The Public Accounts Committee returns, and is already making headlines

Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

·       The Public Accounts Committee returned on Thursday and already it was making headlines with revelations about former Children’s Health Ireland boss Eilish Hardiman’s salary. PAC is apt at generating headlines with leaked opening statements and TDs eager to make their name a staple for the Dáil committee.

·       A move towards fiscal caution as Fine Gael's Neale Richmond signals planned tax cuts may have to be abandoned unless a trade deal with the US can be agreed. Will one-off cost-of-living payments be absent from Budget 2026?

·       The plan to introduce mandatory alcohol warning labels could be reconsidered amid the potential impact of US tariffs on the sector. And a ban on the sale of energy drinks to under 18s won’t be a reality until the “necessary evidence-gathering, research and examination of appropriate policy options and stakeholder engagement” is achieved.

·       Plus, Minister for Housing James Browne backed out of meeting with Dublin Lord Mayor Emma Blain to discuss issues relating to the tenant-in-situ scheme.

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

·       What can Dublin learn from San Francisco’s regeneration? Collapsing cottages, dereliction and land hoarding, and should people in Northern Ireland get to vote in Irish presidential elections?

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