RTÉ - Drivetime

There are reports today that Benjamin Netanyahu is moving for a full occupation of Gaza and that operations will even take place where Israeli hostages are being held. For more on this, the Independent's Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew who is in Jordan.

Contact has been made with the gang in Haiti involved in the kidnapping of Irish woman Gena Heraty, who was among eight people including a child taken from an orphanage on Sunday. John spoke to Fiona McGarry who runs the BA in Journalism at University of Galway and produced a documentary on Gena back in 2012 following the earthquake in Haiti.

Negotiations are underway in Geneva for a landmark UN treaty to tackle plastic pollution, Professor Richard Thompson, who identified microplastics over 20 years ago, has advised on banning microbeads in shower gels and single-use plastic bags. He's Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth spoke to Claire.

A vocal opposition politician is calling on the Government to exempt tips from income tax .But should employees in restaurants, cafes, salons and the wider service industry really keep the change and avoid the tax man? Reporter Barry Lenihan has more.

Diego Da Rin, Haiti Analyst with the International Crisis Group

Stephen Maguire, Editor of Donegal Daily

Dr Tom Adamkiewicz is an American paediatrician working at Nasser Hospital in Gaza

Ralph Riegel, Southern Correspondent with the Irish Independent

Conor Macauley, RTÉ Northern Correspondent and Niall McKenna, Chairperson of the A5 'Enough is Enough' campaign group

The Indian Embassy in Ireland has warned its citizens to take reasonable precautions for their personal security following what it said was an increase in physical attacks reported against Indian citizens recently. John speaks to Prashant Shukla, Chairman of the Ireland India Council who has lived in Ireland for over 24 years.

The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palestine office said today that more than 1,300 people seeking aid in Gaza have been killed since late May. The OHCHR also said that 859 of these deaths were "in the vicinity" of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites. For more Ajith Sunghay, the OHCHR Head of Office for Palestine.

The Labour Party moved to bury the hatchet with a potential successor to Michael D. Higgins last night. Meanwhile, tensions escalate within the Social Democrats a week on since the readmission of Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes. Our reporter Barry Lenihan tells us more.

As the government continues with plans to develop a new state-led LNG reserve as a vital, temporary measure to ensure Ireland's energy security, environmental campaigners, including Friends of the Earth, sharply criticise the plan. To discuss this Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher and Jerry Mac Evilly, campaigns director with Friends of the Earth.

The mother of a baby with a rare medical condition has been campaigning to access a life-saving medicine that would mean his condition could be managed at home, rather than in hospital. Eight-week old Toby Gavin has spent most of his life so far in Temple Street in Dublin. Our reporter Una Kelly has been speaking to Toby's mother Lucy Gavin.

Have you heard about the Meath man who conquered more land in India than Napoleon conquered in Europe? Or the Catholic lad from Limerick, who conquered Crimea for the Russian army? These are just some of the people who feature in Season 2 of the RTÉ radio series and podcast Irish Imperial Lives.

Figures that are in the papers today show that there are 301,000 households currently in arrears on their electricity bills and a further 175,000 in arrears on their gas bill. For reaction to this Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Transport and Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment.

Yesterday, five men were sentenced to between 8 and a half and 14 years for their involvement in the horrific torture of Natalie Ennis, after they pleaded guilty to her false imprisonment and assault causing harm at a flat in Henrietta House in Dublin on the 26th of September last year. Natalie spoke to Claire in studio.

The survivors of the Miami Showband massacre say their legacy will be about music and peace. They gathered today at Buskhill outside Newry to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the atrocity. Our reporter Una Kelly was there.

A Health Research Board report published today shows the number of cases treated for problem alcohol use were up by 7% on last year. For reaction Marion Rackard who is an addiction Counsellor and Psychotherapist and co-founder of Silent Voices campaign from Alcohol Action Ireland and Michael Guerin who is an addiction counsellor in Limerick.

Doctor Tom Adam-kiew-icz, said the majority of the hospital's patients have signs of malnutrition and "many children are passing out literally during the day and injuring themselves". Donald Trump's Middle East envoy arrived in Israel this afternoon. For more on this Aseel Aburass, spokesperson for Physicians for Human Rights- Israel.

John is joined by Dr Adil Husain an Emergency Room physician in Dallas who has just returned to the US after a stint as a volunteer doctor in Nasser Hospital in Gaza, where he treated seriously ill malnourished children along with mass casualties from bombings.

The research by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission showed that a lack of information is leaving buyers "confused, frustrated and in limbo due to lengthy delays". For reaction David Brock, Director of Brock Delappe Estate Agents.

A letter in The Irish Times earlier this week from a father who visited his son in the Gaeltacht over the weekend - saying that "he looked healthy and happy and not at all suffering from withdrawal symptoms from only being allowed access to his phone for 15 minutes a day." Michelle Ní Mhuirín, Bean an ti Colaiste Acla gave us some expert advice.

21-year-old Alanna Quinn Idris spoke to the media yesterday outside the Criminal Courts of Justice about the attack in 2021 that resulted in her losing her right eye. Two of her attackers have been jailed and yesterday, a third man was charged. John spoke to Alanna's mother, Jamie.

John Cummins- Minister of State at the Department of Housing for Local Government and Planning.

Alaa Abu Samara, the Action Aid Emergency Response Manager in Gaza, and Sherin Alsabbagh, Irish Palestinian woman.

Alexander Fitzgerald, Stylist.

Martin Heydon TD; Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Una Kelly, RTÉ Reporter

Seán Kelly, Fine Gael MEP, Ireland South and Michael McNamara, Independent MEP, Ireland South

Dara O'Cinnéide, former All-Ireland winning captain of Kerry; Martin McHugh, former All-Ireland wining player for Donegal.

Gaza is now on the brink of running out of the specialised therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, according to UN agencies.

Gráinne Ní Aodha, Ireland reporter with the Press Association brings us the latest on Michael Flatley's bid, which unfolded in the High Court in Dublin today.

Barry Lenihan speaks to the family of Jimmy Laughlin, who was murdered in Sligo in 2018. The parents of the young DJ, who was beaten to death by a stranger, are seeking an urgent meeting with the Mental Health Minister over the lack of a HSE investigation into the killing.

Jonathan Turner, Chief Executive of the UK Lawyers for Israel; and Shay Brennan, a member of the foreign affairs committee and Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin Rathdown.

Irish hoteliers are pushing back against "misleading claims" about the cost of a 9% VAT reduction, arguing the Government's one-billion euro figure is inflated. They also contend any reduction would apply solely to food services, not accommodation, at a significantly lower cost. Paul Gallagher is Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation.

A fifth of the children in Gaza are malnourished and more than 100 people have reportedly died of hunger, the UN has said. The head of UNRWA said its staff are fainting from hunger as the starvation crisis deepens. For more Caroline Willeman is Project Coordinator with Médecins Sans Frontieres & Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network.

Improving pricing transparency ..and giving the Injuries Resolution Board more powers..are among the measures. To discuss this Robert Troy, Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance.

Police in Country Fermanagh continue their inquiries into a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide yesterday. 45 year old Vanessa Whyte, and her two children, 14-year-old James Rutledge and 13-year-old Sara Rutledge, died in the shooting at their home in Maguiresbridge, John Cooke reports.

A drug named Palforzia has been approved by the European Medicines Agency, but currently there is no planned timeline to roll it out in this country. Some parents are travelling abroad at their own expense to access the treatment in countries like the UK, Germany and the USA. Reporter Una Kelly has more.

Nobody will use the planned MetroLink from Dublin city centre to the airport and it will cost taxpayers multiples of any budget allocated to the project - that's according to Michael O'Leary, group chief executive officer of Ryanair Holdings.

The Government plans to cut hospitality VAT back to 9% for Budget 2026 but economists warn that the billion-euro cost is economically illiterate & reckless vandalism of public finances. To discuss this Dr Barra Roantree, Director of the Masters in Economic Policy, Trinity College Dublin & Adrian Cummins, CEO of Restaurants Association of Ireland.