins Andrea.

Gardaí fear using force to manage protests due to fears that incidents will be posted on social media, according to a new report by the Policing Authority in the wake of the Dublin riots in November of 2023.

It is now common, the review found, for any use of force to be recorded and shared widely across social media platforms almost immediately.

Gardaí say social media clips are edited out of context to make any use of force appear disproportionate, and expressed concern for their family members, where information regarding their name, address and family details are published online in the comments.

What do you think about this issue?

Andrea is joined by Mark O’Meara, President of the Garda Representative Association, as well as listeners, to discuss.

For this week’s Ask the Expert, guest host Anna Daly is joined by Dr John McCormick from Vasectomy Ireland to answer any of your vasectomy-related questions!

Could you give up your phone for four days?

This question has been posed by Journalist Mary McCarthy in today’s Independent after a forced hiatus, and she joins guest host Anna Daly to discuss.

Private counselling sessions are the new school grinds, that’s according to Anna Daly’s guest…

In wanting to comfort our children and ease their burden, are we in danger of depriving them of learning for themselves?

Joining to discuss is Dr Clare Finegan, Lecturer in Education, Guidance and Counselling at Maynooth University’s Department of Education, as well as Principal of East Glendalough School Co. Wicklow Craig Petrie and Clinical Psychologist Tara Logan Buckley.

Lunchtime Live's Reasons to be Happy looks at some of the news stories that you might have missed that will leave you feeling more optimistic.

98FM’s Cathal O’Sullivan joined guest host Anna Daly in the studio to put a smile on your faces…

Image: Netflix

Tourists are being told not to visit Mallorca this year – as locals say they are being overwhelmed by foreign visitors.

A letter, signed by signed by seven protest groups in the Balearic Islands, reads:

"Mallorca is not the paradise they are selling you. The local population is angry, and we are no longer hospitable because the land we love is being destroyed, and many residents are having to emigrate." 

It has caused a lot of concern among many Irish people who have booked to visit the island this summer… So, what can be done?

Guest host Anna Daly is joined by Graham Keeley, Spain Correspondent for The Independent, Eoghan Corry, Editor travelextra.ie and listeners to discuss.

Image: Reuters