The Week in Politics
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''The Week in Politics'' is an
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
news and current affairs programme broadcast on
RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
and the RTÉ News channel. It is presented by Áine Lawlor, occasionally by Sharon Ní Bheoláin or Paul Cunningham. In its original format in 1996 it was hosted by Caroline Erskine and Seán Duignan. The programme reflects on the political week, with interviews and discussions. The majority of guests are politicians who are Teachtaí Dála or Irish Senators. The programme is broadcast live at noon on Sunday and is repeated throughout the day on the RTÉ News channel and its traditional late night slot on
RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
. The programme moved from its late night slot to midday in January 2013. The programme went off the air for seven weeks in early 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. It returned at the end of April. Due to social distancing requirements, the majority of contributors then came on air from RTÉ regional studios or via video conferencing technology. Prior to COVID-19, contributors came to Studio 3 on the RTÉ campus in Donnybrook, Dublin. In March 2021 the programme underwent a complete visual and audio rebranding. ''The Week in Politics'' is edited by Joe Mag Raollaigh.


History of notable moments


Simon Harris interview

In October 2020, as cases of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
increased across Ireland, Level 3 restrictions were introduced in Dublin and some border counties. With health authorities advising more comprehensive nationwide measures be adopted, speculation and debate over what action the government would take intensified. On 18 October,
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Irish: ''An tAire Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta'') is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the ...
Simon Harris went on the programme and said the government would act the following day. He said the action they would take would be nationwide and decisive. The comments were widely quoted in most national broadcast, print and online media outlets. They were viewed on ''The Week in Politics''' Twitter account 126,000 times. The following day on 19 October, Taoiseach
Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...
announced that the entire country would move to Level 5 restrictions for a period of six weeks.


Barry Cowen interview

On 5 July 2020, Barry Cowen, the then-
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An tAire Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Historically, the agriculture portfol ...
in the new three-party ruling coalition went on the programme to apologise for a drink driving incident from four years earlier. In an extensive interview with presenter Áine Lawlor, he outlined the circumstances of the incident. He said it was a stupid mistake he was very much regretted. Controversy over the incident continued over the following days and culminated in the Minister's sacking nine days later by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.


Child abuse compensation

Pat Carey Pat Carey (born 9 November 1947) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs from 201 ...
, the government Chief Whip, used the show to call for changes to the compensation scheme for victims of child abuse following the revelations contained within the
Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...
.


Seanad controversy

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
by-election candidate, George Lee caused controversy in May 2009 when he called for the abolition of
Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
on ''The Week in Politics'' after hearing that the senators only sat for forty days and cancelled one session to pursue a round of
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
. Lee is a former employee of RTÉ, having served as their chief economics editor for years before announcing his decision to seek election. The '' Irish Independent'' suggested Lee displayed "a lack of basic political knowledge" as Dáil Éireann sits for just one extra day. Lee called the controversial golf session "an absolute outrage" on the show and, when prompted further on his views, said: "I really couldn't be bothered if they he senatorswere shut down, it's a disgrace". Members of his own party were said to be "furious" at Lee's remarks, with one unnamed senator saying it was an "attack... born out of ignorance... does he want to close down the Dáil, too?". Maurice Cummins described the Seanad as the "whipping boy" of Irish politics and Frances Fitzgerald asked Lee to read over the party's policy on the matter.


Bertie Ahern's kitchen cupboardgate

When former
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
hid in a kitchen cupboard for a television advertisement in 2010, opposition parties used the show to describe the skit as "terrible" for the country.


Pat Rabbitte's admission

In 2012, host
Sean O'Rourke Sean O'Rourke (born 22 May 1955) is an Irish journalist and broadcaster who works for the Irish public broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). From September 2013 until his retirement in May 2020, he presented the ''Today with Seán O'Ro ...
discussed broken promises with Labour Party Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Pat Rabbitte Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 19 ...
. During the discussion, with the minister being asked if he had broken any campaign promises, Rabbitte said, "Isn't that what you tend to do during an election?"


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Week in Politics, The 2006 Irish television series debuts 2000s in Irish politics 2010s in Irish politics 2010s Irish television series Irish television news shows RTÉ News and Current Affairs RTÉ original programming