Plus, is some income tax reform long overdue here?

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: Does Fine Gael still speak for those in 'middle Ireland'.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: Does Fine Gael still speak for those in 'middle Ireland'.

This podcast episode examines the concept of ‘middle Ireland’, an idea with a long political history and which has been particularly potent when it comes to securing votes.

But in today’s Ireland, who now falls into this category of ‘middle Ireland’ and politically, who speaks for them?

Does Fine Gael present this cohort? Or perhaps does each party, much like the CSO, have their own definition of the occupants of the ‘squeezed middle’, and offer solutions to various challenges faced by ‘middle Irelanders’.

And is income tax reform the best way to lighten the economic load for those in this group?

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Irish Times Political Correspondent Jennifer Bray and UCD Political Economist Aidan Regan share their thoughts with Hugh Linehan.