Irish Times Inside Politics

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin says he is worried the Government has not been prudent enough to prepare us for a Brexit economic storm, but insists any rainy-day fund can't come at the expense of services. He also speaks about his disappointment with Theresa May's Brexit speech yesterday, Sinn Féin's "arrogance" in the Northern Ireland Executive and the message Ireland must send to president-elect Donald Trump. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"When did businesspeople become such hippies?" Patrick Freyne went to Pendulum, the “world’s leading business and self-empowerment summit”, run by the former Ireland rugby star Frankie Sheahan (tagline: “Unleash Your Warrior Mindset”). He talked to Hugh Lineman about what he found. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Martin McGuinness's resignation as Deputy First Minister will almost certainly mean elections in Northern Ireland, and many are questioning whether power sharing can be restored after this breach in the DUP Sinn Féin relationship. But would that be a bad thing? Mick Fealty of NI politics blog Slugger O'Toole says the breakdown is the inevitable result of greater scrutiny of the Executive, while MLA for Folye Eamonn McCann says the assumption that power sharing is required to keep violence from breaking out is false. They talk with Hugh and Political Editor Pat Leahy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An opinion piece on irishtimes.com about vocabulary used by the so-called 'alt-right' political movement has caused a stir. Opinion Editor John McManus talked to Hugh Linehan about why The Irish Times ran the piece. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

John Halligan has a reputation for speaking his mind and on today's Inside Politics podcast he doesn't disappoint. He explains what really happened from his point of view during last years disputes with his Government colleagues. With hospital waiting times back on the agenda, he questions whether the capability exists in Ireland to reform its own health system. He calls for the abolition of the HSE and the appointment of consultants from overseas to put things right.On the Waterford Hospital issue that has troubled his relationship with Fine Gael, he again says he will consider his position if an additional cath lab is not provided.Talking about the difficulties of his own work as a Minister for State, he questions the value of advice he receives from civil servants and recalls asking a Fianna Fáil TD to help him secure €50 million in funding from his own Government for school transport services. And finally he explains his highly unusual choice of Christmas cards.Before all that, our Political Editor Pat Le

Many people old enough to remember 1986 in Ireland will tell you it was a pretty grim time and place. The economy was in the doldrums and unemployment was high. A referendum to permit divorce was voted down as Hurricane Charlie hit. In January, Phil Lynott died. The state papers from I986, released after the mandatory 30 year waiting period, reveal a country trying to deal with problems at home and in Northern Ireland, and to come to terms with a growing demand for equality and social change. Elaine Edwards and Stephen Collins were among the reporters allowed a first look at the annually-released cache of yellowing documents that make up the state papers. They talked to us about the stories they found, major, minor and quirky. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does 2017 hold in store for Ireland and the world? We don't claim to know, but we invited Fintan O'Toole, Una Mullally and Pat Leahy in to discuss some of the possibilities on this final Inside Politics of the unforgettable year of 2016. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

2016 was a good and bad year for reporters. There were plenty of stories to report on, but also plenty of challenges to traditional journalism, old and new: the continuing rise of social media, and its sometimes misleading content; Ireland's strict defamation laws that can stifle in-depth reporting; and difficult economic times for the news business. Irish Times News Editor Mark Hennessy talks to Inside Story about some of those difficulties, recaps some of the newsroom output he is most proud of from 2016 and makes some prognostications for the years ahead. From everyone on the Inside Politics / Inside Story team, we wish you all a very happy Christmas. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a “bizarre year in politics” says Irish Times political reporter Sarah Bardon, who found herself with very little to report on some nights in Leinster House, as the minority government argued behind closed doors and not much got done.She joined her colleague Harry McGee and historian Diarmaid Ferriter this morning, to review the year gone by for the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast.The panel discussed opinion polls and the dreadful year they have had, with Harry McGee conceding that political pundits are far better at analysing the past than they are predicting the future.This time last year a strong general election performance was predicted for Fine Gael and a disastrous one for Fianna Fáil. How wrong they were, says Sarah Bardon, who cites Enda Kenny’s mantra of ‘keep the recovery going’ and Fine Gael’s obsession with the ‘fiscal space’ as two reasons why the party failed to perform at the polls as expected.Fine Gael advisors were the victims of “brain freeze” when it came to the Taoiseach’s camp

There are 21,000 vacant residences in Dublin City. This weekend activists have felt the need to appropriate an empty office block to house the homeless, as a shortage of housing sends rents soaring. How has it come to this? Our Dublin Correspondent Olivia Kelly has been investigating. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To take a look back at a six month period of "new politics" that is now ending with ambitious Minister Coveney's new rental reform package, and with Taoiseach Enda Kenny still firmly at the helm, Political Editor Pat Leahy chatted with his chums Michael O'Regan, Fiach Kelly and Sarah Bardon. Will Coveney's hard work pay dividends of power down the line? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When we talk about health and medicine, the immediate problems tend to crowd out the important ones, says our correspondent Paul Cullen. But this weekend he is reporting on a long-term threat that could destroy modern medical practice and jeopardise millions of lives. Antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" are becoming stronger and more prevalent, and are now entrenched in some Irish hospitals. He talked to Hugh Linehan about the story.Tweet about the podcast: @hlinehanIf you like this podcast, help us get it to a wider audience by sharing it on social media, or by rating and reviewing it in iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ireland’s continual housing crisis will not be solved unless issues of affordability and security of tenure in the rental sector are addressed, according to a Trinity College academic.New legislation aimed at boosting supply in the housing market is currently going through the Seanad. It allows planning applications for large housing developments of more than 100 homes to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála rather than to local councils and forms part of the government’s “Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness”, published earlier this year.Assistant Professor at Trinity College’s Geography department, Cian O’Callaghan, spoke on this week’s Inside Politics podcast about the plan, calling for a “different approach” to the Irish housing crisis. He says we need to look beyond the issue of housing supply and broaden tactics to address problems with affordability and security of tenure in the private-rental and social housing sectors.Fianna Fáil’s Thomas Byrne said he appreciates the need to

Will the report of the expert commission on water help bring this vexed issue to a conclusion at long last? Minister Simon Coveney hopes so, but AAA-PBP TD Paul Murphy says "it's not over". They both sat down with Hugh Linhan and Sarah Bardon this morning. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How much do we as a society ask of those among us who have dependents in need of round-the-clock care? Last Saturday, The Irish Times published an interview by Rosita Boland with Johanne and Alan Powell, a couple in their 60s facing retirement and still caring for their profoundly disabled daughter, Siobhan, at home in Co Wexford.Exhausted and frustrated after three decades caring for Siobhan, who cannot walk, is nonverbal, does not eat solid food and has only one kidney, for the past three years the Powells have been seeking a residential care place for her. She is on a waiting list of 61 people in the county.“I want residential care for my daughter. There is no such thing as retiring for carers unless you die . . . Can I survive 10 more years of this?” she asked. “We’ll need someone to wheel us around then,” Alan says. “I want my life back, and my wife back.”Their story elicited a huge response from readers thanks to the honesty of the Powells about their sad circumstances. In this podcast Rosita Boland tal

Paul Murphy's election at Sinn Féin's expense in the 2014 Tallaght by-election marked the start of a populist "race to the bottom" in Irish politics, says Labour's Alan Kelly on today's Inside Politics podcast. But how can Labour counter this trend and reverse its own electoral fortunes? "Populism is what's foremost in many deputies' minds" says Deputy Kelly. "The only way you can fight that is putting out arguments that are better, real and truthful". With phrases like "support for people who are working","premium on work" and "bread on the table" peppering Kelly's discussion with Fiach Kelly and Hugh Linehan, it is clear where he sees the best hope for the party's regeneration. And the party's liberal agenda on issues like same sex marriage and abortion? They're "part of the party's DNA" but "not the only component" - and have never won the party much thanks at the ballot box. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The limits of life have shifted dramatically at the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street in Dublin, where a baby born at 28 weeks now has a 90 per cent chance of survival, while those born at 24 weeks have a 50/50 chance . In the first episode of our new podcast series Inside Story, Conor Pope tells Hugh Linehan about the continuing advances being made in premature natal care and what it means for the parents and families. Conor’s article about Holles Street can be read at http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/the-pressure-and-joys-of-caring-for-premature-babies-1.2870303 You can find more information about Irish Times podcasts at irishtimes.com/podcastsTweet about the podcast @hlinehan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New and old media are themselves in the firing line as liberals point the finger at fake news, Facebook algorithms and social media bubbles to help explain the painful reality of President Donald Trump. David Cochrane, Harry McGee, and Laura Slattery join Hugh Linehan to discuss the trends that are undermining many people's faith in media's ability to present the truth. After that Hugh talks with U.S. journalist and author John B. Judis, who in his timely book The Populist Explosion explains how not all strains of the ill-defined phenomenon are equal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump has pulled off one of the greatest upsets in political history by beating Hillary Clinton to the White House. How did he do it, and how did the pundits get it so wrong? And what can we expect from the unpredictable president-elect? Hugh Linehan talks to Simon Carswell and Ruadhan Mac Cormaic, who are in New York at the Trump and Clinton HQs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's politics podcast, Political Editor Stephen Collins talks to Fiach Kelly about the looming garda strike action and Taoiseach Enda Kenny's all-Ireland Brexit forum. And down at Leinster House, Harry McGee talks to TDs and senators about their experiences of how the press covers them and their activities, how they deal with the growing number of social media trolls and the problem of populism in the Dáil chamber. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.