Coming up tonight, on Upfront with Katie Hannon:

Audience discussion and debate ahead of Budget 2025 

Tonight on Upfront, the sister of Nicole Morey who was tragically killed by her own dogs, including an XL Bully, speaks publicly for the first time to Katie Hannon.

From tomorrow (Tuesday 1 October), Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphrey’s new legislation will make it illegal to import, breed or sell an XL Bully dog.  The new law was prompted by Nicole’s death on 4 June this year. Tonight, her sister Jolene Morey remembers Nicole and calls for stricter measures to be put in place.

In her first interview Jolene Morey tells Katie Hannon: “The law they’re bringing out, you have to have a license, you have to have papers... But my sister had all them.”  She adds: “Nicole loved them dogs. And the dogs loved Nicole, but they just turned on her." 

Jolene speaks in the interview about the horror of the night Nicole died. She was contacted to say that her sister needed help.  She says in the interview: “I was sitting in my room in darkness, and I rang Nicole because I didn't believe it was real. Then I texted her, I said, ‘Are you okay?’ And got no message back. And then a video got sent to me. And they asked me if it was with my sister. And I just remember clicking into a video and seeing her on the floor.” 

“I was just waiting for the phone call to say she's gone because I had a feeling in my stomach that she didn't survive it. But my mom was like, ‘No, it's only bites and stuff.’ Then my uncle rang, and I just knew from his voice that she was gone.” 

Jolene paid tribute to her older sister in the interview: “My family want Nicole to be remembered as how much of a good person she was. Not the girl that died from the dog attack or the videos that's going viral. Nicole did so well in life. Nicole would do anything for anyone. She's just a lovable person.” 

Also on the first programme of the new series, Upfront looks ahead to Budget 2025. On the eve of the Budget announcement, Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly and Chief Economist Irish Fiscal Advisory Council Eddie Casey will debate the issues with input from the live studio audience.

Watch Upfront with Katie Hannon tonight at 10.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.  

For more information contact: Sarah Neville, RTÉ Communications