A couple in Kerry who handed over €93,000 to a man to carry out works on their roof that were not needed – and ultimately not carried out – told the courts they lost their pension and lifesavings from the scam which has left them feeling ‘vulnerable’ and ‘gullible’.

Sinead Kellher from The Kerryman joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us all about this. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Concern has been voiced about the impact of a Government scheme for housing refugees from Ukraine on the private rental sector as new figures show the number of private properties being used has increased by 17% since the start of the year.

A record number of over 21,800 dwellings are currently being used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees under the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme,

according to the latest figures from the Department of Justice.

The figures were provided in response to a parliamentarymquestion by Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson, Matt Carthy, who criticised how the EU Temporary Protection Directive has been operated in Ireland and claimed the ARP is “deeply unfair and causes huge divisions within communities".

Deputy Carthy spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish Road Haulage Association has accused the Road Safety Authority of massaging the driver testing figures by moving testers from articulated truck, bus and truck testing to car testing in order to reduce wait times for car driving tests – whilst waiting times for commercial driving tests increase exponentially. 

They made their claims in separate letters to both Ministers Darragh O’Brien and Sean Canney.

Ger Hyland, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, joined us The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three sisters who were sexually abused by their brother are pleading with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to appeal the leniency of his eight year prison term.

Last week former priest Richard Brennan (64), was sentenced to a 'global' term of nine years with the final year suspended after pleading guilty to six counts of rape against his sisters Paula Fay and Catherine Wrightstone and 18 indecent assaults on them and their sister Yvonne Crist - between the years of 1978 to 1985.

However, brave abuse survivor Paula Fay said she and her sisters are pleading with the DPP to appeal the sentence - after the Judge decided to

run Brennan's sentences for each of the offences concurrently.

Paula and her sister Catherine joined us on The Agenda this morning to bravely tell us their story

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coalition leaders and senior ministers will meet this morning to sign off on the €100bn revised National Development Plan.

The blueprint for infrastructure spending will be announced tomorrow along with the Summer Economic Statement.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The presence of HGVs has become more prevalent on the inner town streets of Kells since the last time he raised the issue some time ago, the Cathaoirleach of Kells Municipal District Councillor Sean Drew told a meeting of the MD this week. 

The county council was spending big money on the repair and maintenance of the streets and these heavy vehicles were damaging kerbing, he said. 

He was making a special request to Gardai to take action. “All they have to do is stop one or two ofthese HGVs and the word will get out”, he said.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The long-awaited safety upgrade at the busy Proudstown Road in Navan has been delayed due to funding shortfalls, councillors heard at the July meeting of the Navan District.

Councillor Yemi Adenuga sought clarity on the status of the planned works at the Circle K junction on the Proudstown Road (Aisling Place x R162), which underwent a five-week public consultation in 2023.

Yemi spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about all of this. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Minister of State with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance, Robert Troy, TD, has, yesterday, introduced ‘Right to be Forgotten’ legislation as a Government Bill to the Dáil.

Minister Troy spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to tell us more about this

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Aontu leader and Meath-West TD Peadar Toibin, who called out the Government yesterday in the Dail over their inaction on all of their promises and the fact that he says they have done “nothing of substance” since the election. 

Speaking in the Dail, Deputy Toibin also called out their “poor attendance” and branded them a “stay at home Government”.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Health Research Board has said the availability of cocaine has led to an increase in hospitalisations and overdoses.

There are warnings of the potential for further increases in use and harm after new research showed the number of cocaine seizures grew from 566 in 2003 to more than 4,000 in 2023.

Addiction Specialist Dr Garrett McGovern spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this and about what he sees on the ground in his own profession when it comes to cocaine addiction

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.