Show Notes
Eh... what just happened? Jim Gavin’s shock, abrupt, and unprecedented withdrawal from the presidential race has sent an earthquake through Fianna Fáil and will reshape the campaign. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy unpack the landlord-payment story, Fianna Fáil's vetting processing, the big questions this poses for the party's leadership, and what a narrowed field means for Connolly and Humphreys in the final stretch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Candidate
The public sector strike that saw 300,000 workers on the picket lines is the dominant political story of the week, but as yet nobody is getting pilloried over it. The unions say the government could have avoided the whole mess four months ago, but the government keeps saying it's ready to do a deal once everyone talks.
Budget 2027 has landed, and the reaction has been... well, extremely flat. There were tax changes, sure, and welfare increases too. Even a new savings scheme and plenty of measures aimed at the squeezed middle. But after months of leaks and promises, did the government spread itself too thin trying to keep everyone happy?
The Garvaghy Road standoff has dragged Northern Ireland back into a dispute many thought we left in the 1990s. A proposed way out has failed, the Orange Order still wants to complete its parade, and residents remain opposed to it passing through their community.
Donald Trump came to Ireland for 36 hours, watched a lot of golf, charmed the crowds at Doonbeg, promised to scrap tariffs on Irish whiskey and unexpectedly declared that he'd love to see a united Ireland. The government thinks the visit was a success. We're a little less sure: was it smart diplomacy, uncomfortable fawning, or all just a bit grubby?
Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan joins us in studio for a sit-down interview. We asked him what needs to change after the M9 collision, whether the State is failing the small group of young people its youth justice system can't reach, and why the government's approach to migration has changed.