Ireland's big defence question and back garden cabin fever
Europe is in disarray, to say the least, over Trump's rumblings about distancing the United States from all us on this side of the Atlantic, and his new spat with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It will leave a massive hole in European defence if that happens, and that means Ireland is facing renewed attention over its military spend (or lack thereof).Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy sit down to look at the political reaction at home to this, and what it could mean for the future of the Defence Forces. The team also look at calls for the use of counselling notes and character references to be banned in gender-based violence trials.And what podcast about Irish politics this week would be complete without a look at the plans — for better or for worse — to allow more back garden cabins to be built?Read more of Jane's reporting on the counselling notes here.Read more about the back garden cabin fever here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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30:11
The government has put the fear of God into renters
Housing remains the single biggest issue for the Irish public. People want to see the crisis brought to an end or, at the very least, real action being taken. Any missteps are amplified. We saw that this week with talk of scrapping Rent Pressure Zones and the controversy around housing figures provided during the general election.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy look at the new Dáil's handling of the housing crisis so far, and what tone has been set. The team also examine the significance of the Arts Council overspend on an IT project, and what the future holds for Martin Conway and Eoin Hayes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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30:25
The most politically loaded bowl of shamrock to date
It's almost March, and you know what that means: all political attention turns to one particular bowl of shamrock. Trump's second-term actions so far leave Ireland faced with a renewed dilemma: go ahead with the traditional St Patrick's Day trip to Washington in the name of using it to make our case on the world stage, or face the new realities of politics in 2025 and call off the Trump meeting.That is, of course, if he will even have us.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy sit down to look at the careful political chess that will need to be played out. The team also have a (surprisingly energetic, it must be said) chat about the Seanad elections, and look at who was the real winner in the Dáil speaking row. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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32:10
Leo's gift to the new Dáil is a possible constitutional mess
With the help of a column in the Sunday Times, Leo Varadkar has casually lobbed a grenade at the new Dáil: are the positions of some new junior minsters constitutionally sound? It now looks like likely that their status could be tested in the courts, and for the first time. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews have a look at this, as well as who exactly has been appointed to head up the various side portfolios.Also: Many parts of the country are still picking up the pieces after the disruption caused by Storm Éowyn, and the government is feeling the brunt of this anger. Insert your own pathetic fallacy of choice here. There are now huge questions to answer about how to avoid a repeat of such widespread damage to energy and communications infrastructure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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31:09
The government's next big test: survive five years
What a week. An unprecedented start to the Dáil term. A temporary and perhaps uneasy truce over speaking rights that allowed the government to get off the ground. The Opposition putting forward a rare, united front. Again, this is week one; there are five years left to go.Fully remote this week due to Storm Éowyn, with the occasional atmospheric wind gust in the background, the team look back on the week and try to answer the biggest question: will this government survive for a full term?Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and – making his grand return — Rónán Duffy also look at the new Cabinet team and assess how they might perform. Who has been given the poisoned chalice? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland