Why is Ireland So Woke?
Show notes
Why is Ireland so Woke? would Fine Gael moving to the centre-right actually change anything?
Former Fine Gael councillor and dentist Keith Redmond joins Paul Treyvaud, Elaine Mullally and Nick Delehanty for a lively debate about Simon Harris, the direction of Irish politics and the growing role of the State.
Keith and Elaine clash over public-sector strikes: do frontline workers deserve better pay, or should reform come before another across-the-board increase? The panel also discusses pressure on small businesses, media coverage of crimes involving asylum seekers, and demands for clearer crime statistics.
Plus: Community Notes and the fact-checkers, Simon Harris’s call for scrutiny of public spending, funding for advocacy NGOs, and what happened to Benefacts—the organisation that tracked Ireland’s nonprofit sector.
Finally, the panel challenges the framing of the “manosphere” as a public-health issue, debates Mary McAleese’s comments on infant baptism, and asks whether a smaller State could deliver better outcomes.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome and last week’s audience milestone
01:08 Introducing guest Keith Redmond
01:45 Simon Harris under pressure: polls and party tensions
08:40 Fine Gael’s centre-right motion: real change or political spin?
14:08 Leadership, paternity leave and political accountability
16:40 Public-sector strikes: the case for better pay
18:39 Keith pushes back: spending, staffing and affordability
21:39 Small businesses, employment costs and the tax burden
24:54 Frontline workers versus across-the-board pay rises
28:08 Tralee, IPAS and changing media coverage
34:01 The debate over crime statistics and country of origin
39:25 Community Notes, fact-checkers and Harris’s spending pledge
42:53 NGO funding, political advisers and accountability
49:45 What happened to Benefacts—and could it return?
51:58 The manosphere: public-health issue or an attack on masculinity?
59:40 Anakin Skywalker and young men online
1:00:46 Elaine’s Poland mini-podcast
1:01:10 Mary McAleese, baptism and parents’ rights
1:04:47 Nick’s closing argument for a smaller State
1:05:37 Final thoughts and farewell
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