Dundalk Institute of Technology is set to become a University College following an agreement with Queen's University Belfast today.

The major new partnership will see it change from an IT to a University College of Queen's University Belfast.

The move was formally approved by the governing bodies of both institutions today.

The plan also secured Cabinet approval after the proposal was put before it by Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless this morning.

Fianna Fail TD for Louth, Erin McGreehan, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Autistic people in Ireland “experience critical gaps in consent education”, a new report has found.

The report, commissioned by Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) and autism charity AsIAm, identified “significant gaps” in sexual consent education and support for autistic people.

Surveys were carried out of young autistic adults and parents of autistic children and young people as part of the report.

The survey of young autistic adults found 90pc understood consent can be withdrawn, but 65pc said they continued unwanted sexual activity “due to guilt or obligation”.

CEO of AsIAm, Adam Harris, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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A new Drinkaware report shows Ireland’s drinking culture is shifting, with more people now drinking at home and alone.

The charity’s 2025 Barometer finds one in three adult drinkers consumes alcohol alone at home at least once a week, while one in four still binge drink.

The research also shows strong demand for alcohol-free social spaces, especially among younger adults, who say more sober events would help them cut back.

Dervla O’Brien, CEO of Drinkaware, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us about this.

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A child living in State care was reported missing 274 times in just one year, new figures obtained by The Journal Investigates reveal.

The data, released by Tusla under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), shows a pattern of repeated disappearances from Ireland’s State-run residential centres, with some young people going missing dozens of times every year.

Internal records reveal that children in Tusla-run homes were reported missing on nearly 7,000 occasions from January 2020 to September 2025.

In a statement to The Journal Investigates, a Tusla spokesperson said most missing reports do not indicate that a child has vanished for an extended period, but reflect brief absences recorded under a strict reporting protocol agreed with gardaí.

Investigative journalist at The Journal Investigates, Patricia Devlin, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, alongside local Cllr Maria White will host a public meeting to discuss the lack of progress on a new fully functioning Garda station in Laytown and Garda numbers in Meath on Tuesday 25th November 2025 at 8pm in the Village Hotel, Bettystown.

Cllr Maria White said:

“The most recent census showed Co. Meath is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. It is evident that East Meath is expanding in population at a faster rate than the rest of the county.

“Meath has continued to rapidly grow in population size, yet we are consistently provided with the least amount of Garda per head of population in the state. The people of County Meath suffer because of this government’s failure to provide sufficient Gardaí to match the population of our communities in Meath. The people of East Meath suffer, in particular, as a direct result of this failure.

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

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Tánaiste Simon Harris is set to become the Finance Minister in the wake of Paschal Donohoe’s resignation.

On Tuesday morning, Harris’ Fine Gael party colleague Donohoe announced that he would be abandoning his job as a Cabinet Minister, a TD, and head of the Eurogroup, in order to take up a senior job at the World Bank in Washington DC.

Harris will now be leaving his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence to take Donohoe’s place as Finance Minister.

In turn, Helen McEntee, who currently serves as Education Minister, will take over as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence.

Minister Helen McEntee joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

We also spoke to Political Correspondent Sean Defoe, who spoke to us about what other Ministerial changes are taking place.

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Asylum seekers will not view Ireland “more favourably” than the UK, according to aims set out by the Minister for Justice.

Jim O’Callaghan commented after the UK Home Secretary announced sweeping changes designed to reduce the UK’s attractiveness to asylum seekers.

Mr O’Callaghan said they could result in changes to the flow of asylum seekers between the UK and Ireland.

In a statement on Tuesday, he said: “I am committed to ensuring that Ireland is not viewed more favourably th“Consequently, I will closely monitor the changes proposed by the UK Government and will respond to those proposals having considered them fully and discussed them with government colleagues.”

He will be publishing a new International Protection Bill to reform Ireland’s asylum system later this year.

CEO of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Teresa Buczkowska, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us in more detail about this.

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People receiving unregulated Botox treatment are placing themselves at a “serious risk of harm”.

That’s the warning from the Irish Medical Council, who say that people could suffer issues including “infection, paralysis or life-threatening complications” from the injections.

Consultant Dermatologist at the Institute of Dermatologists Professor Caitriona Ryan said professionals don’t have “any idea” how common unregulated Botox is.

Professor Ryan says that as the cosmetic industry continues to boom, people are beginning to seek out cheaper treatments, and she joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us in more detail about this.

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An update on the case of Dundalk man John McNeela, whose request to government for a pension paid to his late wife following the death of their son, Michael, on UN duty, to be paid to him was given to Sinn Féin deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú last week.

The Louth TD asked Tánaiste Simon Harris for an update on what progress is being made to ensure that Mr McNeela can get the small pension from the Defence Forces.

Deputy O Murchú said: “In an answer to a parliamentary question, he said this may or may not require legislative change.

“I know the Tánaiste is committed to dealing with it but we would obviously like to get it dealt with as soon as possible”.

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

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The sister of two infant boys who it is feared died in the Tuam mother and baby home has issued a legal notice to gardaí over what she claims is the force's failure to launch a formal criminal investigation into their deaths.

Dubliner Anna Corrigan discovered in December 2012 that her mother Bridget Dolan had given birth to two boys in the former mother and baby home in 1946 and again in 1950.

The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT), which is carrying out the exhumation, said a full analysis will be carried out on the infant remains to "estimate age at death".

Ms Corrigan said she was “shocked” and “deeply upset” at the news that the infant remains has been found. She has been trying to uncover what happened to her brothers for more than a decade, and she reported the case to gardaí. In recent years, she instructed a solicitor, Kevin Winters, to act on her behalf.

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

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