Lunchtime Live

Dr Nina Byrnes, GP at Generation Health Medical Clinic joined Andrea Gilligan to tackle your medical queries…

When you think of luxury cars, do you think of people like James Bond? Or Lewis Hamilton? Do you ever think of women? Well apparently, women are becoming one of the fastest-growing forces in Ireland’s supercar market! So, what’s stopping you? Joining Andrea to discuss this is Nadia Adan, owner of Ashford Motors and Motoring Journalist Geraldine Herbert.

Former Kilkenny hurler and nine-time All-Star Award winner DJ Carey has been sentenced to 5 years in jail for defrauding a number of people by falsely claiming he had cancer… Newstalk’s Court Correspondent Frank Graney is at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, and joins Andrea to discuss.

Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie has lodged an appeal against his conviction for raping a woman while in Boston for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations last year. Some 88 pages of character references for Crosbie were provided to the court, including testimonies from his wife, parents and many people who worked with him in Dublin. His uncle and his younger brother Kiefer Crosbie, a former UFC fighter, also submitted character references, as did a former primary school teacher, a school principal and a member of the Capuchin Order. But, should we allow character references similar to those submitted in this case to be read out in court? Joining Andrea to discuss is Barry Ward, Fine Gael TD and Criminal Barrister, Noeline Blackwell, Human Rights Lawyer, Consultant and Online Safety Coordinator with the Children’s Rights Alliance, Miriam Henry and Paula Doyle.

Do you expect a thank you from your boss? Or is your pay check enough? A fifth of workers surveyed say they’ve never been thanked and over half say they don’t feel valued… Joining Andrea to discuss this is Terry Prone, Chairman of the Communications Clinic, Patrick Scanlon, HR Business Consultant at The HR Buddy and Ian O’Doherty, Columnist with the Irish Independent.

Welcome to The Pod Squad! We review podcasts every week so you always have something new to listen to. Laura Mullet Journalist and Stylist and Tom Douglas from the Newstalk Newsroom join Andrea to review ‘Jane Austen Stories’! Image: Noiser

A new report from environmental law and policy group Opportunity Green has said that The Government should scrap Irish aviation’s “free pass” on climate by introducing an air travel tax. By doing this it will ensure the sector pays its fair share for pollution. Many people in Ireland only fly once a year, while others are frequent flyers. Should people be expected to pay this levy and how would it impact the price of our flight? Would you be less inclined to travel abroad if you had to pay a frequent flyer levy? Joining Andrea to discuss is Independent Climate and Environment Researcher and Contributor to the Irish times, Sadhbh O’Neill, as well as listeners.

For this week’s Ask Me Anything, former Meteorologist Evelyn Cusack joins Andrea to answer any of your weather-related questions!

By this time tomorrow, a €5 bottle of e-liquid will cost over €10 thanks to a tax that was introduced as part of last year's budget… A flat rate of 50c per millilitre of e-liquid will be applied, so for some, their vape fix will more than double. We’re told this is causing a rush to vape shops today so people can get in ahead of the increase. Do you have any sympathy, and is the price hike too much? Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

You may have been listening to our piece about the Kildare Ladies Camogie and Football Finals on Wednesday. It got such a huge response, that we decided to come back to it today… Joining Andrea to discuss is Pat Mc Dowell, Manager and Chairman of Muckalee Ladies Gaelic Football Club in Kilkenny and Rachel Sheehan from Off The Ball.

Tourism Ireland has been marketing Ireland around the world as the ‘Home of Halloween’, and it seems like it’s been a pretty big success: it's generated €50 million! So, was it the right move? Joining Andrea to discuss is Tom Lawlor, Co-Director of Dublin City Council’s Bram Stoker Festival, Head of Culture for Derry City and Strabane District Council, Aeidin McCarter and Historian and Journalist Rob Buachanan.

Breakfast Briefing Presenter Shane Beatty joins Andrea Gilligan with plenty of stories from around the country this week!

New figures from The Central Bank of Ireland have shown that motor insurance premiums rose by an average of 9% to €623 last year. Despite a drop-off of 1,000 in the number of private motor claims last year, the total cost of settlements rose by €42 million to a record €896 million, up 38% on the pre-Covid average… If there are less claims, why is car insurance on the rise and how can we tackle these rising costs? Joining Andrea to discuss is Brian Hanley, Director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, Editor with Completecar.ie, Shane O’Donoghue, Moyagh Murdoch, CEO of Insurance Ireland, as well as listeners.

When you make changes to your home’s interior, there are some mistakes you can make that even a professional can fall into. This week, the Home Squad are here to discuss those mistakes, and how you can avoid them! Joining Andrea to discuss is Jenny Sheehan, Irish Examiner Columnist and former winner of ‘Home of the Year’ (@workerscottage on Instagram) and Tanya Neufeld Flanagan, Interior Designer and podcast host.

Parents who have children in hospital have enough worries to deal with than to think of what they should have for lunch. With catering in hospitals, staff would have no problem but to help ease the burden by providing something as simple as tea and toast to parents. However, if you are not breastfeeding your child, you must fend for yourselves. Joining Andrea to discuss is Consultant in Pediatric Intensive Care at Crumlin Children’s Hospital, Suzanne Crowe, Certified lactation consultant and member of Association for Improvements in Maternity Services in Ireland, Maria O’Sullivan and Irish Times Journalist and host of the Conversations with Parents Podcast, Jen Hogan and more.

Hurricane Melissa has been called the “storm of the century”. It’s one of the most powerful in Atlantic history, and has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, hitting the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica. So far, dozens of people have been confirmed dead. In Jamaica, it's estimated up to 90% of homes in the devastated town of Black River have been stripped of their roofs. Orlagh Kilbride lives in Kingston, the island’s capital, with her family, and joins Andrea to discuss. Image: AP

Would you give your seat to the disabled or elderly on public transport? Newstalk Reporter Kyle Butler noticed some worrying behaviour after he moved to Dublin, and joins Andrea, as well as Mark Fennel, Author & Life Coach, to discuss.

We’ve decided to do a deep dive on some of our favourite albums to explore the stories behind them. What did the artists really think of each other? Where did the inspirations from the songs come from? Joining Andrea to discuss is Head Tour Guide at the Irish Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum Experience, Alan Buckley, who’s going to talk through some of Westlife’s greatest hits as the band celebrates their 25th anniversary!

Nearly €450,000 was spent on an ad campaign to entice Irish builders to come home. Ads were posted on billboards and on social media with tag lines like ‘You’ve built Sydney, now come and build back home’. Is this money well spent? Or an enormous waste when housing targets here aren’t being met? Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

As Halloween week creeps in, many people are getting into the spirit by settling in for a good scare with their favorite horror movies. For some, that means spending most of the film peeking through their fingers, bracing for whatever terrifying moment might jump out from the screen. Well, if you are in any way anxious, scary movies may be your best friend. Research carried out has discovered that fictional tales of terror may bring some psychological benefits, including reducing the anxiety we feel about events out in the real world. Would you watch a scary movie if it reduced your anxiety? Joining Andrea to discuss is Dr Sarah Cleary, Karen Beckett, Chartered Psychologist and Researcher and Patrick Osborne, author and Screenwriter.