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Motorcycle Awareness Month May 2026 - The Importance of Being Motorcycle Aware - 11/05/2026
07:52|May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, a time dedicated to highlighting road safety for motorcyclists and reminding all road users to take extra care and share the road responsibly. With the brighter evenings and better weather bringing more bikes onto Irish roads, it’s an important conversation to have.Statistics from the Road Safety Authority show that motorcyclists remain among the most vulnerable road users in Ireland. Between 2020 and 2024, 105 motorcyclists lost their lives and almost 900 were seriously injured on Irish roads. Serious injuries among bikers peak during the summer months, particularly from May through to September, when motorcycle traffic increases significantly.The RSA has also warned that many collisions involving motorcycles happen because drivers simply fail to see the bike, particularly at junctions or when turning. Rural roads continue to account for the majority of fatal motorcycle crashes, while weekends and afternoon travel times are considered especially high-risk periods.We were joined on The Agenda this morning by LMFM’s very own Pat O’Shaughnessy, an experienced motorcyclist who holds an advanced motorcycle licence and also volunteers as a Blood Bike cyclist— carrying out vital work transporting blood, medical supplies and urgent deliveries for hospitals and healthcare services.Pat told us about why this is so important..
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Lack of legislation Around Injectable Aesthetics 'Glaring Public Safety Failure' - 11/05/2026
10:01|A medical doctor and aesthetics practitioner says the lack of legislation around injectable aesthetics is “a glaring public safety failure”.Cork man Stephen Creedon and his sister Niamh, who holds a PhD in chemistry, have come together to develop an online directory of registered aesthetic practitioners, following an RTÉ Investigates probe into the sale and offering of Botox-type products illegally in Ireland.Safeskin.ie a free directory of aesthetic clinics in Ireland where every listed practitioner has been independently verified against the Medical Council, Dental Council, or the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland register. Anti-wrinkle injections are currently prescription-only in Ireland and must be administered by registered doctors, dentists, or nurses working under medical direction - however, the same legal requirements do not exist for dermal fillers.Dr Stephen Creedon joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.
Justice Minister Considering Plan for Payments for Ukrainian Refugees After They Return Home - 11/05/2026
09:06|The Minister for Justice said he is considering a scheme which would offer payments to Ukrainian refugees who return to their home country. Jim O’Callaghan was responding to a report in The Sunday Times, which said Ukrainians who fled to Ireland because of the war would receive the money after they have arrived back in Ukraine.More than 125,700 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland since Russia’s invasion in February 2022We were joined on The Agenda this morning by CEO of The Immigrant Council of Ireland, Teresa Buczkowska, to find out more about this.
HSE Warns of Ambulance Delays Due to Industrial Action - 11/05/2026
07:52|Ambulance workers who are members of trade unions Unite and Siptu are to begin work-to-rule action today in a row over pay.National Ambulance Service (NAS) paramedics will also undertake a 24-hour stoppage tomorrow, with its unions saying further industrial action is planned if a dispute with the HSE is not resolved.Last month, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over what the unions described as management’s failure to implement recommendations contained in the 2020 “Roles and Responsibilities Review”.According to the unions, ambulance personnel have taken on increased qualifications, clinical responsibilities and operational duties in recent years.We were joined on The Agenda this morning by SIPTU Ambulance Sector Organiser, John McCamley, who spoke to us some more about this.
Two Irish Passengers From Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Return Home - 11/05/2026
06:29|Two Irish people who had been on board a cruise ship hit by hantavirus returned home on Sunday on an Air Corps plane that landed at Baldonnel military airbase in Dublin just after 9pm.Ann Lane, a former personal assistant to former president Mary Robinson who lives in Dublin, and her friend were accompanied by Health Service Executive (HSE) medics on the flight from Tenerife.The Department of Health said both would now “isolate for a period of time in a HSE facility, in line with European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance”.About 20 minutes after the plane landed, two National Ambulance Service ambulances, their windows blacked out, emerged from the campus, followed by a HSE paramedic’s car. The vehicles turned right, towards the city. We found out more about all of this on The Agenda this morning
Benefit of Free Schoolbooks "Wiped Out" as Families Hit With €750 iPad Bills, Says Meath TD - 07/05/2026
06:11|This morning on The Agenda we discsussed the growing debate around the cost of digital devices in Irish schools. Sinn Féin’s TD for Meath-East and Education spokesperson, Darren O’Rourke, has criticised the Government’s approach to technology in classrooms, saying parents are being left with huge bills for compulsory iPads and tablets.According to Deputy O’Rourke, some families are being asked to pay as much as €750 per child for devices, despite the introduction of the free schoolbooks scheme, which was intended to reduce the overall cost of education. He says many parents are contacting his office struggling to meet the expense, particularly households with more than one child in secondary school.Deputy O’Rourke joined us to us some more about this.We also got the latest on the situation with the house in Stamullen which was earmarked for asylum seekers.
‘This is One More Step Towards Child Protection’, Says Brother of Murdered Valerie French as New Law Goes Before Cabinet - 07/06/2026
09:37|Legislation to introduce ‘Valerie's Law’ went before Cabinet yesterday - a move described by Valerie French’s brother as “one more step towards child protection”.The legislation is named after Valerie French (41), who was murdered by her husband, James Kilroy, in Castlebar, Co Mayo, in 2019. The couple have three children.Under the law, killers who take the life of their child’s other parent will no longer automatically keep guardianship rights.Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan brought the bill to the Cabinet yesterday.The victim’s brother, David French, said he is “really looking forward” to seeing the text of the bill and for it to go before the Dáil.Valerie’s brother David joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.