Lunchtime Live

Country music star, Garth Brooks took to the stage in Croke Park at the weekend for three of his five headline gigs in Ireland. Andrea, who went to all three nights, was joined by listeners and fans across the country to chat about their experience...

A Government-appointed commission on taxation has recommended that there should be a substantial reduction in the amount of money that parents can leave to their children tax free. At the moment a child can inherit €335,000 from their parents before they have to pay tax at 33% - could this be something that should be reduced? Andrea was joined on Lunchtime Live by Rosemary McDonagh, IFA Farm business Committee, Eddie Punch, General Secretary of The Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers' Association and listeners to discuss how inheritance tax might affect them...

Aidan, a listener, emailed the show to talk about his annoyance over people’s behaviour on public transport. Listening to music without headphones, eating and leaving rubbish on them. He wants something to be done about it. Andrea was also joined on Lunchtime Live by Green Party Councillor, Michael Pidgeon and other listeners to discuss...

A school in the UK has reportedly banned skirts and brought in a “trousers only” rule for pupils which has caused anger among parents. Haywood Academy, in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent has banned all pupils in the school from wearing skirts as it reopened for the new academic year. Andrea was joined by Siobhan O'Neill White of Mams.ie, Barbara Ennis, Principal of Alexandra College in Dublin and other listeners to discuss...

The one and only Garth Brooks is set to play Croke Park tonight, tomorrow night, Sunday night and next Friday and Saturday. It’s expected over 400,000 country fans will descend on the GAA grounds which astonishingly equates to almost 8% of the population. Andrea was joined on Lunchtime Live by singer Michael English, Declan Manton and other listeners who are going to the shows...

Andrea was joined on Lunchtime Live by listeners who are having issues booking bus and train tickets online with their free travel pass...

After the passing of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday, tributes are being paid around the world. Andrea was joined by listeners to recount their memories of meeting the monarch...

John Lowe, The Money Doctor, joined Andrea for this week's 'Ask The Expert' slot to answer listeners questions about mortgages...

Are you having difficulty getting swimming lessons for your child? Annette, a listener, joined Andrea on the show to chat about how hard it is to get swimming lessons for their children. Andrea was also joined on the show by Patrick and Carol who both teach swimming lessons and George Robinson, Group Marketing Manager of Aura Leisure...

What is the cost of learning to drive? In Ireland, you have to take the driver theory test, take an eye test, pay for a learners permit, get driving lessons and then take the test itself. And lets hope you pass that on the first time around, cause it can be expensive. And then you’ve to pay for your actual driver’s licence. Why is it so expensive? Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...

Christy, a listener, in Letterkenny got in touch with the programme over a concern he has around some tickets he bought on the website Viagogo. Christy and Newstalk's Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly joined Andrea on Lunchtime Live to discuss ticket touts and reselling above face value...

Officials from the National Parks and Wildlife Service have raised concerns at Dublin Zoo following their most recent inspection. They found medicines with no expiry dates, animals from social species being housed alone, an unclean water trough and inadequate ventilation. Is it time that we closed down zoos? Or are they important for education and animal conservation? Clare McKenna was joined on Lunchtime Live by listeners to discuss...

As the school run starts back and more of us are going into the office, there’s calls for more to be done to make cycling safer in Ireland. In rural parts of the country for example, there’s often no cycle lanes and narrow roads. Clare McKenna was joined by listeners on Lunchtime Live to discuss cycling infrastructure in Ireland...

Once considered solely American practices – baby showers and gender reveal parties are now becoming more and more popular here in Ireland. How do you feel about these practices crossing the Atlantic? Clare McKenna was joined on Lunchtime Live by Chrissy Russell, journalist and mother, Sinead Lyons, from Polkadot events and other listeners to discuss...

Dublin Fire Brigade have posted about rescuing a man in his 70s after he had become trapped in his home for about 14 hours due to hoarding of belongings. Clare McKenna was joined on Lunchtime Live by Fiona Hall, Psychotherapist and owner of Consciously Clearing Decluttering. Listener, Paul also joined the show to discuss his own hoarding habits...

Andrea was joined on the show by Cormac Lally, who is a poet and a spoken word artist but for the last 10 years he has also been working as a wedding speech writer. He counts pro-rugby players, TV pundits and MMA fighters among his clients. Cormac and other listeners gave their tips to writing a good wedding speech.

‘No construction workwear and/or tools are permitted in the in-store seating area’ – this was a sign seen in a FRESH store. What do you think? Is it fair to have a ‘dress code’ or is it unfair on construction workers? Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss..

The countdown is well and truly on for Garth Brook’s Dublin gigs this weekend. But, he will have no support acts for any of the 5 concerts. The Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland say that it’s not good enough and it is an enormous stage and that it would be a great opportunity to raise the profile of an Irish support act. Matt McGranaghan, Spokesperson for the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland and David James, country music singer and singer, Aoife Brady joined Andrea on Lunchtime Live to discuss..

Organic farmer Lisa Fingleton is challenging people to eat only Irish produce for a month, to highlight how little of the food we eat is actually made here. She wants us to think harder about what we eat, and where it comes from. Andrea was joined by Lisa and other listeners on the show to discuss the ways in which we can incorporate more Irish produce into our diet.

Have you been hit with high hospital car parking fees? Childhood cancer Ireland is calling for car parking charges to be scrapped, with some parents saying they’ve been stung with daily charges in excess of €30. Laura Cullinan, mother of 10-year-old Isobel, diagnosed with cancer was charged with a hospital car parking fee and she joined Andrea on the show.

As schools are starting back there are calls for the areas around them to make car-free. Has the traffic at the school gates gotten too dangerous? Would this make things safer for kids? What has been your experience of dropping children to school? A few schools have done it and we talked with them on our show.

Our listener Lucy was scrolling Twitter when something caught her eye – her own handwriting on a book. Declan Cashin had posted a picture of a book inscription he found inside the book. With little help from social media, the book was reunited with its owner. Together they joined Andrea on the show to share their story.

Electric Picnic is back after a two-year hiatus. Around 70,000 people are heading down to attend the music and arts festival at Stradbally Hall this weekend, and Andrea will be among them. This weekend is set to be the largest attendance on record and although we are scheduled for some rain hopefully everyone will be in good spirits that Electric Picnic is returning. We've heard from people heading to Stradbally for the weekend.

Every week we give you the chance to get access to an expert and this week, we put your motoring questions to Motoring Journalist Geraldine Herbert.

After an incident in Roscommon shocked onlookers, Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss what can be done to stamp out violence in sport.

Ten years ago, Derry and Sallyanne Clarke lost their 16 year old son Andrew to suicide. They joined Andrea to talk about the stigma around suicide and living and dealing with grief. If you are affected by any of these issues Pieta House operates a 24 hour crisis hotline (01) 4585490.

A video mocking Nadine Coyle’s distinct Derry accent has gone viral, that is the offending clip and it has racked up nearly 1 million views and 91 thousand likes on Tik Tok with a lot of comments taking aim at Nadine’s strong accent. Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss Irish stereotypes.

The GAA has launched a full investigation into an incident at an underage match in Roscommon last night. Early in the second half of the championship game, an incident occurred, which led to the referee requiring medical attention. The match was abandoned and an ambulance was called to the pitch. Andrea was joined by refs and members of the soccer association to discuss the incident.

Listener Antone joined Andrea to share his story of falling victim to a rental scam. He told Andrea that after moving over from France, and paying €1800 for accommodation, he discovered the room he was due to rent did not exist.

From airplane flings to long distance romance, Andrea spoke to listeners about their experiences of finding love in unusual places.

Younger workers face paying an extra €2,500 a year in taxes so that older people can retire at 66, the State’s budget watchdog warns today. The true cost of keeping the pension age down amid an ageing population is laid bare by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Andrea was joined listeners to discuss how fair this system is and what are the repercussions for younger earners.

Clodagh O’Sullivan from Dingle, joined Andrea to share her story of finding love on Tinder. She described how she flew 7,000 miles for a Tinder date in Hawaii.

Arcade Fire have been hit with controversy as their lead singer Win Butler, has been accused of sexual misconduct from four people. He has denied the claims. There have been calls from fans for refunds, many people tried selling tickets, others didn’t attend the concert in Dublin last night despite having tickets. Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss if you can separate the art from the artist.

Fair City actor Bryan Murray has opened up about being diagnosed with Alzheimers. A condition that an estimated 64,000 people are living with in Ireland. Marguerite Keating is one of those and she is joined by Adrian to discuss her story.

Students waiting for their delayed leaving cert results around the country are being left with very little time to find a place to live. Some will have less than a week before their course starts. Adrian was joined by students to discuss the extra pressure these delays have lead to.

Netflix has announced they are searching for a body double for Lindsay Lohan for a new movie which will begin shooting in Ireland next week. Adrian was joined by listeners who have worked as a body double to discuss their experiences.

The rising price of energy is a huge issue for us all, but it could mean putting some smaller Irish companies out of business altogether. Adrian was joined by business owners and listeners to discuss the challenges and what the long term impact could be for businesses.

A Dublin pub has banned tracksuits from their pub. Many pubs across the country have a similar and Adrian was joined by publicans and People Before Profit TD Mick Barry to discuss how much of impact a dress code has on a venue.

A photo we spotted this morning has caused quite a stir online. It appears to show a sign in the window of Supermacs on O’Connell Street in Dublin offering accommodation for full time staff. Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss how they would feel about your employer being your landlord at the same time.

Listeners joined Adrian to discuss the pro's and con's of employers offering accommodation to employee's.

Residents living near Dublin airport have been complaining since the new runway opened last week. Adrian was joined by Mick O’Rourke, from St Margarets, The Ward Residents Association, and Joan Scales, Editor of travel2ireland.ie, to discuss what can be done to reduce noise levels for residents.

On the show today, Andrea was joined by callers from the FIRE movement which is a lifestyle movement of gaining financial independence and retiring early along with Finance Expert Eoin McGee to discuss the prospects of retiring early.

Carers aren't currently eligible to receive a pension. On the show, Andrea was joined by Jane, a carer, and Niall who lost his son earlier this year. Niall told Andrea how his wife was ineligible for her pension after caring full time for their son.

It's reported that 11 months of screening time has been lost during COVID according to Breastcheck Ireland. Andrea was joined by Breda and Lauren who were diagnosed through Breastcheck and worry for women who have been waiting for screening.

Dublin City Council has installed 22 new phone boxes across the capital with 180 set to be rolled out across Ireland. Andrea was joined by callers to discuss their thoughts on the new kiosks.

Our very own Bobby Kerr joined Andrea in the studio today for the last installment of Summer Memories.

Every week, we give you the chance to get access to an expert. This week, we put your interior design questions to Arlene McIntyre from Ventura.

It’s estimated that 120,000 people in Ireland are living with Long Covid, suffering from chronic fatigue, nausea, dizziness, vertigo, breathlessness and pain. Andrea was joined Grainne Kelly to discuss her experience of long covid and how it has impacted her life.

Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy has said he will not apologise for being a landlord. He resigned yesterday after failing to declare all of his properties, but not because he owns them. Andrea was joined by listeners and Harun in Dublin, from Community Action Tenants Union, to discuss if we vilify landlords.

The latest ‘Children’s School Lives’ study finds that teachers are concerned that children starting school are “over-prepared” in academic skills .When, in reality the focus, at this age should be on social, emotional and self-management skills. Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss if kid's should be allowed to be kids, rather then overly focusing on academia.