The Candidate
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Podcast by The Journal
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
52 Episodes
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Cork is getting a Luas. When? Well... you know how these things go...Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy look at why big infrastructure projects in Ireland move so slowly and what the Cork project tells us about systemic bottlenecks (and even how to fix them). The big question is of course whether Ireland can unlock the ability to transform its infrastructure to match other European cities.The team also analyse the long-awaited Grace report and how it’s raised new questions instead of bringing clarity. Is Ireland’s system of public inquiries still fit for purpose? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're still months out from the actual vote, but the presidential election machine is slowly spinning up (despite McGregor's efforts to jump-start it proving fruitless so farit so). Some potential candidates are tentatively suggesting that they have their eyes on a nomination, though none have declared yet.At the forefront is Fine Gael, with Mairead McGuinness emerging as a possible contender. But will Sinn Féin swoop in with someone more viable? Is Ming the type of person who would be more faithful to the role of president? Or will it be... I don't know... Tommy Tiernan?Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy take stock of the burgeoning race so far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a long, rambling press conference in the White House's Rose Garden on Wednesday evening, Donald Trump launched a historic global trade war - and Ireland is in the crosshairs.There's a real sense of shellshock since the announcement of the new tariffs: it's going to take weeks, if not months, for the impact to be felt, but there are some pretty clear signs already about what might happen to Ireland - and the EU's - economy.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy discuss what this all means for Ireland - and just how worried the government is about it (and how worried we should all be).Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The speaking rights row has yet to be quelled. A truce or a compromise is nowhere in sight. It's only getting messier, causing deeper divisions between the opposition and government parties.And then, through a simple gesture given by Michael Lowry to Paul Murphy, the entire situation was elevated to new heights.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Rónán Duffy discuss the continued chaos in the Dáil and try to identify the main issues which still need to be resolved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
And just when we thought the dust had settled after Micheál Martin's visit to the Oval Office.Conor McGregor's appearance in the White House was somewhat foreshadowed by Trump, who had referred to him as his favourite Irish person, but it caught many off guard. At the same time, McGregor being in the White House for 17 March shouldn't really come as any surprise – if anything, he's right at home. Could this be the start of Trump taking the former UFC fighter under his wing?Also this week, Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy assess the latest chatter around housing targets, and highlight how there is still so little business being done in the Dáil (but also, who can we point the finger of blame at?). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland watched the Taoiseach's Oval Office visit with bated breath. Would it be a disaster, an incredible success, or something in between?One of the biggest events in the Irish political calendar is over, and Micheál Martin has survived his 50-minute encounter with Donald Trump. Not without slipping on a couple of banana skins, of course.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Rónán Duffy, and — up bright and early in Washington DC — Jane Matthews look at how the meeting panned out. Did it offer the warmness towards Ireland some might have hoped to see? Or was it simply a bout of official paddywhackery? And to what extent will Martin's comments on housing come back to haunt him? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
First, it was Covid restrictions that called off Micheál Martin's visit to the White House for St Patrick's Day in 2021. Then, during his second chance, he ended up actually catching Covid on the trip. Will it be third time lucky, or, after last week's Oval Office scenes, will this be one of the biggest tests of his political career? Will Trump unleash some pent-up anger directed at Ireland, or will Martin have perfected his plámás in order to keep him on side?Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews (who is off to Washington next week), and Rónán Duffy also dissect the latest climate warning for government (will they listen to this one, now that there's euro signs involved?) and how it's clear from the repeated pleas from parents that disability services is an area where there is the opportunity to affect real change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
News about the National Gallery's never-used x-ray scanner worth €125,000 sparked 'fury' across the country... apparently. Did it really? If it did, how can that fury be used constructively? If it didn't, have we become numb to this type of wasted cash — or was this simply not that big of a deal?On this week's episode, Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, Rónán Duffy, and Sinéad O'Carroll examine the latest spending controversy. Have Elon Musk's ham-fisted DOGE efforts in the United States put the critique of how budgets are spent in vogue?The team also look at the latest in the speaking rights row, which will not go away and has set the Dáil up for a potentially turbulent few days (again). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Europe is in disarray, to say the least, over Trump's rumblings about distancing the United States from all us on this side of the Atlantic, and his new spat with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It will leave a massive hole in European defence if that happens, and that means Ireland is facing renewed attention over its military spend (or lack thereof).Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy sit down to look at the political reaction at home to this, and what it could mean for the future of the Defence Forces. The team also look at calls for the use of counselling notes and character references to be banned in gender-based violence trials.And what podcast about Irish politics this week would be complete without a look at the plans — for better or for worse — to allow more back garden cabins to be built?Read more of Jane's reporting on the counselling notes here.Read more about the back garden cabin fever here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Housing remains the single biggest issue for the Irish public. People want to see the crisis brought to an end or, at the very least, real action being taken. Any missteps are amplified. We saw that this week with talk of scrapping Rent Pressure Zones and the controversy around housing figures provided during the general election.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy look at the new Dáil's handling of the housing crisis so far, and what tone has been set. The team also examine the significance of the Arts Council overspend on an IT project, and what the future holds for Martin Conway and Eoin Hayes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's almost March, and you know what that means: all political attention turns to one particular bowl of shamrock. Trump's second-term actions so far leave Ireland faced with a renewed dilemma: go ahead with the traditional St Patrick's Day trip to Washington in the name of using it to make our case on the world stage, or face the new realities of politics in 2025 and call off the Trump meeting.That is, of course, if he will even have us.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy sit down to look at the careful political chess that will need to be played out. The team also have a (surprisingly energetic, it must be said) chat about the Seanad elections, and look at who was the real winner in the Dáil speaking row. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With the help of a column in the Sunday Times, Leo Varadkar has casually lobbed a grenade at the new Dáil: are the positions of some new junior minsters constitutionally sound? It now looks like likely that their status could be tested in the courts, and for the first time. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews have a look at this, as well as who exactly has been appointed to head up the various side portfolios.Also: Many parts of the country are still picking up the pieces after the disruption caused by Storm Éowyn, and the government is feeling the brunt of this anger. Insert your own pathetic fallacy of choice here. There are now huge questions to answer about how to avoid a repeat of such widespread damage to energy and communications infrastructure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What a week. An unprecedented start to the Dáil term. A temporary and perhaps uneasy truce over speaking rights that allowed the government to get off the ground. The Opposition putting forward a rare, united front. Again, this is week one; there are five years left to go.Fully remote this week due to Storm Éowyn, with the occasional atmospheric wind gust in the background, the team look back on the week and try to answer the biggest question: will this government survive for a full term?Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and – making his grand return — Rónán Duffy also look at the new Cabinet team and assess how they might perform. Who has been given the poisoned chalice? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The process of voting in a new taoiseach is usually a fairly routine affair. The opposition parties have their say, the government parties and their supporters have theirs, the vote is ultimately passed by the party with the most seats, and then it's time for a day out in the Áras. All very tidy.Instead, Leinster House has been plunged into unprecedented chaos and remains suspended into tomorrow after a row over Regional Independents potentially getting opposition speaking rights. Christina Finn and Jane Matthews found a few minutes in 'a day that felt like a week' to bring us up to speed on what exactly is going on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Something we're enthusiastic about: we're back for a new season! Something we're not enthusiastic about: the new Programme for Government.Our team — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews — examine the 162-page document which outlines the government's plan for the next five years. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independents Group list their priorities across all areas of the society, but the final result? Maybe a little dry. Maybe a little uninspired.And that's saying something, given the unexpected involvement of a Healy Rae in a junior ministerial position. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
... well, we're afraid you'll have to wait until our producer/barman counts the votes in accordance with PR-STV and reveals the winner at the end of the episode.The team — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Sinéad O'Carroll — break out the non-alcoholic mulled wine and alcoholic mystery red cocktails and decide on the winners of The Candidate's 2024 Politics Awards.From Whoopsie of The Year to The Late Debate Debater Award, we look back on the year that was and look at the moments and people that really mattered.Thank you to everyone who tuned in to The Candidate over the past year. We'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions you have on the podcast — just drop a message to nicky@thejournal.ie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're now stuck in government formation purgatory amd struggling to keep track of which group-of-the-day is vying for a seat at the Cabinet table. There's also murmurings of who the next Ceann Comhairle could be (spoiler, it could be the same person as the previous two Dáil terms).But, on top of all of this, we have the Social Democrats facing their first real post-election headache. A link between Eoin Hayes, one of the party's recently elected TDs, and a company whose AI systems are by used by the Israel Defence Forces, emerged. But how damaging will it be to the party, or are people finding it hard to wrap their head around? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The general election is... over? And it's clear that the team have gone a little stir-crazy after a few too many hours in count centres.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Sinéad O'Carroll sit down to look at the case of Stephen Donnelly, and how the Cabinet minister ended up losing his seat — there were some early warning signs that Fianna Fáil feared he was in trouble, and possibly because of a weak campaign on the ground.The team also chat about what exactly happened with the exit poll, and which Independents are waiting in the wings to prop up the next government?Also: Would you rather a duck with small feet to come at you or... sorry, we can't remember how this meme is meant to go. It's been a long week.Produced by Nicky Ryan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The media scrums in the RDS were growing bigger and bigger as the count went on... and then Gerald Hutch arrived.The gangland figure's failed election bid drew huge attention from national and international press, but has he achieved his ultimate aim? Could his unexpectedly strong performance shine a light on Dublin's north inner city and the reasons why people voted for him?With Christine Bohan and Sinéad O'Carroll in studio, and Christina Finn and Jane Matthews in the RDS, we look at the big headline talking points that are now coming out of the election results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's all systems go: the votes have been cast, the exit polls revealed, the ballots separated, and the counting is now underway.A picture of general election 2024 is starting to come together piece-by-piece. Christine Bohan and Christina Finn (the latter joining us from a car park outside the Wicklow count centre) chat about the big talking points so far, and ask: is it really viable anymore for any party to rule out coalition with Sinn Féin? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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