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ELECTION DAILY - Inside Politics
Will Budget 2025 be like a Toy Show giveaway?
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Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Harry McGee and Jack Horgan-Jones to look back on the week in politics:
· The budget was somewhat overshadowed this week by stories with far less cost involved, but no shortage of outrage – not least the final cost of Government Buildings security hut hitting €1.4 million and the row over the announcement of new sports capital grant funding for local clubs.
· Sinn Féin’s alternative budget has many worthy pledges but is ultimately futile without the party’s hands actually being on the levers of power.
· And the controversy around a letter of congratulations President Michael D Higgins sent in July to Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian was reignited at a United Nations event in New York last Sunday.
Plus, the panellists pick their favourite IT reads of the week:
· Michael McDowell on the Government’s advanced administrative sclerosis.
· Mark Hennesy wrote of former taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s contention that immigration numbers have risen too quickly here.
· And Mary Carolan’s piece on the use of ‘inappropriate’ slang and cultural references in a judgment concerning a Co Clare wind farm.
Produced by John Casey.
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Election Daily: First week of the campaign down, now it really begins
26:53|Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh for our daily discussion of the election campaign:· With the first week of the general election campaign coming to a close, Fine Gael are making a strong pitch for the law-and-order vote with their campaign promises. Policing and justice seem to be a key area for both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, but will it mobilise voters?· Is the cost-of-living crisis being underpriced in this general election campaign? There are plans like phasing out third level fees and the double child benefit payment, but high prices are bad news for politicians, so is enough noise being made about addressing it in the next government?· Mick Wallace has confirmed that he will run for a seat in a Wexford constituency that will be hard to predict.
Poll: Support for independents on the rise
13:44|Political stability is indicated by the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil looking set to lead the next government, possibly in alliance with a smaller party or a group of Independents. Indeed, the rise in support for independent candidates is one of the most striking aspects of the poll, and some may well play a role in the formation of the next government.
Election Daily: Another day, another huge campaign promise
20:03|Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh for our daily discussion of the election campaign:Simon Harris says Fine Gael would remove the means test for recipients of the carer's allowance. It is a move already supported by many opposition parties. But it would be expensive - potentially much more so than the €600 million per year figure mentioned by the Taoiseach. Sinn Fein launched their immigration policy. It's much like the one published by the party in the summer - with some interesting additions. Calls for an end to the sniping between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
Election Daily: Eoghan Murphy gives Fine Gael another headache
28:46|Today's panelists are Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray, who join Hugh Linehan to discuss:Housing is the issue of the campaign so far - we recap how the debate has evolvedMary Lou McDonald spoke about how Sinn Féin is unfairly questioned about the past. Does she have a point? Former Fine Gael Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy's frank account of how his party 'didn't make housing a priority' could be one of the talking points of this campaign. The gloves are off between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Could their increasingly bad-tempered debates turn off voters?Cheapfakes, brainrot and sh*tposts: the online battles to woo voters
48:30|Fears that the use of AI deepfakes would disrupt the flow of accurate information in a general election campaign have not come true. Instead we have been treated to a digital manifestation of someone who barely resembles Taylor Swift endorsing the Healy-Raes: welcome to the cheapfake era.On today's Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan is joined by Liz Carolan to discuss the influence of digital media in the 2024 general election, current trends in digital campaigning and the changing role of platforms like X and TikTok.Hugh and Liz compare the different strategies of political parties, the significance of viral moments and the real challenges posed misinformation and AI.
Election Daily: has Sinn Féin improved its standing with working class voters?
20:51|Harry McGee and Sarah Burns, who have accompanied politicians from several parties as they have canvassed for votes in the past week, join Hugh to talk about the issues that are coming up on doorsteps. In Dublin South Central and Dublin West, Sarah has noticed a less negative sentiment towards Sinn Féin. That's good news for the party as it seeks to add second seats in constituencies where it dominated in 2020 but lost support in local elections and opinion polls.Sinn Féin will also be happy to hear that housing is the issue coming up most often, with immigration a less prominent concern than during the summer. In Dun Laoghaire, Harry was on the canvas with Green Party TD Ossian Smyth, who faces a challenge to hold onto his seat in a constituency that could tell us a lot about which way the 2024 general election is going for the coalition parties.
Election Daily: O'Learygate gets Fine Gael off to a bumpy start
25:47|Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss today’s events in the 2024 general election campaign:Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary’s comments about teachers at a Fine Gael TD’s campaign launch event have got the party off to a bad start.Fine Gael’s proposal to change a VAT rate in order to help the hospitality industry has some downsides, not least for the other industries who will actually come out of the change taxed more heavily. Another Fine Gael proposal, to use some of the Apple tax bonaza to boost Help to Buy, a scheme aimed at first-time buyers, also has its critics. And the confirmation that Gerry Hutch will be a candidate means Dublin Central looks set to be 2024′s most colourful constituency. But does he have a chance?
Election Daily: campaigning begins in shadow of Trump's return
18:04|The Dáil has been dissolved and the 2024 general election is officially underway. Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss day one of the campaign:How Taoiseach Simon Harris addressed the countryPoster wars had begun prematurely on lampposts all across Ireland Mary Lou McDonald spoke about Sinn Féin's strategy for this campaign, to a soundtrack of Damien DempseyPlus: Tickets are now available for Inside Politics live in Dublin on Wednesday, November 20th at 6.30pm.
Election Daily: follow GE24 every day with Hugh Linehan and the Irish Times politics team
06:33|November 29th is now confirmed as the date of General Election 2024. Election Daily from The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast will update you on the campaign every weekday between now and then.Hugh Linehan and Jack Horgan-Jones are here to briefly update listeners on what to expect from the show, when to listen out for episodes and what the opening stages of the campaign will look like.Plus: Tickets are now available for Inside Politics live in Dublin on Wednesday, November 20th at 6.30pm.