Highlights From Lunchtime Live

The travel plans of tens of thousands of people with ferry crossings booked over the festive period are under threat. Are you worried about the disruptions at Holyhead Port? Image: Clare Gainey / Alamy Stock Photo

For this week’s Ask Me Anything, Plastic Surgeon Professor Jack Kelly, President of the Irish Association of Plastic Surgeons joins guest host Clare McKenna to answer any of your questions!

Driving licences, learner’s permit fees and National Car Tests costs all are set to rise in the New Year, The Road Safety Authority announced yesterday. The price hikes will see a learners permit rise from €35 to €45 and a driving licence that has cost €55 jump to €65.These increased costs will take effect from next month – but what are your thoughts? Is Ireland becoming increasingly anti-car, and is there now too much of a strain on young motorists trying to get on the road?Guest host Clare McKenna is joined by listeners to discuss.

If you’re mad enough to be planning a Christmas Day swim, or even a New Years one – firstly – fair play!But, there are some warnings that you should take note of…Joining Clare McKenna to discuss is RNLI Water Safety Education Manager & a crew an at Bundoran RNLI, Killian O’Kelly, and more.

From a humpback whale to drama over a Disney trip, there’s plenty of stories you might have missed from around the country this week. Caoimseach Connolly from the Newstalk Newsroom joins guest host Clare McKenna to discuss.

Guest host Clare McKenna has a 13-year-old son who went into town last Sunday with some friends. They went to a burger restaurant where they queued, but were told they could only get their food to take away - while others were allowed to sit down…So, do we discriminate against ‘young lads’?Do we look at a group of teenage boys and immediately think the worst?Clare is joined by Sarah-Jayne Tobin, Editor of rollercoaster.ie as well as listeners to discuss.

How can you brighten up a dark room without too much hassle? The Home Squad is here to help!Jenny Sheahan, Irish Examiner Columnist and former winner of ‘Home of the Year' and Roisin Lafferty, Founder and Creative Director of Roisin Lafferty join Andrea to share their top tips.

He might not be able to settle the rows over what to watch on TV, or who won what game, but Donal Skehan can help take the stress out of making the Christmas dinner! He joins Andrea to share his cooking hacks this festive season!Image: Donal Skehan

Should we ban heading the ball?A new study finds that there may well indeed be a connection between heading the ball and dementia, with a large percentage of former players having developed the illness.So, is it time to ban headers altogether?Professor Willie Stewart, Consultant Neuropathologist, at the University of Glasgow and more join Andrea to discuss.

This morning, Lunchtime Live, with the help of Kieran Cuddihy, attempted to set a Guinness World Records Title…Here’s how they got on!David Wilson, Guinness Adjudicator and Kieran join Andrea to discuss the experience.

From the Muppets Christmas carol to Winona Ryder up to no good, 98fm’s Ciaran O’Connor joins Andrea with plenty to chat about on this week’s throwback Thursday!Image: Disney

Is it wrong to let children play with toy guns?Stephanie Rohan from the Newstalk Newsroom has a predicament, and joins Andrea along with Brendan Kelly, Psychiatrist and more to discuss.

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Sinead Ryan, Presenter of the Home Show on Newstalk and Consumer Expert, joins Andrea to tackle any of your consumer issues, especially around Christmas!

Has modern movie-going become a cesspit of regurgitated sequels and reboots – or do you love to sink your teeth into a movie series with familiar faces and plotlines – where surprise, surprise - the good guy wins again!Gladiator 2 is the latest film to get a big screen sequel-outing almost a quarter of a century later – 24 years to be exact since the original film’s release, and reviews have been mixed.What are the movie sequels you love, and which are the ones that make you squirm?Andrea is joined by Stephen Porzio, Senior Writer at joe.ie and co-host of the ‘I Know That Face’ podcast, as well as listeners, to discuss.Image: Paramount Pictures

When it comes to Christmas dinner, all you hear about is the Turkey and ham – but, have you ever considered swapping it out for fish? Tadhg O’Meara from Kish Fish joins Andrea to discuss.

Lunchtime Live's Reasons to be Happy looks at some of the news stories that you might have missed that will leave you feeling more optimistic.Today FM’s Cathal O’Sullivan joined Andrea in the studio to put a smile on your faces...Image: Jamie Oliver

Should Irish school pupils address teachers by their first names? Addressing teachers as “sir” or “ma’am” and calling them by their surname is “Victorian” - and it does not fit a modern education system according to Newstalk’s own Simon Tierney writing in the Irish Independent.What do you think?Should Irish school pupils call teachers by their first names?Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

Welcome to The Pod Squad!We review podcasts every Tuesday so you always have something new to listen to.This week, Dave Hanratty, Host of the No Encore Music Podcast and Ellen Butler from our Newsroom join Andrea to review ‘The Gambler’, the new podcast presented by Crime Journalist Nicola TallantImage: GoLoud

Rosanna Davison says that a sleep divorce is the key to a dream marriage – but would you try it? Andrea chats to Tanya Sweeney – columnist with the Irish Independent - who is a big proponent of sleeping in a different bed to her partner. Photo by Marcus Aurelius

The National Endometriosis Framework, which was initially announced in 2021 by then Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has again been delayed from publishing, into 2025. Andrea chats to Doireann Barrett, who runs Cneasú community and a sufferer from Stage 4 endometriosis, Niamh Mahony who is making a film on the endometriosis experience in Ireland & Illana D’arcy from the Endometriosis Association of Ireland.Photo by Sora Shimazaki