Irish Times Inside Politics

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Irish Academy (RIA) and the Keough-Naughton Centre for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame.The continuing collaboration also makes it possible to track changing attitudes to reunification over time - and there have already been some significant changes.To discuss the findings of the latest series of polls in the North and South project, Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy are joined by Professor Brendan O’Leary.Brendan O’Leary is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Public Opinion Committee of ARINS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 repercussions for how we live, how states interact with each other and for domestic politics. To discuss all this Hugh is joined by Helen Thompson, professor of political economy at Cambridge and cohost of These Times podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 society groups.With Paschal Donohoe not ruling himself out of the running for the top job at the International Monetary Fund, what could the potential impact be if he took the role with a general election looming next year?And following the recent Dublin riots, was Sinn Féin’s inevitable motion of no confidence in Justice Minister Helen McEntee a misstep?Plus, the ‘rap of the week’ on the wrap of the week comes from Conor McGregor. Has the UFC star developed political aspirations? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 sexual orientation play in the world.” This fixation on identity, rejecting “universal values and neutral rules like free speech and equal opportunity as mere distractions,” draws its strength, Mounk argues, from the way it took over cultural institutions, although it has not convinced more than a  small number of people. These ideas are not just frequently wrong but inimical to a functioning society, he tells Hugh Linhan in today’s Inside Politics podcast.Produced by Declan Conlon. JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 and debate this and other related issues, Hugh talks to Kevin Cunningham, Una Mullally and Ronan McCrea.Kevin Cunningham is a lecturer in politics at TU Dublin. Ronan McCrea is a professor of European and constitutional law at University College Dublin. Una Mullally is a writer, an Irish Times columnist and the author of In the Name of Love: The Movement for Marriage Equality in Ireland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 afternoon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"With economic signals flashing amber, the next Irish general election might be sooner than we thought", argues Cliff Taylor in an analysis piece for The Irish Times. But does Cliff's economic reasoning survive contact with political logic? Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy let him know.Plus: Senator Malcolm Byrne is warning about the role AI technology and deepfakes could play in the next general election. What are the issues and how could they be tackled? And Jennifer has the details of how an Oireachtas committee has agreed our abortion laws should be changed to remove barriers to women accessing abortions in certain circumstances. The ball is now in the Government's court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LIVE SHOW: Inside Politics will record live on Wednesday, November 29th in Dublin city centre. For details and to secure your ticket, follow this link: https://events.irishtimes.com/events/59159Hugh Linehan is joined in studio by Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones. First up for discussion is Fine Gael’s special conference taking place in Kildare this weekend. The conference comes just before a year that may see the party contest three elections, a year that could come to define the trajectory of Fine Gael and its leadership. But are Fine Gael generating enough momentum to meet the challenges that await them in 2024? Also in part one, the latest twist in the RTÉ saga as director general Kevin Bakhurst unveiled his strategic plan for the future of the broadcaster this week. Separate to that came confirmation from the Government that an additional €56 million in funding would be made available, but as the panel points out, there is still the sticky issue of the license fee problem that has yet to be confronted

It is almost four months now since Spain went to the polls to elect a new parliament. This week it looks as if Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez is finally about to be confirmed for a new term as Prime Minister. But the political road to that outcome has been complex and highly contentious, bringing to the fore all the divisions over ideology and identity which characterise the contemporary political scene in Spain, the EU's fourth largest country. On today's podcast Hugh Linehan digs into what is happening in Spain with author Paddy Woodworth, who wrote two books about the Basque region, and Madrid-based reporter Guy Hedgecoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Housing, housing, housing and Palestine. Anyone hoping to hear much about anything else at this weekend’s Sinn Féin Ard Fheis will have left Athlone disappointed. Pat Leahy was there and he joins Hugh Linehan to discuss what happened at the conference, including the warm welcome given to Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Abdalmajid.They also look at how party leader Mary Lou McDonald handled questions about members of her party taking legal action against journalists and media organisations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harry McGee and Pat Leahy join Hugh to look back on the week in politics:The dire situation in Israel and Palestine continues to dominate Irish political discourse.UK home secretary Suella Braverman's controversial opinion piece may cost her her job. Sinn Féin's annual conference or Ard Fheis takes place this weekend. A new Irish political party was born this week - Harry McGee has the details.And the panel pick their favourite Irish Times articles of the week:A brilliant piece about displacement of Bedouins in the West Bank by Hannah McCarthyMartin Wall's coverage of Donald Trump's legal woes contrasts with the former president's growing chances of winning a second termShould religion get out of the classroom? A debate in our pages set out both sides. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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:·   &