The Hard Shoulder

Nearly two thirds of homeowners are concerned about their home being damaged by extreme weather, such as storms and flooding, in the next five years.

Despite the high levels of awareness, almost half of people have not made any improvements to protect their home against extreme weather in the last two years. That’s according to new research by Aviva Insurance Ireland.

Joining Ciara with advice for safeguarding your home is Joanie Hughes, Managing Director, Personal Lines with Aviva Insurance Ireland DAC.

The deposit return scheme for cans and bottles has promised to roll out more bulk reverse vending machines by the end of the year.

The regular return machines that launched with the scheme required people to return their bottles and cans one at a time to get their deposits back.

The new bulk machines allow you to tip a bag of bottles and cans into the machine, and it tots up the total itself...

Joining Shane to discuss this is Colin O’Byrne, Programme Director at Voice Ireland.

Gardaí have launched a murder investigation after a house fire in Waterford city claimed the lives of two adults and two children.

The four family members died, and two other children were left critically injured following an alleged arson attack on their home in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Joining Shane to discuss this and the local impact is Fr Gerry Chestnutt, Parish Priest at Sacred Heart Parish.

Saudi Arabia was forced to extend the suspension of all flights to and from its main international airport in Riyadh on Monday after a further round of Houthi missile attacks caused more damage and left one person dead…

Joining Shane to discuss this Dominic Waghorn, Sky News International Affairs Editor.

For this week’s Kids Clinic, Shane was joined by Dr Elaine McCarty, Senior Child and Educational Psychologist to discuss handling any pre or post-school meltdowns that your child can have.

A new study has shown that Irish people are buying more ‘fast-tech’ items, including mini fans, wireless headphones, or disposable vapes, than many European countries, with many not disposing of them correctly and throwing them in the bin. The research, which was done for International E-Waste Day, shows that nearly 90% of Irish people bought some ‘fast tech’ product in the last year.

Joining Ciara to discuss this further is Adrian Weckler, Technology Editor with the Irish Independent.

Unions have rejected a last-ditch effort from the Public Expenditures Minister Jack Chambers to halt strikes on Wednesday. Linda Kelly, General Secretary for the ASTI joins Shane to discuss why these talks won’t be going ahead, and Maeve McTaggart, a News and Political Reporter with the Irish Independent joins to discuss what the impact of these strikes will be.

Today is the sentencing hearing of Riad Bouchaker, who was convicted of 8 offences related to the Parnell Square attack on November 23rd 2023.

Frank Graney, Newstalk’s Courts Reporter joins Ciara to give the latest updates.

Former Olympic swimming coach and convicted paedophile George Gibney was jailed for fifteen and a half years today. The 78-year-old was found guilty of 40 abuse charges against four girls between 1971 and 1981.

Newstalk Reporter Jamie O’Hara was in court today and joined Shane to discuss…

A new survey by AIB has found Irish consumers lose an average of €150 a year overpaying on shared bills due to being too polite to have the tough conversation.

With many people renting and house sharing later in life than previous generations, the issue of ‘the politeness premium’ may be pinching their purse strings more than they realize. But, how can you tackle the issue to help your pocket without impacting your relationships?

Joining Ciara to discuss is Keelin O'Dwyer, Psychologist at Mind & Body Works and Conor Pope, Consumer Affairs Journalist with the Irish Times.