Highlights From Newstalk Breakfast

Today is national missing person’s day. Trevor Deely disappeared 22 years this week – the same age he was when he disappeared. Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Trevor's brother, Mark Deeley.

Ireland is continuing to increase the amount of waste it is producing with the country now in danger of missing 2025 recycling targets set by the EU. That’s according to a new report from the EPA this morning. Warren Phelan, Programme Manager in the Circular Economy Programme and, Green Party Spokesperson for Transport, Climate Action and Environment, Brian Leddin..

Parents have been urged to be vigilant for signs of the bacterial infection Strep A after a five-year-old girl died of a severe form of the illness in Northern Ireland and as a possible link to the death of another child in the State is under investigation. Scott Walkin, Irish College of General Practitioners lead for infection control & Mayo GP explained the signs of a strep A infection.

Stop trying to sanitise ‘Fairytale of New York’ declares political journalist, author, and contributor to Spiked Online, Ella Whelan. We ask is censoring the F word in Fairytale of New York an act of cultural vandalism?

Sinn Féin’s Education Spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire joined to discuss teacher waiting times and how it is taking so long to register with the Teaching Council.

Met Éireann has warned that temperatures will fall to -4C later this week and has predicted hazardous conditions with sharp to severe frost and icy surfaces. Brian Farrell, spokesperson for The Road Safety Authority told us what advice should people be following.

Ministers later today are expected to sign off on the creation of five new surgical hubs across the country to deal with the backlog of planned operations. The hubs, at a cost of up to 100 million euros will focus on high-volume surgeries. Ciara spoke to Anthony Staines, Professor of Health Systems at the School of Nursing and Human Sciences in DCU, and asked is this the solution to our hospital waiting lists?

On December 6, 1922, the first anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State formally came into existence. Today marks the centenary, but what is its legacy, and has it been a success? John Bruton, Former Taoiseach spoke to Ciara this morning.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive has said it expects there will be enough emergency accommodation beds in the capital to meet demand, as temperatures are forecast to drop to -6 degrees this week. But is this good enough? And will it be enough to meet demand should cold spells continue into the coming months? To discuss we heard from the Founder of the Peter McVerry Trust and Social Campaigner, Fr. Peter McVerry.

Price pressures will remain unless housing supply increases significantly - that’s according to a report today published by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of Banking & Payments Federation Ireland outlines the key findings.

Ireland’s gas consumption will have to half by 2030 if we are to meet our climate targets. That’s according to a new analysis from UCC and Friends of the Earth which has been examining Ireland’s energy needs and our reliance on fossil fuels. Speaking to Ciara this morning was Hannah Daly Professor in Sustainable Energy at the School of Engineering at University College Cork.

Prince Harry speaks of the "leaking and... planting of stories" as part of a "dirty game" in a new trailer for the Harry and Meghan series on Netflix, due to be released this Thursday. Former BBC Royal Correspondent, Jennie Bond spoke to Ciara about her reaction.

Last week on the show we discussed the ongoing teacher shortages and recruitment difficulties, and a number of people got in touch with us about their difficulties registering with the Teaching Council. Kevin Feeney is an English teacher who had to wait 3 years to register with the Teaching Council and Kevin spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

If you’re out and about this festive season watch out for digital pick-pocketers, who are reportedly targeting those on nights out. Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly joined us with the details.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland has been tasked with exploring options around the future of road tolling, which could include a multi-point tolling system. Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Economist with the ESRI, Barra Roantree, and Independent Limerick TD, Richard O'Donoghue.

Workers with five or more years of PRSI contributions will be entitled to 60pc of their gross weekly salary capped at €450 per week. Michael Taft, Economic Researcher for SIPTU joined Ciara to discuss further.

A protest has taken place in Bantry in West Cork over the weekend by families of children with learning disabilities, over the uncertainty of a support facility. Those who attend the CoAction Child and Family centre may have to be relocated over plans to turn the building into a residential unit for people using a separate CoAction house. Newstalk reporter Josh Crosbie has met with parents who are concerned about the future of the centre.

Met Éireann have issued a winter weather advisory for the whole country, which will be in place until next Sunday. Ciara spoke to the Head of forecasting at Met Eireann, Evelyn Cusack.

The owner of a Dublin city cafe is speaking out in an ‘act of desperation, about the ‘relentless’ drug dealing taking place outside his Dublin café. Stephen Kennedy, owner of Copper & Straw Cafe spoke to Jonathan this morning.

“Government needs to get serious about its commitment to the Well-being Framework” that’s according to Social Justice Ireland as they publish the findings of their new report today. Susanne Rogers, Research and Policy Analyst at Social Justice Ireland spoke to Jonathan this morning.