Highlights From The Hard Shoulder

There are record levels of patients waiting on trolleys in Cork University Hospital the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have said, with 98 patients waiting for admission to a bed.Overall in Ireland there are 641 patients on trolleys, with 444 of those in emergency departments.How can we tackle this and stop it from escalating?Kieran is joined by Anthony Staines, Professor of Health Systems at the School of Nursing in DCU to discuss.Image: MWP

There has been a lot of speculation as to when the next general election is going to be, but there do seem to be some signs that it’s sooner than you may think!Newstalk’s Political Correspondent, Sean Defoe, joins Kieran to discuss.

Recent studies have found that the famous ‘Body Mass Index’ is a flawed system. Instead, we should be using a new measurement: the Body Roundness Index or BRI. Simply, the process calculates how round you are, with high and low scores being dangerous.Joining Kieran to discuss is Diana Thomas from the US Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Anna Geary has her cupid bow at the ready as she is back on our screens from tonight helping the men and women from rural Ireland find love once more.Season 2 of her show Love in the Country Airs tonight at 9.35pm on RTÉ 2, and Anna joins Kieran to talk about what you can expect.

A year on from the Hamas terror attack on Israel, the conflict in the Middle East is continuing to escalate by the day.But what, if anything, does the endgame to all of this look like?Walt Kilroy, Lecturer in International Relations at DCU and Co-Director of its Conflict Institute.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Kieran is joined by Aoife Lee, Parenting Coach at ParentSupport.ie to discuss the clothes your children or teenagers might choose to wear, and having conversations around it.

Starting from today, Dublin Bus has launched a pilot program of security guards for their services. It will run for 20 weeks, and is aiming to curb 'antisocial behaviour'.Newstalk Reporter Josh Crosbie has been getting more information, and joins Kieran to discuss.

There has been a “worrying regression” in some boys with increasing misogyny in recent years. So says Jason Poole, whose sister Jennifer was stabbed to death by an ex-partner in April 2021.Jason is calling for the introduction of standardised education on gender-based violence into our classrooms. He joins me now...

The actress who plays Princess Anna in Frozen, Kristen Bell, has apologised to parents for getting ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen stuck in their heads for years! But, is it an earworm, or just a great tune?Joining Kieran to discuss is Charlie McGettigan, Musician, Song Writer and Eurovision winner and Jen Hogan, Columnist with the Irish Times.Image: Disney

Today marks one year of the October 7th attacks, when Hamas-led militant groups led incursions into south Israel, which was the catalyst to ongoing conflict in the region.Two men who are no strangers to the issues facing these communities in Israel and Palestine are Danielle Bett, a Scottish-Israeli who works for Yachad, a Jewish pro peace movement and Aziz Abu Sarah, Palestinian Peace Activist and Journalist. They join Kieran to discuss how peace in the Middle East is still possible.

29 Ukrainians in a property in Blackrock are to be relocated to three separate hotels near Citywest, Liffey Valley and Temple Bar.The group have been living in Blackrock for almost two years, they have become a “big family”, they say.Joining Kieran to discuss this is Diana Tkachuk, Ukrainian mother, and part of the Blackrock community who is being moved to Citywest today and Denis, owner of the house in Blackrock.

This week Kieran Cuddihy was joined by Presenter of Weekend Breakfast, Alison Curtis and Elaine Burke, Presenter of the ‘For Tech’s Sake’ podcast to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

The 4th of October marks the start of Space Week and the Explorium in Sandyford is hosting a range of special events this week in celebration.And someone who is taking part and is no stranger to space is former astronaut Daniel Tani, who joins Kieran to discuss.

Aisling Larkin, Mindful Eating Coach and TV Chef joined Kieran to look at the inspirations you can have to make the perfect lunch!

Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action…

Lebanese families living in Ireland are waiting on as the Israeli bombings escalate in their country…Israel bombed Beirut early again yesterday, killing at least six people and wounding seven, after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah.Kieran is joined by Roland Mansour and Rachad Merashli, who have both been in Ireland for about 10 years, but have family living in Lebanon, to discuss.

You might think that the young generation are better at recycling - not so, according to a new survey. Just 19% recycle all their paper and plastic compared to over 54% for the older generation.Henry McKean has been digging through all of this and sent in this report!

Declan Cregan, a former gambling addict and Officer at Gambling with Lives spoke to Ellen Butler on Breakfast Briefing this morning about this new report from Maynooth and Belfast that suggests that sports programmers are heavily saturated with gambling adverts.Does more need to be done to challenge this, and are some people vulnerable to harm here?Oisin McConville, Gambling Care Ambassador and Conor Hoey, former Chairperson of Drogheda United join Kieran to discuss.

As of Monday, e-scooters will be prohibited on public transport. The move has been made by the NTA as they claim it will be better for safety and ‘help prevent the risk of combustion on board buses and trains’.Joining Kieran to discuss whether or not this is fair is Colin Baker of Back from the Future IT Support and e-scooter user David Maloney.

Former minister and Fianna Fáil TD Mary O’Rourke has sadly passed away at the age of 87.Joining Kieran to discuss her legacy is Mandy Johnston, Presenter of Taking Stock on Newstalk, Mary Hanafin, former Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.