Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn to look back on the week in politics:
· Political parties are eagerly pitching eye-catching measures ahead of Budget 2025 with 50 per cent of respondents in the latest Irish Times / Ipsos poll saying they want the Government to prioritise ‘immediate help’ with the cost of living.
· Has Simon Harris reached peak popularity? The Taoiseach’s surging personal approval ratings mirrors that of his predecessor Leo Varadkar who enjoyed similar peaks, but endured troughs not long after - could Harris be in for similar?
· The Dáil resumed this week with Sinn Féin going on the attack during leader’s questions, highlighting children with scoliosis and spina bifida awaiting surgery, and the “gold-plated” pension pots of the well-heeled that are set to get a boost.
Jack Horgan-Jones: Can Jim O’Callaghan live up to his brand as the law and order politician?
The New Nuclear Age by Ankit Panda: Could ‘growing loose talk’ lead to the ultimate disaster?
Pamela Anderson: ‘I felt like life was really like death for me’
Jamie Dornan: ‘I lost my mom, and I lost four of my best friends in an accident. I had a difficult few years’
Plus, the panellists pick their favourite IT reads of the week:
· Miriam Lord on the extremely expensive bijou bike shed on Leinster lawn.
· Carl O’Brien wrote about new research from Maynooth University that showed the benefits of much shorter homework tasks.
· And Emer McLysaght swapped tales of air fryers and steam mops on a group holiday to Spain.
Produced by John Casey.
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