Highlights From Newstalk Breakfast

This morning on the show, Shane spoke with Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, and began by asking her to tell me about her plan to tackle school absenteeism and improve school attendance

Women shouldn’t have to work the week of their period. That’s the call from Olivia Petter, Journalist and Author of Gold Rush. Olivia explained why to Newstalk Breakfast.

Israel's military says it has begun "extensive ground operations" throughout Gaza, and issued an evacuation order on Sunday evening for several areas it warned would face imminent attacks.   Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Middle East Correspondent gave up an update on the situation there to Shane.

Fianna Fáil Councillor, Mayor of Tralee and a member of the HSE Health Forum South, Mikey Sheehy is calling on the Minister for Health to introduce legislation regulating the use of vapes in workplaces and indoor public spaces.Mike explained why to Newstalk Breakfast.

Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer. A statement from his office said that the cancer has spread to his bones, and they are reviewing treatment options  We get an update on this news with David Smith , Washington Bureau Chief of The Guardian. 

Today we find out who will claim the title of Ireland’s biggest Eurovision fan!  All this week we’ve been putting fans to the test. Ireland’s own Eurovision royalty Paul Harrington joins us in studio to crown the nation’s biggest Eurovision fan!  Who will win? Daniel Ryan and Jimmy Kempson go head to head in our Eurovision quiz.

A tenth review has been launched at the Portiuncula Hospital in Galway after the death of a baby in recent weeks. The review is examining the care given to women and babies in the hospital. With reaction to this we spoke to David Cullinane Health Spokesperson for Sinn Féin. 

1.2 billion euros has been budgeted for International Protection accommodation this year. A ten-fold increase in spending since 2019. We discuss this with Peadar Toibin, Aontú Leader and TD for Meath West. 

Friday Riff: How do we fix our Eurovision woes? Shane and Ciara discussed this morning.

The “Hollywood effect” of brands like Taco Bell coming to Ireland is pulling us away from homegrown businesses. That’s according to Tanya Sweeney, Irish Independent columnist who spoke to Ciara this morning.

Donald Trump has made calls for the U.S. to take control of Gaza—proposing a sweeping plan to turn the devastated territory into a ‘Freedom Zone’ of luxury and business. We discuss this with David Smith, Washington Bureau Chief, The Guardian.

Ireland’s Eurovision journey is over. Ireland are out of the Song Contest. Emmy failed to qualify for the Grand Final on Saturday. What went wrong? Henry McKean was in the Arena for us last night and he told us what was the atmosphere like last night.

This morning on the show we asked are we too susceptible to health fads? Ciara and Shane discussed.

More than 2,200 more families could potentially be caught up in the controversy over children's hip operations.  The information on top of 561 surgeries reviewed so far came from Children’s Health Ireland, which administers Crumlin and Temple Street hospitals, and the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh.  We discuss this further with Padraig Rice, Social Democrats TD and Spokesperson for Health. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Istanbul himself for peace talks with Ukraine, rejecting Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s bold request for a face-to-face meeting. We discuss this and more with Andrew Cottey, Professor at the Department of Government and politics at University College Cork. 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare and Member of the Oireactas Transport committee, Cathal Crowe believes learner drivers should be allowed to drive without being accompanied in the car by a licenced driver. Cathal explained why to Newstalk Breakfast and in response we spoke to Motoring Expert, Geraldine Herbert.

From shakes to pancakes, “high-protein” versions of nearly every type of food can be found on supermarket shelves.  Celebrity Khloe Kardashian is now charging five euro for a bag of “protein popcorn”. But is the protein health craze worth it? We aske Shelly Gray, Today FM presenter and registered Dietitian. 

Criminals need only 20 images of one child to produce a deep-fake version of their identity including a video. That's the warning from cyber security experts. To discuss this further with Shane was Sam Stockwell who is Research Associate at the Alan Turing Institute in the UK.  

Ireland’s sizzling spell will be with us until next week and it’s all thanks to something called an ‘Omega. To explain all to Ciara was Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather.

Weight loss drugs can delay diseases associated with ageing and halve deaths caused by heart attacks, according to researchers at the European Congress of Obesity. We discuss this further with Donal O’Shea, Clinical Lead for Obesity at the HSE.