An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland's electoral commission, has begun visiting college campuses to encourage students to register and to make a plan to vote in next month’s Presidential Election.

It estimates that 60,000 young people have turned 18 since the last general election and are eligible to vote once they have registered.

The deadline to register to vote is 7 October.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Brian Dawson from the Electoral Commission, who told us everything we need to know about being set up to vote in this year's Presidential election.

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There have been no meaningful reductions in the cost of insurance premiums for motorists, small firms and community organisations, TDs and senators will be told today.

Motor, public liability and employer liability insurance premiums continue to rise despite a raft of reforms being delivered to the benefit of insurance firms, Brian Hanley of the Alliance for Insurance Reform will tell the Oireachtas Committee on Finance.

“We acknowledge the scale of that work: the introduction of the Personal Injury Guidelines, new data from the Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database, a strengthened Injuries Resolution Board, changes in duty of care law, and initiatives on insurance fraud,” Mr Hanley will tell TDs.

Brian Hanley joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

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Residents of Julianstown in Meath are one step closer to relief from traffic congestion after the Laytown-Bettystown Municipal District approved a motion for Meath County Council to go to tender on the R132 Traffic Management Scheme.

Speaking after the meeting, Fine Gael Councillor Sharon Tolan, who tabled the motion, said: “Residents of Julianstown have waited far too long for meaningful action on traffic management.”

The scheme, originally planned for 2023, was delayed by Uisce Éireann’s Stamullen Kiltrough to Balloy Project, which involved major pipelaying along the R132. The start of these works, initially expected in early 2024, has now been postponed to at least the first quarter of 2026, prolonging traffic and safety concerns for the village.

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

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Louth County Council is calling on the Ministers for Health and Finance, and Irish MEPs to examine reducing or removing the VAT rate on sunscreen products with an SPF of 30 or higher.

Independent Councillor Declan Power received cross-party support for a notice of motion which also proposed piloting the installation of free sunscreen dispensers at all Blue Flag beaches in the county and key public buildings including County Hall in Dundalk and the local authority's Drogheda base on Fair Street.

He wants them to be put in place by next Summer as part of a public awareness campaign about skin cancer prevention.

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

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More than one in three hate attacks and incidents recorded by gardaí last year were racially motivated, analysis by The Journal Investigates reveals.

According to official data, the number of anti-race crimes and related incidents has risen by 24% since 2021 – making it the single most common motive for hate crime in Ireland.

Of the 676 hate crimes and reports recorded last year, around 264 (39%) were connected to race, according to An Garda Síochána.

That’s an increase from 213 recorded in 2021, when a total of 483 hate crimes and “discriminatory” incidents were logged – a 24% rise in just three years.

Patricia Devlin, Investigative journalist at The Journal Investigates, who carried out this research, spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to tell us more.

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Meath County Council is set to write to the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to ensure local communities are “properly informed in a timely and transparent manner” regarding contracts for International Protection Accommodation.

The move follows a motion brought forward by Aontú councillor Emer Tóibín at the September full council meeting. The motion called for Meath County Council to request that the Department’s Community Engagement Team engage with local communities in advance of any contracts being signed.

Speaking in support, Councillor Tóibín said there have been repeated instances across Ireland where communities were only informed after contracts had been finalised, and Councillor Toibin joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Today, Tuesday 16th September 2025, Meath Women’s Refuge & Support Services launched its 2024 Annual Report, showing an increase in contact from women affected by domestic violence.

There was a 22% increase in helpline calls from 1,122 to 1,376 between 2023 and 2024. A total of 194 women and children leaving situations of domestic violence stayed in refuge and a further 534 women were supported in the community through outreach and court accompaniment. Our specialist children’s team supported a further 99 children in the community.

Frances Haworth, CEO of Meath’s Women’s Refuge, joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

We also spoke to Orla O'Connor from The National Wowen's Council, about how the housing crisis fuelling violence against women.

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Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes has apologised for wearing a 'blackface' Halloween costume.

Mr Hayes issued the apology for wearing a Barack Obama costume in 2009, which included brown makeup on his hands and face.

Blackface costumes have been linked to racial stereotyping, which stems from the historic 'minstrel' shows in the US where white performers blackened their faces with shoe polish and mimicked enslaved Africans.

Dr Lucy Michael, Former Research Lead at The Irish Network Against Racism, says his apology is a 'good first start' but more needs to be done.

Dr Lucy Michael joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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At the Dundalk Municipal District's monthly meeting, several councillors highlighted concerns about an increase in anti-social behaviour including the Cathaoirleach of LCC Sean Kelly who wants a focus on persistent offenders.

It's been confirmed that Louth County Council's anti-social behaviour policy will be updated.

The Chair of its Social Development Strategic Policy Committee, Sinn Féin Councillor Kevin Meenan told the Dundalk Municipal District's monthly meeting that it's currently under discussion and an update is expected later this year, or early in 2026.

He was speaking after several councillors highlighted concerns about an increase in anti-social behaviour, including the Cathaoirleach of the local authority, Fianna Fáil's Sean Kelly who wanted a focus on how to deal with persistent offenders.

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

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Yesterday on the programme we spoke to a resident of Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, about the relentless ongoing anti-social behavior going on in the estate and how it is destroying his life and his elderly father’s life - so much so that he attempted to take his own life as a result of the ongoing torment.

After hearing the harrowing interview, we were contacted by another resident of Rathmullen Park, who says she is living in the worst part of the estate. 

“Olivia” says things are so bad that her 10-year-old son is afraid to go outside the house. Her daughter was also attacked in the estate as she was walking home from work, and Olivia says this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is going on.

Olivia joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us her story and about what her family have been going through.

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