The Explainer

Our senior reporter Michelle Hennessy shares all the detail you need on the plan to roll-out Covid-19 vaccines in Ireland, including who gets the first doses, who will be administering the vaccine, where you'll get it, and a rough idea of when it all might happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland could start its rollout of a Covid vaccine as soon as next month, but how exactly do they work? We're joined on this week's episode by head of the National Virus Reference Laboratory and NPHET member Dr Cillian De Gascun. We examine the main differences between the leading vaccine candidates, why mRNA could be a significant gamechanger in medicine, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

RTÉ legal affairs correspondent Órla O'Donnell and Fianna Fáil's Jim O'Callaghan join us on this week's episode to discuss a surprise ruling which means that Irish media can no longer report the names of children who have been murdered. We examine Section 252, and the impact it has both on reporting cases like this and on survivors of abuse who want to tell their story. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

We speak to doctoral researcher Hilary Hogan to examine the 27th Amendment. Unanimously passed in 2004, it meant that children born to non-Irish citizens would no longer be entitled to birthright citizenship. New legislation proposed by Labour seeks to provide a path to citizenship for these children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NPHET's modelling expert Professor Philip Nolan joins us on this week's episode to discuss the recent trends in the Covid-19 cases at this halfway point in Ireland's second lockdown, as well as answering some of your questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Kevin Cunningham, lecturer in politics and in the School of Media at TU Dublin, as well as an independent pollster, joins us on this week's website episode to examine whether the polls accurately predicted the results of the US election - or whether that's even possible within the electoral college system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sinéad O'Carroll is joined this by our reporter Órla Ryan, co-director of the Clann Project and NUI Galway lecturer in human rights Dr Maeve O’Rourke, as well as solicitor and director of Data Compliance Europe Simon McGarr. The government has received a copy of the findings from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, but it has already attracted significant controversy before...

We recorded this week's episode live on Zoom. Presenter Sinéad O’Carroll was joined by our columnist Larry Donnelly of NUIG, associate professor at Trinity College Dublin Dr Daniel Geary who has a special interest in political ideologies and the intellectual and cultural history of America, and Seana Davis of Euronews, who examines how misinformation and American politics have intertwined over the...

Our reporters Michelle Hennessy, Cónal Thomas, and Nicky Ryan join us on this week's episode to examine what led to Ireland moving to the highest level of Covid restrictions. We discuss the available capacity in our healthcare service, whether our contact tracing system is up to scratch, and what WHO's position is on lockdowns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our reporter Stevie McDermott talks us through the new assisted dying legislation and explains what happens next. He speaks to presenter Sinéad O'Carroll about why this was a somewhat unexpected Bill, how it got to the stage it did, and the importance of the free vote. He also gives an insight into what how other countries treat assisted dying, and how their legislation differs from what's propose...

TheJournal.ie contributor Dominic McGrath joins us from Tyrone to discuss the escalating situation in Northern Ireland. What has led to the sudden surge in new cases, and what have authorities done to rein it in? What were the early days of the pandemic like there compared to the Republic, and is there much co-operation between governments north and south? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Author of 'How To Be Good With Money' Eoin McGee and travel expert Eoghan Corry chat through the new Stay and Spend scheme. How will it work in practice, how do you claim that money back in tax credits, and how much do you need to spend in the first place? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week’s episode, we sat down with filmmaker Seán Murray to talk about the Glenanne Gang, fighting for justice and the reaction to Unquiet Graves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reporters Michelle Hennessy and Cónal Thomas look at the various levels and what is allowed under the new Living With Covid plan; NPHET's relationship with the government and how this has evolved; and what the restrictions mean for the arts, sport, and weddings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shona Murray, reporter from EuroNews, joins us this week to talk us through exactly why Brexit is back in the news this week. After a story broke in the Financial Times about new Brexit legislation, British PM Boris Johnson found himself in hot water. Senior EU figures are not happy, and neither are Irish political figures. Here's what's going on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Sinéad O'Carroll is joined this week by TheJournal.ie reporter Gráinne Ní Aodha who has drilled down into the detail of how students will be awarded calculated grades for this year's Leaving Cert exams. We also look at what students can do if they're unhappy with their points, and how Ireland aims to avoid the angry scenes witnessed in the United Kingdom by pupils whose results were downgraded by...

Behavioural scientist with the ESRI, Pete Lunn, chats to us in the wake of Golfgate about whether the behaviour of politicians can trickle down to others. He also tells us what the ESRI's studies show about adhering to regulations, and how we can make life easier for ourselves this coming winter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, talks us through the reasoning behind the new restrictions in Ireland aimed at preventing community transmission of Covid-19, and what the government means when it says we are a 'critical time' for the country. We're also joined by author of The Journal's coronavirus newsletter Nicky Ryan to talk us through...

On this week's episode of The Explainer, journalist with the Irish Farmer's Journal, Hannah Quinn Mulligan, talks us through what the Covid-19 outbreaks tell us about the meat industry in Ireland. She talks Sinéad O'Carroll through how the clusters emerged in Kildare, Laois, and Offaly; how important the meat processing industry is to Ireland; the conditions inside the plants; and the issues that...

Political correspondent Christina Finn and reporter Sean Murray join us to talk through the decision to delay Phase 4, and in turn delay the reopening of pubs that don't serve food. Why was the decision made, and what does it mean for pubs? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It has been a fraught subject for months - when will Ireland's schools be reopening? And when they reopen, what measures will have to be put in place to keep the risk of Covid-19 low? Yesterday, we got our answer, when the new Minister for Education Normal Foley unveiled the plan for schools. Under the €350m plan, we'll see 'bubbles' and 'pods' introduced, along with a number of other measures des...

Dr Teresa Lambe from the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, one of the researchers behind the British Covid-19 vaccine trials, joins us on this week's episode. She talks to presenter Sinéad O'Carroll about how the UK trial in particular is going, and gives us an insight into this week's good news that this vaccine was found to be safe and induce an immune reaction in the early stages of the tr...

We're joined by TheJournal.ie's senior reporter Michelle Hennessy to examine this further - she breaks down just how tourists can arrive in Ireland, and what their legal requirements are. With presenter Sinéad O'Carroll, we also look at how the legal requirement to quarantine on arrival is murky, at best, and what the appetite for potential solutions are, such as testing on arrival. Hosted on Acas...

A flood of misinformation and disinformation followed Covid-19's arrival to Ireland. You likely saw a lot of this firsthand. Maybe it was the rumours of the Irish military being deployed to enforce lockdown, or a suggestion that drinking water would prevent you from catching Covid-19.It has become a significant feature of public discourse on the crisis in recent weeks and months, but is it here to...

Former government press secretary Feargal Purcell gives us an insider-look at how one government hands over the reins to next. Would Leo have left a 'how to' guide for Micheál? How do you transfer staff between newly created Departments, or even start one from scratch? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.