The Agenda

This morning on The Agenda, we had our weekly LMFM Roundtable, where we were joined in-studio by 3 contributors from across the Northeast. Today we discussed Government voting to abolish the three-day wait period for abortion.We also spoke about former President of Ireland Mary McAleese's criticism of people using the tricolour to “intimidate”, reintroducing the eviction ban and a potential ban on under 16s using social media in Ireland.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Minister for Foreign Affairs & Defence and Meath-East Fine Gael TD Helen McEntee about the ongoing case of Dundalk mother Mandy Kelly, whose two young sons were taken to Egypy by their father in 2022.Despite being granted custody by a Cairo court, Mandy remains unable to bring her children home due to a legal travel ban and complex dimplomatic battle.Minister McEntee voiced her frustration over the boys still not being returned home to their mother. We also discussed a range of other items with Minister McEntee, including the Dail voting to remove the 3-day wait period for abortion services, and proposals to relocate Naval service operations to Drogheda.

A leading child and adolescent psychoanalyst has warned that many children and young people are struggling with loneliness and a lack of meaningful social connection, as traditional community ties continue to weaken.Speaking at the launch of a campaign marking 20 years of the Growing Up in Ireland study, Colman Noctor said the research consistently shows that children thrive when they have strong relationships, a sense of belonging and supportive communities around them.However, he says modern life is becoming increasingly individualised, with community structures not as strong as they once were and quality time together often being replaced by more isolated forms of interaction.The findings raise important questions about the challenges facing young people today and what can be done to help them build and maintain meaningful connections.Colman Noctor joined us on The Agenda to discuss the issue in more detail.

A Meath councillor is calling for urgent action to address what she says is a growing crisis in adult respite care services across the county.Aontu Councillor Emer Tóibín says families caring for elderly relatives and adults with disabilities are struggling to access vital support, with concerns that existing services are no longer able to meet demand.Councillor Toibin joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

TDs have voted to remove the three-day waiting period for people seeking an abortion, with the Sinn Féin bill passing its latest stage in the Dáil.On this morning's Agenda, we spoke to Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Ruairí Ó Murchú, who supports the move, and Aontú leader and Meath West TD, Peadar Tóibín, who strongly opposes it. The discussion became heated at times as the TDs clashed over the proposed change and what it could mean for abortion services in Ireland.

Questions are being raised about the future of services at the Cottage Hospital in Drogheda, following plans to reallocate resources from the facility. Health management say the move is intended to support a more comprehensive model of care, with a greater focus on rehabilitation and re-enablement services, particularly for older patients.Officials maintain that there is sufficient step-down and respite bed capacity across the Louth-Meath area to meet current demand and point to a number of recent and planned investments in local healthcare services. These include additional beds at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, expanded rehabilitation capacity at Louth County Hospital, and plans for further rehabilitation beds in Ardee over the coming years.However, the proposals have prompted concern among local representatives and staff, with questions being raised about the potential impact on services in Drogheda and on the patients who rely on them.We found out more about this on The Agenda this morning.

An environmental campaign group in Meath says it is deeply concerned following details of a significant spill at Tara Mines last year that resulted in hundreds of tonnes of tailings material being released within the mine site.According to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency, the incident occurred following a pipeline failure in November 2025, resulting in more than 397,000 litres of mine waste being discharged. The EPA says tailings material was found coating nearby drainage ditches, with concerns at the time that it could potentially reach the Blackwater River.The findings have intensified opposition to plans for an extension of the mine's tailings facility, which already covers a large area in the townlands of Randalstown and Simonstown.Members of the Saving the Environment of Navan Townlands campaign group say they are particularly concerned that the incident was not discussed at community liaison meetings with the mine operator, leaving local residents unaware of what had occurred.Acting Secretary of the group, Mairead Heaney, joined us on The Agenda this morning to discuss those concerns and what action campaigners are calling for.

New figures from the Health Research Board show a sharp rise in the number of people seeking treatment for crack cocaine use in Ireland. Demand for treatment increased by 31% last year alone and has risen by more than 900% over the past decade.Crack cocaine, a chemically altered form of cocaine that is typically smoked, produces a more intense but shorter-lasting high. Those working on the frontline of addiction services say the treatment figures reflect what they are seeing every day, with crack cocaine becoming increasingly prevalent in communities across the country.Experts point to the drug's affordability and widespread availability as key factors driving its growth. Eddie Mullins, Chief Executive of Merchants Quay Ireland, says crack cocaine is now the most common substance his organisation encounters and Eddie joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

A campaign is being launched this week calling for standalone legislation to make spiking a specific criminal offence in Ireland.The move comes amid concerns that the true scale of the problem may be difficult to measure, as spiking is not currently recorded as a separate crime. Garda figures show that almost 190 incidents of suspected spiking were reported between January 2022 and December 2025, but the absence of a specific offence means there is limited data available on prosecutions and court outcomes.Campaigners argue that creating a standalone offence would not only strengthen protections for victims but would also improve the collection of data and help authorities better understand the prevalence of the crime.We found out more about this on The Agenda this morning.