The Hard Shoulder

The Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers is calling for banks to be allowed to offer 50-year mortgages to give people on lower incomes a chance to own their own home. Kieran was joined by Trevor Grant, Chairperson of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors and Brendan Burgess, from AskAboutMoney.com to discuss the 50 year mortgage...

With the weather looking to remain warm, Newstalk's Simon Tierney joined Kieran to look back at the history of ice cream.

Teachers are threatening to strike if they don’t get a pay rise. They say the rise of inflation, announced today again at 9%, means they’ve taken a pay cut. Kieran was joined by John Boyle General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, Barra Roantree ,economist at the ESRI and teacher Eric, about how likely there is to be a strike.

Seagulls in cities has become an issue of increasing concern. Cllr Keith Connolly joined Kieran to discuss why he feels they should be culled, even though they are a protected species.

For many women, becoming a mother is a life stage much of society still expects them to hit. Katy Harrington, Freelance Writer in the Irish Independent, joined Kieran to discuss her decision to be childfree by choice and the reaction it evokes in those around her.

The IRFU have carried out a review of their gender policy, and they have confirmed that they will ban transgender females from contact rugby competitions. Ciara O’Loughlin, news reporter with independent.ie, joined Kieran with her reaction on the news.

An amber alert for the country’s electricity supply has been issued for the second day in a row. We’re told there is a “a generation shortfall in Ireland”. Gerry Duggan, Chartered Engineer and former advisor in the ESB, and Dermot O'Brien, General Manager of Shannonside Galvanising, joined Kieran to discuss what can be done about this and what we could see moving into winter.

Earlier in the week Kieran discussed claims by Daniel O'Connell that Dublin has become a dirty and run city. Willie White, artistic director, Dublin Theatre Festival and Martin Harte, CEO, Templebar Company, joined the discussion today to debate if Dublin really as bad as it has been made out to be.

A report from Daft.ie today says that rents soared by the fastest rate on record in the second quarter of this year and availability of rental properties has reached an all-time low. Kieran was joined by listeners, both renters and landlords to discuss what can be done to address the situation.

TV Chef and Mindful eating coach Aisling Larkin, joined Eoin to take a closer look at figs.

Kieran was joined by Mick Mulvaney, Former Chief of Staff for Donald Trump, to discuss the raid on Donald Trump's Florida estate.

Tennis star Serena Williams has announced her plans to retire, although she's not quite ready to put a firm date on it. Kieran was joined by Rob Maul, Tennis Correspondent for The Sun, to look back at her incredible career.

Yesterday on the show we were speaking with Daniel McConnell, Political Ediotr of the Irish Examiner and Alice Leahy from the Alice Leahy Trust about the state of Dublin Streets, take a listen. Kieran was joined by two former Lord Mayors; Green Party Councillor Hazel Chu and Labour Councillor Allison Gilliland.

A professional cuddler has clients queueing up to pay £75, for an hour-long hug. Trevor Hooton, 30, who goes by 'Treasure' set up their business several months back ,which offers 'cuddle therapy'. He joined Kieran to explain what goes into to cuddle therapee.

Robots are popping up at restaurants around the country. The cat-themed robot ‘BellaBot’ greets and serves at various spots in Ireland, with the technology already massively popular in Japan. Kieran was joined by Paul Lenihan, President of the Restaurant Association of Ireland and Conor McGinn, Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Trinity College, to discuss if this could be the answer to staff shortages.

It is 10 years since Katie Taylor won gold in London in a historic moment for Irish sport. Her win in London earn Ireland's first gold medal since 1996 in Atlanta. Kieran was joined by Ken Moore Coach at St Francis Boxing Club in Limerick, and Dr. Aoife Lane, Head of Department of Sport and Health Sciences at Technological University of the Shannon and Founder of the Women’s Gaelic Players Association, to discuss what her win meant for women in sports.

Sales of electric cars are up 80% year-on-year, and when the show covered this last week, there were plenty of concerns around the sustainability of them, and particular issues around the batteries. Kieran was joined by Motoring journalist Geraldine Herbert, Derek Reilly, who is the general manager at Nevo, and Kevin Sharpe, the director of New Electric, to discuss just how sustainable they really are.

Lucy Thackry, Travel Journalist at the Independent UK, joined Kieran and Fionn Davenport, Travel Journalist, to discuss if there is anything wrong with visiting the same spot every year on holiday.

More than 1,300 families have applied to live rent-free on Inis Meáin for a year under the new initiative run by Comhlacht Forbartha Inis Meáin.One couple, Claire de Haas and Brock Montgomery from the Netherlands and Canada are the current caretakers on the Blasket Islands and they joined Kieran to share their experiences so far.

Daniel McConnell, Political Editor with the Irish Examiner wrote a piece at the weekend about the state of the streets of Dublin. He joined Kieran and Alice Leahy from The Alice Leahy Trust, to discuss why the city has fallen into such disarray.

Sinn Fein have called for a €50 weekly increase for the dole. Tricia Keilthy, head of Social Justice for St. Vincent de Paul, joined Kieran and Sara Singleton, Senior Researcher, for Social Inclusion for TASC, to discuss what increase should we consider, to make a fairer society during a cost of living crisis.

Students at Munster Technological University in Tralee have been told a student village providing accommodation is no longer available to them. They have been told that the “owners have decided to take back their houses for the purposes of long-term letting”. This situation is not unique as students across the country are facing an accomdation crisis. Kieran was joined by Molly Greenough, UCD Students Union President and Alannah O’Connor, Welfare Officer, University College Cork.

As the summer of travel chaos continues, the risk of losing your suitcase at the airport is a terrifyingly real prospect. How to avoid the stress of lost luggage by packing more efficiently and still traveling to your holiday destination in style? We asked Julie Cobbe - style therapist and coach, owner of the Style Retreat with Julie, who joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show.

Over 2.000 schools across Ireland have more than 30 pupils in the classrooms- that's according to today’s Irish Mirror. The figures obtained by the paper show that in the last academic year some of the primary schools had to accommodate 30 or more pupils in their classes. The situation had been described by teachers as “shocking”. Simon Lewis, Principal of Carlow Educate Together National School joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show.

Kieran Cunningham, Chief sports writer with the Daily Mail joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show to preview the return of the premier league this weekend and more.

As Ireland reaches full employment we discuss if we need to lower our visa entry requirements for workers coming into the country. Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurant Association, and James Lawless, Fianna Fail TD, Kildare North both joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show.

Enda Murphy, Psychotherapist, and Director of SeeMe.ie joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show to explain just exactly what it means to be a narcissist. It comes after Robbie Williams took a narcissism test.

“I wonder when a peace movement will start in relation to the conflict in Ukraine. Neither side seems keen to compromise or involve diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire leading to peace talks” - so says Conor Lenihan - former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources. In his opinion the costs to people and the global economy are enormous and it seems nobody has foreseen the impact this conflict is having. So, will somebody shout “stop”? Conor Lenihan - former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show.

We’re going back to the issue of homeless now...we spoke to Ruth yesterday from Galway about her own housing situation, and Ronan has got in touch after listening to her.

A third tax band of 30% continues to be considered for Budget 2023. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has asked Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to examine whether a new rate could be introduced, in an effort to alleviate some pressure on middle-income earners. Karina Doorley, Research Area Coordinator for the Tax, Welfare and Pensions team at the ESRI spoke to Pat Kenny this morning and had this to say. Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward joined Kieran Cuddihy on the show.

This week Diarmuid Gavin joined Kieran to discuss his life and gardening career.

There may or may not be a major celebrity in Kerry. Rumours of Tom Cruise holidaying in Kerry are spreading like wildfire around the nation after his plane touched down near Killarney. Jerry O'Sullivan, Presenter of the Kerry Today program on Radio Kerry, joined Kieran, Ger Kennedy,owner of The Moorings Hotel in Kerry and Owen McQuail, owner of Some Neck Guitars, to chat about where the star might be hiding.

Scientists at Yale University in the United States have managed to revive cells in dead pigs an hour after they had died using a custom-made solution which got the pigs heart beating again. Sean Duke, science journalist, joined Kieran to discuss if there could come a time when we could use this method to reverse human death.

Sinn Fein’s housing spokesperson Eoin O’Broin presented The Hard Shoulder on Tuesday, and following a piece around the housing crisis, listener Ruth was in touch with the show to share her own housing situation and how she is about to be homeless.

Late night LUAS services, for now, have been ruled out by the National Transport Authority. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has asked them a couple of months ago about the prospect of making these services available. Kieran was joined by Brian Caufield, associate Professor at the School of Engineering at Trinity College, and Hazel Chu is Green Dublin City Councilor, to discuss how much of a need there is for better late night transport.

According to a new proposal made to the Department of Housing, gardens should be reduced in size in order to help combat the housing crisis. Glenveagh Properties found that the back part of gardens was commonly unused, and said smaller gardens for three-bedroom houses could make space for additional housing. Brendan O’Sullivan, Head of University College Cork’s Planning School, joined Kieran and Chartered psychologist, neuroscientist, author & host of the Super Brain podcast, Sabina Brennan, do discuss if this could be a solution to the housing crisis.

Alive and Kicking’ Clare McKenna joined Eoin to discuss the benefits of heat therapy.

An Cailín Ciúin is an Irish Language film which is based on the short story ‘Foster’ by Claire Keegan. The film which translates to the Quite Girl has been selected by the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) to represent Ireland at next year’s Oscars. Colm Bairéad, Writer and Director of An Cailín Ciúin, joined Regina to discuss his delight at being recognized for the award.

Gardai today issued a warning about fake €2 coins after they seized coins to the value of almost €3,000 at the end of July. They say it’s the first large seizure of counterfeit coins in this jurisdiction. Colin Baker is a retailer from Back From The Future, joined Regina to discuss how big of an issue counterfeit money is.

A group of climate change activists have set up camp in a field in Kerry. They’re protesting against plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Shannon estuary. The proposal for the terminal, and a power station at the estuary at Ballylongford is currently before An Bord Pleanála. William Hederman from Climate Camp Ireland, joined Regina to explain the reasons behind the protest.

According to figures from the Society of the Motor Industry electric vehicle use continues to grow. There is an 80% year on year growth and a market share of 13%. Paddy Comyn, who is Director of Communications with AA Ireland, Emma Mitchell, the Operations Director with the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, and Lunchtime Live presenter, Andrea Gilligan, joined Regina to discuss if Ireland has the infrastructure to deal with increasing numbers of EV owners.

Demand for electric heating, driven by an increased use of heat pumps, will see generation costs rise by as much as 46%, a new study by the ESRI has found. Daragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie and Dr. Cara Augustenborg, Member of the Climate Change Advisory Council, joined Regina to discuss how to decarbonize the grid.

The US killed the leader of al-Qaeda overnight in a drone strike in Afghanistan. President Joe Biden said Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the CIA in Kabul on. Eoin was joined by author of ‘The New Threat: The Past, Present, and Future of Islamic Militancy’ Jason Burke, who is also the Africa Correspondent for The Guardian.

TV Chef and Mindful eating coach Aisling Larkin, joined Eoin to take a closer look at paella.

It’s World Breastfeeding Week this week. Ireland’s figures are amongst the lowest in the world for breastfeeding. Eoin was joined by Katie Mugan, Lactation Consultant and Journalist and Mother of 7 Jen Hogan, to discuss if more could be done to encourage mothers to breastfeed.

Figures released show nearly 10,500 people homeless o that’s nearly 2,500 more than compared to the same period last year Mike Allen from Focus Ireland. Juha Kaakinen, Former CEO of the Y-Foundation in Finland, joined Eoin to discuss what can be done to address the situation.

The climate deal’s been done, but Eoin was joined by Sadhbh O’Neill, Lecturer in Climate Policy and Environmental Politics at DCU, Sinead Mercuir, lecturer in Planning and Environment Law at the UCD Sutherland School of Law, And Saoi O’Connor climate activist to discuss is anything can be done to get to our net zero.

After 37 years and 8,903 episodes, Neighbours has come to an end, the emotional final episodes having aired in Australia ahead of the UK broadcast. Actress Jackie Woodburne joined Kieran to look back at some of the biggest moments of her time on the beloved soap.

A report published today into defective apartments has not recommended that the construction sector should face a levy to help the State pay the repair bills. The cost of the remedial work required on up to 100,000 apartments built during the Celtic Tiger may cost the taxpayer up to €2.5 billion. Eoin Ó Broin TD, Sinn Féin Housing Spokesperson, joined Kieran and Mark Fitzmaurice, a resident of a defective apartment in Ratoath to discuss the consequences for those living in defected properties.

A report on defective apartments built during the boom years has not recommended a levy on the construction sector to help the State meet the bill for repairs. Minister for housing Darragh O'Brien, joined Kieran to discuss how families can be supported to get their lives back on track.