Sinn Féin and Government on completely different timetables for Irish unity

Ellen Coyne and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:·       Sinn Féin’s Planning for Constitutional Change Bill, which obliges the Government to draft and publish a Green Paper on unification within 18 months, failed to win support from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, or independents.  ·       All Government TDs also voted against a PBP Bill to ban hare coursing. The Bill presented an issue where the party whip could have been spared in favour of a free vote, given the public’s clear support to outlaw the practice. The Bill was overwhelmingly defeated by 125 votes to 24. ·       And this week saw Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and far-right French leader Marine Le Pen take the biggest political gambles of their respective careers.Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:·       Graham Platner crashes and burns, dwindling swag bags for visiting journalists, and the derelict ‘Carlton’ site on O’Connell Street is snapped up by MetroLink.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.