Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Campaigner Maria Steen, whose failed bid to launch a run for the presidency last year put the spotlight on the nominations process, talks to Hugh and Ellen Coyne about that campaign. She talks about whether she could have won had she got that nomination and why not enough councils supported her.

She also talks about Catherine Connolly's first 100 days in office, why she is uncomfortable with the labels 'conservative' and 'right wing' and whether Catholicism is a hindrance to taking part in public life.
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Under this coalition Government Ireland's climate ambitions are colliding with political reality. Hugh talks to Climate and Science Correspondent Caroline O'Doherty about how the current Government is retreating from its own climate legislation even as energy-hungry data centres multiply, agricultural emissions remain stubbornly high and extreme weather batters the country. From Europe's looming fines to the politics of wind farms, “herd culling” and airport expansion, they look at why Ireland is falling far short of its legally-binding 2030 targets and what that means for the future.
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Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

· The sharp criticism that greeted a review of allocation of special needs assistants in schools around the country prompted a hasty retreat by Government. The review has now been paused which should buy the Government some time to soothe tensions.

· The Government are yet to act on their own voiced concerns around under-16s using social media. The problems arising from children using these platforms has been thoroughly diagnosed, but what will actually be put in place to address them?

· Ireland’s only directly-elected mayor, Limerick mayor John Moran, is finding it difficult to achieve what he has set out to do in his role, and has questioned whether there is a strategy in place to “create sufficient pressure that I might simply walk away”.

· The International Protection Bill is quickly working its way through the Dáil to be in place by June, in time for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum which will take effect then.

· And splashed across every front page on the planet this week was former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who had been detained by police on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

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

· A revolt against Microsoft in a small German state (which Hugh fully supports), doyen of the Irish business world Michael Smurfit, and the street sweepers who keep Dhaka in Bangladesh ticking over.
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13 months in, Donald Trump's second term is proving to be a much more radical political project than his first. On today's podcast Hugh is joined by Fintan O'Toole to talk about whether the Trump administration's ideology, use of state power and rhetoric now make comparisons with the fascism of the 20th century appropriate. What would fascism look like in today’s media, institutional and geopolitical context?
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Disputes over freedom of speech, censorship and the shifting norms of acceptable discourse are part and parcel of modern political debate. Now the debate has come to the Leaving Cert. A review of content of the optional Politics and Society subject is underway, with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment saying consideration will be given “to potential risks associated with including theories that may be at odds with a human rights approach”.

In response, one teacher wrote to Irish Times philosophy columnist Joe Humphreys to voice concern that proposed changes will prevent students from learning about 'difficult' ideas.

Joe wrote about it in his latest Unthinkable column and on today's podcast he talks to Hugh about the teaching of politics in school, the leftward skew of 'key thinkers' featured in the curriculum and how the race for CAO points means the exploration of ideas is of secondary importance to second level students.

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