A Russian drone strike on the major Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has killed four people and wounded 17, its mayor said, amid continued work by US and Ukrainian officials towards a plan to end the war with Russia.

The US and Ukraine are set to continue work towards a peace deal today after agreeing to modify an earlier proposal that was widely seen as too favorable to Moscow.

The two sides said in a joint statement they had drafted a "refined peace framework" after talks in Geneva yesterday, although they did not provide specifics.

The White House separately said the Ukrainian delegation had told them it "reflects their national interests" and "addresses their core strategic requirements," although Kyiv did not issue a statement of its own.

Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, Paul Rogers, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us about this.

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Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence and Meath-East Fianna Fail TD, Thomas Byrne, wants an additional €19million for his portfolio to purchase anti-drone technology.

Minister Byrne said there was an "urgent operational requirement" to purchase the equipment as Ireland was assuming the Presidency of the EU from next summer.

He said this meant the need for such technology was required sooner and Ireland could not wait until they were acquired through the Military Radar Programme at a later date.

Mr Byrne stressed that "subject to negotiation and finalisation of contracts" that Counter Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) capabilities would be ready in early 2026, and Minister Byrne is joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Over 6000 households at risk of homelessness contacted Threshold last year.

The national housing charity's annual report reveals, in total, 19,400 households reached out for housing support

Threshold's National Advocacy Manager, Ann Marie O'Reilly, says they were able to prevent homelessness in the majority of cases, and Anne Marie joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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A growing public outcry has erupted over the weekend closure of St Declan’s Graveyard in Ashbourne, with more than 500 people signing a petition calling for safe access to the cemetery.

The petition was launched by Michelle Matthews on behalf of her 81-year-old father, Tommy Matthews, who visits the grave of his late wife Mary who passed away last September every single day.

The couple were married for 61 years, and her father finds comfort in tending to Mary’s grave. But at weekends, the cemetery gates are closed, forcing visitors to park on the dangerously busy N2 road and cross on foot, described by Matthews as “an accident waiting to happen.”

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

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The Immigrant Council of Ireland has today published its Impact Report for 2024, highlighting the organisation’s achievements and the work carried out to support and empower migrants living in Ireland.

In 2024, the Immigrant Council provided support to migrants and their families through our Helpline. Our staff answered over 4,000 calls from people seeking answers on their or their family members’ rights as migrants. This number only reflects a small proportion of the total calls received, highlighting the importance of the service and the strain on staff to respond. The top queries throughout the year focused on citizenship, family reunification, registration/renewal, and rights of EU citizens. 

While citizenship has always been a main issue for callers, 2024 saw a marked increase on previous years, due to the introduction of the online portal by the Department of Justice, which created huge challenges for people trying to register or renew their permits.

CEO of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Teresa Buckzkowska, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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Aontú leader and Meath-West TD Peadar Tóibín TD this week raised questions about water supply and quality issues affecting Meath, Enfield and Navan, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the Dáil.

Speaking on Wednesday, Deputy Tóibín told the Dáil:

“Keeping the lights on and water in the taps is surely one of the basic responsibilities of any administration but we live in a country where that is simply not happening. For a country where it seldom stops raining, if it does we cannot last a week before there is a water or hosepipe ban in this country”.

Deputy Tóibín continued: “In my county of Meath, things are out of control currently. As we speak, a burst mains is causing major disruption in Navan. There are multiple outages every week in the system in Enfield. People in Trim can hardly turn the water taps on because of discoloured water or bans on water being used at certain times of the day, etc”.

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

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A Wicklow TD will bring forward new legislation tomorrow aimed at overhauling Ireland’s dog-breeding laws.

Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore says the country is in the midst of a dog-welfare crisis, with more than 3,000 dogs currently in pounds and rescue centres, and abandonments surging since the pandemic.

Over 7,300 dogs entered Irish pounds in 2022 — a 77% rise on the previous year — and 340 were put down.

Deputy Whitmore says Ireland has become “the puppy-farm capital of Europe,” with up to 30,000 dogs exported every year into illegal markets abroad - a figure that could reach 100,000 when backyard breeding is included.

She said weak regulation under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 has allowed harmful practices to flourish, including breeding females as young as four months and repeated litters.

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

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Ryanair's Michael O'Leary has refuted claims that his company are engaging in price-gouging customers heading to the World Cup playoffs in Czechia.

Flights to and from Prague next March are hundreds of euro more than usual.

The Labour Party has condemned the price hikes, and Fine Gael's Mark Duffy says regulators should examine if the increases are compliant with consumer law.

Lead travel writer and journalist, Eoghan Corry, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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The lack of parking facilities in Athboy “is killing local business” particularly in the run up to Christmas.

Shoppers often drive up and down the town searching for somewhere to park, before moving on elsewhere, according to local businesses.

Cllr David Gilroy raised the issue at a meeting of Kells Municipal Council last week where he called on the council to “engage, as a matter of urgency, with all relevant landowners in Athboy to address the serious shortage of public parking in the town, with a view to securing the purchase of suitable lands for the provision of additional public parking facilities.”

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

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The need for the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to make a statement on the need to ensure that social media companies protect real information and remove misinformation on social media platforms was raised by Senator Linda Nelson Murray in the Seanad this week. 

During her speech, Senator Nelson Murray said: 

“I use social media both personally and professionally. Professionally it’s great for my work as I can keep constituents up to date on what I’m doing and can have constructive feedback! Personally it’s great to keep up with family events days out and sure who doesn’t love a bit of Rory stories and Connors sketches!

However there is a dark side to social media and one that I strongly feel we need support and protection from as users and for our youth”.

Senator Nelson Murray spoke to us about all of this.

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