Donald Trump and his team are discussing “a range of options” to acquire Greenland, including using the US military, according to the White House. 

In a statement, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.

It comes after the governments of Greenland and Denmark requested a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the US President’s latest threats to annex the autonomous Danish territory. 

Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela, which involved kidnapping the country’s authoritarian leader and his wife, has reignited fears for Greenland.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by law lecturer at the University of Galway and political columnist with The Journal, Larry Donnelly, who gave us all the latest on this.

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Almost one in five Irish holidaymakers experienced issues with foreign holidays between May and August of last year – with some being left thousands of euro out of pocket.

New research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has found that people spend almost €2,500 on flights and accommodation, meaning it pays to check what their rights would be in the event they run into a problem with their holiday.

The consumer watchdog’s warning comes amid an expected surge in people booking a holiday to look forward towards as a boost during the January gloom.

Deputy Director of Communications at CCPC, Orla Delargy, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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US and Ukrainian officials will continue talks over security guarantees for Ukraine, both sides said, after meetings with Western allies yielded breakthroughs including a US-led monitoring mechanism and a European multinational force to be deployed after any ceasefire with Russia.

Following the largest meeting yet of the 'Coalition of the Willing' in Paris, both European leaders and US envoys hailed progress that hid tensions in recent days over US foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

But the security guarantees for Ukraine would only come into force once a ceasefire is agreed to end the almost four-year war sparked by Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence and Meath-East TD, Thomas Byrne, who spoke to us some more about this.

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Irish authorities are being urged to take action against X after reports its AI tool, Grok, is being used to generate and disseminate sexually explicit images of children and women.

X users have been able to avail of a new tool called “edit image” on Grok since late last month.

Users are allowed to request modifications to images, with some using it to remove clothing from real people in the images. Concern has been raised about use of the tool in the generation of sexual abuse material, particularly relating to children.

Sharon Lambert, President elect of the Psychological Society of Ireland & Senior Lecturer in Applied Psychology at UCC, said action should be taken against the tech giant by Irish authorities, given X’s headquarters for Europe, Africa and the Middle East is located in Dublin.

Sharon joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this

We also spoke to Chairperson of Digital Rights Ireland and Law Lecturer in UCD, TJ McIntyrne, about the calls from the ICCL and DRI on Gardai to investigate X for Grok child sexual abuse material

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A Louth councillor says local authority tenants in the county who want to buy their homes should be allowed avail of both a council home loan and the First Home Scheme.

The Green Party's Marianne Butler has highlighted how Louth County Council issued over 30 home loans with a value of approximately €5.5 million in 2023, but the local government auditor has highlighted that the following year just 14 new loans were issued. 

She thinks tenants should be allowed to combine the loan with the First Home Scheme.

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

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Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, has today issued an urgent call for the Government and Uisce Éireann to immediately address the crippling water supply shortages affecting homes in Dunboyne.

Teachta O'Rourke said:

"The situation in Dunboyne is beyond a crisis point. It is a scandal. Families are forced to buy bottled water to maintain basic sanitation. Many have been unable to flush toilets regularly or use washing machines and dishwashers over the entire Christmas period. This is not a minor inconvenience, it is a profound failure that is impacting people’s hygiene, health, and basic dignity. I have been contacted by constituents in Kilbreena and Millfarm and estates on the Summerhill Road. I am sure there are others too. This lack of basic service is simply unacceptable in this day and age”. 

Deputy O’Rourke joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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The M50 that wraps around Dublin continues to be the motorway with the highest number of incidents, collisions and traffic levels in Ireland.

Indeed, the seriousness of the situation is borne out by data as there were more crashes in the first 10 months of last year than in all of 2024.

Everything from crashes and breakdowns to wandering pedestrians and animals has marked the M50 as a motorway of mayhem, often with multiple incidents daily.

There were 682 crashes on the motorway from January 1 to October 31 last compared to 676 in all of 2024.

Transport expert & CEO of the Board of the Royal Irish Automobile Club, Conor Faughnan, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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A Ralph Loren puffer jacket possibly helped to save a woman from worse injuries after she was knocked down by a car on an 'inadequate' pedestrian crossing.

Deborah Keegan is now campaigning for improvements at the crossing in the centre of Ballivor, Co Meath, after her mother was thrown under a car.

Her mother suffered a bad concussion, a broken collarbone, and a bruised jaw, as well as damage to her hip and knee after the incident, which occurred just after 5pm on December 9th.

However ,the goose-feathered jacket and a parked car probably saved her mother from worse injuries, said Deborah, who wants Meath Co Council to install better lighting and a raised pedestrian crossing.

Since the accident, Deborah has been approached by a number of people who claim to have had near misses on the crossing and Deborah has started a petition for Meath Co Council to install improvements.

Deborah joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this shocking incident.

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A Louth TD has told how he has received hundreds of phone calls to his constituency office demanding a ban on fox hunting.

Ged Nash said the controversial hunts should be outlawed and he doesn’t buy into the claims that farmers need them to protect their lands .

However at the moment there is no majority in Leinster House to pass it and the proposal was defeated.

But Deputy Nash dismissed long held arguments that the fox hunting issue is all about rural Ireland versus urban Ireland .

The Louth Hunt is also extremely active in the county and holds weekly fox hunting meets through the Winter months.

But Deputy Nash does not regard it as a sport and is completely against it. He feels it is a moral question.

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

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The Government has been warned that Ireland could end up contributing over €7 billion indirectly to massive defence spends in Europe through its EU contributions but will benefit little in return.

A presentation was made to a number of government bodies, including the Department of Defence, warning how Ireland faces losing out in the coming years as Europe prioritises boosting defence spending.

The warning comes as work continues in negotiating the EU’s next budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – which will cover the years 2028 to 2034.

Behind the scenes across Government, and contained in a briefing document, there are gathering concerns that the EU budget will force Ireland to indirectly fund EU defence all the while losing out in money in real terms because of a change in agriculture funding.

Irish former independent politician and retired soldier Cathal Berry joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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