The Niall Boylan Podcast (They Told Me To Shut Up)

Niall talks to journalist Laura Perrins about Budget 2027 and asks whether it will actually make any meaningful difference to households struggling with the relentless rise in the cost of living.
Every year we hear about tax cuts, credits, welfare increases and new Government supports, yet for many people the bills keep rising faster than the help arriving. Electricity, heating, groceries, rent, mortgages, insurance and childcare continue to swallow more of our income.
Budget 2027 promises tax relief for workers, increased welfare payments, childcare supports and measures to reduce energy costs. But will people genuinely feel better off, or are we simply getting a little more from the Government while paying far more everywhere else?
Niall asks Laura whether Government policy is really tackling the cost of living or merely trying to soften the impact of continually rising prices.
And if there was just one thing the Government could do to make your life financially easier, what would it be?

Niall talks to business owner and podcaster Paul Treyvaud about the Government’s expected decision to increase the minimum wage by 79 cent to €14.94 an hour from January, and the continuing debate over plans for a €16 living wage.
For workers struggling with rent, food, energy and other everyday costs, higher wages may seem essential just to keep up. Supporters of a living wage argue that anyone working full time should earn enough to have a reasonable standard of living.
But many small business owners say they are being squeezed from every direction. Energy, insurance, rates, stock, VAT and labour costs have all increased, and another compulsory wage rise could mean higher prices, reduced opening hours, fewer employees or, in some cases, businesses closing completely.
On the other side of the argument is a simple question: if a business cannot afford to pay its workers a decent wage, should that business be operating in the first place?
Niall asks Paul who should ultimately take priority, the worker struggling to pay the bills or the employer struggling to keep the doors open?
And should Ireland move towards a €16 an hour living wage, even if some businesses say they simply cannot afford it?

Niall talks to Cormac Lucey, economics commentator with The Sunday Times Ireland, about growing concern that Ireland is becoming increasingly unaffordable for its own young people.
New figures from the National Youth Council make for stark reading. Some 68% of young adults say they are considering leaving Ireland in search of a better quality of life, while 90% believe secure, well-paid work is becoming harder to find and 89% say the housing crisis is hitting young people disproportionately hard.
With rents, house prices and the general cost of living continuing to put pressure on younger generations, many are now asking whether Ireland risks exporting its own skilled and educated young people while relying increasingly on inward migration to fill jobs and support economic growth.
Niall and Cormac examine what is driving the problem, whether current housing and economic policy is failing younger people, and what practical changes could help persuade another generation that their future is in Ireland rather than abroad.
Are we losing our best young talent, and if so, what can be done to stop it?

Niall talks to callers about the death penalty following the disturbing case of Christa Pike, who is reportedly critically ill in hospital after an attempt by the state of Tennessee to execute her went badly wrong.
Pike was just 18 when she brutally tortured and murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. She was sentenced to death and has spent almost three decades awaiting execution. Last week, she was given lethal injection drugs, but the execution failed, reportedly leaving her with severe swelling and chemical burns and requiring ventilation in hospital.
Nobody disputes the horrific nature of Pike’s crime, but does that justify the state deliberately taking another human life?
Supporters of capital punishment argue that some crimes are so brutal that death is the only appropriate punishment and that victims’ families deserve justice. Opponents say the death penalty is an outdated and barbaric practice that gives governments a power they should never possess.
After an execution attempt that has already caused Pike enormous suffering, should the state be allowed to try again? Has she already been punished enough, or should the sentence still be carried out?
Niall opens the phone lines and asks callers a simple but deeply divisive question: do you agree with the death penalty?

#895 Artificial Intelligence: Our Greatest Invention or Biggest Mistake?
Niall talks to Podcaster Nick Delahanty about the growing debate surrounding artificial intelligence and whether the technology is advancing faster than society can safely handle.
AI promises enormous benefits, from breakthroughs in medicine and education to major changes in business, productivity and everyday life. But with that progress come serious questions. Could artificial intelligence replace millions of jobs? Could it become powerful enough to shape the information people see, influence public opinion and decide which ideas or conversations are promoted or suppressed?
There are also concerns about who ultimately controls the technology. If the most powerful AI systems are owned by a small number of governments and multinational companies, how much influence could they have over society, politics, the media and even our understanding of reality?
Niall and Peter discuss the opportunities, the risks and whether regulation can realistically keep pace with a technology developing at extraordinary speed.
Should we embrace artificial intelligence and everything it could offer, or should we be genuinely worried about where it is taking us?