Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:
- Ireland’s decision to participate in a European-wide initiative celebrating Norman heritage and influence has drawn the ire of Sinn Féin. The initiative is called 2027 The Year of the Normans – People of Europe, and Cabinet approved plans to mark 1000 years since the birth of England’s first Norman king William the Conqueror have been labelled “offensive” by the Opposition party.
- In a move to start the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza after Israel’s near three-month blockade, a majority of EU states have backed a proposal to review the union’s agreement governing relations with Israel.
- The HSE estimates that the number of children on waiting lists for disability or autism services will grow from 15,000 now to 25,000 by the end of the year, something disability rights campaigner Cara Darmody (14) highlighted with a 50-hour protest outside Leinster House this week.
- Independent Ireland TD Kenneth O’Flynn had a wish list comprising 10 separate items for his parliamentary office at Leinster House, including a ‘La-Z-Boy’ recliner for “breaks and informal meetings.”
- And the skorts controversy looks to have reached its conclusion after delegates at the Camogie Association Special Congress passed a motion to allow players to wear shorts by 98 per cent to 2 per cent.
Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:
- Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical decline, hurling at its most biblical, and the four distinct categories that leaders fall into.