Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan
The best analysis of the Irish political scene featuring Irish Times journalists, political thinkers and the occasional politician. Hosted by Hugh Linehan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Zelenskiy meeting with US envoys overshadows EPC summit in Dublin
Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Jack Horgan-Jones to look back on the week in politics:
Public sector pay deal break through and EU leaders in Dublin for major summit
Parts of Dublin will come to a near standstill this week as security ramps up for two major EU summits in the city centre on Thursday and Friday.
On today’s Inside Politics podcast our Europe correspondent in Brussels, Jack Power, and our political editor Pat Leahy explain what is at stake.
News of a breakthrough in talks between unions and the government over a public sector pay deal may have averted a ‘work to rule’ strike by Gardaí on Thursday which would have hampered security during the event.
Hugh also as...
Are universities echo chambers for the left?
Professor Brian Fanning joins Hugh Linehan to discuss how Catholic thought shaped modern Ireland, the country’s changing attitudes to immigration and whether universities are becoming ideological echo chambers.
They also discuss the problem with AI in education, Ireland's long history of prejudice against Travellers and Fanning’s new memoir Ideologies Are Not your Friends.
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Are Fine Gael having an identity crisis?
Jack Horgan-Jones and Theresa Reidy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Republicans routed as Democrats retake the Senate in style
The US midterm results are in. Keith Duggan reports from Texas where Democratic nominee for US senate James Talarico has declared victory in the usually deep-red state. It is just one of the eye-catching Democratic victories on a historic night. Republicans have lost control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with voters sending a clear message of disapproval to US president Donald Trump.
For access to an exclusive episode of Inside Politics, please take our short survey at irishtimes.com/insidepolitics.
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Taoiseach doing some ‘deep thinking’ about Irish unity with creation of new Government body
Pat Leahy and Naomi O’Leary join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Can Israel’s opposition parties oust Netanyahu?
As the day drew to a close in Israel on Tuesday, exit polls in the Knesset election suggested a lead for the bloc of parties opposing prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
As the sun rose and official counts were declared a very different picture emerged showing a slender lead for Netanyahu’s bloc.
On today’s podcast, Hugh asks our contributor in Jerusalem, Mark Weiss, to explain where things stand as counting continues.
That lead enjoyed by the prime minister “changes the entire political picture”, he says.
A strong p...
Can Democrats take the Senate? US midterms special with Galen Druke
Take our listener survey for access to a bonus episode. Go to irishtimes.com/insidepolitics.
It is one week out from US midterm elections with Democrats hoping to retake control of both the House of Representatives and the powerful Senate. Journalist and podcaster Galen Druke returns to Inside Politics to talk to Hugh Linehan about the state of play.
They look at the overall picture in the House of Representatives, which Democrats need just three seats to retake. Polls show that is likely but gerrymandering could limit their gains.
And...
Viral 'hugging grandparents' ad: did Jim O’Callaghan need to intervene?
Take our listener survey for access to a bonus episode. Go to irishtimes.com/insidepolitics.
Pat Leahy and Sarah Burns join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Jamie Bryson: Northern Irish unionists 'must go on the offensive'
The scenes at Drumcree in recent weeks revived memories of one of Northern Ireland’s most enduring disputes between unionist and nationalist communities.
But while the immediate controversy centred on a short stretch of road in Portadown, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, who has spearheaded the campaign to secure a return of Orange Order members to the largely nationalist Garvaghy Road, believes the implications reach much further than a single parade.
On today’s podcast, Bryson tells Hugh that the unionist tradition has been “under siege” for decades and argues that it is time to “go o...
Is diversity in politics dead?
Democracy rests on the promise that political institutions should reflect the people they serve. But in an era of growing social diversity, persistent inequalities and political polarisation, that promise is being contested.
On today’s podcast, Hugh heads to the Royal Irish Academy to speak to Pauline Cullen, Professor of Sociology at Maynooth University and Tània Verge Mestre, former Equalities Minister in the Catalan government in Spain.
Verge Mestre highlights the gender quota’s introduced in Spain in 2007 requiring political parties to have no less than 40% of either gender represented in its candi...
As the fight over the next EU budget intensifies, what’s in it for Ireland?
Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
How will the public sector pay dispute end?
Leinster House today was filled with sympathy for Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan who took ill during an EU presidency meeting in Limerick on Tuesday.
On today’s podcast Hugh speaks to Irish Times political editor Pat Leahy and political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones about the mood in the Dáil.
Fellow politicians “understand the stresses and challenges” of the job, Pat said.
They also discuss today’s public sector strike and the likelihood of another next Wednesday.
“Both sides have staked out their territory” sa...
US midterms: is a 'blue wave' coming?
In less than a month US voters will get a chance to express their feelings about the direction of the country in elections for seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate. While president Donald Trump is not on the ballot, his unpopularity is weighing his party down. Polls show a "blue wave" looks likely, with Democrats favoured to win back the House and possibly the Senate. But many races are still very close. Washington correspondent Keith Duggan has been visiting some of the key battlegrounds to find out about the candidates and the issues.
Would...
RTÉ funding snub not a good look for Patrick O’Donovan
Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Budget 2027: buying the peace by pouring fuel on the fire
Ireland is politically and economically stable, as Simon Harris pointed out in his Budget speech yesterday. But keeping it that way is getting more expensive. Increased capital spending, increased day-to-day spending, tax cuts - yesterday’s Budget delivered the lot. Is this sustainable, with our reliance on multinational tax receipts? Or wise, with our healthy level of economic growth? To look at the big picture, Hugh and Pat are joined by Barra Rowntree of Trinity College Dublin.
Barra Rowntree is an Assistant Professor in Economics at TCD.
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'Traitors to creation': Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on the far right's apocalypse alliance
Last year Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor co-authored an essay in The Guardian with a provocative title: The Rise of End Times Fascism. In it they argued that a new alliance was emerging on the political right, made up of Christian fundamentalists, Silicon Valley billionaires and hardline ethnonationalists, bound together by a vision of the end of the world as we know it in which only they would survive.
That essay has now become a book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World.
On today’s podcast Klein and Taylor ta...
Budget drama could go to the wire as ministers wrestle for cash that may not come
The mood music around Leinster House this week is one of “nashing teeth” ahead of what’s expected to be a difficult budget announcement on Tuesday.
On today’s podcast, Hugh speaks to our political correspondents Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn who describe a “cold hard reality” that may be to come as government ministers feel they may not get the money they were hoping for.
And its understood Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has been “frosty” with cabinet colleagues asking for more money for their departments.
All this under the shadow...
Siobhán Fenton worked for Sinn Féin. She explains why it has not won power
Sinn Fein emerged from 2020's general election in pole position to challenge Fine Gael and Fianna Fail and potentially take power next time around. That didn't happen, with support ebbing away as a series of events, both internal and external, shook the party's confidence. That's the picture painted by Siobhán Fenton, a journalist who worked in Sinn Féin's press office from 2020 to 2024, in her book Ourselves Alone.
Hugh interviews Siobhán about why she joined Sinn Fein and what she learned about the inner workings of a cross-border party. They look back on a ser...
Can we escape the algorithm? Mark Little is still optimistic
Today anxiety over how the digital world has evolved is greater than ever. Trust in information found online is low, the business models driving tech platforms reward outrage over wellbeing and vast power lies in the hands of a few oligarchs. The arrival of AI may bring even greater problems. But what can be done?
On today's podcast Hugh interviews Mark Little about his book The Last Good Day on the Internet. Little is a former RTÉ correspondent, the founder of Storyful and co-founder with Aine Kerr of Kinzen. He has also had roles with Twitter a...
Latest poll numbers show neither Government nor Opposition all that popular with electorate
Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
What to watch as Xi visits Washington
Chinese leader Xi Jinping lands in Washington later this evening for a three-day state visit, his first to Washington since 2015. The Trump White House is rolling out the red carpet and laying on the full ceremonial treatment for a leader who currently still faces American tariffs, sanctions and export controls. Irish Times China correspondent Dennis Staunton joins Hugh from Hong Kong to explain what both men want out of the meeting and what it will tell us about the balance of power between the world's two superpowers. They also talk about the race for AI supremacy and China's economic...
Where Anthony Scaramucci and America went wrong
Anthony Scaramucci is a successful Wall Street financier, a recovering Republican, a famously short-lived communications director in the first Trump administration and co-presenter with Katty Kay of The Rest is Politics US. His new book All the Wrong Moves chronicles his time within the Maga movement and diagnoses where America took a wrong turn. He talks to Hugh about three “catastrophic” policy errors he believes gave rise to the populist anger that propelled Trump to power.
Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsl...
What is driving the abuse and intimidation of politicians here?
Ellen Coyne and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Sweden's political shift and Germany's electoral shock
Derek Scally talks to Hugh about the aftermath of two elections that have recently taken place: the Swedish general election and regional elections in the Gerrman region of Saxony-Anhalt. Each offers some fascinating insights into current trends and future directions in Germany and Scandinavia, and perhaps more broadly in Europe.
Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What's the best way to make Ireland more equal?
Left-leaning think-tank Tasc has published a new report to mark its 25th year.
the report (The State We Are In - Inequality in Ireland 2026) suggests that the redistribution of wealth via the tax system is struggling to keep inequality under control and argues for greater provision of services.
It also warns that the rapid development of artificial intelligence could deepen inequality in Ireland and around the world.
Tasc director Dr Shana Cohen talks to Hugh about her organisation's history, the new report and the peculiarities that give rise to Ireland's...
Trump's support for reunification grabs the headlines on a colourful day
President Trump and his vast, costly entourage have rolled through Dublin on the way to his golf course, meeting with the Taoiseach and President Connolly along the way. As with other recent encounters between representatives of the State and Trump, there were no major diplomatic incidents for Irish officials to worry about. But Trump did ruffle some feathers with his comments on Irish reunification. "The Weave", as Trump calls his signature style of oratory, was on full display, by turns baffling, witty and terrifying.
Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones were present at the various set-pieces and...
Why has Occupied Territories legislation taken so long?
Inside Politics Live is coming to Cork on September 30th. Get your tickets here.
Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
'Disruptive' Jack Chambers talks tough on HSE overspending and budget negotiations
Inside Politics Live is coming to Cork on September 30th. Get your tickets here.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers talks to Jack Horgan-Jones about pre-Budget negotiations, HSE overspending, childcare, infrastructure and more.
He reveals that he intends to strip power over day-to-day spending from four HSE regions in response to what he describes as a "really poor performance" when it comes to controlling costs.
He also responds to critical comments reportedly made by Cabinet colleagues over his unwillingness to grant their spending wishes.
Then Hugh and...
P aul Mason on communism, China and the crisis of the left
British journalist Paul Mason talks to Hugh about his new book Reds: A Global History of Communism.
The book traces communism’s story from early human egalitarian impulses to modern China’s controlled capitalist system.
Mason talks to Hugh about what drew him to Trotskyism as a young man, his current politics as a left-wing social democrat and his concerns about democracy under threat. He explains his own break with Corbynism.
Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefi...
What will President Connolly say to president Trump?
Inside Politics Live is coming to Cork on September 30th. Get your tickets here.
Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Labour’s annual think-in is happening in Galway and Pat is there to find out what the party is thinking up. The mood is positive. But with the rival Soc Dems riding high, Labour faces an uncertain future.
One new measure being proposed by party finance spokesman Ged Nash is a €100 “shopping supplement” targeted at families over the winter months. Expect m...
'Equal-opportunities satirist' Paul Howard takes aim at Irish reunification
In his new novel A Nation Once Again, Paul Howard, best known for the Ross O'Carroll Kelly series, turns his satirical eye from wealthy South Dublin to an imaginary government department devoted to preparing for the reunification of Ireland. He talks to Hugh about how the concept allowed him to explore both the absurdity of the border's existence and the ridiculousness of trying to remove it
They discuss the book’s origins as a sitcom, how his experience as a child in Ireland with an English accent (Howard's family returned to Ireland when he was eight) he...
Where next for Simon, Micheál and Mary Lou?
Hugh, Pat, Ellen and Jack took to the stage at Electric Picnic on Saturday to discuss politics and take some uestions from the audience. They discussed UK prime minister Andy Burnham's controversial comments on the possibility of a border poll before moving on to take stock of the political positions and futures of the Big Three party leaders: Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Minister for Finance Simon Harris and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald. Here's an excerpt of their conversation.
Thanks to Electric Picnic and MindField for having us.
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EU presidency hits Wicklow next week and Burnham nixes talk of a Border poll
Ellen Coyne and Jack Power join Pat Leahy to look back on the week in politics:
· All 27 EU foreign ministers will gather in Druids Glen in Wicklow next week for a “Gymnich” meeting. What is that you ask, it is characterised as a more informal chat with no expectation of any hard decisions being made. The lull of August will now give way to a hectic calendar culminating in difficult choices around the next seven-year EU budget.
· Andy Burnham made his first visit to Northern Ireland this week as UK prime minister. He raised eyebrows wi...
M9 crash aftermath: can the Government bring social media under control?
Inside Politics Live is coming to Cork on September 30th. Get your tickets here.
Pat Leahy is joined by Ellen Coyne and Liz Carolan to talk about the response to the circumstances around the recent fatal M9 motorway crash. They examine Coimisiún na Meán’s response and the powers it has under the EU Digital Services Act, and the refusal of Tiktok to appear before a Dail committee. They consider proposals like making joyriding videos illegal and weigh up concerns about free speech and enforceability.
In part two: the Government has u-turn...
Government stalls on fuel excise duty; politics reacts to M9 tragedy
Harry McGee and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
Why does Ireland support Palestine and does anti-Semitism play a role?
There is deep support in Ireland for the Palestinian cause. But why? And is Ireland truly an outlier in its attitudes to Palestine and Israel?
Academics Miceal Canavan and Liam Kneafsey surveyed over 1,500 people to gauge attitudes, investigate the origins of this support and ask whether anti-Semitism plays a role.
Their findings include that Irish people have the highest pro-Palestinian sympathy in Western Europe and that we assign unusually high importance to the conflict despite no direct ethnic, economic or military link.
They test explanations for this, including ideology, party sup...
Tradwife guidance, truthfulness and 'clever' politics in Limerick
Jack Horgan-Jones and Ellen Coyne join Hugh to look back on the week in politics:
From boom to bust: how the PDs unravelled - Dessie Can Do It, part three
Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy close their series on the PDs. In 1997 the party runs a disastrous campaign, falling from 10 seats to four. But they still enter government with Fianna Fáil, with Mary Harney their sole cabinet minister.
Their real influence comes through Charlie McCreevy, effectively a PD inside Fianna Fáil, whose close friendship with Harney drives a tax-cutting agenda during the boom years.
Facing wipeout in 2002, Michael McDowell rescues them with a Ranelagh lamppost stunt and an ingenious slogan. But the next term in government is less successful.
Mc...
How the PDs broke the mould of Irish politics: Dessie Can Do It, part two
In the second of three episodes on the rise and fall of the Progessive Democrats, Hugh and Pat pick up the story on the eve of the 1987 general election with the PDs riding a wave of energy and Fianna Fail's Charles Haughey chasing the overall majority that always eluded him.
The party's first outing at the polls is a triumph: 12 per cent of the vote, 14 seats and third place ahead of Labour, much of it carved out of a collapsing Fine Gael. Haughey falls two seats short. Without O'Malley's new party, would he finally have had...
