Inside Politics The Irish Times

Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Harry McGee to look back at the week in politics. With our recent obsession on the local and European elections winding down, today we take a look at the week's Dáil debates and at the "guillotining through" of the huge piece of legislation that is the Planning Bill into its final stage. The panel also discuss whether Dáil vacancies arising as a result of TDs becoming MEPs will ever be filled in the lifetime of this Government. The panel also pick their Irish Times articles of the week.
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With some European seats still to be filled but the overall picture of these elections now fairly clear, Pat Leahy joins Hugh for a final episode of Election Daily to answer some outstanding questions. How did small parties including the Greens, the Social Democrats and Labour do in the end? And with counts dragging on, is it too easy for unserious candidates to get on the European ballot?
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Citizens of the EU used their votes in last week's elections to maintain centre-right control of the European Parliament, while shifting the overall makeup of the legislature a little further to the right.
Brussels correspondent Jack Power joins Hugh to explore how the EU parliament has just changed, whether the new right will be able to form a voting bloc, and what the new Parliament means for EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's hope's of a second term.
And Berlin correspondent Derek Scally looks at the success of formerly fringe parties like the far-right AfD in Germany's European election. Could the taboo of far-right involvement in German national governance be nearing an end?

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Hugh Linehan is joined by Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn on day four of the count.
Only a handful of seats remain unfilled in the local elections with Fianna Fáil slightly ahead of Fine Gael for the majority of seats. 
Sinn Féin now has 100 seats which is an improvement on its disastrous 2019 election, however Jennifer Bray has reported on the growing unease within the party over Mary Lou McDonald’s leadership after their poor election results. 
The Dublin count is nearing its moment of truth with Barry Andrews and Regina Doherty looking comfortably in, and the final two seats still to play for. 
The team discuss the latest results, the possibility of an autumn election and they answer some listener questions. 
Minutes after recording the podcast, it was announced that outgoing MEP Clare Daly was eliminated following the 17th count of votes in the Dublin constituency.

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Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss the latest developments:
It is day three of the local and European election count and seats in all four MEP constituencies are still in play. In Dublin, much will depend on where votes from soon-to-be-eliminated candidates end up. Will Independent Ireland's Niall Boylan be able to capitalise, or will Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan fare better?
There is no shortage of analysis of Sinn Féin's disappointing election and what it means. Fintan O'Toole thinks the era of the party acting as a buffer against right wing politics is over.
Meanwhile many other EU member states are experiencing a surge in support for far-right parties and candidates, but not enough to displace the centrist coalition from control of the European Parliament.


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As the count continues on this busy election weekend, it is delight for Taoiseach Simon Harris and Fine Gael as the local election picture becomes clearer, but the final results, particularly in the European contest, won’t be known for several more days.
The Taoiseach had a pep in his step as he entered the count centre at the RDS today. Speaking to Inside Politics podcast host Hugh Linehan, he explained that while there is no “transfer pact” among government parties, he thinks voters believe “Government is doing an okay job, and are transferring amongst parties”, something which will inform the election results.
“That the Government will do its full term is important and I look forward to continuing that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the volatility of the Sinn Féin vote caught Mary Lou McDonald by surprise. While there is no denying that the going has not been great for them so far, could total disaster be averted if the party make modest gains in some local election constituencies?
And what of the Green Party? It will be a real challenge for them to hold on to their MEPs, and it also looks as though there have been significant losses at local level.
Hugh Linehan is joined by Jack-Horgan Jones, Harry McGee and Taoiseach Simon Harris (briefly) on the Inside Politics Election Daily podcast as we get a clearer picture from count centres around the country.

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