Highlights From Newstalk Breakfast

The Government is set to increase the minimum by 80c to €11.30 per hour. The Cabinet will sign off on the increase at a meeting today, and the change will come into effect on January 1. Shane spoke to the CEO of ISME Neil McDonnell and People before profit TD, Richard Boyd Barrett.

Revenge porn is an outdated, salacious term that implies blame should be focused on the victim. That's the view of Outreach Co-ordinator at Active* Consent, Dr Caroline West Newstalk Breakfast spoke to Lauren Dooley, who has experienced this type of abuse firsthand.

Increases in parental leave and childcare relief are among numerous calls to help parents and families deal with the cost-of-living crisis. But do we do enough to help single people who are struggling? For more on this Shane spoke to Andrea Smith who is a Freelance Journalist.

A number of primary school management bodies have issued a joint statement calling for an “immediate increase” in the basic capitation rate. They warn that they cannot continue to rely on “voluntary contributions from already hard-pressed parents” to pay for heat, light and water in schools To discuss this further Ciara spoke to the Chief executive of Educate Together, Emer Nowlan.

Without much more ambitious action, the impacts of climate change will be increasingly devastating across the planet. That’s the grim outlook from a multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organisation. Cara Augustenborg is a Professor of Environmental Policy at University College Dublin and a member of the Climate Advisory Council discuss this more with Shane this morning on the show.

The Fianna Fáil parliamentary party is here in Mullingar today for a party “think-in” ahead of the start of the Dáil term tomorrow. Ciara spoke to party leader, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin

Soaring energy prices and the cost of living will be the focus of the Sinn Féin think-in today in Dublin. Shane spoke to Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald ahead of the think-in today.

US President Joe Biden is seeking to “end cancer as we know it” - as he has announced a new programme that will look to reduce the incidence of cancer by at least 50%, over the next 25 years. Professor Seamus O’Reilly, Consultant Medical Oncologist in Cork University Hospital spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

The queen had charm, grit, and endurance - but can we just stop with the forced sorrow? That is the view of Suzanne Harrington, Journalist, and Author based in Brighton who spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

Spunout has launched a new campaign called ‘Under the Sheets’ which is demanding students have the right to high-quality sex education. Illan Dunne is a member of the National Action Panel and contributor to the campaign and spoke to Ciara this morning on the show with more details on the campaign.

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards took place last night! To give us a rundown of last night’s winners and losers, Ciara was joined by Tim Gray, Variety’s Senior VP and Awards Editor

Ukrainian troops reclaimed a significant swath of territory from Russia on Monday, pushing all the way back to the north-eastern border in some places as part of an advance that forced Russian troops to hastily retreat from occupied land. So is this latest advance likely to bring the war closer to an end? For more on this Shane spoke to Paul Rogers is an Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University.

Do you get nervous when you’re entertaining guests in your home? You might have “hostess neurosis”! So what are the signs of this problem, and what can you do about it? Caroline Foran, Author and podcast host joined Shane on the show.

A new report from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s Policy Group on Tobacco is calling for the minimum age of sale of tobacco to be raised from 18 to 21 – would it deter young people from smoking? Medical Director at the Priority Medical Clinic in Dundrum and GP Specialising in Addiction, Dr Garrett McGovern joined Ciara on the show.

Well as we heard earlier in the show, many people’s commutes have gotten longer since the pandemic. But why is this and what must be done to improve the situation? Brian Caulfield, Associate Professor at the School of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin joined us on the show this morning.

Households are in line for three discounts of €200 or more on their electricity bills between now and next spring, under proposals being considered by the Government. So reported the Sunday Independent yesterday. Pauline O’Reilly, Chair of the Green Party Senator, and Conor Skehan, Sunday Independent Columnist both joined us on Newstalk Breakfast.

Education Minister Norma Foley has expanded the exemption list for studying Irish language but is this the right approach to take or are we just making it easier to avoid studying our national language? Professor Pádraig Ó Duibhir is the Director of DCU’s Sealbhú research centre for the learning and teaching of Irish

Thousands of Aer Lingus passengers are trying to rearrange their travel plans following the mass cancellation of flights on Saturday due to an IT outage. Derek Walsh is currently in Bulgaria and Hannah Carton is in Rome and they both joined us on Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

The Swedish far right appears close to causing an earthquake in Swedish politics, with the Sweden Democrats becoming the country’s second-largest party. At the same time, the wider rightwing bloc it leads has edged towards victory over the incumbent center-left. What does this political shift mean for Sweden? Torbjörn Nilsson, journalist and author at Svenska Dagbladet joined us on Newstalk Breakfast.

Gardaí investigating a car fire in Co Westmeath, which left two children dead and their mother seriously injured, strongly suspect the blaze started maliciously Irish Times Crime and Security Editor, Conor Lally brought us the latest on the investigation.