Main Points <\/p>\n
Key Reads <\/p>\n
Jack White – 17 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Galway West byelection an opportunity to send Government a \u2018loud message\u2019, McDonald says<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9\u00edn leader Mary Lou McDonald says Friday\u2019s byelection in Galway is an opportunity to send Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael a \u201cloud message\u201d that \u201cenough is enough\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for action to cut the cost of living and make life affordable,\u201d she said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
\nWorking people who play by the rules and do everything right are being failed. This by-election is a big opportunity to send Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael a loud message – enough is enough! It\u2019s time for action to cut the cost of living and make life affordable. <\/p>\n
On Friday, use your\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Z70wE3Gclp<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The findings of an Irish Times\/TG4 opinion poll earlier this month on first-preference votes showed Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s candidate in Galway West, Mark Lohan, at 7 per cent.<\/p>\n
Fine Gael\u2019s Se\u00e1n Kyne was leading at 17 per cent. He was followed by Independent Ireland\u2019s Noel Thomas (16 per cent) and Labour\u2019s Helen Ogbu (12 per cent).<\/p>\n
Jack White – 42 minutes ago<\/p>\n
\u2018A lot of hurt\u2019 in RT\u00c9 after latest pay controversy, Minister for Media says<\/p>\n
In advance of seeking Cabinet approval for new legislation that would bring RT\u00c9 under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Minister for Media Patrick O\u2019Donovan said there cannot be a \u201crelationship built on revelation\u201d with the broadcaster.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been down this road before, and here we are again,\u201d he said, after RT\u00c9 last week confirmed that Derek Mooney\u2019s pay was incorrectly listed.<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9 said it had decided to revise its top 10 highest-earning presenters for 2024 to include Derek Mooney, who is also a producer, after it \u201creconsidered what constitutes a presenter\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of hurt in the organisation because people thought this is the end of it, and clearly it is not,\u201d O\u2019Donovan said.<\/p>\n
Also speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris said there appeared to be a \u201cbit of an upstairs-downstairs situation going on in RT\u00c9, that certain producers can be over here, and that\u2019s not fair\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, there\u2019s a fairness issue here, there\u2019s a transparency issue here, and then there\u2019s just an accuracy issue here, fairness, transparency, and accuracy. And we need all three of them to ensure we don\u2019t have Groundhog Day.\u201d – PA<\/p>\n
As the byelection campaigns enter their final days, the Government is to move today to have RT\u00c9\u2019s finances audited by the State\u2019s spending watchdog.<\/p>\n
It will mean the Comptroller and Auditor General will assume responsibility for auditing RT\u00c9\u2019s account. Until now, the broadcaster has had its accounts privately audited.<\/p>\n
The move will also allow the office to carry out value-for-money examinations to ensure that the broadcaster is making best use of taxpayers\u2019 money.<\/p>\n
Under the new arrangement, the D\u00e1il\u2019s public spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee, will have the power to hold public meetings examining RT\u00c9\u2019s accounts and spending.<\/p>\n
Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Dissatisfaction with Government in Galway West<\/p>\n
Like Dublin Central, there is an anti-Government mood on the ground in Galway West.<\/p>\n
In an Irish Times\/TG4 opinion poll in the constituency earlier this month, just 20 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the Government\u2019s handling of the fuel crisis, while two-thirds of voters (67 per cent) said they were dissatisfied.<\/p>\n
More than a third (35 per cent) of respondents said they were impacted by Galway\u2019s housing shortage.<\/p>\n
Among them, 26 per cent said rents were too high, 23 per cent pointed to a lack of rental accommodation and 15 per cent said there was a lack of housing to buy.<\/p>\n
Asked about the most important issue for Galway<\/a> for them, the top choice among those polled was \u201croads\u201d, including the plans for a bypass for the city, on 27 per cent, followed by housing (26 per cent), the cost of living (11 per cent) and public transport (8 per cent).<\/p>\n
Harry McGee breaks down the key issues facing young voters in Galway West.
\nVideo: Alyson Henry Strong appetite for change in Dublin Central<\/p>\nPolling for The Irish Times and TG4 earlier this month showed a strong appetite for change in the Dublin Central constituency.<\/p>\n
Over half of all respondents (53 per cent) said they felt it was time for \u201cradical change\u201d in the way the country is run, while a further 39 per cent were in favour of \u201cmoderate change\u201d.<\/p>\n
There was dissatisfaction with the Government, with almost three-quarters of voters (72 per cent) saying they were dissatisfied with the handling of the fuel crisis.<\/p>\n
The cost of living was the most important issue for the constituency, cited by a third (33 per cent). This was followed by house prices (24 per cent), immigration (12 per cent) and the cost of renting (11 per cent).<\/p>\n
According to the same poll by Ipsos B&A, Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s Janice Boylan was leading the race with 21 per cent of first-preference votes.<\/p>\n
She was followed closely by Social Democrats candidate Daniel Ennis (18 per cent) and veteran criminal Gerry Hutch (14 per cent), who is running as an Independent candidate.<\/p>\n
Jack Horgan Jones takes a closer look at what the numbers in the TG4\/Irish Times poll mean for the upcoming byelection in Dublin Central. Video: Bryan O’Brien Kyne holds the slimmest of leads in Galway West<\/p>\n
Political Correspondent Harry McGee joined Fine Gael\u2019s Se\u00e1n Kyne on a canvass to Inis O\u00edrr last week.<\/p>\n
Fine Gael candidate in the Galway West byelection, Se\u00e1n Kyne, travelled to Inis O\u00edrr to canvass islanders for votes. Video: Enda O’Dowd <\/p>\n
Kyne holds the slimmest of leads over Independent Ireland rival Noel Thomas in the Galway West byelection campaign, according to an Irish Times\/TG4 opinion poll in the constituency earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The findings of the poll on first-preference votes show Kyne at 17 per cent followed by Thomas on 16 per cent and Labour\u2019s Helen Ogbu on 12 per cent.<\/p>\n
Frustrations in Dublin Central Sinn F\u00e9in heartland<\/p>\n
Political Correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones was out and about with Sinn F\u00e9in and Fine Gael canvassers<\/a> last week, and recalled the adage from former taoiseach and Dublin Central TD Bertie Ahern who used to tell his charges it was best to campaign with the sun on your back.<\/p>\n
The teams from Sinn F\u00e9in and Fine Gael that fanned out across different parts of the constituency midweek enjoyed a bit of fine weather \u2013 although both had to contend with squalling rain and cold winds.<\/p>\n
In Cabra, more recent words from Ahern were dominating headlines after the former taoiseach\u2019s comments on immigration were covertly recorded during a canvass by Fianna F\u00e1il.<\/p>\n