The Hard Shoulder

Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne today brought a bill before the Dáil today aimed at restricting AI Chatbots which simulate friendships or relationships for under 16s. Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne joined Ciara on the show to discuss.

Ciara is joined by Alisa Kovalenko, a former captive and survivor of conflict-related sexual violence during her captivity in 2014 in the Donbas region of Ukraine, who also fought on the front lines in the conflict.

Alisa is in Dublin in collaboration with the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence - an Irish-based alliance of international humanitarian and human rights organisations, working alongside Irish Aid and the Irish Defence Forces.

She joins to discuss what happened to her in 2014...

A recent discussion circulating online has sparked a divide in opinions on whether bringing your iced coffee to a job interview is simply unprofessional, or is it simply an indication of changing workplace norms?

For more on this, Shane is joined by Caroline Reidy, head of NFP HR Solutions.

For this week’s Kids Clinic, Ciara was joined by Laura Downing AKA the ‘Fabulous Pharmacist’ & podcaster to discuss one of those conversations that can make parents feel a little awkward: talking to their children about sex.

The Minister for Housing James Browne has directed officials to examine online bidding portals.

The worry is that these bidding portals mimic gambling products, and in doing so, drive up house prices.

So, are these bidding sites leading to the gamification of the housing market?

Colin O'Gara is Professor of Psychiatry at UCD, and he joins Ciara to discuss.

From the friends who loves to bring up their child's grades and achievements only to show they have exceeded your child's, to the family member who insists on reminding you their summer holiday was bigger and better than yours, you may feel the friction and even a bit of resentment in your relationship if you feel you are constantly being one-upped, but how should you appropriately address that it bothers you?

Joining Ciara with some advice is Frances Kelleher, Relationship Expert and Life Coach.

Football Association of Ireland President Paul Cooke has defended the handling of the build-up to Ireland’s Nations League clash with Israel in Hungary yesterday, following a 3-0 win for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side.

Joining Shane to discuss this is David Sneyd, Football Journalist at the 42.ie who was in Debrecen, Hungary, for the game...

Patient advocacy groups have criticised the proposed commission of investigation into the care received by children with scoliosis and spina bifida, describing it as “extraordinarily narrow”.

This comes after the Government agreed last year to hold a statutory inquiry into spina bifida and scoliosis services following a number of controversies at the children’s hospital group, including unauthorised implantation of springs in children with scoliosis, alleged waiting-list irregularities and unnecessary hip surgeries.

Joining Ciara to discuss this is Amanda Coughlan, co-lead of the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group.

Has Northern Ireland gone back 30 years? With the contentious Garvaghy Road once again in the news for all the wrong reasons - yesterday and today thousands of protesters have blocked the street in an attempt to stop the Orange Order parade down it…

Henry McKean is there, and joins Shane to report on what’s happening.

Newstalk reporter Henry McKean reports from Grafton Street as U2 perform a surprise gig after Mount Temple concert.