Highlights from The Hard Shoulder

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that passing the Occupied Territories Bill “will not change” Israel's behaviour. This comes as the Sanctions Against the State of Israel Bill will be voted on in the Dáil this evening…Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss this is Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD.

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff' - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about.This week, Simon joins Ciara Doherty to discuss all things karaoke!

Cork Senator Laura Harmon has called for tighter regulations surrounding the use of AI glasses, which can be used to secretly film people without their consent.The use of these glasses has sparked debate in recent weeks, following a number of incidents, showing members of the public and workers unknowingly filmed, with edited clips later being posted on social media…Labour Party Senator and member of the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence Laura Harmon joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.Image: Meta

Evanne Ní Chuilinn, Fine Gael Senator and former RTÉ Sports Presenter, has said that she was not paid as a Presenter, despite doing the job of one at the national broadcaster for a decade…She addressed RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst at the Oireachtas Media Committee hearing amid fresh controversy over payments, transparency and governance within the organization.She joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

Social media giant Meta is to cut up to 350 jobs from its Irish workforce as part of the company's latest round of global job losses that will see it shed thousands of roles worldwide.Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, began notifying workers around the world about the lay-offs earlier today, beginning with staff in its Asian hub in Singapore…Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss this is Peter Cosgrave, Managing Director at Futurewise  and Peter Burke, Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Off The Ball's John Duggan joined Ciara Doherty on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the rest of the week's action…

A disturbing video has been posted by Israeli Minister Ben Gvir showing the treatment of detainees who were forcibly removed from Gaza Flotillas.The video shows people with their arms tied with cable ties behind their backs being forced to kneel on the ground in the sun, with their heads touching the ground. It also shows an Irish woman being forced to the ground by her head…Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has called this behavior of the Israeli Government and Minister Gvir “Utterly appalling and unacceptable”. She joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

A new report from Daft.ie shows rents had their sharpest quarterly increase at the start of this year.On average, renters can expect to pay over €2,000 a month for a two-bed apartment, while in Dublin it will be over €2,600…Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss this is Helen Moynihan, Dublin Regional Organiser in Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) and Marian Finnegan, CEO of Sherry Fitzgerald.

Love them or loathe them, we are all in WhatsApp groups.Whether it's for family, school, sports, work or parties, there seems to be a text group for everything…It begs the question: have we had enough of the WhatsApp groups?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Alison Curtis.

RTÉ management faced the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport earlier today to answer questions on pay of presenters and staff, and also examine pensions and funding…Newstalk Reporter Emily Keegan was following the media committee meeting and joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.Also joining Ciara is Sinéad Gibney, Social Democrats TD for Dublin Rathdown and member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport…

Treatment for crack cocaine is up by 30% as addiction to powdered cocaine among women surges. That's according to the latest data from The Health Research Board…Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Professor in Addiction at the School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, Jo-hanna Ivers.

Iarnród Éireann has announced the building of four new train stations to welcome the arrival of the long-awaited Navan to Dublin railway.Joining guest host Ciara Doherty to discuss is Peadar Tóibín, Leader of Aontú and Brian Caulfield, Professor in the School of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.

Spotify has been blasted for its new logo, which was released to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The logo, which features a green, glittering disco ball, has replaced its usual lime green icon.From your iOS update to the newest Instagram feature, why are we so up in arms about tech companies changing their software?Joining Ciara to discuss this is Elaine Burke from the ‘For Tech's Sake' podcast.

You'll know this next guest from your TV screens where he put celebs through a week of hell in ‘Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week'. Ray Goggins, adventurer and former special forces soldier is back with season two of ‘Uncharted'!In ‘Uncharted', Ray leads another batch of Irish celebrities through extreme wilderness challenges, but this time, the challenges lead to deeper conversations and strong connections…Ray joins Ciara and Shane to discuss.Image: RTÉ

The Government is to move on Tuesday to have RTÉ's finances audited by the State's spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).The change comes almost three years after it came to light that undisclosed payments were made to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy.Minister for Media and Communications Patrick O'Donovan sought approval for a new Broadcasting Bill at Cabinet today.Joining Ciara and Shane to discuss this is Seán Defoe, Political Correspondent for Newstalk and Dr Fionola Doyle-O'Neill, Broadcast Historian at the School of History at University College Cork.

Irish Barrister in London, Specialising in Human Rights & Civil Liberties and Ireland's Special Rapporteur for Child Protection Caoilfhionn Gallagher joins Shane to place her favourite book on The Hard Shoulder's bookshelf!

12 Irish Citizens part of the Global Sumud Flotilla have been detained in an illegal Israeli prison.The mission set out to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and draw attention to the Israeli naval blockade, but has since been intercepted by Israeli forces.Speaking on their way into cabinet this morning, Micheál Martin said it was “unacceptable”, while Simon Harris deemed Israel “in breach of international law”.One of the citizens on board is Dr Margaret Connelly, a long-serving Sligo GP, activist and sister of President Catherine Connolly. Margaret's husband, Sligo Councillor Declan Bree, joins Shane to discuss.Image: Reuters

A Garda investigation is under way into an incident which occurred on Dublin's Henry Street, in which a Congolese man died following an alleged shoplifting incident.The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) has said it is very concerned that excessive force may have been used against the man, who has been named as Yves Sakila.Joining Ciara to discuss this is Shane O'Curry, Director of the Irish Network Against Racism and Barry Whyte, Newstalk's Chief Reporter.

Safefood says there are significant gaps in kitchen hygiene practices among Irish home cooks.As part of their ‘Clean As You Go' campaign, Safefood are asking households to adopt simple, practical habits to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and safeguard family health.Henry McKean has been out asking the public for their poor kitchen habits, and joins Shane to share what he's heard.

The Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections will be taking place this Friday. What are the issues and concerns from people in both constituencies?Newstalk's Josh Crosbie has continued his reporting by speaking with locals in the Dublin Central constituency, and joins Ciara to discuss.

Channel 4 has said "very serious allegations of wrongdoing" including rape, have been made against a small number of past participants in the reality TV series, ‘Married at First Sight'.‘Married at First Sight' is a reality TV show where strangers start a marriage-like relationship with each other, meeting only minutes before the ceremony and then going on honeymoon and subsequently living with each other in an apartment, before ultimately deciding whether or not they will continue their relationship.In response to the allegations brought to light by the BBC, The UK government has said all the allegations must be investigated and that "there are consequences for criminality or wrongdoing". Channel 4 has also removed all previous seasons of the show from its streaming platforms.Dr. Jacob Johanssen is an Associate Professor of Communications at St. Mary's University London, and joins Shane to discuss…If you have been affected by anything you have heard, help is available. You can contact the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on their National 24-Hour Helpline - freephone 1800 77 8888.

The Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, today introduced draft legislation which will see significant reforms to dog breeding and ‘puppy farms' in Ireland.The Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2026 will see a marked change in ensuring ethical breeding practices and in strengthening animal welfare standards for that sector nationwide.Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Fine Gael TD for Kildare South joins Ciara to discuss…

Former ally of Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who used to be one of his biggest supporters, has warned of a "political revolution in America" if the US sends troops into Iran.For more on this, Shane is joined by Amy Tarkanian, former Nevada Republican State Chairwoman and Republican Strategist.Image: Reuters

Last week, Unite and SIPTU members working for the NAS engaged in a 24-hour stoppage as a result of management's ongoing failure to implement the 2020 ‘Roles and Responsibilities Review'. Government talks are underway today.John McCamley, SIPTU Health Organiser joins Ciara to discuss where things are at the moment, and how the situation could evolve in coming days…

Shane and Ciara are joined by renowned Irish musician Sharon Shannon to discuss her upcoming documentary, ‘Tradfluencer: The Sharon Shannon Story' which airs tonight at 9:35pm on RTÉ One.

For this week's Kids Clinic, Ciara and Shane are joined by Iseult White, Psychotherapist and author, to discuss the importance of having dinner together as a family, without any distractions getting in the way.

New figures from the Department of Housing show that the building of apartments is on the rise with almost 25,000 flats under construction in the Dublin region. In contrast, the number of houses with planning permission where work has commenced has fallen.Is it time to increase density and build up like this, and are more embracing apartment living?Carole Pollard, Architect & Editor of ‘Irish Cities in Crisis', Fionnula May, President of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and County Architect for Fingal County Council join Shane to discuss…

Following on from the conversation Ciara had with Tommy Fleming on the show on Friday where he came out as a gay man – we wanted to talk about the use of the word ‘gay' as a derogatory term, and the impact of it…Joining Ciara to discuss is PD Savage, former Gaelic Footballer and Crossfit champion from Co. Down.

The Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections will be taking place this Friday. What are the issues and concerns from people in both constituencies?Newstalk's Josh Crosbie has been speaking with locals in the Galway West constituency today to find out, and joins Shane to discuss.

The sales of lamb were down 31% year-on-year, according to a report released today from WorldPanel. It highlights recent concerns among consumers as grocery inflation now stands at 6.7%.Mayo-based Master Butcher, Seán Kelly has said that his beef and lamb sales have dropped, and he believes that the rising prices and lack of sit-down Sunday meals are factors in this…Seán joins Ciara to discuss this further.

Teacher and writer Sara Ribeiro's prosthetic leg was lost by an airline during a connecting flight. After repeated calls and stress to locate it, she was finally informed her bag had been misplaced and would take several days to return to her. She described the experience and the lack of available support as "overwhelming”...She joins Shane to discuss, as well as Claire Dunne, CEO of the Irish Travel Agents Association.

This week, Ciara and Shane were joined by Off the Ball's Cameron Hill and Saoirse Hanley, Features Writer with the Irish Independent. to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

“Stop demonising one-off rural housing. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by neighbours. If town and village life is so much more sensible and attractive, why do so few people choose to live over the shop?” - so says Michael McDowell in his Irish Times article this week…Joining Ciara to discuss this is Séamus Guidera, Chair of the Architecture and Public Affairs Committee at the RIAI and Martin Marckey, of the Hardware Association.

The Rolling Stones are back in the news after their new album, ‘Rolling Tongues', was announced to be released on July 10th.Pat Carty, Arts Journalist and Broadcaster, joins Ciara and Shane to tell the story of this iconic band…

Andy Burnham is Labour's "best chance" of winning the Makerfield bye-election, according to Britain's former Health Secretary Wes Streeting.If successful, the Greater Manchester Mayor is widely expected to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the party leadership.Joining Shane to discuss is London-based Journalist, Vincent McAviney.Image: Reuters

Sarah Rees Brennan is an Irish author whose books have been published worldwide. Born and still living in Dublin, she was a New York Times bestselling author who wrote for streaming giant Netflix and superhero powerhouse Marvel.After surviving stage 4 cancer, she feared she would never write again…But, the anticipated release of her second adult fiction novel, ‘All Hail Chaos', out today, proves otherwise.She joins Ciara to discuss!

Off The Ball's John Duggan joined Ciara and Shane on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the rest of the weekend action…

Today, RTÉ said it had previously excluded Mooney from its yearly published top 10 highest paid presenter list, as he has been considered a producer since 2020.RTÉ Chief Executive Kevin Backhurst justified the broadcaster's decision, while some have called out the parallels with the scandal which rocked RTÉ almost three years ago, after it was revealed that the national broadcaster had under-declared payments to former Late Late Show host, Ryan Tubridy…Joining Shane to discuss this is Patrick O Donovan, Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport.

Tommy Fleming is a household name for many across the country and this week he has been thrown into the limelight once again, but this time for a very personal reason.Tommy Fleming and his wife Tina have ended their marriage and news of that broke when Tina issued a statement to the Sunday Independent. This marked the end of a 20 year marriage.Since that announcement, there have been a few things that have been made public including quite an explosive voice message with lots of personal information about Tommy being in the media online.Tommy Fleming joined Ciara to tell the reason for the end of his marriage, and tell his truth…If you have been affected by anything you heard, help is available. You can contact The Samaritans on 116 123.

While most of us have been brought up to believe that more exercise is the key to seeing the quickest and sustainable results, researchers from the University of Galway have just made a breakthrough that proves the opposite.A study observing the body's reaction to cycling exercises identified that short bursts of intense exercise was overall more beneficial to see long-term results and for one's health.Dr Enda Murphy, Research Associate at CÚRAM, University of Galway, joins Ciara to discuss.

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and David O'Callaghan from the Here and Back Again podcast joined Ciara and Shane on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

Senator and Disability Rights advocate Nikki Braley is due to have her leg amputated after she tried a rotationplasty and had a prosthetic leg.She was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, at 16.She has survived multiple surgeries, including a tumour removal, two hip replacements, a femur repair, and an amputation.She joins Ciara to discuss relationship with loss, and how she is finally bidding farewell to her foot.