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

Should Parents Feel Guilty About Going On Holiday Without The Kids?
Niall talks to journalist Laura Perrins about a listener’s holiday dilemma that has caused quite a row at home.
The listener says she was furious when her husband suggested they escape together on a surprise two week holiday to the Maldives, leaving their three young children at home. He thought he was planning the ultimate romantic getaway for just the two of them, but luckily he had not booked or paid for anything because his wife has flatly refused to go.
She says she could never relax on a beach thousands of miles away while her children were at home, but her husband believes couples need time together and that two weeks away without the kids would be good for their marriage.
So, is she being unreasonable? Should parents be able to enjoy a proper holiday without their children, or once you have young kids are two week romantic getaways simply off the table?
Niall discusses the dilemma with journalist Laura Perrins and asks whether parents should feel guilty about leaving the children behind.

Should Overtime Be Tax Free?
Niall talks to Independent Ireland TD Michael Collins about whether workers should be allowed to keep more of the money they earn from putting in extra hours.
Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has proposed taxing qualifying overtime earnings at a flat rate of 20% as part of Budget 2027, arguing that people who work longer hours should not see so much of the additional income swallowed up by tax. Although INdependent ireland was the fist party to propose the idea
Niall asks whether the Government should go even further and abolish income tax altogether on overtime worked beyond 40 hours a week, as well as removing tax on tips.
Critics argue that such a move could reduce the money available to fund public services and create complications within the tax system. Supporters say it would reward hard work, encourage people to take on extra hours and put more disposable income into workers’ pockets, much of which would ultimately flow back into the economy through spending and VAT.
Would tax free overtime give working people a badly needed break, or is the idea simply too expensive and unrealistic?
Niall discusses the proposal with Independent Ireland TD Michael Collins.

Public sector workers are warning that patience is running out over pay, and the threat of industrial action is becoming increasingly serious.
Niall Boylan talks to callers about whether Ireland could be heading towards a major wave of strikes across essential public services, and whether workers in areas such as healthcare, education, public transport and social protection should have the same right to withdraw their labour as anyone else.
The previous public service pay agreement expired on 30 June 2026 after delivering increases of up to 10.25% over two and a half years. Unions argue that rising prices have continued to erode living standards and that any new agreement must properly reflect inflation. Fórsa has been balloting more than 90,000 public sector members on industrial action, while SIPTU, the INMO and other unions are also moving towards ballots. Prison officers have already backed industrial action, and Unite has warned that Ireland could face a “winter of strikes” unless the Government makes what it considers a meaningful pay offer.
Teachers are also becoming increasingly involved. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland has announced a ballot for industrial action in a separate dispute over a 1% salary increase which it says has not been paid as agreed, potentially affecting cooperation with elements of Senior Cycle assessment reform.
But where should the line be drawn? If nurses, teachers, transport workers or other essential public servants strike, it is ordinary members of the public who can ultimately suffer. Gardaí are prohibited from striking because of the essential nature of their work, so should similar restrictions apply to other vital services?
And then there is the question of pay. Do public servants deserve another substantial increase because of the cost of living, or after receiving increases of up to 10.25% under the previous agreement, is it unreasonable to expect private sector taxpayers to fund another large rise?
Niall hears from callers on both sides of a debate that could become one of the biggest industrial relations battles facing the Government this winter.

The Lindsay Clancy murder trial has gripped millions around the world, and the case is now in the hands of a Massachusetts jury.
Niall Boylan is joined by journalist and commentator Laura Perrins to discuss the latest developments in the extraordinary case involving Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who killed her three young children, Cora, Dawson and Callan, at their family home in January 2023.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first degree murder on the basis that she was not criminally responsible. Her defence argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, was severely mentally unwell and had been prescribed numerous psychiatric medications before the killings. Prosecutors accept that she had significant mental health problems, but argue that she still understood what she was doing and deliberately planned the deaths. After 22 days of testimony and closing arguments, jurors are now deciding whether she should be convicted of murder, found guilty of a lesser offence, or found not criminally responsible because of her mental state.
At the heart of the case is an extraordinarily difficult question.
There is no dispute that Lindsay Clancy killed her children, but if she was experiencing severe psychosis at the time, should she be held fully criminally responsible?
Should a mother who kills her children while suffering from a profound psychiatric illness spend the rest of her life in prison without parole, or should the emphasis instead be on psychiatric treatment and compassion?
And how much responsibility, if any, should be placed on a medical system that was treating a woman whose mental health had been deteriorating before the tragedy?
Niall talks to Laura Perrins about the evidence heard during the trial, the prosecution and defence arguments, the debate surrounding postpartum psychosis and the verdict that could determine whether Lindsay Clancy spends her life in prison or in psychiatric care.

In this episode, Niall Boylan speaks to economic journalist with The Sunday Times Ireland, Cormac Lucey, about Ireland’s continuing cost of living crisis and whether Government policy is actually making inflation worse.
Prices rose by 3.4% in the year to July, with some household costs increasing far more sharply. Education costs were up 8.9%, clothing and footwear increased by 8.5%, while housing, water, electricity and gas rose by 7.7%.
Cormac Lucey argues that the Government is not simply failing to control inflation, but is actively fuelling it through its own spending and economic policies.
Niall asks whether politicians have become detached from the reality facing ordinary households, and whether part of the reason there is not greater public anger is that a significant section of society can still comfortably absorb the increases.
Is Ireland becoming divided between those who can shrug off higher prices and the so called “I’m alright, Jack” brigade, and those who are quietly being pushed closer to the financial edge every month?
Are you still coping comfortably, or is the cost of living finally becoming impossible to ignore?