Groups in Louth working to prevent suicide are voicing concern over a worrying number of tragedies in recent weeks in which people have lost their lives to suicide.

“We have noticed a worrying spike in the number of suicides in the county over the last month and we want to let people know that we are here to help,” says Mark Gordan PRO of SAFE Castlebellingham, a mental health and suicide prevention charity set up following the deaths of two young brothers in 2021.

The community rallied together to provide a free confidential service so that people in crisis could avail of support services.

We were joined this morning on The Agenda by Sandra Byrne, Chair of SAFE Castlebellingham, and by Mark Gordon, PRO of SAFE Castlebellingham, who told us more about this.

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Unions have described Government plans to cut the VAT rate for the hospitality sector in the budget as “economic vandalism” after it emerged such a move could severely limit the room for other tax cuts in the budget.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe confirmed on Tuesday that moving ahead with the plan would carry a full-year cost of up to €1 billion from a tax package worth up to €1.5 billion – in turn limiting the scope for income tax cuts or for tax measures aimed at encouraging the supply of new homes.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the facts about the hospitality sector do not justify the tax cuts, arguing the sector is now growing, with 11 new companies incorporated for every liquidation – and employment 7 per cent higher than in the first three months of this year than a year earlier.

ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy said that the proposal “flies in the face of all available evidence and would amount to nothing less than economic vandalism”, and Owen spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

We also spoke to Adrian Cummins from the Restaurant Association of Ireland to get his thoughts on this.

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Landlords are turning down pet owners because they worry about the smell of their animals, a spokesperson for the Irish Property Owners Association has said. 

A petition demanding the Government bans rental agreements that do not allow people to keep pets has been signed by over 20,000 animal lovers. 

The move comes after Dogs Trust revealed they have been inundated with surrenders by heartbroken pet owners, forced to choose between a roof over their heads and their animals. 

Irish Property Owners Association spokesperson Maurice Deverell says there are several reasons why landlords do not like renting to pet owners, and Maurice spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

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Yesterday on the programme we spoke to one of the two mother and baby home survivors who are bringing judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth over the compensation scheme it approved last year, as the State says they don't meet the strict criteria set out in legislation.

The High Court has been told that two institutions - one in Meath and another in Dublin, were left out of the Mother and Baby Home Redress Scheme as they did not provide ante or post natal care.

We spoke to John Duncan Morris, who lived in St Clare’s in Stamullen for a while. 

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to the other survivor, Marie Thornton, who also took her case to court with John Duncan Morris.

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Videos have been circulating on social media over the past number of days claiming that 50 migrant men have been placed in The Ashbourne Court Hotel in Ashbourne.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to local Fine Gael Councillor Alan Tobin and heard from Meath TD Gillian Toole, who say these claims were false.

Councillor Tobin is also calling for a clampdown on social media companies allowing this rhetoric to be posted and spread with their algorithms, and notice board admins reposting it.

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The High Court has been told that two institutions - one in Meath and another in Dublin, were left out of the Mother and Baby Home Redress Scheme as they did not provide ante or post-natal care.

Two survivors are bringing judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth over the compensation scheme it approved last year, as the State says they don't meet the strict criteria set out in legislation.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens heard the two institutions did not provide pregnancy related and infant care services.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Chair of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors Clodagh Malone, who told us more about this.

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The Health Service Executive has said it has no burial records for the 80 children who died at Galway hospital having been admitted from the Tuam mother and baby home during its operation.

Research uncovered by local historian Catherine Corless in 2014, showed there are death certificates for 796 children who died in the Bons Secours Catholic-run home

between 1925 and 1961.

Reporter at The Irish Examiner, Alison O’Reilly, spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to tell us more about this. 

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This morning on The Agenda we spoke to a Drogheda man who says he is “sick and tired” of the anti-social behavior and violence in Drogheda.

His comments come after a daylight brawl took place in the town last week. He says Drogheda has become a “no go area”.

He told us about how older people in the area are now terrified to leave their homes and go into the town, even during the day. 

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Louth County Council has agreed to hold a special meeting next month on the Local Property Tax.

As it's a revaluation year, they have to make a decision before their normal workshop in September which takes place ahead of their annual budget meeting.

They must decide by August 31st whether to amend the LPT Base Rate, and if they do, they must decide how many years it will apply to (up to 2030).

Fianna Fail Councillor in Ardee and the mid-Louth area, John Sheridan, spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to tell us more about this.

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Housing is the biggest winner from the review of the National Development Plan (NDP), with the department to be given €35.9 billion to spend between 2026 and 2030.

The Government this afternoon unveiled the updated spending ceilings for Government departments, which has come from the sale of AIB shares and the Apple Tax money.

While the envelope of money for each department was revealed today, unlike previous NDPs, the projects to be prioritised were not part of yesterday’s announcement.

Political Correspondent Sean Defoe joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.  

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