Highlights From Newstalk Breakfast

County councillors who become pregnant will be able to avail of maternity leave under plans expected to be signed off at Cabinet this week. Minister of State Peter Burke is expected to bring the amendments to the Local Government Act to Cabinet today after they were deferred last week. Joining Aideen to discuss this was Labour Party Councillor Joanna Tuffy and Hazel Chu, Former Lord Mayor of Dublin.

Instagram is testing out new technology to verify the age of teenagers using the platform. This is part of the social network’s efforts to improve user safety and wellbeing. Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent, Jess Kelly spoke to Newstalk Breakfast with more on this.

The average price of a home in Dublin is now €429,000, 95% above its lowest point that’s according to a new report from Daft.ie Economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report, Ronan Lyons spoke to Newstalk Breakfast to discuss the findings of this report.

The Chief Executive of the HSE has said plans to reconfigure the Emergency Department at Our Lady's Hospital Navan will proceed, despite a request from Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to put them on hold. For more on this Shane spoke to the Clinical Director of Our Lady's Hospital in Navan, Dr. Gerry McEntee and Aontu leader and TD for Meath West, Peadar Toibin.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is facing a backlash from other cabinet ministers over plans to give Gardaí powers to use controversial facial recognition technology in murder, missing person, and child sex abuse cases. That’s according to the Sunday Independent, who yesterday revealed that the Green Party ministers and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly all expressed concerns over the move. But is it a good idea? Liam Herrick is the Executive Director of The Irish Council for Civil Liberties

A classic encounter between Galway and Armagh in the All Ireland Quarter Finals yesterday was tarnished by ugly scenes and violence between both benches at the end of regular time. With this being far from the first time an incident like this has happened on a GAA field, is now the time to address the problem? Ray Silke is a Former Galway Footballer and spoke to Newstalk Breakfast with his view.

Dog fouling fines should be increased tenfold. That’s the view of Patrick Costello is the Green Party Justice Spokesperson who believes upping penalties from €150 to €1,500 would both deter offenders and incentivise enforcement. Patrick Costello spoke to Shane this morning on the show.

As of last week, 82 people have been killed on our roads so far this year with speeding the main contributor. An Garda Siochana are launching a #SlowDown Campaign to try and combat the high levels of speeding. Michael Hennebry, Chief Superintendent of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau spoke to Johnathan this morning to discuss more about the campaign.

Shane was joined on the show by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to look on his life and career.

Boris Johnson’s reign as UK prime minister looks even more precarious after his party suffered defeats in 2 key by-elections Philip Webster former political editor of the Times of London joined Shane on the show this morning to discuss further.

Seven men have been arrested after gardaí seized over €2 million worth of drugs and hundreds of thousands of euros in cash linked to the Kinahan cartel. Nicola Tallant, Investigations editor with the Sunday World spoke to Newstalk Breakfast with more on this story.

Ireland’s economy will continue to grow strongly this year based on the performance of multinational companies in Ireland. However, rising inflation means households facing biggest fall in living standards since 2008. That’s according to the latest assessment of Ireland’s economy by the ESRI. Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance & President of the Eurogroup spoke to Ciara this morning.

The streets are awash with litter because businesses are leaving bags in front of their premises and seagulls are ripping them apart. Shane asked Alison Gililland, Lord Mayor of Dublin, if this acceptable?

If there are two things that don’t mix it’s a kid’s sticky fingers and an impossibly white dress. So, this wedding season, is it time to leave children off the invite list? Andrea Smith is a Freelance Journalist spoke to Ciara on the show with her view.

 The US Supreme Court has struck down a New York law restricting gun-carrying rights, in its most important judgment on guns in over a decade. For more on this Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Larry Donnelly Larry Donnelly, Columnist with theJournal.ie and Law Lecturer in NUIG.

The economy will continue to grow strongly this year based on the performance of multinational companies in Ireland, yet households face the biggest drop in living standards since the 2008 crash that's according to a new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute. John Fitzgerald, Adjunct Professor in Economics at Trinty College Dublin gave his research to the findings of the ESRI report.

Campaigners will tell the Oireachtas housing committee today that the mica redress scheme agreed last year by the Government is not fit for purpose. The committee will sit for some seven hours today to scrutinise the bill. For more on this Shane spoke to Sinn Fein Housing Spokesperson, Eoin O’Broin

Landmark new legislation giving adopted people access to their birth information has passed through all stages in the Dáil and Seanad and now will go to the President to be signed. Ciara spoke to Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman.

Directly elected mayors have been hailed as the solution to the general malaise in Irish local government, but will they really make a difference to our cities, or do they have the potential to make political gridlock even worse? To discuss further Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Derek Mooney Public Affairs and Communications Advisor and Former Fianna Fáil Strategist and also Moran is the Former Chair of the Land Development Agency.

Top multinationals like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Intel are the most desired employers for Gen Z students, according to research from leading employer branding specialists, Universum, part of IrishJobs. Elaine Burke is the Editor of Silicon Republic joined Newstalk Breakfast to discuss the findings of the research.