The Candidate

Fine Gael is doing a lot of soul-searching. Almost a whole weekend of it.

Its own renewal report says voters don't really know what the party actually stands for. Grassroots members at the ard fheis are debating everything from whether it has become too detached from everyday concerns to whether it should be less “woke”.

Recorded live at the party’s ard fheis in UCC, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Lise Hand look at Fine Gael’s identity problem, Simon Harris’s leadership, and whether years in coalition with Fianna Fáil have made the two parties blur into one.
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Another public-sector strike is looming. The timing leaves the government with very little room to manoeuvre: hundreds of thousands of workers are due to walk out on the same day Ireland hosts the biggest diplomatic event in its history, while talks over a pay deal drag along.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy look at why the unions have the upper hand, how the government allowed the dispute to reach this point, and whether the strike will even go ahead at all.

Also: Jim O’Callaghan (yes, we're talking about him again) suffers a setback in the criminal legal aid dispute, and the Democrats have a huge night in the US midterms after one key move: making affordability the message.
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Since Simon Harris returned from paternity leave earlier this week he has been hounded with questions about a mysterious phone call Culture Minister Patrick O'Donovan received before he took ill at an EU Presidency event earlier this month. Harris admitted this week that the phone call was from him, but he has strenuously denied that it was a heated or tetchy interaction. Is it now case closed?

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn and Jane Matthews discuss the circumstances that led up to O'Donovan being hospitalised and question the significance of the much reported on phone call.

Also: As former president Michael D Higgins shared his view on the abolition of the triple lock this week, the team take a look at the heated debate that has surrounded the government's decision.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim O’Callaghan’s stand-off with criminal solicitors just keeps on escalating. The justice minister has now accused striking solicitors of deliberately targeting rape cases. The backlash was quick, and judges are now warning about the impact the dispute is having on the courts. Neither side appears particularly close to backing down.

Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy look at how the dispute got this far. Has O’Callaghan made it harder to find a way out?

Also: the same minister intervenes in the row over a consent campaign featuring grandparents, and the RSA performs another U-turn, this time over breathalysers in pubs.
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The public sector strike that saw 300,000 workers on the picket lines is the dominant political story of the week, but as yet nobody is getting pilloried over it. The unions say the government could have avoided the whole mess four months ago, but the government keeps saying it's ready to do a deal once everyone talks.

It seems there's a ​tentative basis for agreement, but if this drags on into the cold winter months there will be some major questions to be asked.

Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy chat through how the strike is being perceived, and then speak about the phoenix rising this week that was 'Big' Phil Hogan's UN bid.
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