Highlights From Newstalk Breakfast

Two members of the same family died on Tuesday evening when the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry in Co Mayo. We speak to Fr John Durkan, Parish Priest Swinford Co. Mayo on this tragedy.

In the Economist’s annual Global Liveability ranking, Dublin was one of the cities to experience the biggest drop in ranking compared to last year, slipping down in the rankings to 39th. What do we need to do to improve the standard of living in Irish cities?   We ask Duncan Stewart, Environmentalist and Architect and John Moran, Mayor of Limerick.  

Almost half of the people surveyed for a new study said they have used sunbeds despite knowing the risks to their skin and many who sunbathe believe it is worth getting “slightly sunburned” to get a tan. We get reaction to Isabel Haugh Consultant Dermatologist.

The US Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump, as a former president, enjoys some immunity from prosecution, a ruling that may delay his trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 US presidential election. We get reaction from Mick Mulvaney, former Chief of Staff for Donald Trump and Chair of Actum Global Consultants. 

The dispute between Aer Lingus management and the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association continues to rumble on with a formal Labour Court hearing to take place tomorrow. We speak to Michael Doherty, Professor in Employment Law at Maynooth University. 

Dublin City Council is calling for the introduction of a hotel tourist tax  But will this tax work to help improve our capital for everyone, or is this just another weight on a heavily taxed industry? We discuss with   Hotelier Lorraine Sweeney and Green Party Councillor for Dublin North Inner-city Janet Horner. 

In years gone by dropping in unannounced to friends and neighbours was commonplace.  These days we are more likely to call ahead before calling in to see someone. So, has the spontaneity of visiting people on a whim become a thing of the past? We asked Columnist with the Farming Independent, Jim O’ Brien.

Latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry reveal the sale of EVs are down for a 4th month in a row.  Ciara discusses these figures with Phil Barnes, Geotab’s Business Development Manager for Ireland and UK. 

The population is expected to increase by over 900K between 2022 and 2040. According to the latest ESRI report, over 50,000 dwelling per year could be needed to keep pace with demand. To discuss further Shane was joined on the show by Dr Paul Egan, Research Officer, ESRI.

 Waste collection companies have warned they may increase prices for recycling bin collections to make up for the loss of plastic bottles and drinks cans to the Deposit Return Scheme. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast with more on this was Kevin Swift, Regional Waste Co-ordinator Connacht Ulster.

The Far-right National Party leads in the first round of the French elections. Author and Paris-based journalist Lara Marlowe is with us for reaction. 

Elaine Burke, host of the For Tech’s Sake Podcast explains what has been happening in the world of AI.  All with thanks to Bird & Bird.

Our inheritance tax system is state-approved grave robbery” those are the words of Alan Shatter, Former Justice, Equality and Defence minister and is chairperson of the Inheritance Tax Reform Campaign. Alan spoke to Jonathan this morning on the calls for a reform.

Minister of State with responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail Emer Higgins has said she will ask Dublin City Council to pause the Dublin transport plan that is due to come into effect in August because of concerns about the impact it could have on jobs and retail sales in the city. We get reaction from Louis Copeland, Owner of Louis Copeland & Sons and also Michael Pigeon, Leader of the Green Party group on Dublin City Council. 

From today women from the age of 17 to 35 will be eligible for free contraception. But does the scheme go far enough?  We speak to Monaghan based G.P. Dr. Illona Duffy.

Poor diets, inactivity, and air pollution as well as the lack of access to nature all negatively affect people’s health, Irish Doctors for the Environment has said in an open letter to all 949 councillors.  Dr Ola Løkken Nordrum, Operations Officer Irish Doctors for the Environment explained to Shane what exactly they are calling for?  

France's far right has made big gains in the first round of the parliamentary election. For an update from France Jonathan spoke to Cole Stangler , Independent journalist based in Marseille, France. And author of Paris Isn't Dead Yet: Surviving Gentrification in the City of Light. 

The National Women’s Council has said that unduly lenient sentencing as seen in Cathal Crotty receiving a suspended sentence for violently attacking Natasha O’Brien, has exposed implementation deficits in the government’s Zero Tolerance Strategy on violence against women.Jonathan spoke to The National Womens Council’s Violence Against Women Coordinator Ivanna Youtchak.

Taylor Swift brings her epic Eras Tour to Dublin this weekend, when over 150,000 Swifties will descend on Ireland's capital to witness the megastar journey through her almost 20-year career. Shane spoke to Pascal Donohue, Minister for Public Expenditure, President of the Eurogroup. Fine Gael TD for Dublin Central and Claire O’Malley, Taylor Swift superfan. 

The Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) union’s disputes committee will meet this morning to consider further strike action by pilots at Aer Lingus. This comes as talks between them and Aer Lingus broke down yesterday. We speak to Michael Doherty, Professor in Employment Law at Maynooth University to get a reaction to a possible escalation. Also Clare Dunne, CEO of Irish Travel Agents Association joined us to explain how the strike is effective the travel agents industry.