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We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly, who took to social media over the weekend to question the prices of hotels in Dublin. 

In his post on social media Platform “X”, Ciaran wrote: 

“One night’s b & b on a week night : 453 euro? : Is this for real @crowneplazadub?? On a Monday night in late September ? There must be an issue here . Explanation please for a patient’s relative in Santry hospital who thinks it’s a TOTAL RIP-OFF ? There will be a follow-up”.

Ciaran spoke to us some more about this.

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Southwest Airlines in the US has just changed its long-standing policy for plus-size travelers, one that for over 30 years allowed them to get a second seat for free or be reimbursed if needed.

But now, that’s no longer guaranteed.

So, what does this mean for passengers of size? Is it fair to ask them to pay for an extra seat in order to fly comfortably, or even to fly at all?

Editor of travelextra.ie Eoghan Corry says that the standard width for airline seats is 17 inches, due largely to manufacturing guidelines, and Eoghan joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Sport Ireland is set to develop a new “respect the ref” campaign in response to what it has identified as a rising incidence of abuse and disrespect towards officials.

The €70,000 project aims to develop a new “national behaviour change campaign”, that will be rolled out across the sector.

“This campaign will be built on a strong evidential base and informed by the perspectives of stakeholders,” Sport Ireland said.

Former Intercounty GAA Referee and GAA referees Administrator for Clare Rory Hickey said he would welcome any initiative that pushes for more respect towards referees, and Rory joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Theresa Cassidy, who is a school secretary at Gaelscoil na Rithe in Dunshaughlin for  the past 27 years, yet she has no entitlement to a public service pension. 

Theresa spoke to us live from the picket line where she and her colleagues were striking for equal rights within in the sector.

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Data centre operators are contributing a significant amount to local authority budgets through commercial rates, a new investigation has found.

Councils receive an estimated €62.5m each year from data centre operators as part of their collection of commercial rates, based on this year’s calculations.

The Journal Investigates has previously mapped all of Ireland’s data centres believed to be in operation by examining over 25 years of planning records.

The team used this data and cross-referenced it with property valuations provided by state agency Tailte Éireann.

Conor O’Carroll from The Journal Investigates joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Over the past number of weeks on the programme we have been speaking to parents about the ongoing issue with school buses, particularly in County Meath.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Ballivor mum, Karen Smith, who was issued a bus ticket for her child but received an email only last Thursday to say that there would actually be no bus for her son, who is going into his 3rd year of secondary school.

Due to work commitments, Karen and her husband rely on the bus for their son, and says they had to take time off work last week to get him to and from school. 

Karen says that to say she is “disappointed, frustrated and angry” is an understatement.

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The government has been urged to ‘act rationally’ and come to a ‘fair agreement’ with school secretaries and caretakers as industrial action at local primary and secondary schools enters its second week.

Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú said he and his party ‘are in full support and solidarity’ with the Fórsa trade union members who started indefinite strike action last week over pension parity and other key entitlements.

Over 2,600 Fórsa members are asking for access to public sector pensions and other key entitlements.

On Thursday, the workers began their indefinite strike action after a day of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission failed to see an agreement between the two parties. 

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

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