Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look at the week in Irish politics: Foreign policy came to Dáil Éireann as Government and opposition tried and failed to agree a motion on the crisis in Israel and Palestine. Dismay at the Department of Health and the HSE over a shortfall in funding for next year spills out into the open. The political response to devastating flooding in Cork and the reality that climate mitigation will be among the State's biggest problems for - at least - de...
Oct 20, 2023•42 min
From Banbridge, County Down, Irish Times Books Editor Martin Doyle grew up in the heart of the 'Linen Triangle', home of Northern Ireland's biggest industry, and also within the 'Murder Triangle', a region blighted by sectarian violence during The Troubles. Martin has written a book, Dirty Linen, that explores that time through the stories of the people he grew up amongst. He talks to Hugh Linehan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 18, 2023•51 min
Having already amassed a $26 billion fortune at 28, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was the world's richest person under 30. He was also the most prominent advocate of the 'effective altruism' movement, pledging to donate millions of dollars to charities he judged would make the greatest positive difference. Then, it all came crashing down. Bankman-Fried is currently on trial in New York for fraud, after the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange exposed the misuse of customer fun...
Oct 16, 2023•50 min
The horrific events this week in Israel and the Gaza Strip are the subject of part one of today's podcast. Harry McGee has been watching the conflict, and Ireland's political response to it, unfold. In part two Jack Horgan-Jones talks about ongoing reaction to this week's Budget. With Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael working together in harmony as they control the State's finances, how can the parties differentiate themselves at the next election? Plus the panel pick their favourite articles of the wee...
Oct 13, 2023•48 min
Budget 2024 was a missed opportunity to invest more in housing and tackle chronic problems in our health system, says Sinn Féin spokesperson for finance Pearse Doherty. Pearse joins Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Hugh to talk about Budget 2024 in detail and spell out what Sinn Féin would do differently. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 11, 2023•44 min
Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look at the week in politics: If past years are anything to go by, most of the Budget 2024 measures will have been leaked by next Tuesday. The fact they haven't yet been shows how difficult negotiations are this year, with Ministers competing for cash to spend on pet projects. Labour TD for Wexford Brendan Howlin announced he will retire at the next election. We look back on the former party leader and minister for public expenditure's long caree...
Oct 06, 2023•37 min
On today's podcast: Jack Horgan-Jones on the darkening economic backdrop to next week's delivery of Budget 2024. Mark Paul reports from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester where Prime Minister Rushi Sunak delivered some headline-grabbing 'common sense' pledges. But throughout the week he was overshadowed by those with an eye on replacing him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 04, 2023•28 min
Today’s guest is Canadian academic and author Naomi Klein. Klein shot to fame with her first book, No Logo, which offered an acute critique of how powerful corporations in the 1990s had profited off exploitation in a globalizing world. Her later books have examined a range of subjects including crisis capitalism, militarism, and the climate crisis. In her new book Doppelganger Klein uses the fact that she is commonly confused online for a very different writer, Naomi Wolf, who has called Covid-1...
Oct 02, 2023•45 min
Harry McGee and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to discuss the week in politics: The latest Irish Times / Ipsos opinion poll shows Sinn Féin continuing to gain . Other poll results foreshadow the potential for difficult negotiations if the party needs to form a coalition with Fianna Fáil. Beyond the next election, the poll shows long term problems for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael when it comes to attracting young voters. Budget 2024 is just over a week away and for now the message is that this will not...
Sep 29, 2023•33 min
A constitutional stopwatch is now ticking for the way in which some senators are elected. And it’s finally time for the Seanad reform which successive governments have promised but failed to deliver. That’s according to Tomás Heneghan, the University of Limerick graduate who won a landmark Supreme Court case earlier this year over being denied the right to vote for the upper houses’s university seats. On today's podcast he talks to Hugh and Pat about his historic case and how complying with it c...
Sep 27, 2023•35 min
Our Friday wrap of the week returns with the start of the new political season. Jennifer Bray, Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss the week in politics: What should we call the ugly scenes outside Dáil Éireann this week - and what sort of response should there be? As politicians gear up for a period with lots of elections, is Taoiseach Leo Varadkar creating friction with his coalition partners? The concerns of farmers were in focus at the Ploughing Championships this week - as w...
Sep 22, 2023•49 min
Peter Foster tells today’s Irish Times Inside Politics podcast that, while polls show a majority of British voters now think it was a mistake to leave the European Union, it is unlikely any UK government in the foreseeable future will seek to rejoin. What is needed instead, the Financial Times journalist says, is greater honesty on the subject from political leaders, in particular from Keir Starmer’s Labour party, which currently looks set to win next year’s general election. In his new book Wha...
Sep 20, 2023•47 min
How hard it is it to write a tell-all book about Sinn Féin, a political party known among journalists for its secrecy and its on-message discipline? Aoife Moore, author of The Long Game, a new book on the party, was expecting at least some cooperation - but it didn't really work out that way. Of those few who were willing to talk, she says, many had their own motives. In the Mindfield area at this year's Electric Picnic festival, Aoife sat down with Pat Leahy and Harry McGee to talk about the bo...
Sep 15, 2023•39 min
October 10th is Budget Day, so it is the time of the year for politicians and lobbyists to make their cases for extra spending and tax cuts in 2024. It will be a year when Ireland is forecast to run a surplus of over €10 billion, leaving lots of room to manoeuvre, and plenty of decisions in the hands of Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe. On today's podcast Mr Donohoe joins Hugh and Pat to talk about Budget 2024. Of specific measures, the Min...
Sep 13, 2023•44 min
Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn join Pat Leahy to talk about the big political stories of the week: News that RTÉ licence fee receipts have continued to plummet will be of concern when the Cabinet meets this week A spike in road deaths is another issue for the coalition to grapple with Political party think-in season is about to commence, but the annual events are not what they used to be, lament our correspondents. Plus: Northern Editor Freya McClements on the waning prospects of a restoration o...
Sep 06, 2023•40 min
The Electoral Commission has published its highly anticipated constituency review which, as expected, recommends an increase in the number of Dáil seats to let representation keep pace with population growth. The review, which is expected to be approved by the Dáil, also recommends the creation of new constituencies and the adjustment of others. But what does it all mean for voters and politicians? Cormac McQuinn and Harry McGee join Pat Leahy to dig into the review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...
Aug 30, 2023•40 min
Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to discuss the big stories of the past few weeks: Is Minister for Media Catherine Martin at risk of seeming too passive in her handling of the RTÉ payments controversy? The Electoral Commission will shortly reveal new constituency boundaries, amounting to a new political landscape for voters and politicians to get to grips with. And politicians are extremely keen to see what it will mean for them. The issue of crime on city streets is a difficult one for pol...
Aug 23, 2023•36 min
The final episode of the series ends with a bang, or rather a crash, as Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy detail how Bertie’s own finances are under the microscope as he faces into his last general election as leader of Fianna Fáil, while the global financial earthquake comes into view. This is part four of The Ahern Years. Parts one , two and three are also available. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 18, 2023•54 min
In this episode Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy pore over what comes after Fianna Fáil's successful 2002 general election amid the ongoing boom. The defeats in local and European elections in 2004, the twin debacles of e-voting and decentralisation, and Charlie McCreevy exiting stage right, all raise questions about Bertie's decision-making. This is part three of The Ahern Years. Parts one and two are also available. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 16, 2023•41 min
In this episode Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy delve into Bertie Ahern's first government as Taoiseach, a government which oversees unprecedented economic growth as the Celtic Tiger years begin. And Bertie writes his name into the history books for his role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 11, 2023•53 min
His legacy is debated, but there's no denying that Bertie Ahern is one of the most significant figures in Irish political history. Over the next few episodes Pat Leahy tells the story of the life and political career of the former Taoiseach and assesses his impact on modern Ireland. In the first instalment Pat examines Ahern's rise to prominence within Fianna Fáil, how he first came close to power before having it snatched away by a political ally turned foe, and the smart general election campa...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr
There’s never a dull moment when it comes to US politics, as proved again today with the announcement of fresh criminal charges against former president Donald Trump. In this episode, Staff writer at the New Yorker Clare Malone joins Hugh to take a look at the state of US politics through the lens of current media trends, what we can expect from the year ahead and how an election paralleled with multiple criminal trials might play out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 02, 2023•53 min
Who are Sinn Féin and what really makes the party different, if anything? Who holds real sway within the party? What role do activists play, and who are its up-and-coming stars? Freya McClements and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to talk about Ireland's most popular party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 26, 2023•45 min
The Dáil summer recess has arrived and our political experts Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn have convened to look back on the political season: The relative political fortunes of Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar. Do polls suggest Sinn Féin has hit a ceiling of support? Did the Government get a handle on the migrant accommodation crisis? Or can it claim real progress on broader issue of a lack of housing? How has the huge budget surplus perturbed politics? Plus, Jennifer reveals what ...
Jul 21, 2023•49 min
In a summer heatwave gripping countries including Spain, Italy, France and Greece, Europeans are experiencing temperatures more commonly found in the Sahara desert. The consequences for human health, agriculture and the environment are expected to be severe. How are European political institutions responding to what seems to be a troubling new reality? Naomi O'Leary reports from Brussels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 19, 2023•41 min
Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics including hopefully the final week of RTÉ Oireachtas committee mania and the spiralling cost of delivering the National Children's Hospital. Plus they select the finest Irish Times articles from throughout the week, including what happens when you send a grumpy sportswriter to report on politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 14, 2023•43 min
It's the Twelfth and to mark Unionism and Loyalism's day of celebration, Hugh talks to Dr Aaron Edwards, author of A People Under Siege: The Unionists of Northern Ireland from Partition to Brexit and Beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 12, 2023•43 min
On today’s Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray to discuss the week in politics: The crisis at RTÉ is entering its third week but, with appearances by Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly before an Oireachtas committee and the takeover by Kevin Bakhurst as Director General all happening next week, the story is not going away , much as weary RTÉ executives and politicians might want it to. The Summer Economic Statement prompted some criticism from economists oppose...
Jul 07, 2023•38 min
Under the leadership of Holly Cairns, the Cork South-West TD who took over from Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall in March, the Social Democrats are riding high among the smaller political parties in Dail Eireann - according to opinion polls at least. But what is the party all about? How is it different from Sinn Fein, the biggest party on the left? And if the Soc Dems were to combine with other political parties in a coalition of compromise after the next election, where would its policy red...
Jul 05, 2023•49 min
In a wide-ranging interview in today's Irish Times, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee talks about remarks critical of her taking maternity leave while in office, the stint by Cabinet colleague Simon Harris in her job and her future ambitions. And on today's podcast Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray listen back to excerpts from the interview and apply some political analysis. But first, Jack and Jen threaten to establish a new world order in the absence of Hugh Linehan and the rest of the poli...
Jul 01, 2023•34 min
