Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Jack Horgan-Jones to look back on the week in politics:Away from the traffic disruption, security zones and high-level diplomacy of the European Political Community summit taking place at the Convention Centre on Dublin’s North Wall Quay, a meeting of greater jeopardy was unfolding at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel on the outskirts of Dublin. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky met US envoys Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff to discuss ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations and receive a briefing on the envoys' earlier talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. All indications now point to Europe taking part in the next round of peace talks. Amid the greeting of dozens of heads of state at the EPC summit, and excelling in his role as host, Micheál Martin displayed a rare moment of hesitation when discussing his future as Fianna Fáil leader. During a lengthy interview on Morning Ireland broadcasting from the summit, the Taoiseach didn’t dismiss talk of his leadership ending before the next general election with his usual certainty. It was a good week for Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan as he can finally start to move on from the protracted dispute over a new legal aid payment model introduced in July with criminal defence solicitors to fully return to work as a deal was finally agreed. Another agreement of greater significance also happened this week as the €5bn pay deal got over the line, but Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the Government would seek to invoke the review clause should the economy contract significantly.Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:The phasing out of smoke flavourings, taxpayers’ money propping up greyhound racing, and a painful personal WWII story.

Parts of Dublin will come to a near standstill this week as security ramps up for two major EU summits in the city centre on Thursday and Friday.On today’s Inside Politics podcast our Europe correspondent in Brussels, Jack Power, and our political editor Pat Leahy explain what is at stake.News of a breakthrough in talks between unions and the government over a public sector pay deal may have averted a ‘work to rule’ strike by Gardaí on Thursday which would have hampered security during the event.Hugh also asks Pat and Jack to reflect on the prospect of eurosceptic far-right leaders being elected in France, Germany and Poland next year.And Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Trinity College Dublin on Tuesday.Presented by Hugh Linehan. Produced by Andrew McNair.

Professor Bryan Fanning joins Hugh Linehan to discuss how Catholic thought shaped modern Ireland, the country’s changing attitudes to immigration and whether universities are becoming ideological echo chambers.They also discuss the problem with AI in education, Ireland's long history of prejudice against Travellers and Fanning’s new memoir Ideologies Are Not your Friends.

Jack Horgan-Jones and Theresa Reidy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:Ahead of Fine Gael’s ardfheis this weekend, a motion from the party’s executives to affirm its centre-right status was dismissed. How does Fine Gael move away from the “progressive centre” position it currently describes itself as occupying? After 15 years in power, it might prove an impossible task for the party to reinvent itself given how much compromise goes into being in Government.A second one-day strike by public sector workers could happen next week after a pay offer of 7.75 per cent was rejected. Could a lack of relevant experience among Cabinet members be exposed as pay negotiations continue? Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan was dealt a blow this week in his bid to resolve the criminal legal aid dispute after a High Court judgment on Tuesday, in which Judge Mary Rose Gearty upheld a challenge by solicitor John Quinn to the scheme.And have the Democrats sweeping US midterm election victories signalled the dying days of Trumpism? Where does the Republican party go from here? And what real legislative power will the Democrats have with Donald Trump still in the White House?Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:Supervalu fridges hacked, Bob Dylan meets the Pope, and outrage over Ger Gilroy’s alleged clothing allowance in his new RTÉ podcast gig.

The US midterm results are in. Keith Duggan reports from Texas where Democratic nominee for US senate James Talarico has declared victory in the usually deep-red state. It is just one of the eye-catching Democratic victories on a historic night. Republicans have lost control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with voters sending a clear message of disapproval to US president Donald Trump.

Pat Leahy and Naomi O’Leary join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:A new Government body is to be tasked with scoping out the models and challenges for different potential “constitutional futures” for the island, including a 32-county united Ireland. Is this proactive move a response to Irish unity being a priority issue among younger voters? Tánaiste Simon Harris confirmed he spoke to his Fine Gael party colleague Patrick O’Donovan some hours before the Minister for Culture recently fell ill at an EU conference in Limerick. Harris wouldn’t share details of the call but rejected any suggestion he threatened O’Donovan’s Cabinet position.Dramatic election results played out in Serbia and Brazil where a youth movement and mobilised electorate brought about change. But the most consequential election happened in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and his right-wing ultra nationalist bloc defying pre-election predictions, and even exit polls, by winning the largest number of seats, but falling short of a majority.And France has a very important election on the horizon too with the end of Emmanual Macron’s presidency next May. Right-wing populist Marine Le Pen looks well positioned to succeed Macron.

As the day drew to a close in Israel on Tuesday, exit polls in the Knesset election suggested a lead for the bloc of parties opposing prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.As the sun rose and official counts were declared a very different picture emerged showing a slender lead for Netanyahu’s bloc.On today’s podcast, Hugh asks our contributor in Jerusalem, Mark Weiss, to explain where things stand as counting continues.That lead enjoyed by the prime minister “changes the entire political picture”, he says.A strong performance by parties representing Israel’s Arab citizens has come at the expense of smaller anti-Netanyahu parties, making it harder for some opposition groups to clear the electoral threshold and enter the Knesset.“This has played into Netanyahu’s hands”, says Weiss.Another long protracted negotiation looks likely but the leading opposition figure, Gadi Eisenkot, has already ruled out forming a government with the Israeli Arabs.The question is will Netenyahu secure enough support to begin another term, or might another election be looming?The answer is unlikely to come anytime soon.Presented by Hugh Linehan. Produced by Declan Conlon and JJ Vernon.

Take our listener survey for access to a bonus episode. Go to irishtimes.com/insidepoliticsIt is one week out from US midterm elections with Democrats hoping to retake control of both the House of Representatives and the powerful Senate. Journalist and podcaster Galen Druke returns to Inside Politics to talk to Hugh Linehan about the state of play.They look at the overall picture in the House of Representatives, which Democrats need just three seats to retake. Polls show that is likely but gerrymandering could limit their gains.And they look at the contest for the governorship of Ohio, where one particularly egregious attack ad has drawn a backlash.Plus: what the midterms can and can't tell us about the 2028 race to succeed Donald Trump, and how Galen's new podcast reunites a beloved old team.

Take our listener survey for access to a bonus episode. Go to irishtimes.com/insidepolitics. Pat Leahy and Sarah Burns join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:The Dail was dominated this week by debate over the Government’s proposal to end the Triple Lock. It’s a substantial political row with contradictions and ironies on both sides of the argument.The attention of terminally online people all over the world was drawn to Ireland this week when a video published by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre went viral. The ad, part of a campaign “aimed at informing, educating and engaging the public about all forms of consent”, depicted a girl’s discomfort at receiving a hug from her grandparents. Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan swiftly denounced it. Did he need to?Minister O’Callaghan is at the centre of this week’s other big story: the ongoing battle between the State and the legal profession over fees. as the consequences of the dispute for the functioning of the courts deepen, the stakes for O’Callaghan are high.Plus the panelists pick their favourite Irish Times articles of the week including Kathy Sheridan on the enduring role of the Catholic funeral, Justine McCarthy on Andy Burnham “declaring war” on inconsiderate commuters and Fintan O’Toole on antisemitism.