The new Garda Commissioner is considering the wider use of Tasers and prioritising “increased visibility”.

Justin Kelly made the remarks at his first press conference yesterday, having been appointed to the role on Monday.

The Commissioner, who noted that Tasers were already in use by some units, said he will give “careful consideration” to expanding their use to frontline Gardaí.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Sinn Fein TD for Louth, Ruairi Ó Murchú, who said that he believes that Gardaí should be protected in Ireland.

We also spoke to Policing and Justice Policy Officer with the ICCL (Irish Council for Civil Liberties), Emily Williams, who believe that this could actually cause much bigger issues if not approached with caution.

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Gardaí investigating the ­disappearance of a young boy were told he was found dead in bed and secretly buried “in a panic”.

A woman told gardaí the child had died in his sleep of natural causes and that she and her then partner had secretly buried him in waste ground in Donabate, Co Dublin.

A search for the boy, who was last seen when he was three-and-a-half years old and would now be aged seven, has so far been unsuccessful.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Crime Correspondent at the Irish Mirror, Michael O'Toole, to get all the latest on this shocking case.

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We were joined on The Agenda this morning by CEO of Development Perspectives, Bobby McCormack, who is going to talk to us about Dawn Meats submitting a second planning application to Meath County Council for an eight hectare subsurface irrigation development at its Beaparc site. 

The proposed project would include a filter pump house, storage tank, pipework, and valves to disperse treatment effluent from the existing on-site wastewater treatment plant.

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Gardai have launched an investigation into claims that a child has been killed and secretly buried, it has emerged.

Detectives in north County Dublin sealed off a house as part of the probe over the weekend – after a woman told them her ex-partner killed the child.

It's understood the child, a boy, has been missing for several years and would be aged around eight if they were alive today. However sources told the Irish Mirror that gardai believe that the boy is dead.

Crime Editor at the Irish Sun, Stephen Breen, joined us on The Agenda this morning to give us all the latest on this story.

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The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland says she has boycotted products she believes are linked to Israel and has urged others to also search their conscience on the issue.

After UN-backed experts declared a famine in and around Gaza, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said she had “cut all relations” with companies that she believes support the war against Palestinians. “I don’t drink Starbucks and I don’t buy from McDonald’s,” she said.

Asked if she would tell Irish people to boycott Israeli goods, she said: “If they believe this will help to stop the killing of innocent people in Gaza, they must take action.”

Dr Jilan Wahba spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this.

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The overall cost to the State of paying private operators to run public transport has hit nearly €300m.

Figures released to Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly show that since 2018, €250m of that alone goes to Go-Ahead, which operates outer Dublin, Dublin commuter and two orbital routes in the capital. In February, the NTA published a letter of intent to continue its relationship with Go-Ahead, despite criticisms of the levels of service.

A response to Mr Daly from the National Transport Authority says on top of this €295m spend, the TFI Local Link/Rural Transport Programme is "managed and administered by 15 Transport Coordination Units on behalf of the National Transport Authority".

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Deputy Daly, who spoke to us in more detail about this. 

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***TRIGGER WARNING: UPSETTING/DISTRESSING CONTENT***

A mum fears she will be killed when her violent ex-partner — who threatened to pour boiling water over her during a brutal assault — is freed from prison next week.

Louise Jackson revealed to LMFM how she has now installed new security measures at her home and in her car ahead of former husband Mark Jackson’s release from Portlaoise Prison.

She also told us how she’s considering installing a panic room at her property for protection.

The physical attacks against Louise included him forcibly removing her eyelash extensions, beating her with a brush, choking her and kicking her repeatedly in the back garden of their home.

'

Louise bravely spoke to us this morning on The Agenda and issued a stark warning to other women live on air ahead of Mark's release.

(credit to Stephen Breen, Crime Editor at the Irish Sun, for putting us in touch with Louise)

Take a listen back here now:

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A Sinn Féin councillor has criticised the government for “failing” to address the Garda staffing crisis in Meath, as two newly attested members were deployed to Navan Garda Station.

The new recruits are part of a cohort of 154 probationer Gardaí who graduated from the Garda College in Templemore last week while another 201 trainees are beginning their studies this week, with a further graduation scheduled for November.

Fianna Fáil TD for Meath West, Aisling Dempsey, welcomed the additions, saying: “I welcome the deployment of two newly attested Gardaí to Navan Garda Station, strengthening visible policing across Meath West.”

However, Bettystown/Laytown Sinn Féin councillor Maria White said that the scale of recruitment remains far short of what is needed. Figures released to Sinn Féin through a Parliamentary Question show that Meath has 26 fewer Gardaí compared to April 2024.

Deputy Dempsey joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us in more detail about this.

We also heard about a protest which took place in Kells recently and saw protesters holding placards with Deputy Dempsey's face printed on them with the words "GENOCIDE" in large print.

Deputy Dempsey gave us her reaction to this.

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Concerns have been expressed about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots by children amid warnings of inadequate safeguards.

Online safety charity CyberSafeKids said young children are being exposed to misinformation, privacy violations and harmful advice.

It is calling for greater regulation of AI chatbots at EU level.

New research from CyberSafeKids shows a big increase in AI chatbot usage among 8-15 year olds.

Head of Education and Innovation at CyberSafeKids, Philip Arneill, spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

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We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Independent local Councillor and Leas-Cathaoirleach of Trim MD, Noel French, who spoke to us about his recent motion to Meath County Council in relation to IPAS centres. 

The motion by Councillor French is calling on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to remove the section 5 provision for IPAS centres and ensure that all IPAS centres go through the full normal planning process.

This motions mean that the Ipas centres will have to apply for planning permission and open up a decision to people and councillors to have their say. The current  process removes any public consultation with communities and shuts out local public representatives.

Noel says that local towns and villages are left for weeks frustrated and uncertain as to what is happening in their community. and that these types of applications are causing  a lot of anger, frustration, worry and concerns, much of which is understandable.

Councillor French also said that the buildings proposed for Ipas centres in Trim were  not suitable for human habitation.

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