{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/690b5df3317c91fd9a7765c9/6a32e4102a769315baf85f13?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"An Post CEO pay row; EU Gaza blame game; thanking bus drivers","description":"<p>A significant row has erupted between AnPost and the Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan over pay for its new chief executive, and Government authorization to raise the company’s borrowing limit for its future development strategy.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Ireland has a strong economy and a resilient society, but “well-being data” shows a more complex picture where inequalities persist, a new Government report has found.</p><p><br></p><p>European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has become the face of Europe’s failure over Gaza, <a href=\"https://irishtimes.com/world/europe/2026/06/18/brussels-blame-game-masks-member-states-role-in-gaza-inaction/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">but that’s only half the story</a>, writes Jack Power today.</p><p><br></p><p>A stalled Dublin development is not where you’d expect to find a <a href=\"https://irishtimes.com/environment/2026/06/18/how-a-stalled-dublin-development-became-an-accidental-bird-reserve/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">bird species</a> that’s survival has been so precarious, Bird Watch Ireland put it on its Red List of Conservation Concern.</p><p><br></p><p>“The day buses in Ireland started using central doors is the day an important and implied social contract started its decline,” <a href=\"https://irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2026/06/18/i-try-to-mitigate-my-guilt-for-no-longer-saying-thanks-to-bus-drivers/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">writes Emer McLysaght in her column today</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>Presented by Aideen Finnegan.</p>","author_name":"The Irish Times "}