The Candidate

The government wants e-bike and e-scooter users to wear helmets and high-vis gear, but critics say that’s missing the point. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy dig into the backlash to this latest safety proposal and why the cycling debate in Ireland seems to hit a nerve every time.Also: Should politicians be using AI to write speeches?

The most powerful political force in Ireland? Flooding.Storm Chandra has kicked off a public row between Housing Minister James Browne and Met Éireann. After Browne suggested Met Éireann 'guarded' information and should change how it issues warnings, question are now being asked: is the warning system fit for purpose, and who is accountable when flooding hits?Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy examine what this tells us about Ireland’s preparedness for more extreme weather - and if politicians are able to handle the fallout themselves.Also: why are defections a running drama in UK politics, but not in Ireland?

The annual St Patrick’s Day trip to the White House used to be a low-stakes photo op. Now? It's a perennial (somewhat tiresome, perhaps) news story and moral dilemma: will we, or won't we? Should Micheál Martin go, and if he does, what does Ireland actually gain and risk?Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, Rónán Duffy and Christina Finn unpack the political calculations around this, whether there's a 'red line' which we need to accept has been crossed, and how much leverage Ireland really has during Trump's second termAlso: why are most political parties still posting on X? And what could the government’s planned digital wallet could mean for kids’ safety and civil liberties?

It's a new Dáil term and a new season of The Candidate, but issues at home are taking a back seat right now. Non-consensual, AI-generated sexual imagery has become the flashpoint after X’s Grok tool made it easier to create and share this content. With gardaí investigating suspected child sexual abuse material, and ministers floating half-formed calls to ban the AI chatbot completely, the government is under pressure to explain what it can and will actually do.Sinéad O'Carroll, Rónán Duffy and Jane Matthews unpack the political response, the muddled messaging, and the question Ireland keeps avoiding: how do you regulate powerful tech firms when the State also relies on them?

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy share their favourite political shows - the ones that helped them escape (or make sense of) real-life Leinster House drama. From The West Wing to Veep, The Thick of It to Borgen, they offer recommendations for what to binge over Twixmas.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy hand out their now-traditional end-of-year political awards, from the Michael Myers Award for Hanging On In There to the MGMT Difficult Second Album Award. The team reflect on the wins, flops, scandals, and surprises of 2025.

A video aimed at young people moving back in with their parents, shared by the Department of Housing, was meant to be helpful... but it didn't land like that. At all. No sir. Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy unpick why the backlash was so immediate and the lessons needed for the government on talking about the housing crisis. Do decision makers really understand just how hard things have become for an entire generation of renters?Also: If you don't understand why Ireland’s nitrates derogation is controversial, you will after this episode.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first visit to Ireland was smooth, symbolic, and tightly stage-managed. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews unpack the carefully curated optics of the visit, and examine what was said vs what wasn't.Also: how we are still talking about the Occupied Territories Bill?

A judicial review filed against the long awaited MetroLink has sparked a backlash from both government and a public fed up with delays. Ministers are treading carefully, defending the right to object while clearly hoping the residents of Dublin's leafiest of leafy suburbs back down. Will this be a short planning skirmish or a defining infrastructure war?Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews look at why this case has touched a nerve and what comes next.Also: a shift in tone and policy on migration raises questions about what’s driving the government’s tougher stance. Public pressure or EU alignment?