What was it about Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s that a man like Charles Haughey could become its leader? Did he improve the country, despite the corruption? And how did Garrett FitzGerald make such a mess of the abortion question?

Following our recent podcast series on the era-defining rivalry between Charlie Haughey and Garrett FitzGerald, Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy return to the subject one last time, taking on listener questions they received via email and social media. They also unashamedly wallow in listener praise for their depth of knowledge, skilful storytelling and Pat's uncanny impersonations.

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Host Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray to take stock as the political system cranks back into gear. With frequent political signals being sent about what should be in the upcoming budget, tensions within the coalition are growing.

And it wouldn't be the Inside Politics podcast without some speculation on the timing of the next general election. Whenever it comes, this election will see many new faces fighting for seats. The panel talks about some of them.

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After depicting the musical culture of Dublin's northside in his acclaimed documentary North Circular, director Luke McManus is now looking at the area's politics.

His new documentary The Locals follows a range of candidates in the run-up to the June 2024 local elections, painting a picture of a diverse area and an equally diverse group of politicians.

Luke talks to Hugh Linehan about making the documentary, the people it portrays and the issues they care about.

The Locals is on RTÉ One on Monday, July 15th at 9:35pm and will also be available on the RTÉ player.

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The horrific events this week in Israel and the Gaza Strip are the subject of part one of today's podcast. Harry McGee has been watching the conflict, and Ireland's political response to it, unfold.

In part two Jack Horgan-Jones talks about ongoing reaction to this week's Budget. With Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael working together in harmony as they control the State's finances, how can the parties differentiate themselves at the next election?

Plus the panel pick their favourite articles of the week from irishtimes.com:

• Gordon Manning on the unlikely childhood GAA experience of a family of All Black rugby stars

• Mark Paul on signs that next year's UK election could be nasty

• Remembering a legendary Irish philanthropist

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Budget 2024 was a missed opportunity to invest more in housing and tackle chronic problems in our health system, says Sinn Féin spokesperson for finance Pearse Doherty. Pearse joins Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Hugh to talk about Budget 2024 in detail and spell out what Sinn Féin would do differently.

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

• If past years are anything to go by, most of the Budget 2024 measures will have been leaked by next Tuesday. The fact they haven't yet been shows how difficult negotiations are this year, with Ministers competing for cash to spend on pet projects.

• Labour TD for Wexford Brendan Howlin announced he will retire at the next election. We look back on the former party leader and minister for public expenditure's long career.

• UK Labour leader Keir Starmer cast doubt on the prospect of a vote on reunification, should he succeed in becoming Prime Minister.

Plus our panellists pick their favourite Irish Times journalism from this week:

• Finn McRedmond isn’t into a proposed National Women’s Museum.

• Martin Wall reports from Washington on the dramatic ouster of Kevin McCarthy.

• Mark Paul on Rishi Sunak’ attempt to portray himself as a change-maker after his party’s 13-year reign.

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On today's podcast:

Jack Horgan-Jones on the darkening economic backdrop to next week's delivery of Budget 2024.

Mark Paul reports from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester where Prime Minister Rushi Sunak delivered some headline-grabbing 'common sense' pledges. But throughout the week he was overshadowed by those with an eye on replacing him.

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Today’s guest is Canadian academic and author Naomi Klein. Klein shot to fame with her first book, No Logo, which offered an acute critique of how powerful corporations in the 1990s had profited off exploitation in a globalizing world. 

Her later books have examined a range of subjects including crisis capitalism, militarism, and the climate crisis. 

In her new book Doppelganger Klein uses the fact that she is commonly confused online for a very different writer, Naomi Wolf, who has called Covid-19 vaccine programmes ‘mass murder’, as a device to explore modern themes including online identity, conspiracy theories and the 21st Century supremacy of the ‘personal brand’. 

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Harry McGee and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to discuss the week in politics:

• The latest Irish Times / Ipsos opinion poll shows Sinn Féin continuing to gain. Other poll results foreshadow the potential for difficult negotiations if the party needs to form a coalition with Fianna Fáil.

• Beyond the next election, the poll shows long term problems for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael when it comes to attracting young voters.

• Budget 2024 is just over a week away and for now the message is that this will not be a pre-election giveaway - but will that hold?

• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar dropped an unusual and somewhat controversial reference this week, prompting our panel to speculate about his TV viewing habits.

Plus the panel select their favourite reads of the week:

• Without even mentioning the song, Diarmaid Ferriter has (hopefully) the last work on Zombiegate.

• Michael McDowell calls for a new agency to reverse Dublin's decline

• And Pat commends our reporters' wide coverage of this week's historic drugs bust.

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A constitutional stopwatch is now ticking for the way in which some senators are elected. And it’s finally time for the Seanad reform which successive governments have promised but failed to deliver. That’s according to Tomás Heneghan, the University of Limerick graduate who won a landmark Supreme Court case earlier this year over being denied the right to vote for the upper houses’s university seats. On today's podcast he talks to Hugh and Pat about his historic case and how complying with it could cause problems for the coalition.

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Our Friday wrap of the week returns with the start of the new political season. Jennifer Bray, Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss the week in politics:

• What should we call the ugly scenes outside Dáil Éireann this week - and what sort of response should there be?

• As politicians gear up for a period with lots of elections, is Taoiseach Leo Varadkar creating friction with his coalition partners?

• The concerns of farmers were in focus at the Ploughing Championships this week - as was their dislike of the Greens.

Plus the panel nominate their favourite IT articles of the week, including:

• Justine McCarthy on a growing healthcare controversy

• Naomi O'Leary on Ireland's risky exposure to the Chinese economy

• and Roísín Ingle's paean to the joys of day-drinking.

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Peter Foster tells today’s Irish Times Inside Politics podcast that, while polls show a majority of British voters now think it was a mistake to leave the European Union, it is unlikely any UK government in the foreseeable future will seek to rejoin.

What is needed instead, the Financial Times journalist says, is greater honesty on the subject from political leaders, in particular from Keir Starmer’s Labour party, which currently looks set to win next year’s general election.

In his new book What Went Wrong With Brexit and What To Do About It, Peter argues the UK is facing a future of stagnation and decline unless its political leaders start to confront the challenges posed by Brexit.

What Went Wrong With Brexit and What To Do About It is published by Canongate.

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How hard it is it to write a tell-all book about Sinn Féin, a political party known among journalists for its secrecy and its on-message discipline? Aoife Moore, author of The Long Game, a new book on the party, was expecting at least some cooperation - but it didn't really work out that way. Of those few who were willing to talk, she says, many had their own motives.

In the Mindfield area at this year's Electric Picnic festival, Aoife sat down with Pat Leahy and Harry McGee to talk about the book, the party and its leaders, past and present.

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Labour has won the 2024 UK general election with a massive landslide. Beyond that, huge shifts have taken place across the political map of Britain and Northern Ireland.

To take a look at what has happened and what comes next, Hugh talks to London correspondent Mark Paul, Northern editor Freya McClements and Denis Staunton.

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October 10th is Budget Day, so it is the time of the year for politicians and lobbyists to make their cases for extra spending and tax cuts in 2024.

It will be a year when Ireland is forecast to run a surplus of over €10 billion, leaving lots of room to manoeuvre, and plenty of decisions in the hands of Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe.

On today's podcast Mr Donohoe joins Hugh and Pat to talk about Budget 2024.

Of specific measures, the Minister gives little away. But he does provide an insight into his thinking about the balancing act that must be struck.

They also discuss the risk posed to stability by unpredictable corporate tax receipts, the future for RTÉ and whether Fine Gael still has something to offer in government beyond the next election.

And Mr Donohoe takes the opportunity to criticise Pat's argument that the Government is short on ideas.

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Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn join Pat Leahy to talk about the big political stories of the week:

News that RTÉ licence fee receipts have continued to plummet will be of concern when the Cabinet meets this week

A spike in road deaths is another issue for the coalition to grapple with

Political party think-in season is about to commence, but the annual events are not what they used to be, lament our correspondents.

Plus: Northern Editor Freya McClements on the waning prospects of a restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the attrition a lack of leadership is causing to day-to-day lives of citizens. What is in the mind of DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, in whose hands powersharing lies?

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The Electoral Commission has published its highly anticipated constituency review which, as expected, recommends an increase in the number of Dáil seats to let representation keep pace with population growth.

The review, which is expected to be approved by the Dáil, also recommends the creation of new constituencies and the adjustment of others.

But what does it all mean for voters and politicians? Cormac McQuinn and Harry McGee join Pat Leahy to dig into the review.

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Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to discuss the big stories of the past few weeks:

• Is Minister for Media Catherine Martin at risk of seeming too passive in her handling of the RTÉ payments controversy?

• The Electoral Commission will shortly reveal new constituency boundaries, amounting to a new political landscape for voters and politicians to get to grips with. And politicians are extremely keen to see what it will mean for them.

• The issue of crime on city streets is a difficult one for politicians like Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to handle - especially when there is little agreement on what exactly, or how severe, the problem really is.

• An Irish Times report revealed that Ireland will provide weapons training to Ukrainian soldiers. The news has prompted questions about whether the plan violates military neutrality. Could the policy cause strife between the coalition partners?

Thanks to everyone who got in touch about The Bertie Years. Tell us what political history you would like Inside Politics to cover next by emailing us at politicspodcast@irishtimes.com.

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The final episode of the series ends with a bang, or rather a crash, as Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy detail how Bertie’s own finances are under the microscope as he faces into his last general election as leader of Fianna Fáil, while the global financial earthquake comes into view.

This is part four of The Ahern Years. Parts one, two and three are also available.

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In this episode Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy pore over what comes after Fianna Fáil's successful 2002 general election amid the ongoing boom. The defeats in local and European elections in 2004, the twin debacles of e-voting and decentralisation, and Charlie McCreevy exiting stage right, all raise questions about Bertie's decision-making. 

This is part three of The Ahern Years. Parts one and two are also available.

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In this episode Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy delve into Bertie Ahern's first government as Taoiseach, a government which oversees unprecedented economic growth as the Celtic Tiger years begin. And Bertie writes his name into the history books for his role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland.

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His legacy is debated, but there's no denying that Bertie Ahern is one of the most significant figures in Irish political history.

Over the next few episodes Pat Leahy tells the story of the life and political career of the former Taoiseach and assesses his impact on modern Ireland.

In the first instalment Pat examines Ahern's rise to prominence within Fianna Fáil, how he first came close to power before having it snatched away by a political ally turned foe, and the smart general election campaign that saw him assume the office of Taoiseach on June 26th, 1997.

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There’s never a dull moment when it comes to US politics, as proved again today with the announcement of fresh criminal charges against former president Donald Trump. In this episode, Staff writer at the New Yorker Clare Malone joins Hugh to take a look at the state of US politics through the lens of current media trends, what we can expect from the year ahead and how an election paralleled with multiple criminal trials might play out.

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Who are Sinn Féin and what really makes the party different, if anything? Who holds real sway within the party? What role do activists play, and who are its up-and-coming stars? Freya McClements and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to talk about Ireland's most popular party.

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Political commentator with The Guardian Rafael Behr returns to the podcast to talk about the UK general election. By Friday we will know if the widely-expected Tory implosion and Labour majority have materialised. But what comes next?

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The Dáil summer recess has arrived and our political experts Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn have convened to look back on the political season:

• The relative political fortunes of Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar.

• Do polls suggest Sinn Féin has hit a ceiling of support?

• Did the Government get a handle on the migrant accommodation crisis? Or can it claim real progress on broader issue of a lack of housing?

• How has the huge budget surplus perturbed politics?

Plus, Jennifer reveals what the Leinster House gossip is saying about the timing of the next election.

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In a summer heatwave gripping countries including Spain, Italy, France and Greece, Europeans are experiencing temperatures more commonly found in the Sahara desert. The consequences for human health, agriculture and the environment are expected to be severe. How are European political institutions responding to what seems to be a troubling new reality? Naomi O'Leary reports from Brussels.

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Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics including hopefully the final week of RTÉ Oireachtas committee mania and the spiralling cost of delivering the National Children's Hospital.

Plus they select the finest Irish Times articles from throughout the week, including what happens when you send a grumpy sportswriter to report on politics.

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It's the Twelfth and to mark Unionism and Loyalism's day of celebration, Hugh talks to Dr Aaron Edwards, author of A People Under Siege: The Unionists of Northern Ireland from Partition to Brexit and Beyond.

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On today’s Inside Politics podcast Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray to discuss the week in politics:

• The crisis at RTÉ is entering its third week but, with appearances by Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly before an Oireachtas committee and the takeover by Kevin Bakhurst as Director General all happening next week, the story is not going away, much as weary RTÉ executives and politicians might want it to.

• The Summer Economic Statement prompted some criticism from economists opposed to excessive spending - but little from opposition politicians. Why?

• Opposition to hate speech legislation currently making its way through the Seanad is filling up the inboxes of politicians like Fianna Fail’s Lisa Chambers. But do people’s concerns have much to do with what’s actually in the bill?

Plus the panel recommend their Irish Times articles of the week:

• Newton Emerson on the complexities of talking about how a United Ireland would actually work

• John Fitzgerald on whether the IDA’s current strategy is right for an Ireland of inflation, full employment and overstretched services.

• Patrick Freyne’s guide to the year’s best TV

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Under the leadership of Holly Cairns, the Cork South-West TD who took over from Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall in March, the Social Democrats are riding high among the smaller political parties in Dail Eireann - according to opinion polls at least.

But what is the party all about? How is it different from Sinn Fein, the biggest party on the left? And if the Soc Dems were to combine with other political parties in a coalition of compromise after the next election, where would its policy red lines be?

Holly Cairns sat down with Hugh Linehan and Pat Leahy to discuss leadership, politics and policy. But first, they talk about the latest revelations in the crisis at RTE over secret payments to Ryan Tubridy and the future of the national public service broadcaster.

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In a wide-ranging interview in today's Irish Times, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee talks about remarks critical of her taking maternity leave while in office, the stint by Cabinet colleague Simon Harris in her job and her future ambitions. And on today's podcast Jack Horgan-Jones and Jennifer Bray listen back to excerpts from the interview and apply some political analysis.

But first, Jack and Jen threaten to establish a new world order in the absence of Hugh Linehan and the rest of the politics team, before settling down into a discussion of RTE's terrible week, as the broadcaster's top brass endured grillings in front of two Oireachtas committees over secret payments to Ryan Tubridy. Has the management team been irreparably damaged by its association with the week's events?

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Hosting Inside Politics in Hugh Linehan’s absence, Pat Leahy is joined by Current Affairs Editor of The Irish Times, Arthur Beesley and Professor Jane Suiter from DCU’s School of Communications to discuss where we are now after yesterday's statement from RTÉ on Ryan Tubridy’s controversial pay deal.

Are we likely to get satisfactory answers from today’s Oireachtas committee or the Public Accounts committee on Thursday?

And the panel tease out how those running RTÉ can possibly re-establish trust when its own employees are protesting, as well as where its often-complicated relationship with politics goes from here.

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Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh to talk about the week in politics, including:

The fiasco unfolding at RTÉ over Ryan Tubridy's unusual pay deal and its potential ramifications

The Labour Party's confidential review that examines where it all went wrong while they were in government

Plus, they share their favourite Irish Times piece of the week:

Séamas O’Reilly on not mentioning the war while living in Dublin

Miriam Lord's amusing take on the political reaction to the hate speech Bill

Una Mullally and Patrick Freyne look back on 40 years since Ireland's first Pride parade

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Columnist and former Fianna Fáil advisor Gerard Howlin joins Hugh Linehan, Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray to talk about two controversial topics: recent comments by President Michael D Higgins and the Hate Speech bill that is making its way through the Oireachtas.

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Washington correspondent Keith Duggan joins this week's wrap to discuss what could turn out to be one of the year's most consequential political developments: US president Joe Biden's disastrous performance at Thursday's debate with former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump. In a debate format that accentuated Biden's weaknesses, he handed the momentum to his rival and prompted intense debate about whether he should remain the Democratic candidate.

After that Jennifer Bray looks at the big Irish political stories of the week, including the outcome of a mini Fianna Fáil reshuffle that saw junior ministries assigned, the latest from the Green party leadership contest and the fallout from the Cathal Crotty sentencing controversy.

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Conor Gallagher, Irish Times Crime and Security Correspondent, has a new book out Is Ireland Neutral? The Many Myths of Irish Neutrality. He sat down with Hugh Linehan to discuss what has been an accepted position since the foundation of the Free State but doesn’t actually stand up to scrutiny.

Whether an attempt to form a military alliance with France at the end of the first world war through to the part Shannon Airport plays in US military operations, the definition of neutrality here is loose at best. 

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Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh to talk about the week in politics, including:

Ifac cautions coalition on expenditure and its potential consequences

Sinn Féin defend IRA commemoration in South Armagh

Is James O'Connor a Jekyll & Hyde figure within Fianna Fáil?

Plus, they share their favourite Irish Times piece of the week:

Kiss rocker Gene Simmons visits House of Commons as Ian Paisley's guest

FAI request huge investment commitment from government

Gerard Howlin highlights parties on the wrong side of history for climate change

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The podcast takes a look at the concept of ‘middle Ireland’, a concept that has been around for a long time in political discourse here, and one that has proved to be quite potent politically when comes to getting votes - but who exactly falls into the category of ‘middle Ireland’?

Do Fine Gael alone speak for this cohort? Or perhaps each party, much like the CSO or Grant Thornton, has their own definition of who the ‘squeezed middle’ is.

And could introducing some income tax reform lighten the load for middle earners here?

Political Correspondent with The Irish Times, Jennifer Bray, and Political Economist Aidan Regan from UCD, join Hugh Linehan to give their thoughts.

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Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh to talk about the week in politics, including:

• Ireland is on course to miss its 2030 carbon emission targets by some distance

• Some interesting takeaways from Census 2022, including lowering home ownership and fewer Catholics

• Helen McEntee taking back the reigns as Minister for Justice

Plus they share their favourite Irish Times piece of the week:

• Malachy Clerkin on why he misses the office

• Justine McCarthy on new frontiers in the hatred wars

• Dáil suspension over 'organic farmer' remark

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In his new book Public Morality and The Culture Wars, academic Bryan Fanning analyses what he calls the ‘triple divide’ between conservative, liberal and progressive viewpoints, how the moral views of those three groups differ and how they clash with growing intensity in what we call the culture wars.

He talks to Hugh Linehan about public morality, the debate over the limits of freedom of speech and why liberal and progressive thinking has diverged.

Bryan Fanning is Professor of Migration and Social Policy at University College Dublin.

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The coalition Government still has plenty of time to run but, if the past week is anything to go by, the remaining months could be characterised by less cooperation and more shaping up for the electoral battles to come.

On today's podcast Pat Leahy and Hugh Linehan take a listen back to an interview Pat conducted with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Thursday in which a picture emerges of how Fine Gael will differentiate itself come election time.

In the interview the Taoiseach talks about a controversy over three Fine Gael junior ministers' decision to publicly call for a tax cut in the next budget, why Fine Gael supports lowering taxes for those on middle and upper incomes, why boosting the numbers of homes available to purchase is Fine Gael's housing priority, and how a decision will be made on the timing of the next general election.

Mr Varadkar spoke about other subjects - you can read the full article here.

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The Electoral Commission is a newly established state body set up to oversee elections in Ireland. Taking on a range of existing electoral functions, it will also be responsible for deciding on the number of TDs in the Dáil and the boundaries and size of each constituency and local election area. The first report from the Commission on constituency boundaries is due out at the end of August. So what can we expect from it? To talk through the changes coming down the tracks for the electoral system and the wider impact on political parties, Hugh is joined by Cormac McQuinn, political scientist and lecturer with UCC Dr Theresa Reidy and Maynooth University lecturer Dr Adrian Kavanagh.

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Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh to talk about the week in politics, including:

• Government reaction to the agonising migrant accommodation shortage crisis. Will voters react too when they get a chance?

• Matt Barrett's apology for making jokes about King Charles III's coronation while there as the Taoiseach's +1

• At the time of recording, local elections in Northern Ireland are looking good for Sinn Féin

Plus they share their favourite Irish Times piece of the week:

• Alex Kane on the need for Unionism to broaden its appeal

• Justine McCarthy on the political motivations of news organisations

• Joe Humphreys on the schism between liberalism and progressivism

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The ongoing crisis over a shortage of accommodation for International Protection applicants is an acute problem that risks becoming a chronic one for the State. After a week of violent clashes, arson and blockades taking place at accommodation sites, the podcast panel looks again at what's been happening, how bad the problem is and how the political system is reacting.

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Hugh Linehan is joined by Irish Times columnist Gerard Howlin and political editor Pat Leahy to discuss the appointment of Jack Chambers as Minister of Finance and other political news.

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Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh to discuss the big political stories of the week.

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Political columnist and podcaster Rafael Behr returns to the podcast to talk about his new book Politics: A Survivor's Guide.

One theme of Behr’s book is denial about how toxic and dysfunctional politics has become, which he compares to his own failure to notice how his own health declined while covering the most divisive and frustrating years of Brexit.

“I'm sure these obstructions will clear themselves and I'm sure this difficulty we've all got breathing the air of politics might just pass and it's just a phase. And having yes, what I believe is clinically known as a massive bloody heart attack, certainly forced me to confront the possibility that I had underestimated the scale of the challenge.

“Now, I should be clear. The book is not one enormous extended metaphor that turns my cardiovascular system into the  body politic. That would be weirdly self-aggrandizing”.

He talks to Hugh Linehan about the hope and despair of modern politics.

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After yet another ECB rates rise, could we see the reintroduction of mortgage interest relief to take some pressure off homeowners? That was the first point of discussion on the Inside Politics podcast round-up this week.

The panel also gave their view on President Higgins’ recent speech at a reception for think tank Tasc, in which he condemned the "obsession” with achieving economic growth at the expense of "ecology and ethics".

There was also a noted lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of sitting through live coverage of King Charles the III’s coronation.

And the team talk about some of the best Irish Times content of the week, including:

Fintan O’Toole’s piece on the fanatical racism of John Mitchell

Jack Horgan-Jones’s account of Donald Trump’s Doonbeg visit

Pat Leahy writing about Ireland’s approach to relations with China

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