Lunchtime Live Highlights

Trying to pick the right tiles or wooden flooring can be daunting – or do you go for carpet? There’s a lot to consider, but the Home Squad are here to help!Andrea is joined by Jenny Sheahan, Irish Examiner Columnist and former winner of ‘Home of the Year’ and Sarah Carroll from Sand and Deliver DIY to discuss.

With Christmas around the corner and lots more waste knocking around the house, do you know what you can and can’t recycle?Dr. Joanne Rourke, Spokesperson from MyWaste joins Andrea to discuss.

Yesterday on the show the topic of fathers and mental health was explored - including a discussion on whether or not it gets ignored. With many strong responses, it needed to be revisited.So, how do fathers deal with pregnancy loss, and is their grief put to the side?Andrea is joined by Tony Owens from Féileacáin, a charity for bereaved parents, Kathie Stritch, Founder of Grief Ireland and more to discuss.

You may have dreamed of leaving the workforce and retiring early, but have you ever worried about getting ‘retirement regret’?Burdened with a slower pace and tighter finances, more & more ‘unretirees’ are heading back to work.According to a survey by financial services company Canada Life, 40% of people have some form of retirement regret, with 1 in 10 saying they wished they had chosen to retire later and that they wouldn’t have left work when they did, if they had known what it was like.So, have you suffered from retirement regret?To discuss, Andrea is joined by CEO of Active Retirement Ireland Maureen Kavanagh, Cellie Irwin, Chair of the New Ross Active Retirement Group, Paul Kenny, Ireland’s former Pensions Ombudsman and Course Leader with the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland and Pat O’Mahony, Author of ‘Rethinking Housing Options for Senior Citizens’.

From the Xbox to the Twilight Saga, 98fm’s Ciaran O’Connor has plenty to chat about on this week’s throwback Thursday!

People Before Profit have said in their election manifesto that they will, if successful, introduce a four-day working week.They also say they want annual leave increased to 30 days with two extra bank holidays.Is it realistic? Would you like to see a four-day working week introduced?Andrea is joined by Grace Williams from the trade union Fórsa as well as listeners to discuss.

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Andrea is again joined by Dermot Goode, Health Insurance Expert with Totalhealthcover.ie to answer any of your questions!

Inspired by her mother’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent chemotherapy treatment, Galway Student Olivia Humpreys created a portable chemotherapy cooling device, which has won the Irish James Dyson Award 2024.Olivia joins Andrea to discuss.

Do we ignore men’s mental health when they become fathers? A new report says that both fathers-to-be and new fathers should be given as much emotional support as women in the run up to parenthood.What was your experience?Joining Andrea to discuss is Dave, CEO of Lads to Dads, Comedian Steve Cummins, Psychiatrist Brendan Kelly and more.

What is it like to be a woman in business in Ireland? Are doors open or closed, and what kind of help is out there?Andrea is joined by two business women, Chupi Sweetman-Durney, Founder of Jewellery brand ‘Chupi ‘ and Oonagh O'Hagan, Owner and Managing Director of Meaghers Pharmacy Group to hear their stories...

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…

Ugly buildings have left people feeling dejected, lonely and unable to form friendships. That is according to a report in the UK by the Centre for Social Justice, who say that there is a clear link between social problems, a lack of community spirit and poor building design.Half of the adults surveyed said that architects and planners were out of touch with what local people wanted.So, does Ireland have an ‘ugly building’ problem?Andrea is joined by Robin Mandal from the Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance, David O’Brien from the Limerick Civic Trust and more to discuss.

Welcome to The Pod Squad!We review podcasts every Tuesday so you always have something new to listen to.This week, Presenter of Tech Talk on Newstalk Jess Kelly and Off the Ball’s Cameron Hill join Andrea to review ‘Kill List’!Image: Wondery

You may have seen the videos of Simon Harris and Mary Lou McDonald out on the campaign trail yesterday. They both visited Sound Quality Gifts in Monaghan, where Manager Helen treated them to a jive.Andrea is joined by Helen Drumm, Manager of Sound Quality Gifts in Monaghan to discuss how this came about, and Kelly Smyth, Owner of Dance Craft joins Andrea in studio to talk about how popular the dance has become.

Craig Ballentine from Co. Tyrone is currently stranded in Dubai after he was arrested over a negative review he posted online relating to a dog grooming centre.He could be facing up to 2 years in prison if found guilty…Radha Stirling, CEO of campaign group Detained in Dubai is working on getting Craig home, and joins Andrea to discuss.

For Lung Cancer Awareness Month, two listeners, Samantha and Gillian, join Andrea to share their stories.They are both fighting the same disease, but are both non-smokers.

This year on Lunchtime Live we’ve been looking at things that we can do in order to make ourselves that bit happier and healthier.This week, while you’ll usually hear her on the Pod Squad, Shelly Gray from Today FM joins Andrea to discuss climbing Mount Kilimanjaro!

Gym owners say they are baffled at a Fine Gael proposal to increase VAT on gym memberships. Would an increase from 9% to 11% force gyms to increase their prices?Darina Dunne is the Chair of the Irish Physical Alliance, and this is something that she and the IPAA have been critical of...She joins Andrea, as well as Karl Dunne, Chief Executive of Ireland Active and more to discuss.

Dr Niall Breen from the Portmarnock GP Clinic joined Andrea Gilligan to tackle your medical queries.

Doing just five extra minutes of exercise a day could help lower blood pressure.So, if you usually go for a 20 minute walk, make it 25!If your cycle to work is about half an hour, could you do another 5 minutes around the corner? Could that really make that much of a difference?Joining Andrea to discuss the benefits is John Belton, Wellness Coach and owner of No.17 PT, Human Performance.