Irish Times Inside Politics

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 the most popular party leader with an impressive 49% approval rating. But will his rising tide lift other boats for Fine Gael? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 significant giveaway would have to be financed either through tax increases or cuts to another department.They also discuss the reaction in Leinster House to the political unrest surrounding the Catalonia independence referendum in Spain and whether or not Taoiseach Leo Varadkar can get away with going to gigs anymore, after the LCD Soundsystem debacle. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Novelist and former political journalist Robert Harris returns to Inside Politics to discuss his new novel 'Munich', set over the course of the four-day crisis talks between the British, French and Nazi governments which prevented the outbreak of war in 1938. He talks about the modern misapprehension of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the nature of appeasement and the current state of politics in the United Kingdom as it moves through the painful Brexit process. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sinn Fein TD for Dublin Mid-West Eoin Ó Broin joins Hugh, Pat and Sarah to discuss the forthcoming referendum on the 8th Amendment, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's recent attacks on Sinn Féin, whether there is a culture of bullying in the party, and also its stance on property tax. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ten years after an economic and social crisis that it seemed would change the Irish political landscape utterly, the political dominance of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is diminished - but continues. Are we destined to be governed by these organisations forever? As part of the Dublin Podcast Festival, Pat Leahy, Mary Minihan and Fiach Kelly joined Hugh in front of a live audience at The Workman's Club in Dublin to take a close look at our two main political parties today. How do they see themselves and one another? How has the upheaval of the last decade changed them, and where are they headed ideologically?Thanks to Alan Bennet and everyone working on the Podcast Festival. Thanks also to Alan Kinsella for providing our backdrop of historic election literature. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hugh is joined by Harry McGee and Fiach Kelly to discuss everything and anything on the political agenda this week, including pre-budget skirmishes between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, President Michael D Higgins's noteworthy appearance at the ploughing festival, a potential Water Referendum, and the return to work of the members of Dáil Eireann after a long, damp summer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Hugh, Pat and Harry are joined by Minister of State at the Department of Housing Damien English to talk about the latest news on the housing crisis, the resignation of Noirin O'Sullivan and what we can expect from the Taoiseach as the political season begins. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The negative reaction to Fianna Fáil TD and spokesman on housing Barry Cowen's proposal to incentivise building by reducing VAT rates for builders shows the mistrust that is a legacy of the housing crash could still be a problem for the party. Hugh and Pat talk to Deputy Cowen who defends his proposal and Fianna Fáil's legacy when it comes to housing. Later on we go to Fiach Kelly at the Sinn Féin think-in to hear about the future Gerry Adams' leadership (still murky) and the party's desire for power and a role in southern government (crystal clear). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From E-voting to water charges, there have been plenty of examples of governments getting into hot water over a 'sensible' plan emanating from the civil service. Could the controversial Public Services Card become another example? Or is it a summer story? Far from being a summer story, the housing crisis is very real. It's an acute problem with no short-term solution - the stuff of political nightmares and a major potential liability for Fine Gael. Finally, a look at the modern PR stylings of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Should he be replying to George Hook's criticisms on Twitter? And what exactly is the "Strategic Communciations Office"?Today's panel is hosted by Hugh Linehan, with Pat Leahy and Sarah Bardon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can we fix a housing market bedevilled by perverse incentives and bottlenecks?How important have lobbying, vested interests and ideology been in determining our housing policy?Why did the state lose faith in social housing? As the housing crisis gets worse and worse, we ask two experts how we got here and what needs to be done. Guests: Dr Michelle Norris, head of UCD's School of Social Policy, and Dr Lorcan Sirr, lecturer in housing studies, urban economics, and research methods in DIT's School of Real Estate and Construction Economics. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Britain has just released a negotiating paper with details of how it sees a future UK-EU border on this island operating. Here with hot takes are Fiach Kelly and Mary Minihan. After that there is time for a look ahead to the various votes the people could be asked to make in 2018, including referendums and a potential race for the Áras. Could Senator Gerard Craughwell's decision to run for presidency upend Michael D. Higgins' hope of a second term? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ghost estates - residential building developments began during the boom and abandoned when the crash came - became synonymous with the excesses of the Celtic Tiger. Hundreds still dot the Irish countryside: homes to rats, brambles and despairing residents, as reporter Simon Carswell tells Hugh Linehan.You can read Simon's long read at irishtimes.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson and Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole discuss how well Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is playing Dublin's hand in the rather complicated game of Brexit. They join podcast regulars Hugh Linehan and Fiach Kelly. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former Progressive Unionist Party member and feminist academic Sophie Long gives her view on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s recent comments about Ireland’s post-Brexit border.Ms Long, who resigned as the PUP’s communications director after she came under fire for tweeting her condolences on the death of Martin McGuinness, joins Michael O’Regan and Fiach Kelly, with Mary Minihan on presenting duties this week.Taoiseach Varadkar travels to Northern Ireland this weekend where he will attend a breakfast Pride event in Belfast on Saturday morning, a move that might annoy the DUP according the Ms Long, but won’t have any major impact.Anthony Scaramucci’s short-lived stint as White House director of communications also gets a mention and the panel talk about Kevin Myers’s controversial column in the Irish edition of The Sunday Times last weekend and the public reaction to TD’s outstanding €5,500 Dáil bar bill. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Government returns to its work in the autumn, the difficult and politically dangerous work of managing our economic recovery by means of the budget will begin, with much of the task landing on Paschal Donohoe's desk. What lessons will he take from past growth spurts in the nineties and noughties, and the problems that followed them? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In his book "The Road to Somewhere: The Populist Revolt and the Future of Politics", journalist David Goodhart attempts to provide a framework for understanding UK society that explains Brexit and the collapse of the political centre. Before appearing at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties this week, he talked to Hugh Linehan about his ideas. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fine Gael have found the money to repay water charges to those who complied back in 2014, marking perhaps the final chapter in a terrible humiliation for the party. The €170 million needed for that is coming out of €300 million that has been found down the backs of various departmental couches. Won't that money be missed by the Ministers?The country has finally moved on from the water debacle, and today on the podcast we also look ahead to two of the biggest problems facing the country: how we measure and control our economy, and the potential calamity of Brexit. Apart from showing our economy to be much smaller than we all thought, what does the new GNI measurement mean for political decision making? And, one year on, has the assessment of how damaging Brexit can be changed? Pat Leahy is on the line from the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, where Brexit despair and fiscal prudence are dominating this year's discussions, while Mary Minihan recalls the dispiriting lack of understanding of Northern Ireland di

The summer break is looming in Leinster House and TDs are rushing to get things legislation through after an underwhelming term. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is making his 'Summer Statement' on the public finances and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is settling in to his role. To discuss all this and more Pat Leahy is joined by Sarah Bardon and Harry McGee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Harry McGee and Pat Leahy talk about the substantive issues addressed by An Taoiseach Leo Vardakar and Justin Trudeau on the occasion of the Canadian PM's visit, issues that were hard to discern with all the smiling, posing, praising and jogging going on. Then they turn to the issue of waste, which is a burning one on the left but not so much for the traditional establishment parties Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour. Why?Finally they call up Newton Emerson in Belfast to find out who really wants what in Northern Ireland, a day after talks to restore power sharing in Stormont were put on ice until the autumn. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former Irish Times Legal Affairs correspondent and author of The Supreme Court Ruadhan Mac Cormaic joins podcast regulars Sarah Bardon, Pat Leahy and Fiach Kelly to discuss the controversy surrounding Shane Ross's push to reform the judicial appointments process. Why is he so obsessed with this particular issue, and is the Bill solving the right problems?There's also a few minutes to discuss the National Economic Dialogue event taking place today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.