Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

"When did businesspeople become such hippies?" Patrick Freyne went to Pendulum, the “world’s leading business and self-empowerment summit”, run by the former Ireland rugby star Frankie Sheahan (tagline: “Unleash Your Warrior Mindset”). He talked to Hugh Lineman about what he found. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin McGuinness's resignation as Deputy First Minister will almost certainly mean elections in Northern Ireland, and many are questioning whether power sharing can be restored after this breach in the DUP Sinn Féin relationship. But would that be a bad thing? Mick Fealty of NI politics blog Slugger O'Toole says the breakdown is the inevitable result of greater scrutiny of the Executive, while MLA for Folye Eamonn McCann says the assumption that power sharing is required to keep violence from breaking out is false. They talk with Hugh and Political Editor Pat Leahy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An opinion piece on irishtimes.com about vocabulary used by the so-called 'alt-right' political movement has caused a stir. Opinion Editor John McManus talked to Hugh Linehan about why The Irish Times ran the piece. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Halligan has a reputation for speaking his mind and on today's Inside Politics podcast he doesn't disappoint. He explains what really happened from his point of view during last years disputes with his Government colleagues. With hospital waiting times back on the agenda, he questions whether the capability exists in Ireland to reform its own health system. He calls for the abolition of the HSE and the appointment of consultants from overseas to put things right.On the Waterford Hospital issue that has troubled his relationship with Fine Gael, he again says he will consider his position if an additional cath lab is not provided.Talking about the difficulties of his own work as a Minister for State, he questions the value of advice he receives from civil servants and recalls asking a Fianna Fáil TD to help him secure €50 million in funding from his own Government for school transport services. And finally he explains his highly unusual choice of Christmas cards.Before all that, our Political Editor Pat Leahy gives us a quick rundown on what is coming up in the short term in Dáil Eireann. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many people old enough to remember 1986 in Ireland will tell you it was a pretty grim time and place. The economy was in the doldrums and unemployment was high. A referendum to permit divorce was voted down as Hurricane Charlie hit. In January, Phil Lynott died. The state papers from I986, released after the mandatory 30 year waiting period, reveal a country trying to deal with problems at home and in Northern Ireland, and to come to terms with a growing demand for equality and social change. Elaine Edwards and Stephen Collins were among the reporters allowed a first look at the annually-released cache of yellowing documents that make up the state papers. They talked to us about the stories they found, major, minor and quirky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does 2017 hold in store for Ireland and the world? We don't claim to know, but we invited Fintan O'Toole, Una Mullally and Pat Leahy in to discuss some of the possibilities on this final Inside Politics of the unforgettable year of 2016. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2016 was a good and bad year for reporters. There were plenty of stories to report on, but also plenty of challenges to traditional journalism, old and new: the continuing rise of social media, and its sometimes misleading content; Ireland's strict defamation laws that can stifle in-depth reporting; and difficult economic times for the news business. Irish Times News Editor Mark Hennessy talks to Inside Story about some of those difficulties, recaps some of the newsroom output he is most proud of from 2016 and makes some prognostications for the years ahead. From everyone on the Inside Politics / Inside Story team, we wish you all a very happy Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a “bizarre year in politics” says Irish Times political reporter Sarah Bardon, who found herself with very little to report on some nights in Leinster House, as the minority government argued behind closed doors and not much got done.She joined her colleague Harry McGee and historian Diarmaid Ferriter this morning, to review the year gone by for the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast.The panel discussed opinion polls and the dreadful year they have had, with Harry McGee conceding that political pundits are far better at analysing the past than they are predicting the future.This time last year a strong general election performance was predicted for Fine Gael and a disastrous one for Fianna Fáil. How wrong they were, says Sarah Bardon, who cites Enda Kenny’s mantra of ‘keep the recovery going’ and Fine Gael’s obsession with the ‘fiscal space’ as two reasons why the party failed to perform at the polls as expected.Fine Gael advisors were the victims of “brain freeze” when it came to the Taoiseach’s campaign strategy, says McGee, and would have been better served by letting their leader loose on the public more. It has been a frightening year in many ways, says Diarmaid Ferriter, but the 1916 Centenary celebrations were an exception. They were dignified and engaging for the public, he said, with a feeling that they belonged to the people and not the state.The panel also discussed Brexit, Trump’s election and the emergence of activism outside the political sphere internationally. They also talked about the demise of Labour despite being instrumental in the Marriage Referendum and analysed the policy shifts of the Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil parties over the past 12 months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are 21,000 vacant residences in Dublin City. This weekend activists have felt the need to appropriate an empty office block to house the homeless, as a shortage of housing sends rents soaring. How has it come to this? Our Dublin Correspondent Olivia Kelly has been investigating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To take a look back at a six month period of "new politics" that is now ending with ambitious Minister Coveney's new rental reform package, and with Taoiseach Enda Kenny still firmly at the helm, Political Editor Pat Leahy chatted with his chums Michael O'Regan, Fiach Kelly and Sarah Bardon. Will Coveney's hard work pay dividends of power down the line? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.