Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

The EU's vaccine blunder

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Naomi O'Leary on how the EU commission made its biggest blunder in years, combining two incredibly sensitive issues - the vaccine rollout and the Nort...

Debt and taxes after Covid - with Marie Sherlock and Cliff Taylor

29 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is presiding over a massive expansion of national debt to meet society's needs during this pandemic. Prevailing e...

Covid-19: our losing battle with the travel problem

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What to do about the risk of international travel bringing the virus into the country has been a problem for the Irish government since the pandemic b...

An uncomfortable week for Leo Varadkar

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week the spotlight has been well and truly on Tánaiste Leo Varadkar following the release of internal Department of Health emails, which provide...

Covid-19: plans to resume special education postponed

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With levels of Covid-19 infection still at an all-time high, the Government failed to get teaching unions on side for a return to school this week for...

Mother and Baby Homes report

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this week the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes published its long-anticipated report. It investigated decades of abuse a...

Covid-19: can our hospitals cope?

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

First, Simon Carswell on the wave of Covid-19 patients hitting our hospitals. When will the wave reach its peak, and will the system be able to handle...

Covid-19: was this inevitable?

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our first podcast of the year, Hugh talks to The Irish Times health and political editors, Paul Cullen and Pat Leahy, and political analyst and sta...

AMA 2020, part two: more listener questions answered

30 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's the second and final instalment of our annual "ask me anything" podcast! Hugh puts your questions, mainly about politics and the media, to Harry,...

AMA 2020, part one: your questions answered

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's the first instalment of our annual "ask me anything" podcast. Recorded on December 18th. Hugh puts your questions, mainly about politics and the ...

It's Level 5 again

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cabinet has agreed to reimpose Level 5 restrictions, with some modifications, due to the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases. Pat Leahy joins Hugh to tak...

Vaccine rollout, political apologies and a Green divide

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week the Irish Government announced details of their national Covid-19 vaccination plan. Vaccines will be rolled out in three phases: an initial ...

Brexit: Another deadline approaches

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Following a meeting over dinner this week between Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, it’s clear that very large g...

Brexit: What could scupper a deal?

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With just four weeks until the official end of the Brexit transition period on December 31st, we still don’t know if an agreement will be reached. ...

How to hold a referendum on Irish unity

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The potential for a future referendum on Irish unity is explicit in the Good Friday Agreement, if certain circumstances are met. But how would an Iris...

Why talks on the CervicalCheck tribunal have broken down – with Vicky Phelan

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 221-plus group, which represents those affected by the CervicalCheck scandal, has walked away from talks with the Government on a tribunal aimed a...

Trump, Biden and American foreign policy in a changed world - with John Mearsheimer

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President-elect Joe Biden represents a traditional approach to US foreign policy that was rejected by a majority of American voters in 2016. Now Biden...

Takeaway pints and shaky reopening plans

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today Hugh is joined by Pat, Harry and Jen to discuss another not-so-great week for the Government. We hear the latest on the Seamus Woulfe saga, the ...

A vaccine on the horizon: how optimistic should we be?

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Pfizer announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, but how optimistic should we be about this breakthrough and how ...

Inside Politics special: the complete story of the Séamus Woulfe affair

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Supreme Court Justice Séamus Woulfe's attendance at the infamous Oireachtas Golf Society dinner has already taken many twists and turns....

The origins of Fine Gael - with Stephen Collins and Ciara Meehan

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Irish Times columnist Stephen Collins and historian Ciara Meehan have written a book about the history of Fine Gael. "Saving the State" recounts the p...

Victory in defeat: Trump and Trumpism are here to stay

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fintan O'Toole and Simon Carswell join Hugh to talk over the results - so far - of the US presidential election. Right now Donald Trump seems on cours...

US Election: who's won what and what comes next

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at 5.30 am. Hugh talks to Suzanne Lynch about the night's events in the US presidential election. The Democratic Party's hoped-for landslide ...

Varadkar takes questions over GP deal leak - reaction

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray join Pat Leahy to talk about the day's events in the Dáil, where Taoisea... Tanaiste Leo Varadkar answered questi...

Shane Ross: "we were almost still in opposition when we were in Cabinet"

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"I made no bones about the fact I was going to write a book", says former Independent Alliance TD Shane Ross, whose previous job as a feisty newspaper...

How the mother and baby archive controversy became a quagmire for government

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

LIVE US ELECTION SHOW: New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd joins Hugh and our Washington correspondent Suzanne Lynch for a special live online editi...

A dramatic week in Covid, Brexit and the US election

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Horgan-Jones, Suzanne Lynch and Denis Staunton join Pat to talk about an eventful week in Ireland's Covid-19 response, the Brexit process and Don...

The decisions that led us into Level 5

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

So what is the national Covid-19 policy now? It seems to be: lockdown now, enjoy Christmas, lockdown again. But even that fairly bleak prospect is con...

Budget 2021: government go big and "economic jihadis" go home - with David McWilliams

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hugh talks to economist and Irish Times columnist David McWilliams about the massive increase in spending announced in yesterday's budget and why this...

Can America's awful politics be fixed? - with Steven Levitsky

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Once both sides in a two-party system start playing hardball - as we see in the battle over the US Supreme Court, for example - it's very difficult fo...

Poll: support for Government and coalition party leaders falls

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A short episode with analysis of the latest Irish Times / IpsosMRBI poll, which shows that public approval of the coalition Government and its party l...

A look ahead to Budget 2021

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s roundup, the team look ahead to next week’s budget. What has Paschal planned for the next twelve months? How can we live with Covid and...

Two days of Covid controversy that unnerved the country

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a significant few days in Ireland's Covid-19 response, with controversy erupting on Sunday over Nphet's recommendation that the country move...

A positive test for Trump and the latest Brexit negotiations

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for coronavirus. This opens up a range of questions about how the next four weeks leading up...

Fianna Fail’s big challenge

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Following a disappointing election result and worrying trends in recent opinion polls, a huge challenge now lies ahead for Fianna Fail. Can this once ...

Interview: Anne Applebaum, author of "Twilight of Democracy"

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism" is the new book by Atlantic magazine journalist Anne Applebaum. In it she writes about...

Yet another blunder to add to the long list of blunders

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been another eventful week in politics with the reduction of the pandemic unemployment payment coinciding with the announcement of ten new advi...

The far right in Ireland: who are they and what are their aims? - with Conor Gallagher

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland has long been notable for its lack of a successful "far right" political movement. But the lack of political success has not been for the want...

Beyond the blunders, does this Covid plan make sense?

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Health editor Paul Cullen and columnist Una Mullally join Hugh and Harry this week to talk about a Tuesday of drama, and occasional slapstick, with th...

Brexit: "only four people know what the desired outcome is"

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What is Boris Johnson's game? As the House of Commons debates Prime Minister Johnson's controversial Internal Markets bill, Pat and Hugh are joined b...

A shared Island: exploring Ireland's political future

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week in The Irish Times has featured a series of articles on the theme of "A Shared Island", with our journalists talking to people of different...

A Brexit bombshell and a breach of trust - with Denis Staunton and Naomi O'Leary

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The UK government will intentionally break international law with new legislation designed to let it off the hook for certain aspects of the Northern ...

How "the special relationship" shaped the world for the worse - with Jeremy Green

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's one of the defining relationships of the western world, but it is largely misunderstood - the special relationship between the UK and the US is n...

As the Dáil returns, can the Government regroup?

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Dáil returns today, earlier than scheduled due to the Golfgate scandal. Can the fractiousness of the Government's first few months be put behind ...

Interview: Elif Shafak, author of How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist, women’s rights advocate and political theorist. In her new book, How to Stay Sane in an Ag...

Phil Hogan "hangs on by his fingertips"

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Will he stay or will he go? While we wait for EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to decide Phil Hogan's fate, Naomi O'Leary joins Pat and Hu...

The public is incensed; the Government is in danger

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan Jones discuss the latest, and so far the worst, scandal to hit the Government: the attendance of Minister for Agriculture Da...

How behavioural science informs the pandemic response - with Pete Lunn

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, Hugh talks to Pete Lunn, a behavioural economist with the Economic and Social Research Institute. Lunn is also part of the behav...

US Politics special with Michael Brendan Dougherty

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today Hugh speaks to Michael Brendan Dougherty, a senior writer with New York-based conservative magazine National Review. Dougherty is also the autho...

Coronavirus: are we losing control?

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Health editor Paul Cullen joins Hugh, Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones to talk about an eventful week in Ireland's Covid-19 battle. Does the outbre...

Lifting the lid on paid-for politics - with Peter Geoghegan

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hugh talks to journalist Peter Geoghegan about the murky world of political think-tanks and pressure groups that he writes about in a new book, Democr...

Remembering John Hume - with Claire Hanna

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

SDLP MP for South Belfast Claire Hanna joins Hugh to look back on the life and legacy of John Hume, who died on Sunday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Government stumbles toward the recess

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's been another extraordinary week for the new government and a very uncomfortable one for Micheal Martin and some of his ministers, as stumbles ove...

Repost: Michael Lewis on Cronyism in The Trump Administration & The Unsung Virtues of Civil Servants

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Author Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Big Short, The Undoing Project)talks to Hugh about his new book 'The Fifth Risk'. The book concerns the Trump Adm...

Green list confusion, EU recovery deal and the impending stimulus package

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy and the newest member of the politics team, Jack Horgan-Jones to dissect the events of this week, inc...

How damaged is Micheál Martin's leadership? (Live at The Irish Times Summer Nights Festival)

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week The Irish Times ran its "Summer Nights" online festival, featuring conversations with guests like Samantha Power, Anne Enright, Imelda May, ...

US politics: is Trump toast? With Fintan O'Toole and Suzanne Lynch

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump is clearly behind in the polls, but is it too late for him to claw it back? What kind of campaigns will he and his rival Joe Bi...

FF's shaky start continues, economic dilemmas & Paschal's Eurogroup candidacy

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Micheál Martin took hist first leaders' questions as Taoiseach this week, however much of the focus was on Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen and his d...

Brexit: what's the latest and will there be a deal?

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brexit is still going and is still as infuriating as ever. With Britain now locked into a complete and final exit from the EU at the end of the year, ...

Coalition Teething Pains & Sinn Féin's Support

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Academic and political analyst Kevin Cunningham joins Pat and Fiach to talk about the first week of the new coalition, new analysis of the source of S...

New Government: FF, FG and Greens enter coalition

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have voted overwhelmingly to enter into government together . Pat Leahy is joined by Jennifer Bray, Harry ...

Interview: Masha Gessen, author of Surviving Autocracy

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Masha Gessen is a Russian-American author, activist and journalist. In their new book, Surviving Autocracy, Gessen provides a punchy and persuasive an...

Interview: Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan joins Hugh Linehan and Irish Times political correspondent Harry McGee to discuss yesterday’s marathon Green Party con...

The making of a PfG: negative externalities, biogenic methane & "absolute bastards"

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What's in the FF-FG-Green programme for government, how is it going down with the grassroots, and what about that Irish Times / Ipsos-MRBI poll? Discu...

Green sticking points, is Direct Provision really finished?

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

First Harry McGee and Mary Minihan talk about the sticking points in negotiations between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to form a govern...

‘Phase Two Plus’ and decision time for government formation

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland is about to enter the next phase of the roadmap out of lockdown. 'Phase two plus' as coined by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar earlier today. Pat Leahy...

#BlackLivesMatter in Dublin too; Trump's gamble

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The size of the #BlackLivesMatter demonstration in Dublin at the weekend took some by surprise, but it shouldn't have. Musician Sallay Garnett, also...

US politics: is America now an oligarchy? With Robert Reich

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Reich is an economist, professor, author, and political commentator who served as Secretary of Labour in the Clinton administration. Hugh talks...

UK politics: how badly does the Cummings saga damage Johnson?

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

London editor Denis Staunton joins Hugh, Fiach and Jennifer to talk about the gripping story that has dominated UK politics for many straight days: Do...

How a legal challenge could unravel the EU - with Ronan McCrea

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Once taboos are broken, it's quite hard to reinstate them".A German court ruling challenging the primacy of European Court of Justice in EU matters p...

A Green Heave?

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A move to challenge Eamon Ryan as Green leader is under way among a cohort within the party, with deputy leader Catherine Martin being urged to stand ...

Eamon Ryan's long road back to power

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a difficult path for Eamon Ryan and the Green Party since the dark period following 2011, when the party lost all its seats and state fundin...

Relaxing the lockdown

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Different countries are taking different approaches at different speeds as they move to reopen their economies. London Editor Denis Staunton and Berli...

The end of the beginning

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As Ireland moves into the next, more complex phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, how can we hold the authorities to account? Is the current government bei...

Can we reduce carbon emissions by 7% per year?

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Green Party has demanded that any government it joins implements cuts of 7 per cent each year to our national carbon emissions. Where does that fi...

Interview: Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Phillipe Sands is a barrister, author and broadcaster. His new book The Ratline tells the story of Nazi war criminal and fugitive Otto Wachter, about ...

Stark economic predictions for the year ahead - with Michael Taft

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week the Government published the worst economic projections since the financial crisis of 2008-11. Finance minister, Paschal Donohue, issued a b...

Can Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael lure a third party?

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's historic agreement to form a government together didn't make much of a splash among the distracted public. The...

US Politics special with Clare Malone of FiveThirtyEight

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today Hugh talks to American journalist Clare Malone about the upending of US politics in an election year by the outbreak of Covid-19. Clare is senio...

Europe's dissonant coronavirus response - with Naomi O'Leary

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Europe correspondent Naomi O'Leary joins Hugh and Pat to talk about the EU response to the coronavirus crisis and how differing national memories of a...

How are we handling this lengthy lockdown? With Jennifer O'Connell and Patrick Freyne

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we approach a sunny bank holiday weekend, and with several weeks of social distancing already under our belts, Hugh talks to Jennifer O'Connell and...

Politics in the age of isolation

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Politics is still going on, so Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee talk to Hugh about the latest goings-on: government formation, Seanad elections and the L...

The government's response steps up a gear - with Fiach Kelly

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fiach joins to Hugh to talk about the caretaker government's response to the Covid-19 outbreak, and how the intervention of a civil servant has brough...

What will the long-term consequences of Covid-19 be? With Fintan O'Toole

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What will come in the wake of Covid-19? The end of the office and the transformation of cities? A new age of hedonism? A long-term increase of the rol...

A new government must be formed - but how?

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What a week it has been since our last podcast. Hugh and Pat talk about Leo Varadkar's national address, what the Coronavirus outbreak means for polit...

Coronavirus transforms the political reality

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jennifer and Pat join Hugh to talk about the Coronavirus outbreak. How ready is Ireland? They also discuss the accelerated government formation now ta...

Does it matter what Sinn Féin calls Ireland? - with Newton Emerson

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar lambasted Sinn Féin this week for “burning a Tricolour before our eyes” by referring to the Republic of Ireland as "the S...

How Can Labour Become Relevant Again? / The ‘Bonkers’ Seanad Election

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As government formation talks rumble on behind the scenes, Fiach Kelly and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan in studio to discuss the first of the Labour ...

Post-Brexit Trade Talks: Who Will Triumph?

28 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With Brexit negotiations due to take place on Monday between Britain and the European Union, each side is accusing the other of bad faith. Britain’s...

How Can Sinn Féin Get Into Government? - with Louise O'Reilly

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Fingal and party health spokesperson Louise O'Reilly joins Hugh and Pat to talk about the party's reasons for holding public ...

Diatribe and Vitriol on Day One of The Dáil

21 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Who was Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin really speaking to when he attacked Sinn Féin last night in Leinster House? Fiach Kelly joins Hugh to di...

"It's Up To Sinn Féin", Fianna Fáil In A Bind, Alan Or Aodhán

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On today's podcast: Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are both spinning that Sinn Féin must step up and try to form a left-wing government - hoping that Mar...

Ask Us Anything: #GE2020 Edition

14 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Now that the dust has finally settled on the Irish general election, Hugh is joined in studio by Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee to answer an...

Sinn Féin and The IRA: Anything to Worry About?

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sinn Féin is poised to take power in the next Dáil after winning a strong mandate in #GE2020, but for many people questions remain over its relation...

Election Daily - So Long

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Election 2020 is over and so is Election Daily. On this final episode, Fiach and Pat join Hugh to talk about what happens next. Leo Varadkar could rem...

Election Daily - Monday - Day Two of the Count

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jennifer Bray joins Hugh Linehan from the RDS as the count rattles on into the evening there. Jennifer O'Connell was at the count centre in Waterford ...

Election Weekend in The Newsroom (And What Now?)

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pat Leahy is here to assess the results of #GE2020. How did Sinn Fein turn its fortunes at the ballot box around so spectacularly in a few short month...

Election Daily - Count Day - Sinn Féin Surge

09 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Sinn Fein surge is real and it's playing out in constituencies all across the country today. Harry McGee and Jennifer Bray are here to discuss the...

Election Daily - Exit Poll - The Big Two Become The Big Three

08 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fiach Kelly and Pat Leahy are here with analysis of the Ipsos / MRBI poll that projects a tie between Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and a new r...

Election Daily - Friday - The Campaign Ends

07 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pat, Jennifer and Fiach join Hugh to look back on the campaign as it draws to a close. Plus, what happens if Met Eireann tell people to stay home? And...