A Louth mother has told of her anger after making eight trips to Egypt to try and find her abducted children and got nowhere.

Mandy Kelly has not seen or heard from her sons Zayn, 7 and Kareem, 4, in three-and-a-half years since they were snatched by their father while on holiday in Cairo in March, 2022.

She is now pleading with the Irish Government to make the safe return of her boys a top diplomatic priority and that they be top of the agenda in any future cooperation from trade to security between the two countries.

But she also called on the Gardai to give her an update on her request for an Interpol Red Notice request so her ex-husband can be arrested for taking their sons illegally.

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

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The Government is listening to women's charities when it comes to helping gender based violence survivors.

That's according to a Fianna Fail TD who has welcomed plans to allow victims to cut their time on the social housing waiting list. New proposals, as part of the latest housing plan, will mean any time already spent on the list will be transferred if the person is changing local authorities.

Women's Aid have backed the move, something TD Aisling Dempsey says is important, and Deputy Dempsey joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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All changed, changed utterly, as Troy Parrott takes flight.

There was five minutes and 12 seconds of additional time played when Parrott poked a Liam Scales header, from a Caoimhín Kelleher hit and hope, into the Hungary net.

The 3,000 Irish fans in the upper deck of the Puskas Arena needed a second to realise what had just happened. Only a second, mind. The silence of the other 64,000 souls inside the stadium and wild celebrations of Irish players on the pitch allowed the realisation to set in.

Parrott’s hat-trick had just put the Republic of Ireland into Thursday’s World Cup playoff draw in Zurich.

Sports Journalist Paul Lennon joined us on The Agenda this morning to tlak to us some more about this.

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North Louth residents opposed to plans to the compulsory purchase of lands for the new Dundalk-Carlingford Greenway voiced their opposition at a national protest at Dáil Éireann this week.

The demonstration was led by the National Greenway Action Association, and lobby groups from around the country, including local IFA branches and members of the ‘Protect the Cooley Peninsula’ campaign.

Jimmy Quinn from the ‘Protect the Cooley Peninsula’ campaign joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

We were also joined by Fine Gael TD for Louth, Paula Butterly, who attended the demonstration last week.

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As we approach Christmas and the prospect of warm fires, gifts, good food and time off to spend with loved ones, it’s easy to forget those who may not have a home for Christmas. Through the ‘Home for Christmas’ campaign, Depaul urges the people of Ireland to build hope and help provide the foundations for a real home for those living in emergency homelessness accommodation for months or years on end.

Through their 43 services on the island of Ireland, Depaul provides safe accommodation, wraparound mental health and addiction supports and stability for 800 people every night, who would otherwise have nowhere to go. The aspiration of a long-term home is the long-term hope for every one of Depaul’s service users. Every donation will directly support Depaul’s frontline work across Ireland: helping to provide beds, nourishing meals and emergency care in the short term, and funding the long-term supports so that people experiencing homelessness this Christmas can move into secure, independent housing.

Director of Services and Development Depaul, Dermot Murphy, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us about this.

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The proliferation of Tricolour flags on poles around Navan was the subject of debate at last week's meeting of Navan Municipal District with concerns being raised about the influence of the far right in the issue. 

Independent Councillor Alan Lawes said he felt that this was space given to the far right. “They want a reaction, they want a reaction from the likes of us. They can be considered patriots but they are not – they are racists and bigots. They are hijacking the Irish flag. For me the Irish flag stands for peace, unity and respect. I think we need to put out a message that these flags can be very intimidating when they are put up around schools. People from the migrant community feel very intimidated by them”.

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

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US President Donald Trump said House Republicans should vote to release files involving the Jeffrey Epstein case, a startling reversal after previously fighting the proposal.

"We have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the

Republican Party," Mr Trump wrote on social media shortly after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a weekend in Florida.

Democrats and some Republicans have been pushing a measure that would force the Justice Department to make public more documents from the case.

Law lecturer at the University of Galway and political columnist with The Journal, Larry Donnelly, spoke to us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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Creche owners say they are “gearing up to close the country down” by closing creches indefinitely until the Government meets their demands in an ongoing row over funding the sector amid rising business costs.

It comes as new figures show 151 creches withdrew from a government funding scheme over three years, saying it is not fit for purpose, with some parents told their creche bill could be as great as €1,400 a month.

Operators in the sector say they are facing anger from parents over rising costs, but they blame the Government’s failed promises to reduce childcare costs.

In the run-up to last year’s general election, Tánaiste Simon Harris pledged to cap the cost of childcare at €200 a month per child. The Federation of Early Childhood Providers said the Government’s promises are “unrealistic”.

Chairperson at Federation of Early Childhood Providers, Elaine Dunne, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us about this.

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Three men and two women who died in Saturdays tragic two car crash were all in their early 20s and were from a number of areas across the northeast.

23-year-old Chloe McGee and 21-year-old Shay Duffy from Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan; 23-year-olds Alan McCluskey and Dylan Commins, both from Drumconrath, Co Meath; and 21-year-old Chloe Hipson, from Lanarkshire, Scotland.

All five were travelling in a Volkswagen Golf car which collided with a Toyota Land Cruiser on the R3168, Ardee road at Gibstown just after 9pm on Saturday night.

Another man in his 20s travelling in the Volkswagen Golf was brought to hospital in Drogheda with non-life-threatening injuries.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to various people who paid heartfelt tributes to the five lives tragically lost in Louth.

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Louth County Council won’t remove dead rodents lodged in cavity walls, a spokesman told councillors at the monthly meeting of Ardee Municipal District.

Cllr. Pearse McGeough asked if the local authority could intervene when social tenants are faced with a situation where rats or mice have entered their home and become lodged under floorboards or in cavity walls.

Councillor McGeough joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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