The Agenda

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to a Dundalk protester (and Independent Ireland rep) who spoke to us live from the convoy.He told us exactly what protesters want and what he wants to see happen, and what will happen if Government don't meet them to talk immediatley.

Property prices in Louth have risen by €15,000 in the last year, according to the latest MyHome Property Price Report.The report for Q1 2026, in association with Bank of Ireland, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €265,000. That means prices have stayed flat over the quarter.Asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €15,000 in the last year to €275,000. This means prices stayed flat over the quarter.Also, property prices in Meath have risen by €15,000 in the last year, according to the report.The report for Q1 2026 shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €325,000. That means prices have stayed flat over the quarter.We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Joanne Geary, Managing Director of MyHome, who told us more about this.

There is growing alarm in the Government as nationwide fuel protests escalate, with the Taoiseach describing the blockade of a key refinery in Cork as “national sabotage”.There is growing alarm in the Government as nationwide fuel protests escalate, with the Taoiseach describing the blockade of a key refinery in Cork as “national sabotage”.The Justice Minister has advised fuel price protesters to move their vehicles, as the Defence Forces will be deployed to help gardaí manage the chaos today.The Department of Justice said in a statement this morning that “the blocking of critical national infrastructure will not be permitted to continue”.We were joined on The Agnenda this morning by Meath farmer Christopher Duffy, whoh was out protesting as we spoke.We were also joined by Fine Gael TD for Louth, Paula Butterly, who says “protestors need to go home because they are doing more harm than good”.We will also spoke to Stephen McMahon from The Irish Patients Association, who said that “patients must not be used as pawns by any party in the current transport protest”.

Fianna Fáil TD for Louth Erin McGreehan has called on the Government to introduce targeted measures to address rising fuel costs for those working in the agricultural and fishing sectors.Deputy McGreehan has written to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste outlining concerns raised by local farmers and fishers, particularly around the sharp increase in the price of agricultural diesel.She said the rising cost of fuel is placing significant pressure on those working in key sectors across Louth, from farming communities inland to those operating along the county’s coastline.Deputy McGreehan acknowledged existing Government supports, including the reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel and the extension of the fuel allowance, but said agriculture and fishing require a more tailored response, and she joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

The new national drugs strategy must “explicitly recognise” the connection between the harms caused by drugs and the poverty, inequality and violence in certain communities, a family organisation has said.Family Addiction Recovery Ireland (FARI) said the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026-2029 — which has been put out for public consultation — “excluded” those communities and those families most affected by drugs and the drugs trade.We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Aileen Malone from the National Steering Committee at FARI (Family Addiction Recovery Ireland) -her own daughter also went through addiction.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Journalist Paul Williams who wrote a piece in the Irish Independent this week titled: “Scrutiny of garda staffing resources shows changing landscape of policing in Ireland”.Paul told us about how garda resources are being stretched to the limit as the force tries to cater for new crime trends and offences and about how allocating finite personnel resources is probably one of the toughest challenges faced by force management.

There are delays to public transport in Dublin city and fuel depots in Galway and Limerick have been blocked as fuel price protests cause a second day of disruption around the country.Multiple vehicles were left overnight on roads in Dublin city centre and protests were set to resume this morning, including possible road blocks to Dublin Airport and the Port Tunnel, gardaí said.A third day of protest over fuel prices has also been announced for tomorrow.This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Sonny Byod from The 'People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices Protest' group who told us that tomorrow's protest will be even bigger and louder.We also spoke to Meath farmer Christopher Duffy, who is irate at the situation, and he told us about how the people of Ireland have had enough wont be standing for this any longer!

Anti-bullying campaigner Jackie Fox has warned that the issue of online bullying is impacting younger teenagers, saying that both the victims of bullying and the bullies themselves are "getting younger".Ms Fox visits secondary schools across the country to tell the story of her daughter, Nicole 'Coco' Fox, who was relentlessly bullied both online and physically for a period of three years before she died by suicide in 2018.Ms Fox's subsequent campaigning prompted a landmark change to Irish law, leading to the introduction of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020.It is part of An Garda Síochána’s schools programme and the lesson provides a clear breakdown of the legislation.It criminalises the sharing of or the threatening to share intimate images without consent.Jackie joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about all of this.