Ireland's asylum system is "wide open" for exploitation with people able to come here with false passports or no passports at all, a former Army intelligence chief claimed yesterday.

Michael Murphy, who is the former deputy director of military intelligence of the Defence Forces, said this represents a serious risk to the State. The claim came as a report warned the Government that immigration officials here may not be able to perform proper identity checks and security screening due to the country's lack of access to key EU security databases.

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

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An umbrella group for European consumer organisations has called for an EU-wide investigation into seven airlines – including Ryanair – for charging “undue fees” for hand baggage.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to journalist & travel writer Eoghan Corry to find out more about this.

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US president Donald Trump’s threatened 50 per cent tariff on EU imports would effectively halt trade between the United States and European Union, a Government minister has warned.

Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said it was really important for EU member states and the European Commission to remain calm and measured in response to president Trump’s warning and not react to “every single utterance of provocation”.

We spoke to Minister Byrne on The Agenda this morning about this.

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Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan will deliver a public apology to the family of hit-and-run victim Shane O’Farrell in the Dáil next week.

The apology follows years of campaigning by the family of the 23-year-old who was killed while out cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on 2 August 2011.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Sinn Fein TD in the area, Matt Carty, who knows the O'Farrell family and has been speaking to us about this case various times in the past.

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Laytown/Bettystown Councillor Carol Lennon has voiced her concerns over the challenges involved in completing social housing applications for individuals with disabilities.

She says that she feels there is an element of discrimination in the process.

Carol spoke to us on The Agenda this morning.

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This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Senator Ronan Mullen, who says he doesn’t regret voting against same sex marriage as activists celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic referendum.

Senator Mullen said he would vote no again if there was another marriage equality referendum today.

We then spoke to Patrick Lawlor from Navan Pride to get his reaction to Ronan's comments.

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Tusla has 159 educational welfare officers (EWOs) working in approximately 4,000 schools, both primary and post-primary, around the country to support school attendance. 

The Educational Welfare Service aims to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a minimum education; to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education, and Sheila Clarke, TESS Service Development Manager, is on the line with us now to tell us more about this.

Sheila Clarke, TESS Service Development Manager, spoke to us on The Agenda this morning all about this.

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The head of driving testing at the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has roundly rejected a Fianna Fáil TD’s suggestion that learner drivers should be allowed on the road unaccompanied.

Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe told the Dáil last week that learner drivers should be allowed to drive without being accompanied in the car by a licensed driver, as is currently the law.

Deputy Crowe spoke to us on The Agenda this morning.

We also spoke to Susan Gray from PARC Road Safety group, who believes the idea of even letting learner drivers drive unaccompanied is "appalling".

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Kells native, Seamus Mc Donagh, has expressed his dismay at the intervention of the Israeli authorities to disrupt the travel of a keynote speaker at the annual Robert Tressell Festival in Dublin this weekend (Saturday 24th May).

Seamus was the inspiration for establishing this festival in 2023 which aims to bring together progressive Irish and international political figures to discuss pressing economic and social challenges, and he spoke to us this morning on The Agenda all about this.

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A group of 556 survivors of mother and baby homes are to take a landmark High Court case over their exclusion from the State redress scheme.

The Department of Children approved a compensation scheme for survivors of the institutions last year, but the strict criteria means children who were in a home for less than six months are not eligible for a payment.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Alison O'Reilly from The Irish Examiner, who has been covering this story.

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