The Last Word with Matt Cooper

Ben Finnegan, Today FM news anchor, and Orla Ryan, news correspondent with TheJournal.ie, join The Last Word to discuss the week's trending stories including weather warnings, the Los Angeles fires, and Elon Musk's latest attempts to influence world politics. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

How nutritional are hot school meals actually? Food policy consultant Ruth Hegarty joins Matt and Principal Regina Halpin to discuss the concerns around hot school meals and their impact on school children.

The average mortgage loan is now over €300,000 according to a new survey from MyHome.ie, but many homes cost much more than that. So how are buyers making up the difference? Michael Dowling, managing director of Dowling Financial joins The Last Word to discuss the phenomenon of the 'bank of mum and dad' helping first time buyers to get on the property ladder. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Tech journalist Andy O’Donoghue was back on The Last Word to explain how to get the best out of your tech and the most effective methods of starting a digital detox. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the chat.

Singer Jerry Fish joins The Last Word this week for the Culture Club! He talks about his favourite music, books, movies and more as well as discussing his new album 'Dreaming of Daniel' featuring MayKay. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Owen Reidy, General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and Julie Galbraith, Head of Employment Law, Eversheds Sutherland discuss hybrid working in Ireland and the legislation around the right to request remote working. To listen to the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

US President elect Donald Trump says he wants to make Greenland a part of the United States, threatening tariffs and refusing to rule out military action. But why does Trump want the island, which is territory of Denmark, and does he have a chance of getting it? Tom Carstensen, journalist in Copenhagen, and Larry Donnelly, law lecturer at University of Galway and political columnist with The Journal, join The Last Word to discuss. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

If you’re looking to give yourself a financial boost in the new year, it may be worth preparing a tax return. Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with The Irish Independent, explained how it can be done on Wednesday’s personal finance slot. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced significant changes to its content moderation policies in the US which include replacing fact checking with a community notes system, similar to the one adopted by Elon Musk on X. Elaine Burke, host of the For Tech's Sake podcast, joins The Last Word to talk about the significant move which is seen as a further effort by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to cosy up to incoming US President Donald Trump. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

US President elect Donald Trump has refused to rule out using military force to take over Greenland. Trump said the US needs to purchase the Danish territory for "national security purposes". Cal Thomas, nationally syndicated US columnist, and Marion McKeone, US correspondent with the Business Post, join The Last Word to discuss this and more of the latest news from the United States. Catch the full chat by pressing the play button on this page!

Drivers in Dublin were delayed by an average of 81 hours in 2024 due to congestion in the city, according to a survey conducted by data company Inrix. Brian Caulfield, Professor in Transportation at the Department of Civil Engineering at TCD, spoke to Matt on The Last Word about the findings. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the chat.

Manchester United came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. Was this the first sign of significant progress of Amorm’s tenure at United, and what does the result mean for Liverpool’s title hopes? Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer with The Independent and Off The Ball’s Will O’Callaghan joined Matt on Monday’s The Last Word to discuss the weekend’s Premier League results. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear their chat.

Corporation tax increased to €39bn last year, with the apple tax contributing to €11bn of that figure. The Department of Finance published the final exchequer returns on Monday, which saw an increase of €15.2bn on 2023. Ian Guider, Columnist with the Business Post, joined Matt for The Last Word on Business to discuss the findings. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Nick Ferrari, presenter of Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC, outlined the response from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Elon Musk's attacks on Safeguarding Minister Jess Philips. Nick also explained the war of words that has broken out between Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Elon Musk. To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

Russell Alford, food critic for The Sunday Times and one half of the GastroGays, joins The Last Word to discuss another of his favourite foodie travel destinations. This time he has chosen Lisbon in Portugal, a hugely popular destination for Irish tourists. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is to step down from his role at Meta. He is due to be replaced by former Republican White House deputy chief of staff Joel Kaplan, who served under George W Bush from 2006-2009. Ian Guider joined Will O’Callaghan for Friday’s business slot. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Helen Vaughan, Psychotherapist with Maynooth Counselling & The Coast Counselling in Malahide, spoke to Will O'Callaghan about the importance of self care and she outlined 10 ways to be kinder to yourself in 2025. To listen to the conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

Helen Vaughan, Psychotherapist with Maynooth Counselling & The Coast Counselling in Malahide, outlines eight strategies to help to de-stress in 2025. To listen to the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

Have you noticed that your phone’s performance has worsened recently, or are you struggling to free up some space in its memory? Tech Journalist Andy O’Donoghue joined Will O’Callaghan on The Last Word to explain the most effective methods of clearing space on your devices. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear their chat.

Matt was joined by Will O'Callaghan from Off The Ball and Gavin Cooney from The42.ie as they looked back on all the highlights from the soccer year. To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.