Irish Times Inside Politics

Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to discuss the week in politics: In another awful week for RTÉ before an Oireachtas committee, was it a mistake for Sinn Féin to raise the idea of an amnesty for those refusing to pay their licence fee? And is is sustainable for prominent ex-RTÉ figures like Dee Forbes, Rory Coveney and Breda O'Keeffe to avoid appearing at the committee?...

At this point we are definitively into the campaign for the two referendums on family and care due to take place on March 8th. The data from the recent Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll showed substantial majorities in favour of both proposed amendments to the Constitution, but also showed a majority of voters that felt they knew very little about the issues that are involved, which might mean that t...

Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: The latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll shows support for Sinn Féin took a significant dent, down six points – its lowest level in three years. As Pat explains, a lack of clarity around immigration and the misstep that was the ill-judged motion of no confidence in Justice Minister Helen McEntee last December are...

Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan talks to Hugh Linehan about the seemingly inevitable rematch between US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump. What issues will dominate the campaign? It's early days, but the flow of immigrants at the southern border seems certain to play to former president Trump's advantage. On the other hand, voters are not yet listening to President Biden'...

In the past decade relationships between the different parts of the UK and Ireland have changed. The push for Scottish independence, growing support for Irish reunification and the Brexit process have all challenged the status quo. But what comes next?  Common Ground is a new initiative by The Irish Times that will seek to elevate debate around the future of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the...

Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to look back on the week in politics: Pat is in Brussels where the EU has agreed on a €50 billion package for Kyiv. He reports on how Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán was finally cajoled into supporting the move.  Ahead of the March referendums on care and the family, Jennifer has been looking at who's who in the Yes and No campaigns. And the panel discuss a sig...

Pat Leahy, Freya McClements and Mark Paul join Hugh to discuss the DUP's acceptance of a historic deal that allows power-sharing in Northern Ireland to resume. 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/privacy for more in...

Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to discuss the week in politics: Gaza is proving a persistent issue in Irish politics, and today’s ruling at the International Court of Justice could place more pressure on the Government to support South Africa’s case and intensify its criticism of Israel. Meanwhile Sinn Féin has faced its own criticism for Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Ne...

Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman is the man at the centre of one of the most severe and contentious problems facing the State: how to handle the huge increase in people arriving to seek International Protection . The war in Ukraine exacerbated the trend and helped scupper the Green Minister’s plan to end the system of direct provision within the lifetime of this Government, instead leavin...

Host Hugh Linehan is joined Cormac McQuinn and Jennifer Bray on this week’s wrap with housing for refugees and asylum seekers, and the lack of alternative accommodation, now a perennial talking point, especially in this year of elections. But has a certain tension developed between Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s department of Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth and the Department of...

British broadcaster and author James O'Brien returns to Inside Politics to talk about his most recent book, How They Broke Britain. 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/privacy for more information.

There are two referendums around the corner on March 8th, but are they too complex and less immediately understandable than other referendums in recent times? Hugh is joined by Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray and on the podcast, with Jennifer spelling out exactly what changes we will be voting on. Protests against the influx of male asylum seekers have been a fixture on the front pages since t...

In the first half of 2024 highly consequential elections will take place in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Africa and Mexico among others. Things get closer to home later in the year with European parliament elections, local elections and possibly a general election in Ireland. And the UK and US both go to the polls in November. On today’s Inside Politics podcast, Irish Times China Corresponden...

Still less than a year in existence, the Electoral Commission is set for a packed 2024 with local and European elections in June, a referendum in March and strong odds of a general election too before the year is out. Art O’Leary is Chief executive of the Electoral Commission, and he sat down with Hugh Linehan to discuss the logistics and preparation for the year ahead, balancing geography versus...

It's part two of the traditional Inside Politics end-of-year Ask Us Anything podcast. Hugh Linehan, Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray, Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn are in celebratory mood as they answer your questions about elections, policies and politicians. Wishing a Happy New Year to all our listeners. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Den...

It's part one of the traditional Inside Politics end-of-year Ask Us Anything podcast. Hugh Linehan, Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray, Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn hit play on a range of listener queries and even help one to settle a bet. Part two will be out on Friday December 29th. Thanks to all our listeners in 2023. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? S...

North and South, how open are citizens to constitutional changes in order to make a United Ireland work? How much economic pain would they be willing to bear? What level of short-term pain would be felt worth any long-term gains? Understanding such attitudes is one of the goals of North and South, a collaboration between The The Irish Times and ARINS, itself a joint research project of the Royal I...

Sinn Féin party leader and Dublin Central TD Mary Lou McDonald sat down with Pat Leahy to talk about a range of policy areas, from housing to migration and reunification. They also discussed the practice of some Sinn Féin members to take legal proceedings against media outlets and journalists. Pat and Hugh Linehan listen back and analyse the potential taoiseach's answers. Would you like to receive...

Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan for the final weekly politics wrap of 2023. Jennifer Bray is dialling in from Brussels, where the EU Council summit has been taking place, with national leaders meeting to discuss difficult issues including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. And Pat fails miserably to tell the political story of 2023 in 60 seconds. Would you like to receive daily insights i...

An agreement has been reached at Cop 28 that includes a commitment to phasing out the use of fossil fuels, with some hailing it as an historic moment in the struggle to mitigate climate change. But an agreement is not a substitute for action and the actions required to achieve Net Zero by 2050 amount to one of the most fundamental changes in all human history. The effort is going to have repe...

On today’s Inside Politics podcast, Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: There’s been a lukewarm reception to Cabinet-approved plans for referendums to amend the Constitution when it comes to removing the reference to the role of women in the home; and expanding the concept of the family within the constitution. The wording is not inspiring Key civil...

In his new book,  The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time , political scientist Yascha Mounk has written the most comprehensive and detailed account yet of how a new form of progressive thinking has taken over the politics of the left. Mounk chronicles the rise of a set of ideas which are “centrally concerned with the role that identity categories like race, gender, and sexu...

Hugh Linehan and podcast regulars Pat Leahy, Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray got together on Wednesday to look back on all the major (and some not-so-major) developments in Irish politics in 2023. And they did so in front of a live audience in Dublin. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here...

Is it time for the political system to grapple more explicitly with how immigration is changing Ireland and what sort of model - integration? multiculturalism? - we as a state wish to pursue?    Or is such a conversation only ever destined to be hijacked by hateful voices and to result in a normalisation of the sort of prejudice that was on display in Dublin last week?   To discuss...

This week the Friday wrap panellists are joined by Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher to talk about how Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and the entire State apparatus will respond to unprecedented violence on Dublin's streets, encouraged by far-right activists, following the stabbing of several children outside a school on Thursday after...