In The News

Ireland has the highest reported rate of gonorrhoea infection across 30 European countries, with a record number of cases reported in Ireland in 2022, according to research published last week.What is driving this surge in infections in Ireland and how concerned are younger Irish people about contracting sexually transmitted infections?Today, on In the News, consultant of sexual health and HIV Dr Aisling Loy discusses the rise in STIS among younger people in Ireland and the longer term health implications of contracting these infections, particularly among women.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In February 2016, just three days after the notorious Regency Hotel Shooting, 59-year-old Eddie Hutch was gunned down outside his home in Dublin’s north inner city.Hutch’s murder was the first in a two year killing spree by the Kinahan cartel following the Regency ambush.To this day, no one has been charged with Hutch’s murder. However, that could now change. Gardaí have sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions with evidence they believe could link several men to the killing. Daniel Kinahan, who is currently based in Dubai, is just one of the suspects named in the file.How likely is it that the leader of the Kinahan cartel will end up in Garda handcuffs? And with no extradition treaty between Ireland and the UAE, how difficult will it be to bring Kinahan back here, if he is charged?Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Lally reflects on his attempts to track Daniel Kinahan down in Dubai last week, and discusses Garda strategies being used to extradite the cartel leader back to Ireland.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death was announced yesterday of broadcaster and journalist Charlie Bird. The former RTÉ chief news correspondent, who was 74 when he died, was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 2021.One of Ireland’s best-known journalists, he reported on of the biggest stories in Ireland and around the world through the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s.However, in many ways, it was Charlie Bird’s final years, following his MND diagnosis, that perhaps will leave the greatest mark on this country.Today, on In the News, Irish Times Ireland and Britain editor Mark Hennessy reflects on Charlie Bird’s four-decade long journalistic career and the advocacy work and campaigning which defined his final years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When "Niamh" began house-hunting in Dublin's suburbs, she soon noticed that viewings were often attended by agents who were using phones to live-stream the property to potential buyers in China - some of whom then outbid her. Estate agents have confirmed that it is now commonplace for wealthy Chinese nationals to bid strongly on houses in South Dublin. But why?The answers lie in the details of a now-defunct 'Golden Visa' scheme, the decline of China's own property market and the desire of upwardly-mobile Chinese parents to give their children a Western education. And why are these buyers free to take their money out of the Chinese economy and invest it in countries like Ireland?Guests: Irish Times reporter Colm Keena and Beijing correspondent Denis Staunton Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A large provider of accommodation for children in care, Ideal Care Services, has been found to have put young people at risk by failing to carry out proper background checks on staff.The company run by Jossy Akwuobi (45), from Tyrrelstown, Dublin, and his partner, Karen Akwuobi (39), has already been paid €9million by Tusla, the child and family agency.An internal Tusla report found Garda vetting files clearing staff to work for the company had been altered, while pre-employment checks of workers had been “fabricated”. The report, completed last July, said the standard of checks carried out on prospective care staff were found to be “grossly inadequate to safeguard vulnerable young people”.So who is evangelical pastor Jossy Akwuobi, and how was such a shocking lack of oversight allowed to go on? Irish Times reporter Jack Power broke the story and explains the background.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cillian Murphy looks unbeatable for the Best Actor gong. But who else should win at the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday night? And who will win?Irish Times chief film correspondent Donald Clarke says that it’s shaping up to be Oppenheimer’s year at the Oscars. But what about Barbie? And could Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, produced by Dublin-based Element Pictures, also do well?This time last year Irish hopes were high with The Banshees of Inisherin getting nine nominations - on the night it lost out in all its categories. Could the same happen to Poor Things with its 11 nods?The organisers will be nervous about any break in the relative silence about the Gaza conflict that has persisted throughout awards season. It might, says Clarke, just be time for an award winner to break the silence - once the statuette is safely in their hands. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday, Russian media published an audio recording of high-ranking German military officers discussing weapons which could be used by Ukrainian military in the war against Russia.German officials immediately rejected any claims that the audio indicated Berlin was preparing for war against Moscow.The leak follows comments from German federal defence minister Boris Pistorius of how his country must be war-ready, or kriegstüchtig. Two years ago this remark would have caused uproar in Germany – but not anymore.Meanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron was criticised by European neighbours last week after suggesting it might be necessary to send ground troops to Ukraine. The Kremlin responded that any such deployment would lead to direct conflict between Russia and Nato.On today’s In the News podcast, Berlin correspondent Derek Scally discusses the implications of the military leaks and how European countries including France, Germany and Poland are preparing for an uncertain future overshadowed by an aggressive Russia.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're not sure how you're going to vote in Friday's referendum, you're not alone. According to an Irish Times / IPSOS B&A poll in February, 53% of those surveyed admitted to hardly knowing anything at all about the ballot taking place on March 8th. What seemed like a straightforward proposal to expand the definition of the family and remove the reference to women's 'duties' in the home, has turned into a confusing melange of views. Those in favour of changing the constitution include the government, the vast majority of the Opposition as well as many NGOs. Calls to vote No are coming from groups as disparate as disability rights activists, lawyers and bishops. If you've been too busy until now to take a look at the amendments and the arguments for and against, Political Correspondent, Jennifer Bray, explains it all in just 26 minutes.Presented by Sorcha Pollak and produced by Aideen Finnegan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dublin’s office market is likely to get worse before it gets better with no relief in sight until 2027 amid a collapse in demand and a glut of new developments coming on stream. Last week the Central Bank aired its concerns over the situation. So will there by a crash in the office market sector and what might that mean for the economy?John McCartney from BNP Paribas Real Estate explains why the fall in demand is part of a cycle and explores the forces – including troubles in the ICT sector and post-pandemic WFH – that have brought us to this tipping point.Irish Times columnist Una Mullally is in no doubt that the crash has already begun and that poor planning has blighted Dublin with empty newly-built office blocks dotting the city while housing is so desperately needed.Both explain where they are coming from and how we can move on.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death last month of a 33-year-year old first-time mother at University Hospital Limerick once again put the troubled hospital in the headlines.Shortly before that tragedy, a teenage girl with breathing difficulties died in the emergency department, while in 2022 Aoife Johnston (16) who had endured a long wait for care, died there. The HSE has apologised to her family.And UHL’s chaotic trolley situation shows little sign of improving; last month it broke the record for the highest number of patients on trolleys since records began in 2006, with 150 people waiting for beds on February 7th.So what’s the problem? It doesn’t seem to be money or staffing levels – so how can it be fixed?Health correspondent Paul Cullen explains UHL’s the troubling issues, what staff are saying and explores the solutions. We also hear from Melanie Sheehan Cleary, who's 21 year-old daughter Eve died just hours after being discharged from UHL in 2019.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.