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

In this episode, Niall Boylan speaks to Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn about Ireland’s continuing financial and political support for Ukraine.
O’Flynn has criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s participation in the Coalition of the Willing, warning that “standing with Ukraine cannot mean a blank cheque with no questions asked.”
With the EU proposing a new €90 billion loan for Ukraine, questions are being raised about what Ireland’s eventual share could be. Ireland accounted for roughly 2.2% of the EU budget in 2025, and while the final liability cannot simply be calculated on that basis, a proportional comparison would put Ireland’s potential exposure at close to €2 billion.
That comes on top of hundreds of millions already provided directly to Ukraine, billions spent accommodating Ukrainians in Ireland, and more than €4 billion recorded in official development assistance across 2024 and 2025, although those figures also include some refugee-related expenditure within Ireland.
Niall asks Ken O’Flynn whether the Government is right to continue committing Irish taxpayers’ money to Ukraine, whether there should be greater scrutiny of future funding, and whether Ireland’s generosity abroad is coming at the expense of problems at home.
Are we mugs handing out blank cheques, or are we simply a generous and good-natured nation doing our duty?

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?

Should Ireland follow Portugal and ban full face coverings in public?
Niall Boylan is joined by journalist John McGuirk to debate whether Ireland should introduce a nationwide ban on clothing that conceals a person’s face in public, including the burqa and niqab.
Portugal has now introduced one of Europe’s newest face covering laws. Under Law No. 58/2026, published on 24 August, clothing designed to conceal the face or prevent identification will be prohibited in public streets, public services, businesses, sporting events and demonstrations. The law comes into force on 23 September 2026. Anyone who breaches it can face a fine of €150 to €750 for a negligent offence, or €400 to €3,000 where the breach is deliberate. There are exemptions for health, work, artistic and entertainment purposes, security, weather conditions, places of worship, diplomatic premises and aircraft. The legislation also makes it a criminal offence to force somebody to cover their face because of their sex, with a possible prison sentence of up to two years, increased where the victim is a minor.
Portugal is far from alone. France, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Bulgaria and Switzerland have introduced broad restrictions on concealing the face in public. The Netherlands has a more limited ban covering places such as schools, hospitals and public transport, while Germany and Norway have restrictions in particular settings. Italy already has long standing legislation restricting the concealment of a person’s identity in public, while the issue has also been debated in countries including Spain. Across Europe the argument remains deeply divided between religious freedom and individual choice on one side, and security, identification, integration and women’s rights on the other.
Supporters of a ban argue that nobody should be permitted to completely conceal their identity while walking through public spaces, entering shops, using public services or dealing with authorities. They also argue that some women may be pressured by husbands, fathers or communities into covering their faces. Opponents say governments should not dictate how people dress and that banning the burqa or niqab disproportionately targets Muslim women and interferes with freedom of religion and cultural expression.
Niall asks John McGuirk where the balance should lie. Should Ireland follow Portugal and other European countries and ban full face coverings in public, or would such a law represent an unacceptable intrusion into religious freedom and personal choice?

Why are men’s mental health struggles so often dismissed until they reach crisis point?
In this episode, Niall Boylan talks to callers about a difficult listener dilemma involving marriage, depression, money and the limits of emotional responsibility.
A woman has written to the show about her husband, who is in his 40s and says he is depressed. He is self employed, but has stopped looking for work, spends most of his time at home and appears to have lost interest in almost everything, including himself. His wife says she has supported him for months, attended the doctor with him and encouraged him to seek further help, but she feels he is making little effort to change his situation.
Their relationship has now deteriorated badly. They have not slept in the same bed or had any intimacy for a year, they are struggling financially and the household is surviving entirely on her income. She says constantly dealing with his depression is now affecting her own mental health and she is beginning to wonder whether she needs to leave the marriage while she still has a chance to rebuild her life.
But where does compassion end and personal responsibility begin?
Is she being selfish for considering leaving a husband who is clearly struggling, or is it unreasonable to expect one person to carry the emotional and financial burden of a relationship indefinitely?
Niall hears from callers on both sides and asks a difficult question: When somebody you love is depressed but appears unwilling to help themselves, how long are you expected to sacrifice your own happiness to save them?

In this episode of The Niall Boylan Show, Niall opens the phone lines to listeners to debate a controversial question: should married couples with children receive greater priority for social housing in Ireland?
The debate follows comments from Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice, who has argued that marriage provides children with greater stability and suggested that married couples with children should be given greater priority when social housing is allocated.
Supporters argue that governments already use taxation and other policies to encourage certain behaviours, so why should marriage be any different? If stable two parent families are considered beneficial for children, should the State actively encourage marriage when deciding how scarce public housing is distributed?
Critics say such a policy would create two classes of family. An unmarried couple with children, a single mother, a single father or somebody whose marriage has broken down could potentially find themselves behind a married couple, even when their housing needs are exactly the same.
Niall asks callers whether social housing should be allocated purely according to need, or whether governments are entitled to consider the type of family being housed.
If two families have identical incomes, the same number of children and exactly the same level of housing need, should the married couple get the house first?
And should the State be encouraging marriage at all, or is it none of the Government’s business how people choose to organise their family lives?
Niall takes calls from both sides of a debate that goes straight to the heart of how we define family, fairness and who should get priority when there simply are not enough homes to go around.