Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh to talk about the results of the Dublin Central and Galway West byelections:

As the day began Fine Gael were confident that their man, Senator Sean Kyne, would win the seat. That confidence wavered a little as Independent Ireland’s Noel Thomas picked up significant transfers throughout the morning. In the end it wasn’t enough and Fine Gael leader Tanaiste Simon Harris was celebrating a rare byelection win for a party in power. But is he right to call it “a victory for centrist politics”?

Independent Ireland can be encouraged by Noel Thomas’s performance in Galway West.

Fine Gael and Social Democrats are the winners on this occasion. But can they turn these victories into long-term success?

There was evidence of “vote left, transfer left” behaviour in Galway. But many of Sinn Féin’s voters gave their second preferences to Independent Ireland rather than Labour or Social Democrats.

Fianna Fáil were the other big losers in this campaign. But how much do these byelections, both won by strong local candidates, really tell us about the strength of the party nationwide?

Should the counting of votes take so long? Hugh and Pat think not, but Harry McGee dissents.
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A picture is emerging in the byelection counts. Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy, Harry McGee and Jack Horgan-Jones to discuss what we have learned so far:

On the basis of the numbers available on Saturday afternoon, Social Democrats councillor Daniel Ennis and Fine Gael senator Sean Kyne look well placed to take seats in Dublin Central and Galway West respectively. But transfers could still shift result in Galway West where Independent Ireland's Noel Thomas is polling strongly.

The anti-establishment vote in Dublin Central has grown significantly with strong showings from both Gerry Hutch and Malachy Steenson.

Sinn Féin's apparent failure to top the poll in either constituency is a bad result for the leader of the opposition Mary Lou McDonald.

The results are even worse for Fianna Fáil, with its showing in Dublin Central, once a party stronghold, likely to be of particular concern to Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
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Pat Leahy and Naomi O’Leary join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

· Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrived in Italy on Friday, meeting Pope Leo in the Vatican and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome. This is part of a round of meetings with leaders ahead of Ireland’s EU presidency starting in July, with Martin meeting French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday. An estimated 270 meetings with senior politicians are scheduled for the duration of Ireland’s EU presidency, expect a lot of traffic disruption around Dublin Castle.

· Naomi O’Leary has been covering the taoiseach’s tour, where he has been keen to highlight the mistreatment of Gaza aid flotilla activists detained by Israeli forces. Could this, coupled with the slowdown in humanitarian aid into Gaza and the continued killing and displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank, finally spark the EU into placing sanctions on Israel?

· And record rent surges in the first quarter of 2026. There was a 4.4 per cent increase between December and March as the Government’s new rent control system came into effect.

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

· Arsenal end 22-year wait for title win, the tragic death of Yves Sakila, and the issues foreign investment presents for Ireland.
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Cormac McQuinn and Harry McGee join Hugh for a final look at the Dublin Central and Galway West byelections before voting takes place on Friday.

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Economist and author Sinead O'Sullivan ruffled some feathers recently with her analysis of Ireland’s deficits in infrastructure and services. Her critiques of the State’s failure to deliver things that are taken for granted in other similarly wealthy countries sparked debate and drew pushback from figures including former taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

On today’s Inside Politics podcast she talks to Hugh about how her professional background in designing complex systems made it “ impossible for me not to see” the flaws she identifies in the Irish model. She argues that Ireland lacks strong institutions capable of separating long-term delivery from electoral politics, resulting in costly, short-term fixes.
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