Yesterday on the programme, we spoke to Aime Berns, who is living with a debilitating case of endometriosis. 

Amie spoke to us about her anger and heartbreak at the Government ignoring endometriosis care in Budget 2026, despite multiple promises being made to herself and other women living with the condition who are also advocating for more help and better care.

Since Amie’s interview yesterday, The Agenda has been inundated with messages from women who can relate to everything Amie was saying and who are keen to share their own stories of what it is like living with endometriosis. 

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by one of the women who got in touch yesterday, Deynna, and she says she is living in pain every single day because of this, and not just physical pain, but serious mental pain too. 

Deynna says this Budget has left her feeling “more anger, more disappointment and just completely & utterly hopeless and unheard”, and she spoke to us about all of this.

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Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for an update to the laws around the theft of pets.

The theft of a pet is covered by stolen property legislation in Ireland, while the Pet Abduction Act in Northern Ireland and England gives specific recognition for the crime.

Lisa O'Connor is the woman behind the petition which has over 10 thousand signatures, and she is also the founder of the 'Missing/Stolen Animals Ireland' group.

She says the current legal framework has no regard for the emotional trauma caused by the theft of a family pet, and Lisa joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to some more about this.

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Nearly nine in ten people are more cautious about wasting food, due to high grocery bills.

Research from Too Good to Go shows the same number of people have had their food shopping habits affected by the rising cost of living, and spokesperson Machaela O'Leary says the reduction in the VAT rate for the hospitality sector is an opportunity to highlight food waste

Machaela O’Leary joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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The average Irish household will lose 2pc of its disposable income as a result of this week’s Budget, analysis by the Economic and Social Research ­Institute (ESRI) has found.

This is mainly due to the withdrawal of the cost-of-living measures that were included in the last two budgets, such as the €250 credit on electricity bills.

The hardest hit are low-income ­families, the bottom 10pc of earners, who are facing losses of 2.5pc.

Karina Dooley from the ESRI joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Property prices in Louth have risen by €10,000 in the last year, according to the latest MyHome Property Price Report.   

The report for Q3 2025, in association with Bank of Ireland, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is still €260,000. This means prices have stayed steady over the quarter.      

Asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €11,000 in the last year to €270,000. This means that prices rose by €5,000 over the quarter.    

Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Louth rose €20,000 in the last year to €310,000. This price remained steady over the quarter.   

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Joanne Geary, Managing Director at MyHome.ie, who told us more about this, and also about how County Meath did in the price report. 

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Concerns have been raised over how a recent special Meath County Council meeting to nominate a presidential candidate was conducted, after confusion and technical difficulties overshadowed the proceedings and ultimately led to no candidate being endorsed.

At the meeting held last month, frustration mounted as councillors struggled to navigate unclear procedures during the hybrid session. At the end of it, millionaire entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan narrowly missed out on securing the Council’s nomination.

Navan Aontú councillor Emer Tóibín criticised the handling of the meeting, citing poor communication and technical issues from the outset.

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

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A former Tanaiste wants Ireland to follow the UK's lead and restrict access to pornography on the internet.

At yesterday's Ruhama conference, former justice minister Frances Fitzgerald hosted a panel discussion on a response to the rise of porn and what can be done to keep children safe.

Britain now requires all major porn sites to introduce age verification measures and for some users to hand over photo ID before progressing.

We are joined on The Agenda this morning by Assistant Principal and Coordinator of SPHE and advocate for online safety for children, Eoghan Cleary, who us spoke to us some more about this and told us why beleives all porn sites should have an age verification process to prove users are over the age of 18.

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Bookmaker Paddy Power has paid out early on bets backing Catherine Connolly to become the next President of Ireland.

The election takes place on 24 October but Paddy Power – never one to pass up a handy marketing opportunity – today claimed that it has “seen enough” to call it.

It said the decision to pay out early follows Jim Gavin’s exit from the race after he failed to clarify reports on an RTÉ debate that he allegedly did not repay a tenant €3,300 in rent mistakenly paid over a decade ago. 

Paddy Power today said Gavin’s departure has made left-backed Independent candidate Connolly the “firm favourite” to win the two-horse race to the Áras ahead of Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.

Diarmuid Pepper from The Journal joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell, backed by fellow Independent Senators in the Seanad, tabled a motion yesterday, calling for immediate and targeted investment in Ireland’s head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment infrastructure. 

The motion follows the passage of Budget 2026 and seeks to address long-standing gaps in care by demanding funding for Dublin facilities and the creation of specialised centres in other parts of the country.

Senator Gerard Craughwell made a very personal plea in Seanad Eireann yesterday, where he spoke about his own daughter’s journey through head and neck cancer and her unimaginable strength - and quiet suffering. 

He says that it is his daughter's experience, and the experiences of so many others, that compelled him to speak yesterday, and we were joined on the programme this morning by Senator Craughwell who spoke to us some more about this.

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Israel and Hamas said they had agreed to a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage deal, the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end a war in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people and reshaped the Middle East.

Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas militants' cross-border attack that triggered Israel's devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded an agreement on the initial stage of Trump's 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave.

Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, Paul Rogers, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about the ceasefire and what it means for the people of Gaza.. 

We also spoke to Political Columnist at The Journal, Larry Donnelly, to find out more about President Donald Trump's involvement in all of this.

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