Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

After a turbulent summer break for the coalition, the country’s political parties hunkered down for their respective think-in meetings over the last two weeks, before the return of the Dáil. Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones of The Irish Times political team report back to Hugh on the dominant narratives to emerge from the Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin gatherings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin’s latest book, Defects: Living with the legacy of the Celtic Tiger, tells the stories of some of the thousands of people living in dangerous homes with serious fire safety and structural defects in different parts of Ireland. The book also explains how decades of light touch building regulation and the decisions of successive governments allowed this crisis to happen. Ó Broin talks to Hugh and Jack Horgan-Jones about the book in today’s episode.Plus: Jack has the latest in the ongoing saga of the UN envoy appointment of Katherine Zappone and Simon Coveney’s appearance before an Oireachtas committee on the issue on Tuesday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn from the Irish Times politics team to discuss the Government's roadmap for the easing of pandemic restrictions, as revealed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin yesterday. They also look ahead to Minister Daragh O'Brien's much vaunted 'Housing for All' plan, the hurdles the Government is likely to face with October's budget and the welcome return of Leinster House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick Radden Keefe is an American writer and investigative journalist. His new book, Empire of Pain is a detailed history of the Sackler dynasty and their role in the American opioid epidemic. Known for their dedication to cultural philanthropy, the family built their wealth on pharmaceuticals, starting with tranquillisers like Librium and Valium, before eventually moving on to the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. In this episode, the award winning author talks to Hugh about the origins of the addiction crisis, the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy trial and the mark the family left on the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As one of the world's most respected newspaper editors, Lionel Barber spent over a decade at the helm of The Financial Times. His tenure coincided with some of the biggest events to shape the early part of the 21st century including the rise of China, Brexit, the tech boom and the crisis of western liberal democracy. Barber has documented his time in charge of the FT in his book, The Powerful and the Damned. In this episode, he talks to Hugh about the book, about how he transformed the FT for the digital era, the media's role in the financial crisis, why he got Brexit wrong and lots more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to assess the damage done by the recent Zappone controversy. Now that the dust has settled, what will it mean for Coveney, Varadkar and the future of the government. The team also discuss the easing of Covid restrictions and the recent UN Climate Change report, which signals a ‘code red’ for humanity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suzanne Lynch arrived in the US to take up her new role as Irish Times Washington correspondent ten days after Donald Trump's inauguration. As she prepares to leave the US capital this week for a new role in Brussels, she talks to Hugh about what it was like to report on the most extraordinary presidency in US history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, London Editor Denis Staunton engaged in a brief, yet courteous Twitter exchange with former Downing Street advisor Dominic Cummings. Here he tells Hugh the details behind their interaction and about Cummings’ latest musings on Brexit and the Northern Ireland protocol. But first, Hugh is joined by Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones to discuss the last Cabinet meeting of the Summer, the next stage of the vaccine rollout, Katherine Zappone’s new gig and the recent stirrings within the Social Democrats. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Dáil term drawn to a close, Pat, Harry and Jen join Hugh to answer our listener's questions about politics. But first, Pat recalls the influential political career of former minister and founder of the Progressive Democrats Des O'Malley, who has died aged 82. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2020 election marked the end of an era in Irish politics, with Sinn Féin winning the most votes for the first time ever and the previously dominant parties reduced to a fraction of their former strengths. In today’s episode Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy and UCC’s Dr Theresa Reidy to look back at the last general election and how it broke the mould. You can read the full story of the 2020 election in the 9th edition of the ‘How Ireland Voted’ series of books, edited by Theresa Reidy, Michael Gallagher and Michael Marsh, out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.