The Candidate

Finance Minister Simon Harris has outlined (again) what his much-flagged personal savings and investment scheme is going to going to look like. Well, kind of. We still don't know the exact details but we have the broad strokes: it'll encourage people to put money into a government-run investment account, rather than letting it languish in a savings account. The Social Democrats aren't impressed so far, though. They say the scheme is basically a "tax break for millionaires".

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Rónán Duffy and Jane Matthews look at whether this might finally be the thing that moves Irish people away from savings accounts and buying property to make money.

Also: Do we have enough TDs? Michael McDowell thinks so. The Senator has called for a referendum to cap the number of TDs, saying if the population continues to grow, it'll cost a lot more money to accommodate them all in Leinster House. Should this happen? And more importantly: will it?

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The National Children's Hospital has just missed its 18th deadline, and when an Oireachtas committee asked when it would actually be ready, the answer was: we'll need another 15 days to come up with a new date. Meanwhile, 570 staff still need to be hired in a city where nurses struggle to afford to live.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn and Rónán Duffy ask why the government keeps treating its most expensive project like something that's happening to someone else.

Also: the excise cuts on fuel have landed and barely made a dent, and Michael Healy-Rae got very annoyed about fox hunting on the radio,
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The reviews are in from the Oval Office, and the verdict is... it wasn't a disaster? Martin met Trump, defended Starmer, stifled a grin during a rant about windmills, and told the US president he's doing his bit for peace in the Middle East (gulp).

The bar for success remains firmly on the floor: don't poke the bear, don't make headlines, get out alive.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy debrief on the visit, with Christina reporting on her experience in Oval Office and Jane from Boston, where Joe Biden made a surprise appearance.
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Fuel prices have been climbing higher, and higher... and higher. The government's response? We're monitoring it. Wait and see. Let's not make any knee-jerk decisions. But as one of our team puts it: everyone can see what's happening in Iran, everyone can see what's happening at the pumps, so how much more evidence do you need that this isn't going to blow over?

Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, Christina Finn and Rónán Duffy ask why the same government that cut excise within two weeks of the Ukraine war is dragging its feet now, and whether the real problem with Irish fuel prices started long before the first bomb dropped.

Also: James Browne wants to loosen the rules on one-off rural housing. Is it a genuine fix or populism now the Greens are gone?
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It's day six of the US-led war on Iran and Ireland's government still can't bring itself to say two crucial words. With the White House visit just weeks away, Micheál Martin is leaning hard on phrases like "rules-based international order" - but what rules do we need to actually pay attention to? The government called out genocide in Gaza, but has suddenly gone quiet.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn and Rónán Duffy ask what's happened to Ireland's moral voice, and whether the St Patrick's Day trip is already dictating the Taoiseach's response.
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