Newstalk Breakfast Weekends

On today's panel were Mark Tighe - Journalist with the Sunday Times amp; Stephen McDermott - from the Journal. They were discussing Brexit, house prices, RTE finances and Chinese 'cyber-spy' universities.

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As children around the country returned to school this week - some of them faced a reduced timetable because of a lack of appropriate places - Sharon Saunders joins Susan Keogh to tell her sons story. of

On today's panel were Breda Browne - PR Director of Unique Media amp; Ronán Duffy - Reporter for thejournal.ie discussing the government's no-deal-Brexit plan, e-scooters, and faked Gardaí reports of border surveillance.

Our panel today were Ian Power CEO of SpunOut .ie amp; Aoife Barry, Assistant News Editor, TheJournal.ie discussing the John Giles Foundation, Brexit contingency plans for policing in NI, and issues surrounding GP places around the country.

Brazil's president has overnight ordered the armed forces to help fight a record number of forest fires in the Amazon following intense pressure from EU leaders.

The Taoiseach and the French president both promised they won’t ratify the huge beef deal with South American nations unless Brazil does more to tackle blazes in the rain forest.

But with the Brazilian president recently blaming NGOs for the blazes, and the number of forest fires in Brazil topping 75,000 so far this year, is there any hope that the situation can really be brought under control?

David Wallace Wells, Deputy editor and climate columnist for New York magazine. and author of the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling book, THE UNINHABITABLE EARTH joins Shane to discuss.

When Vera Twomey's daughter Ava was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that causes multiple seizures a day, the family's life was thrown into chaos. Where they hoped to find treatment and support in the medical system, they found only frustration. The only medication that would have any effect on Ava's condition is a form of medicinal cannabis that was unavailable in Ireland.

Thus began the family's fight to alleviate their daughter's suffering and give her a chance at life. Faced with an intransigent system and political establishment, Vera's campaign eventually culminated in her decision to walk from Cork to Leinster House in Dublin in protest to ask health minister Simon Harris for help in person. For Ava tells the story of the campaign for Ava's medication and the family's move to the Netherlands in order to legally access the medication that would save her life. It also pays tribute to the people who helped Vera achieve her goal. Above all, this is a moving story about the lengths a parent will go to for their child's health and happiness.

Our panel today were Sinead O'Carroll, News Editor at thejournal.ie and Stephen O'Leary, Social Media Analyst with Olytico.  They were discussing Brexit, Co-Living, the All Ireland final and insurance costs.

Tom Humphries has been released from Midlands Prison after serving 22 months of a two-and-a-half year sentence for child sex abuse offences.

He pleaded guilty to six offences dating from 2010 and 2011 including sexual exploitation and defilement of a child. 

But how do sex offenders adjust to life after prison and how do communities cope if a sex offender moves into their area?

Michelle Hennessy, Senior Reporter with TheJournal.ie who has been investigating this issue joins Shane Beatty in studio to discuss.

In the wake of the mass shooting which killed 22 people in El Paso, Texas, by a suspected white supremacist on August 3rd, many commentators took to blaming president Donald Trump and the rhetoric of his presidential campaign.

However, not all see him as the cause, as Dr Eddie Glaude Jr.  chair of the Department of African American Studies at the University of Princeton made clear in an interview which has gained widespread attention.

Dr Glaude Jr joined Shane Beatty to discuss the ongoing racial divide in America and how Donald Trump is merely a manifestation of the ills of American society in general.

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Our panel for our Sunday paper review we are joined by Michael Cogley, Business Correspondent with The Sunday Independent amp; Breda Browne, PR Director of Unique Media.