Irish Times Inside Politics

Will they or won't they? DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson must soon decide whether to lead his party back into power-sharing or to let devolution die and direct rule return. The decision he makes will be defining for Northern Ireland, for Unionism and for Donaldson himself. To discuss the forces at play, unionist commentator Alex Kane and Northern Editor Freya McClements join Pat and Hugh. Alex Kane is a commentator based in Belfast. He was formerly director of communications for the Ulster Unionist Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Dail is in recess, and that means no Friday wrap today. Instead, we’re going to bring you a conversation that was originally published on the feed of our sister podcast In the News, hosted by Bernice Harrison, all about a story that gripped 1980s Ireland. You can subscribe to In the News for free here.On December 16th, 1983, after 23 days in captivity, kidnapped supermarket executive Don Tidey was rescued. He had been taken by members of the Provisional IRA posing as gardaí while driving his daughter to school in Dublin. With the whole country transfixed by the kidnapping, Garda intelligence tracked the culprits and their victim down to Derrada Wood outside Ballinamore in Co Leitrim. And while the release of Tidey safe and well was a success, the day was shrouded in tragedy because during the rescue his captors shot dead Private Patrick Kelly and recruit Garda Gary Sheehan.The murders shocked the country and no one has been brought to justice for them. Most of the kidnappers got clean away. While the

The response to the Hamas terror attack on October 7th has been fierce. In the weeks since then, Israel has unleashed a war against Hamas but in which thousands of civilians in Gaza have lost their lives. Where will that war lead, and who will rule Gaza if Israel achieves its goal of eliminating Hamas? Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole talks to Hugh Linehan about why the only viable process is a peace process - and why Israel's current government is not able to envisage one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh Linehan is joined in studio by Jennifer Bray, while Pat Leahy is on the line from Brussels where he is covering the EU leaders’ summit. As Pat explains in part one of today’s Inside Politics podcast, the Israel-Hamas conflict has been top of the agenda there, with hours of negotiation going into the European Union’s call for “pauses” in the conflict in Gaza.Also in part one, Jennifer highlights a Cabinet disagreement over future plans for housing Ukrainian refugees here, and the proposal for a 90-day time limit on State accommodation given our lack of capacity.And in part two, the pod discusses the novel suggestion by Minister of State for Northern Ireland and former Chair of the European Research Group, Steve Baker, that a united Ireland referendum should need a ‘super majority’ of 60 per cent in the North and the Republic to carry. Something he now feels the UK Brexit vote of 2016 should have required.Plus the panel pick their favourite articles of the week from irishtimes.com:·   &

Former MP, Tory leadership candidate, author and now host of the UK's biggest politics podcast The Rest is Politics, Rory Stewart is today's guest on Inside Politics. His gripping memoir Politics on the Edge (now available in paperback) is the jumping off point for a wide-ranging discussion: How the West blundered in Iraq and AfghanistanWhy answering a call for new blood in politics led him to become a Tory MPHis difficult relationship with David Cameron His disillusionment with the fundamental ‘unseriousness’ of UK politicsMinister of State for Northern Ireland Steve Baker’s statement that a border poll should need a supermajority to pass The nature of constitutional politics and referendums His disbelief and disappointment when Boris Johnson became his party’s leader and UK prime minister Liz Truss as a Margaret Thatcher tribute act Why Keir Starmer will be the next prime minister - and the two things he lacks for the job. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information

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 - decades to come. Plus the panel pick their Irish Times stories of the week: Does President Michael D. Higgins see Russia as a colonial power - and why should we care? A weary response to Time Out's claim that Smithfield is the second-coolest place on on the planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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 funds. But he is no ordinary greedy billionaire, says best-selling author Michael Lewis, who had already chosen Bankman-Fried as the subject of his next book before his fortunes changed. Lewis, whose previous books include Moneyball, The Big Short and Flash Boys, returns to the Inside Politics podcast to talk to Hugh Linehan about the highly unusual personality, methods and motivations of Sam Bankman-Fried. He also addresses the criticisms he himself has faced for his relatively favourable depiction of a man charged with

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 week from irishtimes.com:Gordon Manning on the unlikely childhood GAA experience of a family of All Black rugby starsMark Paul on signs that next year's UK election could be nastyRemembering a legendary Irish philanthropist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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 career.UK Labour leader Keir Starmer cast doubt on the prospect of a vote on reunification, should he succeed in becoming Prime Minister.Plus our panellists pick their favourite Irish Times journalism from this week:Finn McRedmond isn’t into a proposed National Women’s Museum.Martin Wall reports from Washington on the dramatic ouster of Kevin McCarthy.Mark Paul on Rishi Sunak’ attempt to portray himself as a change-maker after his party’s 13-year reign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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-19 vaccine programmes ‘mass murder’, as a device to explore modern themes including online identity, conspiracy theories and the 21st Century supremacy of the ‘personal brand’.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 be a pre-election giveaway - but will that hold?Taoiseach Leo Varadkar dropped an unusual and somewhat controversial reference this week, prompting our panel to speculate about his TV viewing habits.Plus the panel select their favourite reads of the week:Without even mentioning the song, Diarmaid Ferriter has (hopefully) the last work on Zombiegate.Michael McDowell calls for a new agency to reverse Dublin's declineAnd Pat commends our reporters' wide coverage of this week's historic drugs bust. Hosted on Acast. See acast

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 could cause problems for the coalition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 was their dislike of the Greens. Plus the panel nominate their favourite IT articles of the week, including: Justine McCarthy on a growing healthcare controversyNaomi O'Leary on Ireland's risky exposure to the Chinese economyand Roísín Ingle's paean to the joys of day-drinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 What Went Wrong With Brexit and What To Do About It, Peter argues the UK is facing a future of stagnation and decline unless its political leaders start to confront the challenges posed by Brexit.What Went Wrong With Brexit and What To Do About It is published by Canongate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 book, the party and its leaders, past and present. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Minister gives little away. But he does provide an insight into his thinking about the balancing act that must be struck. They also discuss the risk posed to stability by unpredictable corporate tax receipts, the future for RTÉ and whether Fine Gael still has something to offer in government beyond the next election.And Mr Donohoe takes the opportunity to criticise Pat's argument that the Government is short on ideas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 weekA spike in road deaths is another issue for the coalition to grapple withPolitical 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 of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the attrition a lack of leadership is causing to day-to-day lives of citizens. What is in the mind of DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, in whose hands powersharing lies? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.