The Electoral Commission is calling on the government to waive the fees associated with applying for a postal vote because of a disability or illness.

The Commission, which was established in 2023 to oversee all elections has pointed out “continued failings” around the accessibility of voting.

Under existing rules, anyone who is voting by registered postal vote due to a medical condition can be charged a fee by a medical professional for confirmation that the voter is unable to go to a polling station.

Art O’Leary, the chief executive of the Commission said it’s “unjustifiable” that people have to pay to access their vote, and Art spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

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Meath County Council has ruled that the use of an industrial unit in a Trim business park as an accommodation centre for international protection applicants would not be exempted development and would therefore require planning permission.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Social Democrats Councillor in Trim, Ronan Moore, to get his reaction to this and to find out what the reaction has been like locall.

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This morning on The Agenda we were joined by Alan Grimes, who is one of the people involved in organising the upcoming conference in Kells on the rise of the far right.

Alan said they made the decision to organise the festival this year that shines a light on Far Right activity and the serious dangers it poses to our communities. 

He also said that this does not mean they believe the immigration or asylum process in Ireland is without fault — but it’s clear that the Far Right is seeking to exploit these concerns to build its own agenda.

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We were joined on the The Agenda this morning by Columnist at the Irish Independent, Ian O’Doherty, who has written this week about trigger warnings and the overuse of them in today’s society.

Ian told us that undoubtedly the worst development of the last decade has been the rise of the dreaded “sensitivity reader”, and Ian is on the line with us now to talk to us some more about this and about just how sensitive he believes we have become in society today, and why it has gotten that way.

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Immediate action should be taken to suspend the surgeons involved in the hip surgery audit report, an opposition TD has said.

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said surgeons made the choice to operate on children and, in some cases, it may have been unnecessary. This is where the focus must be, he said, calling for those involved to be “at the very least” suspended from carrying out further osteotomies.

Deputy Murphy spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this.

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The number of women in Ireland seeking treatment for cocaine addiction has soared by more than 400%.

The latest Health Research Board (HRB) figures show that there has been a 426% rise in the number of women presenting for treatment over the last eight years.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Consultant Psychiatrist specialising in addiction medicine, Professor Colin O'Gara, to find out more about this.

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Meath Women’s refugee has said that the lack of housing and transport in the county is a “huge impediment” to survivors of domestic violence, as they prepare to host Go Purple Day 2025 to tackle the stigma surrounding domestic abuse.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to CEO Frances Haworth about this.

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Ireland's consumer watchdog must be given more powers to investigate potential grocery price gouging, a TD has said.

Labour TD Ged Nash said his party wants the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to have powers to compel supermarkets to provide commercial pricing information to ensure customers are getting the best price.

Deputy Nash spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this.

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A Sinn Fein bill that sought to stop the Irish Central Bank facilitating the sale of Israeli “war bonds” across the EU has been defeated in the Dáil.

Following the vote, Sinn Fein TD for Louth, Ruairi Ó Murchú, took to social media last night to say:

“Tonight is a shameful night in Irish history. FF & FG vote against the Sinn Féin Bill to stop Ireland being used to funnel money into Israel’s genocide in Palestine by selling war bonds through the Irish Central Bank. They do not speak for the Irish people”. We won’t give up”

Deputy Ó Murchú spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this.

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The Irish Air Corps is to end 24-hour operations and reduce their service to a five day week in June as a crisis in air traffic control has reached a critical point.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Sinn Fein TD for Meath-East, Darren O'Rourke, about this.

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