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Dunshaughlin Mum Still Without School Place For Her Child, Despite Promises from Government - 17/04/2026
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Over the past month on The Agenda we have been covering the massive problem parents in Dunshaughlin are having over a lack of school places for their children.
The issue of school places in Dunshaughlin remains “unresolved” for a number of families, despite progress in securing additional capacity at one local school, a Meath TD has said.
Sinn Féin TD, Darren O'Rourke, said the situation has entered a “critical new phase”, with around 25 children still awaiting places in “Irish-medium education”.
Additional places have recently been committed at Dunshaughlin Community National School, but demand for places at Gaelscoil na Ríthe remains high, however, not all parents have received places despite promises from local Government.
We were on The Agenda this morning by Aine McKenna, who has been keeping us up to date with all the latest developments on this - Aine still has no school place for her daughter, depsite multiple promises from Government that there would a place secured for her daughter.
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'The LMFM Roundtable' - Confidence in Government & Fuel Prices, Racism Against Healthcare Staff, and Mandatory Learning of the Irish National Anthem - 17/04/2026
30:49|This morning on The Agenda we had our weekly edition of ‘The LMFM Roundtable’, where we will be joined in-studio by 3 contributors to discuss and debate the big stories of the week. This week we discussed the ongoing protests in relation to the fuel crisis, confidence in the Government as they survive another motion of no confidence this week, racism against healthcare workers in Ireland, and… do you know the Irish National Anthem?
Local Councillor Unhappy Over ‘Deliberate Attempt to Shut Down Debate’ Over Triple Lock at Meath Council Meeting - 17/04/2026
17:13|Concerns were raised this week over how a motion relating to Ireland’s military neutrality was handled at a meeting of Meath County Council.Aontú councillor Emer Tóibín criticised what she described as a “deliberate attempt to shut down democratic debate” during the April meeting of the local authority.The councillor had brought forward a motion calling on the council to reaffirm its support for the retention of Ireland’s Triple Lock mechanism.However, the motion was defeated by 15 votes to 10, with two abstentions, after a procedural vote was passed to move directly to a decision.Following Councillor Tóibín’s contribution, Fine Gael councillor Gerry O’Connor called for a vote, bypassing any further discussion on the motion.Councillor Toibin and Councillor O’Connor joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.
Cost of Living Crisis: Unions & Business Groups to Meet Government Leaders to Discuss Cost of Living - 17/04/2026
10:09|The rising cost of living and its impact on workers will be discussed at a meeting between unions, business groups and Government leaders.The Taoiseach will chair the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) which will also be attended by the Tánaiste, Minister for Public Expenditure, Minister for Enterprise, and Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.They will hold talks with representatives from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and employer groups including Ibec.ICTU sought the meeting to discuss the impact of rising prices on workers, particularly high fuel costs.General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Owen Reidy joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.
***LMFM Listener Urges People to Protest Outside Politicians Homes Saying "It's Time to Make Them Listen" - 17/04/2026
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“We Need an Adult Debate on Free Speech but Some People Will be Offended” - 16/04/2026
12:24|We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Deputy News Editor at The Irish Times and writer of the Unthinkable philosophy column, Joe Humphries, who wrote a piece this week titled: “We need an adult debate on free speech but some people will be offended”In his piece, Joe wrote: “Cancel culture is on the wane – so Google data tells us. Reports of people being “cancelled” shot up in the period 2019-2021, search traffic shows, but the term is now starting to feel dated. It appears the “language police” are in retreat, and that has created an opportunity for fresh discussion on the proper limits of free speech”.Joe discussed all of this with us.
Ireland's Hidden Tragedy: 10 Homeless People Dying Every Month Stark Report Reveals - 16/04/2026
05:37|The sad plight of more than 10 homeless people a month who die, often alone and in a public place, is revealed in a new report.The tragic toll of 124 homeless deaths in 2022, highlighted in a Health Research Board report, shows while the number of fatalities in people of no fixed abode is down from 133 in 2021, they have risen by 31pc since 2019.In 2022, men accounted for 81pc of the deaths, with a median age of 47 years. Women had a median age of 40.5 years. Some 71 people were alone when they died, and 36 people died in a public place. Sixteen people had been sleeping rough in the period leading up to their death.Dermot Murphy from Depaul says that homelessness is a severe health risk that demands more than just emergency beds, and Dermot joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.
Meath Councillor Calls for Teaching of Amhrán Na Bhfiann to be Mandatory in Primary Schools - 16/04/2026
06:37|Dunshaughlin Councillor Fionnan Blake has said that knowing the words and the history of the Irish national anthem is important for everybody who sings it.Meath County Council will write to the Minister of Education calling on the Department to make it mandatory for the Irish National Anthem to be taught in primary schools.The motion was brought forward by Councillor Blake calling on the words and meaning of the anthem to be taught as part of the school curriculum.After the motion was passed at the council's monthly meeting, Councillor Blake said he was surprised that Amhrán Na Bhfiann was not taught in every school.He says knowing the words and the history of the anthem is important for everybody who sings it.Councillor Blake joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.
Irish Charity Calls for Ban on Ban on Junk Food Advertising to Under-18s - 16/04/2026
09:09|A new poll has revealed that eight in 10 people want Government to ban advertisements of junk food by social media influencers.The survey by the Irish Heart Foundation, carried out by Ipsos B&A, asked a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults by phone for their input.A total of 79pc of respondents backed the measure to prevent children being exposed to messaging endorsing foods high in sugar, fat and salt.This includes targeting influencers on apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, which the Irish Heart Foundation says exposes children to diet-related diseases.We were joined on The Agenda by Senior Policy Manager at The Irish Heart Foundation, Mark Murphy, who told us about why The Irish Heart Foundation wants the Government to introduce a total ban of digital marketing of unhealthy foods to protect the health of children.