Harry McGee and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to talk about all today’s news on the election campaign trail: Standing side by side during last night’s leaders debate on RTÉ, Micheal Martin and Simon Harris countered Mary Lou McDonald’s criticisms, sometimes aggressively. The optics favoured the Sinn Féin leader. On the subject of government formation, Labour leader Ivana Bacik spoke of her intention to only negotiate with the big parties in conjunction with other parties on the left, including the...

Sarah Burns and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss the day’s politics on the campaign trail: Today saw party leaders give their views on the behaviour of Fine Gael candidate for Louth John McGahon, who was acquitted of assault in 2022. Is he now a problem candidate for the party? Labour’s weekend manifesto launch revealed a big commitment to expanded state intervention in housing construction. The Social Democrats likewise have ambitious plans for housing, also announced at the weekend. Are...

Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh for our daily discussion of the election campaign: ·      With the first week of the general election campaign coming to a close, Fine Gael are making a strong pitch for the law-and-order vote with their campaign promises. Policing and justice seem to be a key area for both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, but will it mobilise voters? ·      Is the cost-of-living crisis being underpriced in this general election campaign? There are plans like phasing...

Political stability is indicated by the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil looking set to lead the next government, possibly in alliance with a smaller party or a group of Independents. Indeed, the rise in support for independent candidates is one of the most striking aspects of the poll, and some may well play a role in the formation of the next government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh for our daily discussion of the election campaign: Simon Harris says Fine Gael would remove the means test for recipients of the carer's allowance. It is a move already supported by many opposition parties. But it would be expensive - potentially much more so than the €600 million per year figure mentioned by the Taoiseach. Sinn Fein launched their immigration policy. It's much like the one published by the party in the summer - with some interesting...

Today's panelists are Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray, who join Hugh Linehan to discuss: Housing is the issue of the campaign so far - we recap how the debate has evolved Mary Lou McDonald spoke about how Sinn Féin is unfairly questioned about the past. Does she have a point? Former Fine Gael Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy's frank account of how his party 'didn't make housing a priority' could be one of the talking points of this campaign. The gloves are off between Fianna Fáil and...

Fears that the use of AI deepfakes would disrupt the flow of accurate information in a general election campaign have not come true. Instead we have been treated to a digital manifestation of someone who barely resembles Taylor Swift endorsing the Healy-Raes: welcome to the cheapfake era. On today's Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan is joined by Liz Carolan to discuss the influence of digital media in the 2024 general election, current trends in digital campaigning and the changing role of...

Harry McGee and Sarah Burns, who have accompanied politicians from several parties as they have canvassed for votes in the past week, join Hugh to talk about the issues that are coming up on doorsteps. In Dublin South Central and Dublin West, Sarah has noticed a less negative sentiment towards Sinn Féin. That's good news for the party as it seeks to add second seats in constituencies where it dominated in 2020 but lost support in local elections and opinion polls. Sinn Féin will also be...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss today’s events in the 2024 general election campaign: Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary’s comments about teachers at a Fine Gael TD’s campaign launch event have got the party off to a bad start. Fine Gael’s proposal to change a VAT rate in order to help the hospitality industry has some downsides, not least for the other industries who will actually come out of the change taxed more heavily. Another Fine Gael proposal, to use some...

The Dáil has been dissolved and the 2024 general election is officially underway. Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss day one of the campaign: How Taoiseach Simon Harris addressed the countryPoster wars had begun prematurely on lampposts all across Ireland Mary Lou McDonald spoke about Sinn Féin's strategy for this campaign, to a soundtrack of Damien Dempsey Plus: Tickets are now available for Inside Politics live in Dublin on Wednesday, November 20th at 6.30pm. Hosted on...

November 29th is now confirmed as the date of General Election 2024. Election Daily from The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast will update you on the campaign every weekday between now and then. Hugh Linehan and Jack Horgan-Jones are here to briefly update listeners on what to expect from the show, when to listen out for episodes and what the opening stages of the campaign will look like. Plus: Tickets are now available for Inside Politics live in Dublin on Wednesday, November 20th at...

Live from Palm Beach Florida, where Donald Trump is celebrating his historic victory in the 2024 US presidential race, Steven Carroll joins Hugh, Fintan O'Toole and Jennifer Bray to discuss what went wrong for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, why so many categories of American supported Trump and what his win means for politics and the wider world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When will Simon Harris dissolve the Dáil and go to the Áras? Could he pull a surprise, or are there any final banana skins that could disrupt his plans? Jennifer Bray joins Hugh to talk about the choreography of the week. Plus they look at some pre-campaign skirmishes between Micheal Martin and his Fine Gael colleagues and Sinn Féin's bullish candidate selection decisions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Economist, podcaster and Irish Times columnist David McWilliams joins Hugh to talk about his new book Money: A Story of Humanity. They talk about the meaning of money and how it should be used to improve lives and societies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee join Hugh to discuss the week in politics: The Government is completing what it can of its unfinished legislative programme before the general election, and that means the 'guillotine' - a procedure that shortens the time needed to debate bills as they pass through the Oireachtas - is getting heavy use this week. Which bills are getting chopped - and which are getting dropped? Clare Daly's decision to run in Dublin Central adds another colourful and effective...

Now that it is confirmed there will be a general election this year, the Irish Times politics team can finally unleash their predictions - or should that be possible future outcomes - of which candidates and parties will emerge victorious from some of the most competitive constituencies in the State. Jennifer Bray, Harry McGee and Pat Leahy tackle Dublin Central, Dublin Bay South, Carlow-Kilkenny, Mayo, Cavan-Monaghan and both Tipperarys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Trump or Harris? We'll know America's answer in just two weeks, but until then the race is too close to call. With the margins so tight, Democrats and Republicans are desperately seeking advantage in the key swing states, spending millions of dollars on TV ads. But it is the Republicans feeling happiest, with polls tightening in Donald Trump's favour in places like Wisconsin. That's where Washington correspondent Keith Duggan talks to Hugh from today. They discuss the last-minute attacks each...

Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn to look back on the week in politics: ·     With a general election now likely a matter of weeks away, it is the main opposition party, and not government parties, who continue to dominate the headlines. And they are unwanted headlines relating to former TD Brian Stanley, former senator Niall Ó Donnghaile and former press officer Michael McMonagle.   ·     And with all those controversies piling up for Sinn Féin, are the...

Tánaiste Micheál Martin sits down with Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy to talk about the timing of the next general election. For the first time he states clearly that he is open to the vote taking place before Christmas - but with some caveats. Martin also talks about his attitude to Sinn Féin as a potential future partner in government and whether Ireland could take unilateral action Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The resignation from Sinn Féin of Laois TD Brian Stanley on Saturday, and the party's referral to the Gardaí of information it gathered during an internal inquiry into an unspecified allegation made against Stanley, has triggered a fresh crisis for Mary Lou McDonald. The Sinn Féin leader is now struggling on multiple fronts as the party faces demands for an explanation as to why the Gardaí were not involved at an earlier stage. McDonald must also be worried that this latest bad news story...

Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to look back on the week in politics: ·      With the giveaway budget done, will this government conclude in time for an early general election? Timing is vital, but can the Coalition arrive at a consensus given their advanced preparation for an election campaign? ·      Sinn Féin’s difficulties are the Government’s opportunities with the Michael McMonagle scandal rumbling on, and now TD Patricia Ryan’s resignation from the party...

As the US presidential election nears, Hugh talks to American journalist Ben Smith about the intertwining of media and politics in the United States: how political campaigns operate like media companiesthe decline in trust toward mainstream mediathe impact of digital platforms on political discourse They assess Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's use of the media as a campaign tool in this election cycle and look at how the media landscape is changing, with references to Ben's experiences at...

Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee to look back on the week in politics:   ·      The panel paid tribute to former Fianna Fáil minister Mary O’Rourke after her death this week at the age of 87. She was involved in Irish politics for almost a half-century.   ·      The expectation is that Sinn Féin will run with 65-70 candidates in the forthcoming general election – are they being overly cautious? And there was surprise too at the news that party leader Mary Lou...