Asylum seekers left without accommodation on arrival into the State are “placed in a situation of extreme material poverty”, but the State’s human rights watchdog failed to prove they are in “a state of degradation incompatible with human dignity”, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The judgment, published on Wednesday, overturns a High Court finding that the State’s failure to provide accommodation for homeless asylum seekers was a breach of their fundamental right to dignity.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) had brought the case in respect of a class of people, namely international protection applicants, who were not offered accommodation when they made their asylum claims having recently arrived in Ireland.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), to find out more about this.

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The number of foreign visitors to Ireland in June was down 2% on the same time last year.

New data from the Central Statistics Office shows that 654,000 tourists arrived in the country last month - an increase of 6% in comparison with June 2023.

The 2% decline last month is in contrast with more significant falls in visitor numbers between January and May, compared with the same months last year.

A fall of 25% was recorded in January, followed by a 30% drop in February, a 15% reduction in March, with the numbers in May down 10%.

Catherine Flanagan, member of the ITIC (Irish Tourist Industry Confederation) Board of Directors and Council, spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

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We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Killian Allen from Blackrock, and Killian runs a funfair which travels to various locations across Leinster. 

Killian took to social media earlier this week, unhappy with a decision by Louth County Council to only permit him to run the fair for 3 days this year - Killian says he was always permitted to run the fair for 10/11 days and there has never been a problem.

The decision was made after a local resident and business owner started a petition raising concerns about parking in the area and how the funfair would limit an already limited pool of parking spaces. 

Killian told us all about what is going on here. 

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The home is the most dangerous place for a woman, Women’s Aid have said.

It comes following the murder of Vanessa Whyte and her two children Sara (13) and James (14) at their home in Co. Fermanagh last week.

Within the last 29 years in Ireland, 63% of murdered women were killed in their home, while more than half were killed by a current or former intimate male partner.

CEO of Women’s Aid, Sarah Benson, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us in more detail about this. 

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Alcohol treatment cases have risen by almost 20% in the last seven years, official figures show.

The number of alcohol cases presenting with additional problem drugs has increased even further, driven by a three-fold jump in cocaine.

Health experts are very concerned at the combined use of alcohol and cocaine, saying the mixture of substances “increases toxicity” to major organs and fuels violent behaviour and suicidal thoughts.

Chief Executive Officer at Alcohol Action Ireland, Sheila Gilheany, says it's often children and young people who suffer the most because of Ireland's alcohol problem.

Sheila spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this. 

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The incoming garda commissioner Justin Kelly is taking the reins of the organisation at a time when the demands placed on it by a rapidly changing, complex society are at the highest they have ever been.

As the head of law enforcement and national security he will be expected to earn every cent of the €314,000 salary.

So what are the five biggest challenges he faces in the five years ahead?

Crime Writer & Journalist Paul Williams wrote about this in today’s Irish Independent, and he joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us what those challenges are.

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At least 56 Irish people have been arrested by the US ­Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office so far this year, as Donald Trump embarks on a major immigration crackdown.

Of these, 43 Irish citizens have been deported or are due to be deported.

In general, the figures show ICE has tripled its number of daily ­arrests since Mr Trump’s inauguration, that the majority of people being arrested have no criminal convictions and that detention centres are being stretched beyond capacity.

As well as the 43 Irish citizens who were deported, the figures show many more are being detained.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by head of Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, Ciaran Staunton, who says it is a “worrying time” for undocumented Irish immigrants as Trump increases deportations.

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Businesses in Navan's Church Hill and Bedford Place say trade is suffering with a huge drop in footfall since work began on the Navan 2030 project in the area.

Customers are staying away because they cannot negotiate the maze of bollards blocking off footpaths, the lack of parking is deterring shoppers, noise and dust is driving people elsewhere and water outages forced at least one local premises to close for two days.

Some local business owners in the area joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us about how big a problem this is.

We also spoke to local Aontu Councillor, Emer Toibin, who gave us her thoughts on this.

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Cllr Marianne Butler is urging people in Louth to have their say on commercial rates on empty business premises.

Cllr Butler explained “that since 2014 vacant commercial premises that can demonstrate that they are for sale or available to rent are only liable for half their commercial rates bill”.

The rationale for this is to give the owner time to find a new tenant or new owner. The difficulty with the present system, Cllr Butler explained, is that there is no time limit on how many years that this 50% discount applies for.

The Green Party councillor added, “the present situation is contributing to long term vacancy and in some cases dereliction especially in the likes of Dundalk and Drogheda.

Councillor Butler joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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The Government has been urged to remain vigilant and responsive to new drug trends after it banned an addictive cannabis substitute which has been commonly sold in vapes or as edibles and which has been linked to serious medical episodes and psychosis in young people.

The classification of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) as an illegal drug, agreed by Cabinet on Tuesday, means the import, export, production, possession, sale, or supply of products containing HHC is now illegal, giving added powers of enforcement to gardaí.

Labour Party TD & Spokesperson on Health, Marie Sherlock TD, has called on the Government to go further than a ban on HHC (hexahydrocannabinol) and to urgently introduce a public education campaign on this widely available drug.

Deputy Sherlock joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this. 

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