‘A hot mess of uncoordinated gibberish’

Harry McGee and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

·      The inauguration of Ireland’s 10th president in in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, on Tuesday, saw Catherine Connolly deliver a stirring address, amid a real testament to the health of democracy in this country, with all sides coming together after an at times brutal election campaign. Perhaps this is something our immediate neighbours and those across the Atlantic could one day emulate.

·      The Government’s long-awaited housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, was published this week with the focus firmly on lifting families out of homelessness. A target of 300,000 new homes by 2030, ramping up the role of the Land Development Agency, and greatly reducing red tape when delivering homes, are some aspects of a plan that needs to become a reality if this Government is to be judged a success.

·      And Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin faces continued pressure over the failed Jim Gavin presidency campaign, but Wednesday’s parliamentary party meeting revealed that the review of the campaign will now not be completed until early December.

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

·       The BBC makes mistakes but shouldn’t bend to Donald Trump’s will, Mark Paul on accents and belonging, and how Ireland’s forthcoming presidency of the European Council should focus the 'hot mess of uncoordinated gibberish' of some policy positions here. 

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