Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Fianna Fáil Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee joins Hugh, Pat and Harry to discuss why, even after recent opinion polls show Fine Gael's support gathering pace at the expense of Fianna Fáil, Mícheál Martin's party isn't spooked by the numbers just yet. Also on on the agenda, the housing crisis, homelessness and how the property tax can be calculated more fairly. Would you like to receive daily insight...

As 2017 drew to a close political staff did the traditional round of Christmas interviews with senior politicians. Familiar themes emerged: the extremely thorny issue of housing, the popularity contest between the two major parties, and what a future coalition government involving Sinn Féin might look like. Today Simon Carswell and Fiach Kelly talk to Hugh about the major political challenges in t...

Pat Leahy, Fiach Kelly and Michael O'Regan look back at some of the big events of 2017 and speculate about the forces at home and abroad that will shape Irish politics in 2018. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

Senator Catherine Noone, chair of the abortion committee that today published its report, talks to Hugh and Pat about how a majority of the group came to the view that the 8th Amendment to the constitution should be removed outright. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsl...

The question of the post-Brexit status of the Border may be settled for now, but broader questions remain. What will Ireland's place in Europe be, once the UK, its traditional partner and ally, has departed? What is our European strategy and how will we achieve our goals? Podcast regulars Pat and Hugh talked to Ruadhan Mac Cormaic and Lucinda Creighton in front of an audience at the Institute of I...

This week, there were three Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion polls. This morning's asked respondents whether or not they would vote to change the constitution in relation to the Eighth Amendment. Earlier in the week, we took the temperature of the electorate and found a five point surge in support for Fine Gael, while yesterday's poll focused on Brexit. Pat Leahy and Hugh Linehan provide an analysis...

The Guardian’s Brexit correspondent Lisa O’Carroll joins Irish Times political editor Pat Leahy, deputy political editor Fiach Kelly and presenter Hugh Linehan to discuss what went wrong in the Brexit negotiations this week and how likely it is that the deadline for an agreement will be met. The panel also assess the impact of tensions surrounding Brexit on Anglo-Irish relations and ask whether cr...

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called the Department of Justice 'dysfunctional' yesterday, but it is worse than that, says Fintan O'Toole: the failure by the Department to give the infamous emails at the heart of Frances Fitzgerald's downfall to the Charleton Tribunal is an act of defiance of Irish democracy that requires a independent investigation with the power to question witnesses under caution and s...

Pat Leahy and Harry McGee talk to Hugh about the dramatic events of the last week that were capped today with the resignation of Frances Fitzgerald, and the questions that remain. How could such important documents be missed - or was it more sinister than that? Is the Department of Justice facing a reckoning? Why did Leo Varadkar handle this situation as he did? Would you like to receive daily ins...

This week there proved to be at least one more political sting left in the tail of the McCabe controversy. This latest entanglement involves a dubious legal strategy, a curiously incurious former Minister for Justice, a poorly written email and a frustrated Taoiseach. It's confusing, but we hope this conversation between Sarah Bardon, Harry McGee and Hugh Linehan will leave listeners with as clear...

Inside Politics returned to the RDS on Saturday for the final stop on our tour of party conferences in what has amounted to a festival season for Irish politics. Louise O'Reilly, TD for Dublin Fingal, and Conor Murphy, MLA for Newry and Armagh, joined Hugh, Sarah Bardon and Northern Editor Gerry Moriarty to discuss some of the thorny challenges facing Sinn Féin. But first Fiach Kelly and Hugh disc...

As the deadline for completing the first stage of Brexit negotiations draws near, and with the British political establishment in the midst of a nervous breakdown, our Government is fast approaching a critical point in how it handles this most intractable of situations. Divergent national interests - on trade, on EU relations, on the border question - mean it is far from simple for us to stake out...

Last month we went to the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis for a close look at that party's policies, politics and personalities. This weekend it was Fine Gael's turn for their annual get-together, so Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy and TD for Dublin Rathdown Josepha Madigan joined Hugh, Harry McGee and Fiach Kelly for another live recording of the podcast. They discussed the style and substance of Taoise...

The Houses of Parliament in Westminster have been engulfed by allegations of sexual harassment in the past week. How does the environment in Leinster House compare? Fiach Kelly and Sarah Bardon join Hugh Linehan to discuss. Also on the agenda, the intense lobbying around plans for the display of alcohol in shops, why Bills are being left hanging at committee stage and Alan Shatter's Facebook post...

Paradise Papers is the name given to a journalistic project organised by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington DC along with 96 media partners around the world, including The Irish Times. It is one of the largest data leaks in journalistic history, and involves the largest number of documents ever leaked. The leaked documents show how deeply the offshore fi...

Hugh Linehan speaks with American author, historian and academic Timothy Snyder about his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, in which he makes provocative and unsettling comparisons between today's politics and the rise of the Third Reich and suggests how we can avoid the terrible mistakes of the past. Timothy Snyder is a professor of history at Yale University and a perma...

Labour is in the doldrums, stuck on five or six per cent in the polls and struggling to have its voice heard. What are its chances of getting back to ten per cent or more by the next election? Is its brand becoming less toxic? What is the purpose of Labour in Ireland now? Guests: Fiach Kelly, Political Correspondent; Ed Brophy, political columnist with the Sunday Independent and former chief of st...

Hugh and Pat are joined by Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland and columnist Fintan O'Toole to discuss the direction being taken by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil at the Abortion Committee, and why "scandal" is the perfect word to describe the tracker mortgage situation - there are cries of outrage and numerous investigations, and ultimately no-one will be held accountable. Would you like to rec...

Irish-American politician Martin O'Malley is best known for terms as governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore, and for his unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential candidacy in 2016. Earlier this week he talked to Political Correspondent Harry McGee about his Irish connections, his upbringing and political philosophy, his views on the Trump presidency and how he squares his own liberal...

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar held a number of press conferences throughout Storm Ophelia, did live interviews and donned a high-vis jacket to assess the resulting damage in its aftermath. On today's podcast, Pat Leahy, Sarah Bardon and Harry McGee from the politics team join Hugh Linehan to discuss the government’s disaster response and compare it to that of previous years. The panel also discuss the Oi...

Inside Politics has made the short trip from its office to the RDS where a resurgent Fianna Fáil are holding their annual Ard Fheis, to ask whether the party is really ready to return to government after a long spell in the political wilderness. Joining Hugh, Pat and Sarah were Dara Calleary and Fiona O'Loughlin, while Fiach canvassed the opinions of some special guests in the audience. Would you...

Philosopher A.C. Grayling is known for his writings on the intersections between belief systems, individual liberties and systems of government. In his new book Democracy And Its Crisis, he explores the challenges facing representative democracy today. He talked to Hugh Linehan about his ideas, including the "weaponisation" of social media, potential reforms to our political systems and when refer...

No big bonanza and no pyrotechnics, but Budget 2018 is more exciting than it might seem on the surface. So say the Irish Times political team. Paschal Donohoe may not have found any money down the back of the couch, but has he delivered a budget that will take this government to the next election? On today’s Inside Politics podcast, Pat Leahy, Fiach Kelly and Mary Minihan join Hugh Linehan to disc...

Pat Leahy talks to Hugh Linehan about the results of the latest Irish Times Ipsos/MRBI poll. The poll showed greater support for a limited revision of abortion restrictions than their outright removal. But some pro-choice activists have criticised how the question was framed - Hugh puts their position to Pat. And there's time at the end to look at the other major finding: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is...

With just six days left until Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe announce their first Budget as Taoiseach and finance minister respectively, the most surprising thing in the lead up to it has been the lack of anything surprising. On today's podcast, Cliff Taylor joins Fiach Kelly and Hugh to discuss the likelihood of any big bombshell being dropped next Tuesday, at a time when money is tight and any...