Craig Hughes

Yeah, well, good morning, Pat.

I suppose it's hard to get away from Fianna Fáil in a lot of the papers.

100 years.

Exactly, yeah.

And we're coming, of course, next week we'll have the centenary of events and, of course, the party's annual Ordesh.

Talk has died down a bit this week in advance of that, of challenges to Taoiseach Micheál Martin's leadership.

He was saying this on the Independence Day that he has a full mandate.

And the rebels within the party have, I guess, lowered their voices for now, I suppose, until we have the next bit of turbulence that might spark that off again.

And interesting to see an interview with Minister for Social Protection, Derek Leary, seen as being one of the frontrunners to succeed Micheál Martin, saying in that newspaper that, you know, he's not getting into any discussions on that.

But interestingly, he will make a decision on that if the vacancy arises.

He's kind of the quiet man, isn't he?

He is, but I suppose what really brought him into focus during the fuel protest was a sense within the party that they were losing touch with rural Ireland.

He's obviously from Mayo, holds a rural affairs portfolio as well, broadly liked across the party, very much a man of rural Ireland.

So that's what kind of brought his position into sharp focus there again.

And of course, previously a deputy leader of the party.

And it's an interesting time for Fianna Fáil.

And I suppose we see with the government, the talk of the budget already beginning.

And I suppose and also from the Taoiseach as well in that regard, you know, not ruling out tax cuts, talking about not ruling out extending excise.

And I suppose they're being forced into these early discussions on what they're going to do in the budget.

because of the persistent calls for an emergency budget by the opposition, by the squeeze that people are feeling around cost of living.