Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Harry McGee is back on the politics beat and back in the Inside Politics studio to tell us about the political problems created by the CervicalCheck report, beginning with a leak of details from the report to media outlets yesterday. Harry has also been watching the nationwide tour of presidential hopefuls as they seek to hoover up county council nominations. For an exciting October election campaign, the signs are inauspicious. Later: Up North, the Cash for Ash scandal just gets more and more embarrassing for the DUP as the enquiry into how millions of pounds went almost literally up in smoke continues. But without any possibility of accountability, the worse it gets, the more the central question becomes: so what? Guests: Newton Emerson and Amanda Ferguson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DCU's Jane Suiter joins Hugh and Pat to talk about the exchange of letters between and Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin on the topic of renewing their little arrangement. Martin rebuffed Varadkar's advance - what next for confidence and supply? Plus, Varadkar defends embattled Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy and criticises Sinn Fein and local government on housing, and Dublin readies itself for the arrival of Donald Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe gave a talk at the Collins Institute, a Fine Gael-associated think tank in Dublin. The talk was about the political centre, how it is weakening in other jurisdictions and how he sees Fine Gael's role as a party of the centre. Before delivering the address he talked to Hugh Linehan about his politics, including his rejection of the label conservative and Fine Gael's desire to position itself as the party of social change. Today's podcast features that interview, plus some analysis of Paschal's politics and how his words may or may not translate into actions from our political editor Pat Leahy. You can watch and listen to Minister Donohoe's speech here:http://www.collinsinstitute.ie/renewing-the-centre-collins-institute-lecture/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland's housing crisis is complex and multifaceted, but one key element that the government must address in seeking a solution to it is the social housing sector. Two-thirds of all social housing in Ireland is now privately owned, while funding for the sector was cut by 82% during the last recession. Experts say the system is broken and reforming it needs to be prioritised by government. Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has said his policies aimed at tackling the housing crisis are working, but with homeless figures continuing to rise, his critics say otherwise and there are rumblings of a motion of no confidence from the opposition benches.Joining Hugh on today's podcast: UCD professor and chair of the Housing Finance Agency Michelle Norris, head of policy at Clúid Simon Brooke and Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig Unger's new book, House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia, analyses links between the Russian mafia, Vladimir Putin and the Trump Organisation. On today's podcast Unger, a veteran journalist for The New Yorker, Esquire and Vanity Fair, talks to Hugh Linehan about why he believes that the current U.S. president is a Russian asset. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week UCD professor Diarmaid Ferriter joins Hugh and Fiach to look at some of the issues currently on the civic and political agenda through the lens of history. First it’s Fiach’s story that a Fianna Fáil takeover of the SDLP appears to be in the offing, with a merger being discussed at the highest levels of the parties. What are the origins of this political alliance, and how would a merger work?Also on the podcast: In seeking another seven years at the Áras, Michael D. Higgins becomes only the second sitting president in Ireland’s history to face a contest to do so. In 1966 President Éamon de Valera chose not to run a campaign as he sought a second term, so Michael D. now finds himself in uncharted waters as he prepares to do battle in what could be a nasty contest. And, as Ireland’s Catholics prepare to give Pope Francis a ‘céad mile failte’, how will his visit differ to that of John Paul II in 1979? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cody Keenan has been a speechwriter for President Barack Obama for more than a decade, rising from a campaign intern in Chicago to Director of Speechwriting at the White House. Keenan has helped craft the president’s remarks on every topic for every audience, from backyards in Iowa, to State of the Union addresses. Now he is helping President Obama write a memoir of his time in the Oval Office. On today’s podcast Keenan speaks to Hugh Linehan about getting his start with Obama, what he believes the 44th president’s legacy will be, whether US politics is suffering irreparable damage under the Trump presidency, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a quiet week on the political front, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing happening. Brendan Howlin’s Labour leadership has come into question of late, with a number of councillors calling for him to stand aside. But as the party seeks to renew itself, who is likely to replace him? Also today: As the impending presidential contest gains pace, who will win the nomination to do battle with Michael D. Higgins? And, what questions he will have to answer in the debates?Guests: Sarah Bardon and Fiach Kelly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Northern Ireland first minister Peter Robinson was criticised for telling the MacGill Summer School last month that he did not think the North would vote to leave the UK in a Border poll but it was no reason not to prepare for the eventuality. As the Brexit deadline approaches, what is the feeling in Northern Ireland on the issue? Has the DUP's support for Brexit backfired? And, what would a road map for unification actually look like?Also today, rumblings of a leadership heave at Labour and Shane Ross mishits with his granny grant and hockey funding.Guests: Matthew O'Toole, Susan McKay and Fiach Kelly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First we look at the news that broke yesterday that Amnesty International Ireland has won its challenge to an order made by the Standards in Public Office Commission, or Sipo. Sipo ordered Amnesty to return money to a foreign donor as it was given to be used 'for political purposes'.The news raises questions about how Sipo came to its flawed decision but also about how we control the flow of money in our politics.Hugh discusses these issues with Colm O'Gorman of Amnesty, Liz Carolan of the Transparent Referendum Initiative and our own Political Editor Pat Leahy.Later on Colm, who is a survivor of clerical abuse, talks about his attitude to the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland next month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.