
This Week
175 episodes — Page 3 of 4

Trump roils global trade again with more tariffs
After a US Supreme Court ruling struck down previous tariffs, Donald Trump has announced new 15% tariffs on imported goods. Laura Noonan from Bloomberg News explains the new measures.

Further talks to take place over Ukraine-Russia conflict this week
Further US-brokered talks aimed at ending Russia's war on Ukraine are due to take place in Geneva next week, after previous talks in Abu Dhabi. Siobhan O'Grady, Ukraine Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, outlines the state of play ahead of the meetings.

Master at the Rotunda on the rejection of a critical-care wing for the hospital
A planned €100m critical-care wing for Dublin's Rotunda Maternity Hospital was rejected by An Coimisiún Pleanála this week. Sean Daly, Master at the Rotunda, discusses the current situation at the hospital.

Taoiseach names Freddie Scappaticci as former British agent Stakeknife
During statements on the Kenova Inquiry, Taoiseach Micheál Martin named Freddie Scappaticci as the former British army agent - nicknamed Stakeknife. Deirdre Heenan, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Ulster speaks to This Week.

Leader Interviews: Simon Harris of Fine Gael
In the latest of our interviews with the leaders of parties in the Dáil, we're joined by Simon Harris, Tánaiste and leader of Fine Gael.

US-Iran Tensions
Iran and the United States are due to hold more indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear capacity after what were described as positive discussions in Oman on Friday. For more on this Paul is joined by Ghoncheh Habibiazad of BBC News Persian

XL Bully Ban
We've just passed the one-year anniversary of the ban on the XL Bully dog in Ireland. Eithne Dodd has this report.

Dubliner Colm Byrne and the next Gaza Flotilla
The Global Sumud Flotilla announced this week that it's organising another sail to Gaza with the aim of delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory and helping to rebuild its infrastructure.

Washington Post starts massive layoffs, gutting sports and foreign coverage
The newspaper associated with breaking the Watergate scandal, and significantly contributed to US President Richard Nixon's resignation, was rocked to its core this week when management unveiled swinging cuts, including axing most of its foreign correspondents. Glenn Kessler joins Paul Cunningham for more.

Kenny Jacobs stands down as DAA CEO
The DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs stood down from his position this week, after reaching a High Court settlement with the airport's operator and receiving an undisclosed payment. For more on this we're joined by Arthur Beesley, Current Affairs Editor with the Irish Times.

Leader Interviews: Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats
In the latest of our interviews with leaders of parties in the Dáil, we're joined in studio presently by the leader of the Social Democrats, Holly Cairns.

Leader Interviews: Michael Collins of Independent Ireland
In the latest of our interviews with the leaders of parties in the Dáil, we're joined from our Cork studio by deputy Michael Collins who is leader of Independent Ireland.

Irish Red Cross administers grants to businesses and organisations hit by Storm Chandra
On Friday, the Government increased grants to small businesses from €20,000 to €100,000. In a new approach, hundreds of Red Cross volunteers have been knocking on doors alerting people impacted by flooding about their entitlements. Eithne Dodd reports from Enniscorthy with some of those volunteers.

Patrick Honohan on the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his nominee to become the next chief of the Federal Reserve is Kevin Warsh. We speak to Patrick Honohan, former Governor of the Irish Central Bank

Leader Interviews: Ruth Coppinger of People Before Profit - Solidarity
In the next of our interviews with leaders of the Dáil's political parties, we're joined in studio by People Before Profit - Solidarity's Ruth Coppinger.

Kurdish forces agree to integrate with Syrian state
Syria's government and Kurdish forces have reached a comprehensive agreement that includes the gradual integration of the Kurds' forces and administration into the central state. We talk to two Kurds in Ireland (Jude Bakar & Zhyan Phelan) and correspondent Jasper Mortimer.

One in Four on Pope Leo's meeting with Irish abuse survivor
Tomorrow, Pope Leo XIV will hold a private audience with abuse survivor David Ryan who featured in the RTÉ Radio documentary Blackrock Boys. We hear from Deidre Kenny of One in Four, who will accompany David on the trip.

Nurse shot in Minneapolis by ICE agents
Sean Murray, Irish Examiner, reports from Minneapolis where a protestor and US citizen, Alex Pretti, was tackled by masked ICE agents yesterday and then shot dead.

Taoiseach and Tánaiste attend the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration
An opinion poll suggests that one in 10 Irish people - aged between 18 and 29 - believe that the Holocaust is a “myth". We speak to Holocaust survivor Suzi Diamond and chair of Holocaust Education Ireland Tom O'Dowd

Leaders Interview: Ivana Bacik
Ivan Bacik, Labour Leader on how to handle Trump, the possibility of a United Left and the EU

As peace negotiations progress, Russia continues its offensive on Ukraine
After bombarding Ukraine's energy network for months, Russian airstrikes knocked out power for over a million people amid subzero temperatures. Emannuelle Chaze, journalist in Ukraine.

Six Irish people received Oscar nominations this week
This week, six Irish people received an Oscar nomination - Jessie Buckley, John Kelly, Richard Baneham, Maggie O’Farrell, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe. Two Irish film studios - Element Pictures and Wild Atlantic Pictures – saw their respective movies Bugonia and Blue Moon nominated. Eithne Dodd, RTÉ Reporter

Leaders Interview: Micheál Martin
Uachtaráin Fianna Fáil, an Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Trumps move on Greenland, Homelessness and Grok's AI.

Iran's crackdown appears to have crushed nationwide protests
BBC's Middle East Analyst, Sebastian Usher on the brutal crackdown by the authorities, which reportedly led to the death of thousands and has appeared to have crushed nationwide protests.

Emergency meeting of EU Ambassadors on Trump's threat of sanctions
Suzanne Lynch, Brussels Bureau Chief at Bloomberg and Professor John McHale - Head of Economics at the University of Galway give an outlook ahead of this afternoons meeting of EU Ambassadors. The meeting is to assess how to respond to Donald Trump's threat to sanction 8 European countries for getting in his way to take over Greenland.

Salt marshes are in decline all over the world and Ireland is no exception
Our reporter Eithne Dodd visited two salt marshes recently - in Cork and Dublin

Leaders: Peadar Tóibín
The beginning of each year is when this programme interviews the leaders of the political parties in the Dáil. In 2026, we're starting with the Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who joined Paul in studio today.

500+ university students caught cheating with AI
Over 500 students in higher education institutions were found to have used AI illegally in their graded coursework last year. The responses do not include some of the country's biggest universities including UCD, UCC, Maynooth and UL, meaning the figure is likely to be higher. RTÉ reporter Eithne Dodd told us what the findings entail.

Dáil returns from the Christmas Break
The Dáil returns on Tuesday following its lengthy Christmas break. We were joined in studio by Sandra Hurley, RTÉ's Political Reporter, to find out what it will mean for the Government and Opposition.

Greenland united in opposition to US takeover bid
US President Donald Trump declared bluntly this week: "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not." The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said this week the US "has no right to annex" Greenland.” Paul spoke to Pele Broberg, Greenland's Opposition leader, and a Foreign Minister in the last government.

New protests hit Iran as alarm grows over 'massacre'
Iran has been roiled by protests against rampant inflation and a slump in the currency. Dozens of protestors have reportedly been killed amid an ongoing government crackdown. We were joined by Roja Fazaeli who is Iranian and also Professor of Law and Islamic Studies at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in University of Galway.

European Parliament to weigh ratifying Mercosur deal
The European Parliament is to consider whether to ratify the controversial Mercosur trade deal between EU and South America. We discussed the matter with Jorgen Warborn of the centre-right European Peoples Party grouping backing the deal and Sinn Féin's Agriculture spokesperson Martin Kenny, who stands in opposition to it.

Will the government finally hit its housing targets in 2026?
Will the Government finally hit them, or will they be missed again? It's the major political question yet again this forthcoming year. We hear from Conor O'Connell, Director of Housing and Planning at the Construction Industry Federation.

Irishman plays leading role in constructing the world's largest ever telescope
Work is nearly complete on the aptly named 'Extremely Large Telescope' high up in the Andes Mountains in Chile. Tom Ray, Professor of Astrophysics at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and President of the European Southern Observatory, leads the project.

2025 'a devastating' year on Irish roads as 190 people killed
2025 has been described as a "devastating" year on Irish roads, as concern has been expressed about the number of fatalities recorded. This Week speaks to the Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety, Sean Canney.

Trump says US will run Venezuela after Maduro seized
Venezuela's toppled leader Nicolas Maduro is in a New York detention centre after an audacious raid to capture him by the United States. We hear from Venezuelans in Ireland; journalist Catherine Ellis; our Global Security Reporter Yvonne Murray; Caracas-based freelance journalist Gabriela Mesone Roja; and UCD's Assistant Professor Ed Burke.

The State Papers: a glimpse at what was happening in the corridors of power decades ago
Our reporter Fiachra O’Cionnaith has been trawling through the newly declassified documents.

The view from Ukraine, where strikes continue
Siobhan O'Grady, the Washington Post's Ukraine bureau chief in Kyiv

Is peace really on the cards in Ukraine?
Today US President Donald Trump will meet President Volodymr Zelenskyi in Florida to discuss a newly refined 20-point plan covering security guarantees, territory in the Donbas, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Niall Stanage from the Hill in Washington explains what he expects from today's meeting.

Looking ahead at 2026 in politics
To look ahead at the politics of the coming year, we’re joined by Gerard Howlin, a former Fianna Fáil government advisor and now political commentator and Irish Times columnist.

French icon Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91
French actress, singer and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot had died aged 91.

Global warming has consequences for everyone on the planet
The target, agreed by world leaders in 2015, to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is now impossible, according to scientists. The consequences are global, and some of those consequences have already been seen in Ireland over the past year.

Gaza diary: Ghada Ashour
Earlier this year, 52 Palestinian scholarship students arrived here to begin their studies at Irish universities, after they were evacuated from Gaza. Among them was Ghada Ashour, who documented her struggle to pursue her studies, while living in a displacement camp. She has now started her Master’s at DCU.

Taoiseach visits Lebanon peacekeeping troops after recent attack
Taoiseach Michael Martin has been visiting Irish peacekeeping troops this weekend in Lebanon. Justin McCarthy reports from Camp Shamrock in Southern Lebanon where he has been speaking to Ltt Col Mark Lennon.

Santa makes an early stop to bring gifts to homeless children
There will be a record number of children in homelessness this Christmas in Ireland. For the kids living in a Focus Ireland-run centre in Finglas, Santa arrived a little early to give these homeless children the gift of a book. Eithne Dodd reports.

Memorial event held at Bondi Beach one week after mass shooting
In Australia, one week on from the attacks in which 15 people were killed, a national day of reflection was held. Phil Mercer, Sydney-based journalist, gives us the latest.

Flu cases continue to rise with a possible surge over Christmas
Last week saw over 3,200 recorded cases of flu with some hospitals introducing visitor restrictions to restrict the spread. We hear from Dr. Sean Underwood, consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital.

High Court dismisses challenges on 'super junior' ministers
This week, two Opposition TDs lost their High Court challenge to the attendance of junior ministers at Cabinet meetings. James McDermott, barrister and lecturer at UCD's Sutherland School of Law, goes through the case for us.

Crowds gather to celebrate Winter Solstice at Newgrange
Around 2,000 people have gathered at Newgrange to celebrate the Winter Solstice. The ancient passage tomb is aligned for the rising sun on the shortest day of the year to shine into the inner chamber. Colman O'Sullivan reports.

The effects of the foster care shortage on vulnerable children
With more than 5,000 children in the care of the state, there is a huge reliance on foster care. A shortage of foster carers remains a continuous problem however. We are joined by the Chief Executive of the Irish Foster Care Association, Corrinne Hasson.