Former Fianna Fáil TD Jim Glennon has confirmed that he submitted a character reference for Daniel Ramamoorthy, a former Government Adviser who was convicted of the sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old boy in 2017.

This raises the question: should character references be abolished in sexual offence cases?

Joining Shane to discuss this is Barrister Katherine McGillicuddy.

The Hard Shoulder is in the US all week thanks to Ireland Gateway to Europe, and for the next few days the show is broadcasting in Washington D.C. Specifically, in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, which is the largest structure (3.1 million square feet) in Washington, D.C.

It’s the first and only federal building dedicated to both government and private use.

Joining Shane to discuss its history is Maureen Pace, President of World Trade Centre Dublin and Vice President of the Drew Company and John P.Drew, President of the Drew Company - an innovative, Boston-based real estate management and development company and operator of this building.

Fianna Fáil’s Junior Minister Christopher O’Sullivan has said that the Government will "look at" lowering the rate of the Universal Social Charge on a phased basis over the forthcoming budgets.

But, should it be abolished all together?

For more on this, Shane is joined by Cormac Lucey, Economics Columnist with The Sunday Times .

The Hard Shoulder is broadcasting from Washington D.C., with the D.C. standing for District of Colombia, because this area is not a State. This means that its almost seven hundred thousand residents have no federal representatives in the U.S. Congress. Paul Strauss is the Shadow Senator for the District of Colombia, and should the district become a state, he would become a fully fledged voting member of the United States Senate.

He joins Shane to discuss.

Joining Shane at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Centre is David Smith, Washington Bureau Chief for The Guardian, to go through the latest news after the weekend’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, and some of the other stories here today…

Image: Reuters

Ireland: Gateway to Europe comprises an annual trade mission of 50 business leaders and Irish media to key cities across North America – this year, The Hard Shoulder will be following the group to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.

Joining Shane to discuss the importance of this trip are two founders of the group: Adie McGennis, Executive Chairman of Sigmar Recruitment and Matt Mohan Group Executive Chairman at The FKM Group.

Over the weekend, An Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris floated the idea of one off payments towards environmentally friendly energy measures, such as heat pumps and efficient cars. The suggestion comes in the backdrop of a continuing global energy crisis that has seen oil prices rise to above one hundred dollars a barrel for much of the last two months.

Lisa Ryan is a Professor in Energy Economics at the UCD School of Economics and joins Shane to look at what sort of an impact any one off measures could have…

While cost of living, inflation and fuel prices continue to dominate domestic politics, how is it being felt in the US?

To get a sense of this, Shane went out to NBC studios in Washington DC to meet Susan Hogan, Consumer Investigative Reporter for NBC Washington and host of ‘Susan Makes Sense’.