Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

• In the first Irish Times national poll since February, the lack of movement in party support points to an electorate not wholly enamoured by the incumbent Government but not exactly enthused about the alternatives either.

• One of the big contradictions arising from the poll is around the question of a united Ireland. A clear majority of 68 per cent feel the Government should begin preparations for possible Irish unity, but only a small minority of voters would consider changes such as a new Irish flag, national anthem or joining the Commonwealth to make a united Ireland more acceptable to northern unionists.

• The poll also reveals what voters want in Budget 2027 – with the cost of energy and home heating the top priority ahead of next month’s budget.

• And there is nothing like a premature sports capital grant announcement to stir animosity within the Coalition.

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

• A Labour-Green merger not on the cards, Ireland’s place shrinks on the world map, and U2 formed fifty years ago today.