Episodes
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Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee join Hugh for a look at today's events on the campaign trail:
Mary Lou McDonald showed how effective a campaigner and political communicator she can be while meeting students at DCU.Aontú launched its manifesto, but at first there was one thing missing - the manifesto itself.Fianna Fáil launched its plan for Dublin city, a place it has struggled to recover seats in since its 2011 nadir. Can the party make inroads in the capital?Plus Harry reminisces on that fraught 2011 election campaign.Over on irishtimes.com there are excellent resources for following the election:
Constituencies - every candidate listed, every constituency analysed with a 'prediction / possible outcome'.Party Promises - compare the manifestos using this handy tool.Who should I vote for? Compare your views with parties and candidates.The Irish Times poll, current and archive.Election Daily podcast - all the episodes.Meet the Voters - our correspondents have been out and about meeting real people and discussing real issues, including taking the temperature with The Irish Times voter panel.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh to discuss the day's political action from the campaign:
As discussed in this morning's regular podcast, there is growing uncertainty over Ireland's economic model thanks to the reelection of Donald Trump. At a Cabinet meeting this morning, there were warnings over what the future could hold. Sinn Féin's manifesto included the suggestion that RTÉ's coverage of Gaza and other international conflicts should be subjected to a "peer review" of its editorial standards. But where is the idea coming from? Yesterday's podcast featured discussion of Labour leader Ivana Bacik's plan to negotiate with the big parties on government formation only in conjunction with other small parties of the left. Labour got in touch with the podcast about the item to take issue with something Hugh said...Green leader Roderic O'Gorman provided a cutting response when asked why voters should pick his party over Labour.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Missing episodes?
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Thanks largely to corporation tax receipts from multinationals, the Irish state has plenty of money. And so far this election campaign has been largely about how to spend it - on capital investment, on tax cuts and on new spending on all sorts of programmes and projects.
But with the threats to Ireland's economic model growing, will such spending be sustainable?
Hugh is joined by Professor John McHale, Shana Cohen and Cliff Taylor to discuss Ireland's economic position and whether election spending promises could lead to yet more boom and bust.
Shana Cohen is Director at Tasc, a progressive think-tank.
John McHale is Professor of Economics at University of Galway's J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics and a former chair of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council.
Cliff Taylor is an economics columnist with The Irish Times.
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Harry McGee and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to talk about all today’s news on the election campaign trail:
Standing side by side during last night’s leaders debate on RTÉ, Micheal Martin and Simon Harris countered Mary Lou McDonald’s criticisms, sometimes aggressively. The optics favoured the Sinn Féin leader.
On the subject of government formation, Labour leader Ivana Bacik spoke of her intention to only negotiate with the big parties in conjunction with other parties on the left, including the Greens and Social Democrats. But will the other parties play ball?
Sinn Féin has released its manifesto and, while most of the content had been trailed, there were some surprises.
And Harry McGee reveals his major role in the history of this election’s most notorious candidate.
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Sarah Burns and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss the day’s politics on the campaign trail:
Today saw party leaders give their views on the behaviour of Fine Gael candidate for Louth John McGahon, who was acquitted of assault in 2022. Is he now a problem candidate for the party?Labour’s weekend manifesto launch revealed a big commitment to expanded state intervention in housing construction.The Social Democrats likewise have ambitious plans for housing, also announced at the weekend. Are differing approaches to housing becoming the major policy fault line in this campaign?Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh for our daily discussion of the election campaign:
· With the first week of the general election campaign coming to a close, Fine Gael are making a strong pitch for the law-and-order vote with their campaign promises. Policing and justice seem to be a key area for both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, but will it mobilise voters?
· Is the cost-of-living crisis being underpriced in this general election campaign? There are plans like phasing out third level fees and the double child benefit payment, but high prices are bad news for politicians, so is enough noise being made about addressing it in the next government?
· Mick Wallace has confirmed that he will run for a seat in a Wexford constituency that will be hard to predict.
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Political stability is indicated by the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil looking set to lead the next government, possibly in alliance with a smaller party or a group of Independents. Indeed, the rise in support for independent candidates is one of the most striking aspects of the poll, and some may well play a role in the formation of the next government.
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Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh for our daily discussion of the election campaign:
Simon Harris says Fine Gael would remove the means test for recipients of the carer's allowance. It is a move already supported by many opposition parties. But it would be expensive - potentially much more so than the €600 million per year figure mentioned by the Taoiseach.
Sinn Fein launched their immigration policy. It's much like the one published by the party in the summer - with some interesting additions.
Calls for an end to the sniping between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
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Today's panelists are Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray, who join Hugh Linehan to discuss:
Housing is the issue of the campaign so far - we recap how the debate has evolved
Mary Lou McDonald spoke about how Sinn Féin is unfairly questioned about the past. Does she have a point?
Former Fine Gael Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy's frank account of how his party 'didn't make housing a priority' could be one of the talking points of this campaign.
The gloves are off between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Could their increasingly bad-tempered debates turn off voters?
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Fears that the use of AI deepfakes would disrupt the flow of accurate information in a general election campaign have not come true. Instead we have been treated to a digital manifestation of someone who barely resembles Taylor Swift endorsing the Healy-Raes: welcome to the cheapfake era.
On today's Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan is joined by Liz Carolan to discuss the influence of digital media in the 2024 general election, current trends in digital campaigning and the changing role of platforms like X and TikTok.
Hugh and Liz compare the different strategies of political parties, the significance of viral moments and the real challenges posed misinformation and AI.
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Harry McGee and Sarah Burns, who have accompanied politicians from several parties as they have canvassed for votes in the past week, join Hugh to talk about the issues that are coming up on doorsteps.
In Dublin South Central and Dublin West, Sarah has noticed a less negative sentiment towards Sinn Féin. That's good news for the party as it seeks to add second seats in constituencies where it dominated in 2020 but lost support in local elections and opinion polls.
Sinn Féin will also be happy to hear that housing is the issue coming up most often, with immigration a less prominent concern than during the summer.
In Dun Laoghaire, Harry was on the canvas with Green Party TD Ossian Smyth, who faces a challenge to hold onto his seat in a constituency that could tell us a lot about which way the 2024 general election is going for the coalition parties.
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Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss today’s events in the 2024 general election campaign:
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary’s comments about teachers at a Fine Gael TD’s campaign launch event have got the party off to a bad start.
Fine Gael’s proposal to change a VAT rate in order to help the hospitality industry has some downsides, not least for the other industries who will actually come out of the change taxed more heavily.
Another Fine Gael proposal, to use some of the Apple tax bonaza to boost Help to Buy, a scheme aimed at first-time buyers, also has its critics.
And the confirmation that Gerry Hutch will be a candidate means Dublin Central looks set to be 2024′s most colourful constituency. But does he have a chance?
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The Dáil has been dissolved and the 2024 general election is officially underway. Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss day one of the campaign:
How Taoiseach Simon Harris addressed the countryPoster wars had begun prematurely on lampposts all across Ireland Mary Lou McDonald spoke about Sinn Féin's strategy for this campaign, to a soundtrack of Damien DempseyPlus: Tickets are now available for Inside Politics live in Dublin on Wednesday, November 20th at 6.30pm.
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November 29th is now confirmed as the date of General Election 2024. Election Daily from The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast will update you on the campaign every weekday between now and then.
Hugh Linehan and Jack Horgan-Jones are here to briefly update listeners on what to expect from the show, when to listen out for episodes and what the opening stages of the campaign will look like.
Plus: Tickets are now available for Inside Politics live in Dublin on Wednesday, November 20th at 6.30pm.
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Live from Palm Beach Florida, where Donald Trump is celebrating his historic victory in the 2024 US presidential race, Steven Carroll joins Hugh, Fintan O'Toole and Jennifer Bray to discuss what went wrong for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, why so many categories of American supported Trump and what his win means for politics and the wider world.
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When will Simon Harris dissolve the Dáil and go to the Áras? Could he pull a surprise, or are there any final banana skins that could disrupt his plans?
Jennifer Bray joins Hugh to talk about the choreography of the week. Plus they look at some pre-campaign skirmishes between Micheal Martin and his Fine Gael colleagues and Sinn Féin's bullish candidate selection decisions.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee join Hugh to discuss the week in politics:
The Government is completing what it can of its unfinished legislative programme before the general election, and that means the 'guillotine' - a procedure that shortens the time needed to debate bills as they pass through the Oireachtas - is getting heavy use this week. Which bills are getting chopped - and which are getting dropped?Clare Daly's decision to run in Dublin Central adds another colourful and effective political character to the mix in that constituency. But with so many independents in contention around the country, the 34th Dáil is likely to be diverse.Jennifer calls out Hugh's obsession with Seanad reform. Is there some Seanad-related trauma deep in Hugh's past?Plus they pick their Irish Times articles of the week:
On-the-ground coverage from the US by Keith Duggan and Steven Carroll who are meeting voters and surveying swing states as the historically close US election draws near
Patrick Freyne's review of a steamy Jilly Cooper TV adaptation
Justine McCarthy warns the coalition parties not to gloat over Sinn Féin's failures - their own records are far from perfect
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Now that it is confirmed there will be a general election this year, the Irish Times politics team can finally unleash their predictions - or should that be possible future outcomes - of which candidates and parties will emerge victorious from some of the most competitive constituencies in the State. Jennifer Bray, Harry McGee and Pat Leahy tackle Dublin Central, Dublin Bay South, Carlow-Kilkenny, Mayo, Cavan-Monaghan and both Tipperarys.
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