Highlights From The Hard Shoulder

Coldplay are due to kick off their Dublin show tomorrow and many have descended upon the city.With all those people booking hotels, would it make sense to have a tax on hotel rooms to make the most of big events like this?Labour Party Councillor on Dublin City Council, Dermot Lacey and Micheal Lennon, General Manager of the Westport Woods Hotel join Kieran to discuss.

Passengers should be restricted to two drinks at airports, that’s according to Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary.He said introducing alcohol limits at airports would help tackle a rise in anti-social behaviour on flights.Henry McKean went to Dublin Airport today to get the public’s opinion, and joins Kieran Cuddihy to discuss.

Every week for Tuesday Travel on The Hard Shoulder, Fionn Davenport takes a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world. This week, Fionn joined Kieran Cuddihy to talk about golfing holidays you can take at home.

Recent figures published by the Central Statistics Office show that Ireland has reached immigration levels of a 17-year high, along with the country’s highest emigration figures since 2015.Joining Kieran to discuss what this means is Sociologist, Evelyn Mahon.

CEO of Starbucks Brian Niccol has a very unusual commute as he takes a private jet over 1000 miles to travel between offices in Seattle, Washington and California.Is this reasonable? And should the use of private jets be banned to protect the environment?To discuss, Kieran is joined by Oisin Coughlan, CEO of Friends of the Earth Ireland and Kevin Byrne, retired Air Corps Lieutenant Colonel and Airport Safety and Security Auditor.

Bananas for bananas? There are layers to our favourite fruit.Today is National Banana Lovers Day, and Kieran is joined by registered Dietician Orla Walsh to share some fun facts about the fruit to celebrate.

Gardener Diarmuid Gavin joins Kieran Cuddihy to put his favourite book on The Hard Shoulder’s Bookshelf!

Some of Ireland’s biggest road projects, including the M20 Cork to Limerick transport project, could be delayed due to funding constraints.The Chief Executive of TII, Peter Walsh, is among those calling for a multi-annual funding allocation for road infrastructure.Joining Kieran to discuss is Cathal McSweeney, Director of Public Affairs at Cork Chamber.

Irish Athletics Champion, Rhasidat Adeleke, joins Kieran Cuddihy to reflect on her time at the Paris Olympics, and discuss what’s next for her.

It’s International Lottery Day - a day where we celebrate the life changing moment of what it feels to win the lotto. Newstalk’s Henry McKean has never won the lotto, but keeps trying, and joins Kieran Cuddihy to discuss.

Broadcaster and Actor, Spencer Matthews has spent the last 30 days running 30 marathons in the Jordanian dessert to raise money for Global’s Make Some Noise.Today is the final day of his Great Desert Challenge and Spencer joins Kieran Cuddihy to discuss the experience.Image: @spencermatthews on Instagram

It’s that time of year, the children are back at school which means the dreaded evenings helping with homework are back! But, is it a waste of time? And should we scrap it all together?Joining Kieran to discuss is Gemma Maher, Principal of Rathcoole Educate Together and parent of 2 and Mary McCarthy, Columnist for the Irish Independent.

As the summer draws to a close, how has the Irish tourism industry fared this year?To give a rundown, guest host Mandy Johnston is joined by Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Chief Executive of the Irish Tourism Industry.

E-scooters are to be banned onboard public transport amid safety concerns from October, according to the National Transport Authority.What will this mean for e-scooter users and commuters in Ireland? Joining guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss is Jason Cullen, Chairperson of the Dublin Commuters group.

Irishman Alex Ryzhuk who went to Ukraine to fight in the war is still missing in action after reports on Thursday.Who is Alex? And what does he stand for?Ayman Al-Frihat of Combat War Footage joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.Image: FinnHouse Films

More than 27,000 American tourists were in Dublin to watch the opening fixture of the US college football season on Saturday.But is this event set to become even bigger in the future?Neil Naughton, Co-Chairman of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Series, joined Mandy Johnston to discuss.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, back to school chaos is set to kick back in, so we look at how you can best manage the cost of it all.CEO of Fair Stone & Founder of Ask Paul, Paul Merriman joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Yesterday the controversial transport plan in Dublin went into action that blocked certain road usage around Dublin’s quays.How has the plan gone? And what will be the effects of this decision?Ger Hyland, Driver Operator and president of the Irish Road Hauliers Association and Brian Caulfield Professor in Transportation at the School of Engineering at Trinity College join guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Apparently, we are living in an age of vanity, that’s according to JJ Clarke, Assistant Producer of the Irish Independent.Is that true? Has social media made us acutely aware of how we are perceived in the world?JJ Clarke as well as Alexandra Ryan, Founder of Goss.ie join Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Today saw the passing of former England Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Sven had a wide career from managing in Italy during the height of the Italian game and, of course, in England, managing the national team for 5 years.Football Journalist, John Brewin joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.