Latest news with #KatieHannon
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- RTÉ News
'Off the scale' - Retailers share stories amid rise in shop theft
Shop thefts have risen by nearly 47% over the past decade, figures from the Central Statistics Office show, with significant increases recorded in almost every garda division across the country. The only divisions to see a decrease over that period were Cork West and Dublin's North-Central region, which includes Mountjoy, Store Street and Bridewell garda stations. Areas with the largest increases in the same period include Meath (138%), Sligo/Leitrim (111%) and Galway (96%). Gardaí say that reporting of shoplifting increased significantly during 2024 and has remained at that higher level into 2025. In the first three months of this year alone, more than 8,000 incidents of theft from shop were reported, with nearly 2,000 arrests and more than 4,750 charges or summonses issued. Gardaí say many of those charges relate to offences committed last year. Tonight, Upfront with Katie Hannon hears from those directly affected, as theft, intimidation and violence become a daily reality for many in the retail sector. Among them is retail worker Himanshu Kumar, who made headlines last October when CCTV footage emerged of him being robbed with a large knife at a shop in Dundrum, Co Dublin. He says it all happened very fast. "Two guys came with their faces covered," Mr Kumar said in an interview prior to the programme. "My colleague was cleaning the coffee machine, and I was counting the till. The other guy came in over to the till - he flashed the knife at me and told me to just open the till," Mr Kumar added. "I thought he could do anything to me, so I just waited and turned the key on the till". Mr Kumar says the man took "around €1,500". "We were terrified," he said. "I was thinking I could do something, but my sixth sense was not to as they could do anything with the knife. "The knife was bigger than the knife we use in the deli," he says. Mr Kumar believes there should be a stronger garda presence in the area. "There has to be more patrolling in this area. Teenagers are taking advantage of the law here. "They know guards can't do anything - they know the law favours them because they're under 18". Calls for change Mike Gleeson, who runs five Spar shops in Limerick, including two with filling stations, says losses from theft last year were "in the hundreds of thousands". "Since about 2019, things went off the Richter scale," he said ahead of the programme. "The biggest problem is the system for penalising [people who steal] has broken down. "The guards do catch them left, and right and centre - but it falls apart once it enters the courts system. "We don't have enough prison spaces and we're not going to have, so we have to bring out a system where people are sanctioned in a different way." Mr Gleeson would like to see compensation paid directly by those who steal. "They have to be penalised through their pockets from source," he explains. "We're looking for payback legislation to be introduced. If you commit a crime, you get a fine like a parking fine. "If you stole €50 you should pay a €50 fine and €50 as compensation too - we should double it just to have a deterrent. "It should be taken from source of income - it's the only way to hit them in the pocket." Mr Gleeson also says fines for those under 18 should be paid by their parents or guardians. In response to growing concerns from the retail sector, a bill aimed at creating specific offences for assaulting, threatening, harassing or abusing retail workers is currently at second stage in the Seanad. An Garda Síochána has also launched Operation Táirge, a national initiative targeting shop theft and related offences. Meanwhile, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association estimates that retail crime is now costing businesses more than €1.62 billion annually.
The Irish Sun
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
New RTE ‘disrupt the schedule' call as ex-radio boss reveals 3 top presenters to replace Joe Duffy with digital shake-up
THE ex-boss of Newstalk wants to shake up RTE's airwaves — but wouldn't hand the Liveline vacancy to its current front-runner Katie Hannon. Garett Harte says radio icon 6 Joe Duffy is leaving his role as host of Liveline Credit: RTE 6 Former Newstalk Editor in Chief Garrett Harte shared his opinion on the search for Liveline's new presenter Credit: 6 He said former Today FM presenter Dermot Whelan would be a good candidate Harte, who was Editor in Chief of 'But there is a chance here to disrupt the schedule and attract a new audience by doing something different — and finding the next Liveline presenter outside The three presenters he has in mind are former Tonight Show host Garett told The Irish Sun on Sunday: 'Ciara is very clever. As someone in her late 30s she is in the target demographic and would connect with a young audience, and bring not only authority, but empathy as well. READ MORE IN LIVELINE 'Someone else who'd be great doing 'He has a huge emotional range where he could empathise with callers and, being a comic, could also inject humour into Liveline when it needs it. "Looking at the competition, the third presenter I'd suggest would be Andrea from Newstalk — she's made a name for herself hosting a show with a similar format to Liveline.' Ex-Newstalk Managing Editor Patricia Monaghan, who Garett worked with for many years, is now RTE's Head of Audio and will ultimately decide MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN Garett added: 'RTE asked for expressions of interest from presenters — both internal and external — to host Liveline. Joe Duffy fights back tears on air 'That's something RTE have never done before, and a clever way of taking power away from the agents and the presenters. 'You're telling them, 'This time RTE are doing it differently'. 'You're also saying to internal staff, 'Just because you're in RTE, you don't have the job in the bag'.' The biggest challenge RTE faces is how to connect Liveline to a younger target audience. DIGITAL FIRST CALL Garett added: 'The safest thing is to do nothing with the format — and keep going. "You need to migrate young people over to Liveline but they don't ring each other anymore — they send voice notes which can sound boring. 'Liveline needs live phone calls which bring jeopardy and drama, and where callers can become emotional. "Most of all Liveline has to become a digital first show where you listen to it — or watch it on YouTube — filmed in a visual studio that allows you to get it up on 'Not just Liveline but any show, you have to look at how digital fits into it.' 6 Newstalk's current daytime phone-in host Andrea Gilligan is another top pick Credit: INFO@ 6 He said he wouldn't hand the Liveline vacancy to its current front-runner Katie Hannon Credit: RTE / Naoise Culhane 6 He said former Tonight Show host Ciara Doherty is in the target demographic Credit: Brian McEvoy
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Ireland's grid: Do we need to rethink our energy resilience?
As extreme weather and geopolitical shocks strain power systems across Europe, some experts are concerned Ireland's heavy dependence on imported energy and lack of gas storage is leaving the country dangerously exposed. Tonight's Upfront with Katie Hannon explores the risks to Ireland's energy supply — and the measures being considered to strengthen it. "We could have no electricity overnight," Brian Ó Catháin, former Tullow Oil executive and chair of Causeway Energies, said in an interview prior to the programme. He noted that 80% of Ireland's gas supply comes through the UK via a single pumping station with two pipelines. "100% of all the diesel is imported so every car, every lorry, is depending on imported diesel – apart from EVs. All our heating oil [is] all 100% imported," he added. "With renewables, you still need gas when sun doesn't shine and wind doesn't blow," Mr Ó Catháin said. "There is no credible alternative to gas, and we'll probably be using gas to 2050 - we have to think about where the gas comes from." Spain, Portugal and France His warnings come as recent power outages in Spain, Portugal and France — along with the widespread disruption caused by Storm Éowyn in Ireland earlier this year — have highlighted just how vulnerable energy systems can be in the face of extreme weather and climate-related shocks. In April, millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula lost electricity after a rare atmospheric event disrupted transmission. Traffic lights, ATMs and mobile networks went offline, while many were left stranded in trains and lifts as night fell. Closer to home, Storm Éowyn knocked out power to more than 768,000 customers in January, prompting fresh scrutiny of the country's energy infrastructure. Former Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the storm raised "fundamental questions about how we build resilience for our energy, telecommunications and forestry systems in a climate-changing world," Mr Ryan said. "I do accept that we must continue to build a more resilient grid," the former Minister for Transport added. "The Spanish and Portuguese outage happened but we just have to keep developing more resilient grids." What can Ireland do? Ireland remains one of the most energy import-dependent countries in the European Union, with 78.5% of its energy coming from abroad in 2023. It is also one of just five EU member states without domestic gas storage, something which has been identified as a "considerable risk" in the event of damage to one or both of our subsea gas interconnectors. In 2023 by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) warned that in the event of a sustained gas shortage, existing secondary fuel stocks would not be enough to cover demand, particularly for electricity generation. While contingency plans and annual emergency exercises are in place, some experts argue that without domestic storage or alternative supply routes, the system remains vulnerable. Gas reserves In March this year, the Government approved plans to develop a State-led floating liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal to serve as an emergency reserve. When operational, the facility could store enough gas to supply 200,000 homes for up to six months. While plans have yet to be decided, the Department of the Environment has said that the site will need to have coastal access, be connected to the gas network, and be suitable for large-scale development. More than 140 environmental and civil society groups have voiced their opposition to "any kind of LNG terminal in Ireland". In an open letter in March 2024 several organisations, TDs, Senators, MEPs and Councillors called on then-Minister Ryan to halt plans for an LNG terminal. "We do not support the building of any kind of LNG terminal in Ireland," the letter said. "We call on you to stop progressing a strategic backup LNG terminal in Ireland in your Energy Security Strategy and call on you to maintain the historic world's first ban on the importation of fracked gas at this critical time". As planning gets underway, questions remain about Ireland's energy resilience and whether the national grid can handle the demands being placed upon it.
RTÉ News
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Behind the Story: Where do Kneecap go from here?
RTÉ News has launched a new podcast, Behind the Story, where David McCullagh, Katie Hannon and Fran McNulty digest some of the news stories of the day. In the first episode, the team takes a look at the controversy surrounding the Irish rap group Kneecap. The hosts discuss the fallout of what has happened and how their previous fight with the UK government over funding may have made them a target for people "of a certain political persuasion" in Britain, as well as certain elements of the media. Belfast rap trio Kneecap have been under the spotlight since their recent appearance at the major US festival Coachella, in which they displayed messages on stage criticising Israel's actions in Gaza. The statements got the attention of US media, while television personality Sharon Osbourne called on their visas to be revoked. Ms Osbourne's comments in particular made a lot of headlines. Since then, other footage of some of their previous gigs have circulated online, with two incidents now under police investigation. One video from a November 2023 gig appears to show one member of the group referring to killing British MPs. Other footage also circulated online from a concert in November last year, which showed a band member saying "up Hamas, up Hezbollah". Since these videos have been highlighted, the band's visa sponsor in the US has dropped them, while organisers of three gigs scheduled for Germany and another in the UK have cancelled the concerts. Kneecap's manager Daniel Lambert said it has been a difficult time for the group and described what has happened as a "concentrated campaign" against them. "As soon as the Coachella thing popped up some thought, well wait a minute let's have a little look at what's online of their concerts and everything - and shock horror - it turns out that members of a rap group said things which were inflammatory, unwise and controversial," said host David McCullagh. The band claims their controversial remarks were taken out of context, but Fran McNulty and Katie Hannon question what context those incidents are supposed to be taken in. "Apart from that investigation they have a real problem on their hands," said Fran. "This is going to cost dearly," he added. Fran and Katie look at their future gigs, from Glastonbury to their US tour due in October, and how their critics are mounting pressure on the organisers. One of those critics is Katie Amess, the daughter of Tory MP David Amess who was murdered at his constituency office in 2021. On Monday, the band made a statement apologising to his family, as well as the family of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox. But Ms Amess described their statement as "deflection and excuses and gaslighting" while Jo Cox's husband Brandan Cox also told BBC Radio Ulster that he did not believe the band's claim that the footage was taken out of context.
