The Hard Shoulder Highlights

The Government today officially announced plans to implement a new national rent control system.The new rental regulations will mean that the current system, which caps yearly rent increases at 2%, or in line with inflation, will be retained for existing tenancies.Landlords will also be allowed to hike rents in instances where tenants leave homes voluntarily.To discuss, Kieran is joined by Daniel McConnell, Editor of the Business Post, Kate English, Deloitte Chief Economist and later Pat Davitt, CEO at IPAV.

Former People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith joins Kieran to place her favourite book on The Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

Martin Scorsese has said that people talking, snacking and using their phones during a film has put him off going to the cinema, and a survey found that over 50% of Irish people agree with him.The debate over declining cinema etiquette has been in the spotlight recently, including when a viral TikTok trend saw teenagers erupting into chaos during a scene in the new Minecraft film.Joining Kieran to discuss is Dr Jenny O’Connor, School of Humanities in SETU PHD Film Studies and Chris Wasser, Arts Journalist and Sunday Independent Film Critic.

Everyday, communities are encouraged to be more and more autism friendly. The latest Autism Friendly Towns Initiative sees autism charity AsIAm join forces with PTSB to promote accessibility and inclusivity for autistic individuals.Adam Harris is AsIAm Founder and CEO, and joins Kieran to discuss.

Protests have been taking place in Los Angeles over the past few days.It’s after it emerged Immigration Customs Enforcement Officers were carrying out raids in areas of the city with prominent Latino populations.More protests are expected today, as US President Donald Trump deploys 700 marines into the area.Joining Kieran to discuss is Peter Bowes, Reporter with BBC North America and David Cruz, Communications Director with the League of United Latin American Citizens.Image: Reuters

As Dublin City Council gives the green light for the development of a food hall in the vacant St Andrew's Church on Suffolk Street, what will this add to the city, and is it a pipe dream?Joining Kieran to discuss is Frank McDonald, Author and former Environmental Editor of The Irish Times, Hazel Chu, Green Party Green Party Councillor and Presenter of Lunchtime Live on Newstalk, Andrea Gilligan.

Last week, a High Court Judge ordered that a County Wexford wind farm must fully shut down three of its six turbines and pay a total €360,000 damages, including €60,000 aggravated damages, to a couple over its adverse impact on them.Mr Justice Quinn said the plaintiffs’ expert evidence was that the nuisance was “one of the worst cases of wind farm noise impact”.This begs the question, are updated regulations needed if Ireland is to have a wind powered future?Joining Kieran to discuss this is Oisin Coghlan, former Director of Friends of the Earth Ireland and Richard O’Donoghue, Independent TD for Limerick County.

Tourists could be fined thousands of euro for rowdy/drunken behaviour in Albufeira this summer.New rules are set to come into effect in a bid to clean up the streets from drunken holidaymakers.Newstalk reporter, Josh Crosbie has been looking into this to see what tourists can expect.

With all the conflicting research on coffee, is it good for anti-aging, or will it kill you? Are three cups okay, or is it two cups too many?For all the facts, and to put the minds of coffee lovers listening at ease, Kieran is joined by Today FM Presenter and Registered Dietitian, Shelly Gray and Dr Robert Kelly, Consultant Cardiologist and Lifestyle Medicine Physician.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Kieran is joined by Enda Murphy, Clinical Psychotherapist and Director of SeeMee.ie, to discuss how you can navigate sleep routines with your kids, especially when it comes to children sleeping in their own beds!