Republic of Ireland overwhelmingly in favour of extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. On 23 May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an environmental levy for plastic shopping bags in 2002 and a public smoking ban in 2004. Recycling in Ireland is carried out extensively, and Ireland has the second highest rate of packaging recycling in the European Union. It was the first country in Europe to ban incandescent lightbulbs in 2008 and the first EU country to ban in-store tobacco advertising and product display in
Christmas in Ireland is an annual tradition broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 on Christmas Eve. RTÉ 2fm disc jockey Dave Fanning counts down his "Fanning's Fab 50 Christmas Trance Tunes" listeners music poll on air each year before Christmas, with U2, Touché Amoré and Alexisonfire proving most popular on a regular basis. From 2008, Christmas FM broadcast Christmas songs non-stop until 26 December. On FM104, Santa visits the FM104 PhoneShow on their last broadcast before they go on their holidays (usually the 23rd or 22nd). "Fairytale of New York" was voted the song most drivers wanted to listen to in the Republic of