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Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan
David McWilliams: Money is humanity's greatest invention - but Ireland lacks the skill to use it
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Economist, podcaster and Irish Times columnist David McWilliams joins Hugh to talk about his new book Money: A Story of Humanity. They talk about the meaning of money and how it should be used to improve lives and societies.
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Government formation: Simon Harris warns 'don't take us for granted' while Soc Dems go it alone
38:03|Post-election negotiations - or “government formation speed dating” as such discussions are now also known - have been happening throughout the week, and on today’s Inside Politics podcast Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray join Pat Leahy to discuss the main moves:On Friday the Social Democrats said they would not form a negotiating pact with Labour, closing the door to an idea floated by Labour leader Ivana Bacik before and during the campaign. Where does that leave Labour as it debates internally over whether to go in or stay out?The most important negotiations - between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil - are yet to begin. But already there are signs of tension, with Fianna Fáil niggling Fine Gael over its superior seat tally and Simon Harris saying on Friday that Fine Gael “should not be taken for granted”.Independent TDs are the other crucial cohort in this post-election dance. What will they want, individually and collectively, in exchange for propping up the next government?Plus the panel pick their Irish Times stories of the week including pieces on female leaders in the next Dáil, Conor McGregor’s career in America and a letter accusing our columnist Fintan O’Toole of “reheating the old Marxist argument of false consciousness”.Is there no alternative to the status quo in Irish politics?
40:52|When it came to picking an alternative government, it felt to many like there was little real choice in the election just held. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil always looked likely to return to government, with only the details to be ironed out. And so it proved. So where does that leave Irish politics? Is there any prospect of a change in the landscape before the next general election that presents voters with another option?Theresa Reidy and Gerard Howlin join Hugh and Pat to discuss this question and others thrown up by the election. Dr Theresa Reidy is a political scientist at University College Cork. Gerard Howlin is a public affairs consultant, political commentator and former senior government adviser who writes a regular politics column for The Irish Times.Election Daily: answering your questions about GE24
28:31|The general election is over and talk has turned to the aftermath. For that some means government formation, for others it means new roles in opposition or the painful process of party rebuilding. We'll be covering all that on our regular episodes of Inside Politics but, for now, it's goodbye from Election Daily. Thanks to all our listeners over the past four weeks.On this final episode, Pat Leahy joins Hugh to answer some of your questions, submitted by email. Are we stuck in a permanent cycle of winter elections? Did increased gender quotas have any bearing on the composition of the new Dáil Éireann? Is there now any imaginable alternative to FF-FG in government? And were Bertie Ahern’s "stupid aul pencils" a factor in Gerry "The Monk" Hutch’s failure to get elected?Election Daily: surprises, upsets and ousters as the final seats are filled
26:26|Cormac McQuinn and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh to talk about what has been happening in count centres around the country as the final seats are filled.Plus, Jack brings to life in audio what he is calling the greatest every count centre video, featuring Fianna Fáil's Andrias Moynihan and Michael Moynihan being hoisted aloft upon winning seats in Cork North West. You can watch that video here.Election Daily: a dramatic day in count centres as the political future takes shape
36:39|INSIDE POLITICS LIVE SHOW WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 11TH - DUBLIN. TICKETS HEREHarry McGee, Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh to talk about a dramatic day in count centres across the country:Gangland figure Gerard Hutch began the day looking like he would take a seat in Dublin Central - but was overtaken in dramatic fashion by Labour’s Marie Sherlock. The Greens have lost all their seats but one: that of party leader Roderic O’Gorman. But it has also not been a great election for Sinn Féin, if the party’s 2020 vote share is the benchmark. Where does the party go from here? Fianna Fáil will be the biggest party in the next Dáil. Part of the party’s success is an unlikely resurgence in Dublin. The Social Democrats and Labour have also done well - but now both parties will be under scrutiny when attention turns to the question of government formation. How will Holly Cairns and Ivana Bacik weigh up the pros and cons of supporting Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.Election Daily: first counts trickle in and anti-immigration candidates falter
21:02|Jack Horgan-Jones joins Hugh Linehan to analyse the latest news from count centres across the country.First count results are starting to trickle in with Fine Gael’s Jennifer Carroll MacNeill the first TD to be elected after meeting the quota in Dún Laoghaire.Tallies indicate that Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty will romp home in Donegal.Controversial Senator John McGahon unlikely to win a seat in LouthWith 8,820 first preference votes, first time candidate Brian Brennan, a hotelier, has topped the poll as Fine Gael’s sole candidate in this new, three-seat constituency.A year ago, it looked like immigration was going to be a defining issue for this election – but it’s not looking hopeful for a slew of candidates who ran primarily on that issue, including Philip Dwyer who has bombed in Wicklow, securing less than 1 per cent of the vote.Election Daily: tallies look bad for Greens and Stephen Donnelly, good for Sinn Féin and Gerry Hutch
30:39|Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to look at the early indications from count centres and think about what sort of coalitions might emerge.EXIT POLL: what do the results mean for government formation?
14:25|INSIDE POLITICS LIVE SHOW WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 11TH - DUBLIN. TICKETS HEREPat Leahy joins Hugh Linehan to share the results of The Irish Times exit poll for the 2024 general election.The three largest parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are on course for a tight finish in their share of the vote in general election 2024, according to the results of an exit poll tonight.The results of the poll, conducted by Ipsos B&A today for The Irish Times/RTÉ/TG4/TCD, and released just after polls closed, are as follows: Sinn Féin 21.1 per cent, Fianna Fáil 19.5 per cent, Fine Gael 21 per cent, the Green Party 4 per cent, Labour 5 per cent, the Social Democrats 5.8 per cent, Solidarity-People Before Profit 3.1 per cent, Aontú 3.6 per cent, Independents/others 14.6 per cent and Independent Ireland 2.2 per cent.If the findings of the exit poll are borne out when the votes are counted tomorrow, it suggests that a return of a coalition based around Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is likely.If the results of the counts taking place around the country tomorrow bear out the exit poll findings, it will be the second time in a row that Sinn Fein has won the largest share of the vote – but is left without an obvious path to government.Election Daily: the highs and lows of a tense campaign
39:14|INSIDE POLITICS LIVE SHOW WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 11TH - DUBLIN. TICKETS HERE!Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh to discuss today on trail of the 2024 general election:It's the last day of campaigning and the leaders of the three largest parties have been communicating their final messages to the electorate:Mary Lou McDonald seemed at ease as she asked voters to give their second preferences to parties like the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Labour.Together with his frequent wingman Paschal Donohoe, Simon Harris sounded the alarm for Ireland's economic and political stability and borrowed Sinn Féin's language of asking voters to 'lend' Fine Gael their support.Micheal Martin was asked again and insisted again that Fianna Fáil would not go into government with Sinn Féin.Pat, Jen, Cormac and Hugh discuss all that, and then pick their favourite, most pivotal and most consequential moments of the campaign. Finally Hugh answers some listener questions.