The Hard Shoulder

This week, Ciara and Shane were joined by Off the Ball's Cameron Hill and Freelance journalist, Niamh O'Reilly, to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists... 

With four days to go before the United States midterm elections, Democrats are leading in national polls as both parties make their final push for votes. Meanwhile, a legal dispute threatens to delay the Senate result in Alaska, and President Donald Trump has cancelled two weekend rallies in favour of campaigning by phone. Greg Swenson, of The Republicans Overseas joined Shane to discuss 

According to new research by iReach, we plan to spend over €60 million on Halloween this year, down by over €11 million from last year. As sweets and chocolate are more expensive than ever, many families are cutting back...Henry McKean has been investigating, and he sent this report. 

From January first of next year, Toll prices are set to rise for commuters using motorways and The Port Tunnel. M50 users in cars with a tag or video account will see a 10c increase, while car users without a tag will see a 20c increase. Ger Hyland, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association and Jason Cullen, Chairperson of the Dublin Commuter Coalition joined Ciara to discuss. 

Research published today by the ESRI, shows that more than a quarter of the population in Ireland has experienced sexual violence as an adult. Dr Clíona Saidléar, Executive Director of Rape Crisis Ireland joined Shane Coleman on the show to discuss the findings of the research.

With less than a week to go before the US midterm elections, Democrats have reasons to believe that a Senate takeover may be within reach. Niall Stanage, White House columnist with The Hill joined Ciara on the show to discuss.

Comedian, Bernard Casey joined Shane on the show to discuss his new book ‘Local Gossip’ which explores the very backbone of rural Ireland, GAA obsessions and small-town gossip, depicted by his Kerry characters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his party have amplified allegations that the country’s Arab-led parties had “stolen” the election, with final results expected to confirm his bloc has lost its majority in parliament. Bel Trew, Chief International Affairs Correspondent with The Irish Independent and Paul Kearns, Journalist based in Tel Aviv both joined Ciara on the show to discuss.

The Social Democrats today launched a Bill to establish a public register of data centres in Ireland, to include information about their locations, carbon emissions, energy requirements and water usage. Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore joined Shane on the show to discuss.

U2 have announced details of the European leg of their Greatest Show on Earth Tour! John Caddell, Deputy Managing Editor of Today FM joined us on The Hard Shoulder this evening with the details.