Highlights From Lunchtime Live

Andrea was joined on Lunchtime Live by a listener to the programme, Andrea Clarke. Andrea you got in touch because she is dealing with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and is struggling to find somewhere to live...

Mary McCarthy, writing in the Irish Independent today says we should lose the lippy and set a good example to teenage girls. She argues, we don’t need all the makeup people are wearing nowadays. Should we ditch makeup? And, does our reliance on it set a bad example to young people?  Andrea was joined by make-up artist Sandra Gillen and other listeners to discuss...

An exclusive poll carried out by Newstalk shows that the idea of whether or not gender identity should be taught in schools seems to be split almost right down the middle. 40% say it should be taught and 42% say it shouldn’t.  It’s an issue that comes up time and time again, do you think gender identity should be taught in schools? Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...

Imagine being on a child free zone on a flight – no children screaming, no stressed parents. No babies crying for 8 hours. Sounds like bliss right? How much would you be willing to pay for it?  Or for parents – how freeing would it be to know that the people that might get worked up about your upset or noisy child are all seated in a different area. A guilt free flight!  Turkish-owned Corendon Airlines has come to the rescue. The company has just announced it is introducing child-free zones on one of its routes. The so-called ‘Only Adult’ zone will be accessible to passengers over the age of 16. At a cost of €45. Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...

The deaths of three members of one family, including a three year old boy, in a car crash near Cashel has caused huge shock in the home community.  The crash happened at around 9pm last night. All five people in the car suffered serious injuries. They were all members of the one family from the area.   Andrea was joined by local Sinn Féin TD, Martin Browne, Fr Enda Brady and local businessman Tommy Grogan to discuss...

The Electoral Commission published its constituency review this morning  It recommends an increase of 14 TDs to 174 seats in the next Dáil and increasing the number of constituencies from 39 to 43  What do you think? Do we need more TDs in Ireland? #Andrea Gilligan was joined by listeners to discuss... 

The Spanish football federation’s regional presidents have demanded that Luis Rubiales “immediately resign” from his role following his conduct in the aftermath of the Women’s World Cup final.   Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), is under fire after he grabbed forward Jenni Hermoso by the head and planted a kiss on her lips.   Prosecutors in Spain said that they have launched a sexual assault investigation into the allegations.  Should Luis Rubiales resign? Clare McKenna was joined by listeners to discuss...

Would you ever rock up to a wedding without a gift? Or do you feel there’s pressure to give them? Kirsty Blake Knox, Columnist with the Irish Independent writes today that she wants us to do away with wedding gifts. Clare McKenna was joined by Kirsty Blake Knox and other listeners to discuss... 

Hundreds of people’s travel plans have been disrupted following air traffic faults in the UK. The travel disruption could last for days as further departures and arrivals were affected this morning, in addition to the 115 flights cancelled yesterday. Clare McKenna was joined by Will Dalton, Virgin Media Sports Reporter, who is stuck in Budapest following the World Athletics Championships and other stranded passengers to discuss...

How much do you pay in Voluntary Contribution in your child’s school? An exclusive Newstalk poll carried out by Amárach shows that 42% of parents are spending between €50-€100 per year on Voluntary contribution.  Clare McKenna was joined by Jen Hogan, Columnist with the Irish Times and other parents to discuss...

Schools return this week, but there’s added stress for some families after being told this week that there are no buses available to take the children to school. Andrea was joined by parents to discuss the difficulties they are facing...

Last week tragedy struck at the Cork Ironman with the death of two competitors- Brendan Wall and Ivan Chittenden. Lisa Bentley is a close friend and Ivan’s Coach and she joined Andrea on the show this afternoon...

Kristen Bell has revealed she allows her children to drink non-alcoholic beer. The actress, who starred in Frozen and Veronica Mars, has two daughters - an eight and a nine-year-old. What do you think? Has she got a point? Why do we continue to treat alcohol-free drinks the same as those that contain alcohol? And, would you be comfortable letting your child drink an alcohol-free beer? Andrea was joined by callers on the show to discuss... 

The community of Clonmel continues to grieve today after the deaths of four young people from a car crash on Friday night. The four victims are Nicole Murphy, Zoey Coffey, Grace McSweeney and her brother Luke McSweeney.   Nicole, Zoey and Grace had received their Leaving Cert results earlier on Friday and were being driven by Luke to meet friends in Clonmel for a planned trip to Carlow and a celebration event. Up to 2,000 people are estimated to have attended a vigil in Kickham Plaza near the centre of the town last night to remember the four victims. Councillor Máirín McGrath and Joe Leahy of C-Saw joined Andrea Gilligan on the show.

Should disposable vapes be banned? Electric Picnic have announced they're banning single-use vapes from this year's festival. Have you noticed an increase in disposable vapes? Do you agree with EP banning them?Andrea Gilligan was joined by callers to discuss banning disposable vapes... 

Our summer memories series returns where we chat with some well-known faces and reminisce over those long summer days! Wolfe Tones Singer Brian Warfield joined Andrea to discuss...

All this week we’ve been talking about the Cost of Being Single. We’re highlighting the things single people deal with, that those in couples don’t. Today we’re talking about retiring as a single person.Andrea was joined by Paul Merriman Financial Adviser along with callers to discuss the financial and personal realities of retiring alone.

A controversial mural depicting Irish revolutionary Michael Collins on the front of a packet of Chickatees is dividing opinions online. The striking artwork titled ‘Mickatees’ by Liam Robinson is located on Glasnevin Avenue. Some have dubbed it the ‘misappropriation of an extremely important Irish historical figure’ Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...

Would you like to see more local Irish beers at festivals? Heineken seems to be the main beer in a lot of them, but would you prefer to see some craft Irish beers?  One brewery from Stradbally is calling for their local festival Electric Picnic to stock their beer. They say that if the festival claims to be sustainable, that supporting local should be an important element of that.  David Walsh-Kemmis from Ballykilcavan brewery, Craig Hughes, Co-founder & Head of Communications for Night and Day Festival, Joe Donnelly from Rascals Brewery and Peter Breen from Drink Irish to discuss...

Yesterday Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that violent attacks in Dublin have not increased, despite the public narrative to the contrary, and Dublin city centre is safer than other European cities. However, with constant stories of people being attacked in the city centre and videos being shared on social media showcasing threatening behaviour in some of the cities key areas many would disagree with Mr. Harris’ assertion. Is it just perception, or is Dublin less safe? Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...