Highlights From Newstalk Breakfast

Around Europe, countries are cracking down on dodgy box users. Will 2026 be the year dodgy box users begin to become publicly identified, or possibly even fined for the first time? Adrian Weckler, Technology Editor with the Irish Independent, joined Jonathan Healy on the show to discuss.

77 cases of children subject to care orders have been released by the child law project today. The reports contain information from anonymized reports on child law cases that are closed to the public in the Irish Courts. It includes a case where a three-month-old boy sustained “several fractures”, including to his skull,l under his parents' care.  Executive Director of The Child Law Project, Dr Carol Coulter, joined Ciara Kelly on the show to discuss.

EU envoys have been summoned for emergency talks in Brussels today, as the UK and its EU allies face a new round of tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, this time linked to Greenland. The move has been branded “unacceptable”, and opposition is also growing at home.  Matt Mayer, Conservative Policy Expert and Former Bush Administration Senior Official and Dan Mulhall, Former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, joined us on Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

“Retirement is ‘the greatest con job’ inflicted on Irish society.” That’s according to Terry Prone, Chairman of the Communications Clinic, on her new podcast “Grey Matters” with Fergus Finlay and who joined us on Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

It's Blue Monday, the flawed theory made up 20 years ago, which says today is the most depressing day of the year. But for many, today actually is a sad, blue, depressing day. We sent Henry McKean to try cheer people up at a bus stop in Blackrock and Fad Saoil Sauna. He starts by speaking to a psychologist…

At least 39 people were reported killed, and dozens have been injured in a collision between two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers in southern Spain, Spanish broadcaster RTVE has reported. Graham Keeley, Freelance journalist in Spain, joined Jonathan Healy on the show with the latest.

US President Donald Trump ⁠has said that Denmark has not been able to do anything to get the "Russian threat" away from Greenland. This latest remark comes as EU leaders will convene an emergency summit this week to consider how to push back the US president’s ambitions to take over the island and hit allies with fresh tariffs.    Adrienne Murray, a Copenhagen-based journalist, joined Ciara Kelly on the show to discuss.

“When I was a boy, glasses were a source of shame that ruined my self-esteem. Now that contact lenses have failed me too, all that’s left is to embrace the blurriness”  So writes Adrian Chiles, broadcaster and Guardian columnist who spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

Learner drivers are 'failing tests' due to severely faded road markings. That’s the warning from Ladybird Driving School. We discuss further with Brenda Bolger, Owner of Bolgers Motoring Schools. 

X “will face the full rigours of the law” over Grok being used to create explicit photos, according to Niamh Smyth, the Minister of State responsible for AI.  She will meet with executives from the social media giant later today.  For more on this we heard from Sinead Gibney, Social Democrats TD for Dublin-Rathdown who sits on the media and AI committee and Brian Brennan Fine Gael TD for Wicklow-Wexford who sits on the Media Committee.

A famine-inspired board game has raised over 13,000 euros to get developed The Great Famine Game is it distasteful? Ciara and Shane discussed this morning.

Schools must use the preferred name and pronouns of transgender students, who should also be allowed to use the bathroom of their preferred gender. That’s according to a new guide on the rights of trans people produced by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties with support from the State’s human rights watchdog the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Joining Ciara to discuss this is Prof Donal O’Shea, Consultant Endocrinologist who works with the National gender service.  

A famine-inspired board game has raised over 13,000 euros to get developed.  “The Great Hunger” invites players to build homes and families across Ireland before the “Great Blight” hits. The player with the largest surviving population is the winner.   We get reaction to this game with Nathan Mannion, Head of Exhibitions and Programme at EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum. 

The Complex arts centre in Smithfield has shut its doors, after an emergency meeting to save it between the Arts Council and Dublin City Council was unsuccessful.   The Director of the centre Vanessa Fielding called this closure a “failure of cultural policy, accountability, and long-term planning within the public system”. We get reaction to the closing from Maria Fleming, Chair of the National Campaign for the Arts. 

Youtube has overtaken the BBC for the first time in Britain. That’s according to recent data that showed the video streaming platform’s monthly viewing figures surpassed audience numbers across all BBC channels in December.  Is this a tipping point for tv, and is streaming gaining on telly here in Ireland too? Newstalk’s Sarah Madden reports:  

Military personnel from Europe have arrived in Greenland as Denmark remains determined to “prevent” as US takeover of the country. US President Donald Trump has reasserted his claim on Greenland, insisting that the US “needs” the island for security.  We discuss further with Trine Mach, Danish MP and member of the Parliament's Greenland Committee. 

Elon Musk's platform X has announced measures to prevent its AI chatbot Grok from undressing images of real people, following global backlash over its generation of sexualised images of women and children.   We get all the details on this with Jess Kelly Newstalk's Technology Correspondent. 

The US and UK are reducing the number of personnel at the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, as US President Donald Trump considers whether to take action against Iran over its crackdown on anti-government protests.  We get the latest on this with Tara Kangarlou, Global Affairs journalist and author of The Heartbeat of Iran.

New research today from the ESRI has found that there are misconceptions about how many people are immigrating to Ireland, and why they are coming here in the first place.  All to discuss with Pete Lunn, Founder and Head of ESRI's Behavioural Research Unit.

“Congestion charges won’t be popular, but they are our only way out of a jam” so wrote Sunday Independent Columnist, Eoin O’Malley, Associate Professor in political science at the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University. Eoin explained all to Newstalk Breakfast.