Will the Government finally hit them, or will they be missed again? It's the major political question yet again this forthcoming year. We hear from Conor O'Connell, Director of Housing and Planning at the Construction Industry Federation.

Venezuela's toppled leader Nicolas Maduro is in a New York detention centre after an audacious raid to capture him by the United States. We hear from Venezuelans in Ireland; journalist Catherine Ellis; our Global Security Reporter Yvonne Murray; Caracas-based freelance journalist Gabriela Mesone Roja; and UCD's Assistant Professor Ed Burke.

Work is nearly complete on the aptly named 'Extremely Large Telescope' high up in the Andes Mountains in Chile. Tom Ray, Professor of Astrophysics at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and President of the European Southern Observatory, leads the project.

2025 has been described as a "devastating" year on Irish roads, as concern has been expressed about the number of fatalities recorded. This Week speaks to the Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety, Sean Canney.

To look ahead at the politics of the coming year, we’re joined by Gerard Howlin, a former Fianna Fáil government advisor and now political commentator and Irish Times columnist.

Earlier this year, 52 Palestinian scholarship students arrived here to begin their studies at Irish universities, after they were evacuated from Gaza. Among them was Ghada Ashour, who documented her struggle to pursue her studies, while living in a displacement camp. She has now started her Master’s at DCU.

Today US President Donald Trump will meet President Volodymr Zelenskyi in Florida to discuss a newly refined 20-point plan covering security guarantees, territory in the Donbas, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Niall Stanage from the Hill in Washington explains what he expects from today's meeting.

French actress, singer and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot had died aged 91.

The target, agreed by world leaders in 2015, to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is now impossible, according to scientists. The consequences are global, and some of those consequences have already been seen in Ireland over the past year.

Our reporter Fiachra O’Cionnaith has been trawling through the newly declassified documents.

Siobhan O'Grady, the Washington Post's Ukraine bureau chief in Kyiv

Taoiseach Michael Martin has been visiting Irish peacekeeping troops this weekend in Lebanon. Justin McCarthy reports from Camp Shamrock in Southern Lebanon where he has been speaking to Ltt Col Mark Lennon.

In Australia, one week on from the attacks in which 15 people were killed, a national day of reflection was held. Phil Mercer, Sydney-based journalist, gives us the latest.

With more than 5,000 children in the care of the state, there is a huge reliance on foster care. A shortage of foster carers remains a continuous problem however. We are joined by the Chief Executive of the Irish Foster Care Association, Corrinne Hasson.

This week, two Opposition TDs lost their High Court challenge to the attendance of junior ministers at Cabinet meetings. James McDermott, barrister and lecturer at UCD's Sutherland School of Law, goes through the case for us.

There will be a record number of children in homelessness this Christmas in Ireland. For the kids living in a Focus Ireland-run centre in Finglas, Santa arrived a little early to give these homeless children the gift of a book. Eithne Dodd reports.

In the US, there is widespread reaction to the release of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case. The previously sealed documents were made public for the first time on Friday by the US Department of Justice under the Epstein Transparency Act. We speak to Eric Hamm, political analyst with CTV in Washington.

Last week saw over 3,200 recorded cases of flu with some hospitals introducing visitor restrictions to restrict the spread. We hear from Dr. Sean Underwood, consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital.

Around 2,000 people have gathered at Newgrange to celebrate the Winter Solstice. The ancient passage tomb is aligned for the rising sun on the shortest day of the year to shine into the inner chamber. Colman O'Sullivan reports.

The social media platform X has responded after the EU Commission fined it under the new Digital Services Act. Liz Carolan, publisher of The Briefing newsletter, explains.