The Agenda

The number of households behind on their energy bills has soared by 86,000 in the year to April, figures obtained by the IrishIndependent have confirmed.The energy regulator has been accused of holding back the arrears figures after the release of the data for March and April was delayed for a number of months. March figures should have been issued in May.But the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has denied there had been any political element to the delay in producing the arrears data.Daragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to tell us more about this.

The Government may consider a new bespoke permission system to allow Ukrainian refugees to remain in Ireland once the EU’s temporary protection directive expires in 2027.Discussions on the future of how the State deals with Ukrainian refugees are under way within Government, with a raft of options being considered, including the international protection system.However, sources have indicated Ukrainian nationals may be reluctant to move into the international protection system, as it would prohibit them from returning to Ukraine.Brian Killoran from The Ukraine Civil Society Forum Ireland spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

Sinn Féin Senator Maria McCormack has said we must urgently end the neglect of women with endometriosis and called for the government to support Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion seeking to improve access to endometriosis care for thousands of women affected across the state. The motion which was debated earlier this week followed a series of public meetings hosted by Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald with those impacted by endometriosis across the state. Senator Maria McCormack joined us on the The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.We were also joined by Amie Berns, a woman who has been living with endometriosis and says that she felt “honoured” to sit in Dail with other sufferers and to hear the motion being put forward for the first time. Amie bravely opened up about the constant pain she is living with as a result of endometriosis.

The Department of Health has released the total number of notifications received last year for abortions carried out in Ireland. It reports there were 10,852 abortions in 2024 – the highest number on record since the law changed in 2019. For Louth, in 2024, there were 333 abortions, one of the highest ratios outside Dublin. There were 359 abortions in Meath in 2024 (the sixth highest number per county).Commenting on the latest figures, Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said: “The latest figures are truly shocking”. Eilis joined us on the The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Minister for Finance and Fine Gael TD Pascal Donohue, and we are going to be discussing major progress in the delivery of the National Broadband Plan. The ambitious national project, aimed at connecting over one million people across rural Ireland, is now on track and within budget.We also discussed Trump's tariffs and the reality that Ireland is now entering troubled economic waters. 

A 52-year-old man caught with over €9 million worth of drugs and over €1 million in cash has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.Gardaí said Andrew Pender was at the top tier of a Dublin drugs dealing network.Pender, from Ely Green in Dublin, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering.A car and van with hidden electronic storage compartments and a stolen Garda uniform were also recovered during the course of the Garda's Dublin Crime Response Team's investigation.Crime Correspondent at the Irish Sun, John Hand, spoke to us this morning on The Agenda to tell us more about this.

The Chairman of the Drogheda Cycling group, Noel Hogan, says Louth County Council are “kicking the can down the road” on implementing plans to install active travel routes in the town and these delays are wasting taxpayer’s money due to increasing costs.His comments come as the government has today announced Phase 2 of their Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 plan which focuses on 12 actions which Minister Darragh O’Brien says have the potential for “truly transformative impacts”.Over the past number of years, the Drogheda Cycling Group has been campaigning for safer cycling routes and more Active Transport options for the town and Mr. Hogan, says that Louth County Council have been “kicking the can down the road” to such an extent that it’s impossible to have any confidence in their predictions.Noel spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about all of this.  

A children’s sports summer camp scheduled to take place in Co Down has been cancelled after the local Orange lodge raised “significant concerns” over the inclusion of children from a GAA club.The camp was to be run by the North Down Cricket Club and Cricket Ireland has since said it is “dismayed and disappointed”.Kelly Armstrong from Alliance MLA spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

The US Ambassador to Israel has criticised the Occupied Territories Bill, calling on Ireland to "sober up".The bill would prohibit trade between Ireland and Israel's illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.It was scrutinised yesterday by the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black.Mike Huckabee described the bill as "so stupid" and questioned if it could be attributed to an act of "diplomatic intoxication"."Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness," he said in a post on social media platform X.Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence & Meath-East Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us about this.