Newstalk Breakfast

Gardai and local politicians have urged young people to stop using fireworks in a dangerous manner before someone is seriously injured.  What should be done to tackle this issue that plagues communities around this time of year?   

 Shane discusses this further with Sinn Fein Councillor in Ballyfermot, Daithi Doolan.

A new study by University College Cork is looking to identify and explore the extent to which women are facing delays to have chronic health conditions diagnosed.  

Joining Ciara to discuss this is Jenny Cooney-Quane, Research Associate in School of Applied Psychology at UCC and co-author of the study. 

Israel will open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and permit humanitarian aid deliveries into the enclave. The move comes after Hamas returned the remains of four more hostages 

For more on this we heard from Jonathan Fowler, Senior Communications officer with UNWRA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

 A new report from the International Energy Agency has found that energy retail prices in Ireland are three times higher than wholesale prices, one of the highest gaps in the world. 

The report also confirms that Ireland has the highest electricity prices in Europe. We get reaction to this with Charlie Weston, Personal Finance editor with the Irish Independent.

US President Donald Trump has declared “the war in Gaza is over” after a summit in Egypt, as the 20 living Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas, while Palestinians prisoners have also been released by Israel. 

We discuss further with Alexander Dragonetti, a former British diplomat who worked in Palestine and columnist with the i Paper,

Helen Fielding, author of the iconic Bridget Jones series, made her character a household name with stories of dating in the modern world. Now she is stepping back in time and heading to Red Line book festival in Dublin to discuss the work of one of her heroes Jane Austin.  

Shane caught up with Helen ahead of her visit to Dublin.

Is the world worse now than years ago is it as bleak as it appears? Fionnula and Shane gave their view this morning.

The news, so often filled with doom and gloom, can leave us feeling like we are living in an unprecedented time of global instability. But is the world really as bleak as we often think it to be? We asked Dr Dale Whelehan, Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, School of Psychology.

Half of us don’t realise our old phones and laptops contain critical raw materials needed for new tech and green energy. That’s according to new research from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Ireland. We discuss further with Leo Donovan is the CEO of WEEE Ireland.

Just under half of Ireland’s surface waters are failing to meet ecological standards. That’s according to a new Water Quality report from the Environmental Protection Agency, which estimates that we will fail to meet the EU and national goal of restoring all waters to good or better status by 2027.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast was Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA's Office of Evidence and Assessment.