Pat’s Sunday Paper Review April 26th
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What are the main headlines from the Sunday newspapers?
The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk. Well, now it's time to go through the Sunday newspapers. I'm joined by Jack Horgan-Jones. But first of all, I will give you the headlines on the front pages. A doctor says, CAMHS caused systemic homicide of kids, which is a startling and disturbing headline on the Irish Mail on Sunday. The Business Post, historic load. This is reflecting on a poll they have. Economic fears fuel black backlash against the coalition. The Sunday Independent, number of super-rich in Ireland doubles in five years. and Shane Ross is writing inside about financial novices Harrison Chambers are holding the purse strings of a precarious economy. At the Sunday Times, homeowners warn on a rush to build cabins, and McDonald defies hints of Sinn Féin discontent.
At the Red Tops, the Irish Sunday People, NHS picks up record private patients in crisis. The Mirror, Dan Deal, this is suggesting that the weight of evidence is so strong against Daniel Kinnan that he may well plead guilty, an unlikely scenario, I would have thought, and the sun on Sunday concentrates on the jungle and the goings-on there, which I must confess I have not been following. So, Jack Morgan-Jones, what have you been concentrating on?
How is Sinn Féin performing in the latest political polls?
The political matters, I'm sure.
Yeah, so keeping an eye to the political news of the day and obviously that poll, the Red Sea poll in the Business Post gives us our most readily at hand headline. And the numbers, just to quickly run through them, Sinn Féin at 25%, up 1%, Fianna Fáil 16%, No Change, Fine Gael down 2% to 16%, Independence. Level on 12. Sock Dems on eight. Independent Ireland up two points, interestingly, to seven. Ain't two on six. Labour, no change on four. Green, no change on three. Fine Gael down two to 16. 16. Yeah. So, look, a lot of everything that we're seeing there is within the margin of error. So it's not a seismic poll for anyone. But once you kind of take a step back,
What challenges does Sinn Féin face ahead of upcoming by-elections?
and look at the trends that are being suggested since the general election, that's when a picture begins to emerge, which is more clear. And Dan Murray does that in his poll analysis on page six and seven of the Business Post, where he reports that since the 2024 general election, Fine Gael has now fallen five points in this polling series, while Fianna Fáil has fallen six points. So that is, as Dan writes, a hefty 11-point decline between them. What's interesting is that while Sinn Féin has grown up six points since the election and is the most popular party in the state, both in this polling series and in others, there is a fair degree of speculation and discussion and indeed behind the scenes criticism from within Sinn Féin itself of the strategic direction of the party under its current leader, Mary Lou MacDonald, as the party gathered in Belfast this weekend for its hour dash.
And she was quite defiant and saying, you know, I don't feel I'm threatened, looking forward to campaigning in the by-elections. If they don't put up a good showing in the by-elections, there could be consequences. But, I mean, who's the pretender? Is it, Piers? And do you have to get the OK of Belfast if there's to be a heave against Mary Lou?
That's the perennial piece of theorising around Sinn Féin, you know, that the quote-unquote shadowy figures in West Belfast will be making the call, something that the party itself... Obviously disputes. Pierce Doherty and Matt Carthy are the two names that are, you know, discussed most frequently. I think that the problems for Sinn Féin are perhaps more deep than might be addressed by a simple change of leader, particularly a change of leader to someone like Pierce or Matt, who have been to the fore of the more aggressive approach.
What are the implications of economic fears on coalition politics?
approach that the party has taken since the last election. Jen Bray, the political editor of the Sunday Times, has a very good read on Sinn Féin in that paper this weekend, where, unusually enough, there are critics, albeit unnamed critics, of Mary Lou MacDonald giving voice to a view within the party that it is now not a case of if, but of when.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the main headlines from the Sunday newspapers?
0:01–1:22
2
How is Sinn Féin performing in the latest political polls?
1:22–2:10
3
What challenges does Sinn Féin face ahead of upcoming by-elections?
2:10–3:56
4
What are the implications of economic fears on coalition politics?
3:56–5:50
5
How is the housing crisis being addressed in recent discussions?
5:50–7:13
6
What are the concerns regarding energy pricing in Ireland?
7:13–9:01
7
How does the government plan to address the cost of living crisis?
9:01–9:49
8
What are the potential risks of the new housing initiatives?
9:49–15:13