Are the Government spooked by the consequences of the Occupied Territories Bill?

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

·       On the same day that the US agreed a trade deal with the UK, the European Commission unveiled a second, larger package of retaliatory tariffs – this was in response to the absence of negotiation from the US on what they actually want. Thankfully for Ireland, our biggest export to the US, pharmaceuticals, remained untouched, this is welcome news given the warnings from the Department of Finance this week.

·       The procrastination around the Occupied Territories Bill has been going on for years. Tánaiste Simon Harris has indicated that there may be some movement as he will seek approval from the Government to begin the process of drafting the legislation, but it likely wouldn’t be discussed in the Dáil before autumn.

·       The Catholic Church have a new leader, confirmed on Thursday evening, Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost was an outside bet to succeed Pope Francis and is the first pope from the United States. Another 69-year-old taking up a prominent position is Germany’s new federal chancellor Freidrich Merz.

·       And the panel give their reaction to the decision by People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger to refuse to answer a question posed by a Gript journalist at the Dáil plinth on Wednesday.

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

·       The continued inertia fueling the housing crisis, the misery of Prince Harry, and the story of The Irish Times’ most famous front page.

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