Upfront with Katie Hannon

Galwayguy35 · 30-01-2023 9:45pm #1

Starting tonight, supposed to be something like Questions and Answers where members of the audience put questions to the panel.

Hopefully it will be a bit better than the complete mess Claire Byrne Live was for the last few years.

Atlantic Dawn · 30-01-2023 11:45pm

Michael McDowell coming to the heart of the problem. No documentation arriving here, fook off.

dominatinMC · 30-01-2023 11:48pm

Bottom line so far - we can't control immigration numbers as long as we're in the EU. This is becoming very very divisive a la Brexit.

FrancieBrady · 30-01-2023 11:52pm

I like the format...long overdue.

Atlantic Dawn · 30-01-2023 11:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180083#Comment_120180083

Yes they need to start thinking outside to box to stay within the rules, we should be able to change the Visa process for passport holders from non EU/EEA countries to be only allowed board a plane if they have a pre-approved visa, much like the ESTA for US.

30-01-2023 11:57pm

It reminds me of Questions & Answers from John Bowman’s time.

30-01-2023 11:58pm

I like this guy, he articulates it well.

dominatinMC · 31-01-2023 12:00am

Your man had them well rattled! Fair play to him, and fair play to Katie for letting him speak

Comhrá · 31-01-2023 12:01am

Most stimulating current affairs programme from RTE in a long time. Hope it holds up. Katie Hannon doing well.

Atlantic Dawn · 31-01-2023 12:01am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180116#Comment_120180116

Yes it's better having audience involved but the audience should be double that size to give a better mix of views, Question Time on BBC would have 200 or so each week.

Atlantic Dawn · 31-01-2023 12:02am

Michael McDowell talking far too much sense.

dominatinMC · 31-01-2023 12:03am

O'Carroll McNeil is way out of her depth here. Scribbling away on a notepad like a child in class.

McDowell is spot on in what he's saying. Has all the facts and stats

FrancieBrady · 31-01-2023 12:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180128#Comment_120180128

It's actually a tiny audience that seems handpicked.

yerwanthere123 · 31-01-2023 12:04am

Wow some tough questions actually allowed to be asked, never thought I'd see this on RTÉ.

screamer · 31-01-2023 12:04am

McDowell nail on the head there, 20% of refugees from Georgia. 14% from Albania, places that have free access to Ireland already, and the politicians have no interest in addressing this.

31-01-2023 12:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180127#Comment_120180127

Excellent, harks back to olden days of debate!

Atlantic Dawn · 31-01-2023 12:08am

Katie off for a smoke or ten.

take everything · 31-01-2023 12:12am

Hannon finds it hard to hide her bias on this issue. She hasn't impressed me in her ability to moderate a debate.

Comhrá · 31-01-2023 12:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180171#Comment_120180171

Fair play to her. She's running a great show so far. She's exceeding my expectations.

FrancieBrady · 31-01-2023 12:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180142#Comment_120180142

You are doing a dis-service to John Bowman who ran a show we didn't know was great until it was gone.

Larbre34 · 31-01-2023 12:13am

Its basically Questions and Answers rebooted, which was cancelled in 2009.

Only taken the RTÉ 14 years to cop on that there was nothing wrong with the format in the first feckin place. And yet the BBC have continued Question Time all down the years and its as popular as ever.

Katie is doing a great job, as you would expect, because she is one of the best true journalists in the place.

Yer lad Brian from Lismore did himself no favours with that diatribe, he sounded mental.

FrancieBrady · 31-01-2023 12:17am

One crit..she is in too much of a hurry. Too many topics to get through.

bigroad · 31-01-2023 12:19am

I can't hear this,but it's great to read some of you like this new show.

Comhrá · 31-01-2023 12:20am

Someone mentioned John Bowman. I'm old enough to barely remember that we had some excellent presenters and debates in the 1960s and 70s.

Standards in broadcasting and discourse have greatly diminished in the interim, imho.

Atlantic Dawn · 31-01-2023 12:22am

I can't understand what the housing referendum will ask or accomplish...will the wording be a simple 'Can I have a house provided to me Yes/No?'

Surely there should be a referendum on commercial ownership of residential property or the taxation of such in the country instead to bring prices and demand down instead.

waterwelly · 31-01-2023 12:22am

Shinners going to solve all the problems as usual.

I hope they romp home so we can watch them make a balls of it.

markodaly · 31-01-2023 12:24am

The show is a mess.

Too rushed, Hannon doesn't have control, and its the usual spiel of the SF lads shouting and roaring as if it will solve problems.

31-01-2023 12:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180232#Comment_120180232

Yes any referendum should include a clause such that only x percentage of new builds shall be in commercial ownership, and that a commercial entity should apply for planning permission to be in ownership of such.

NIMAN · 31-01-2023 12:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180147#Comment_120180147

Shhhh....we aren't allowed to mention these statistics, or if you do you're a racist , right wing nutter.

Atlantic Dawn · 31-01-2023 12:31am

Michael McDowell losing the school playground vote 😂

FrancieBrady · 31-01-2023 12:33am

With the time available it would have been better as a single issue programme. But Katie did ok...will tune in again.

Denny61 · 31-01-2023 12:37am

It's totally drivel.just an old format rehashed...audience cherry picked as well as panel.. nothing new here ..its just what the public are thinking anyway....move on ..waste of taxpayers money..anyone who finds this stimulating has never watched much political debate

31-01-2023 12:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180240#Comment_120180240

Yeah it is too rushed, maybe could do with being a bit longer. But it’s more lively than anything RTE has hosted any time recently.

31-01-2023 12:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180128#Comment_120180128

Oh Jaysus they’d be afraid of the heckling 😂

31-01-2023 12:42am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180225#Comment_120180225

We had a slew of good presenters who could chair debate very well. Eg Brian Farrell. Met him at the vets bringing his cat in not long before he was due to present Today Tonight, I think it was. The vet was delayed by a road accident case, and Brian was in a panic to get cat home and then into RTE. We largely have the very opposite type of broadcasters now.

Atlantic Dawn · 31-01-2023 12:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180306#Comment_120180306

With Question Time they record it at 8pm and tour the country with it for different mix of guests. I don't know why RTE go live with it at 10.30pm, has to limit availability of potential guests who have work the next morning.

jmcc · 31-01-2023 12:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180271#Comment_120180271

There's an Orwell quote that goes "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." Who'd have thought it would be McDowell doing it? He does seem to have upset the narrative being pushed by FFG. That chap from Lismore was good too.

Regards...jmcc

Clon63 · 31-01-2023 12:57am

Big imorovement overall. Both main topics were interesting and could have gone on for longer. Agree that its like Questions and Answers that I just about remember. The panel was a good mix. McDowell was good on the international protection/ecinomic migrant issue.

Audience seemed very hand picked though. The female of the couple who spoke about trying to buy a house annoyed me. She said that there were onlyl 10 houses in their price range in Dublin. She said they were both working as hard as they could so assume they would be on 40k each - about average wage iirc. That means they would get 280k mortgage and with 20k deposit could afford a house for 300k easy enough. I did tbe search on myhime.ie and there are almist 900 homes in Dublin fir 300k or less - not 10 like sge said Thet may not be her first ir 850th choice but there are some available. Why undermine your case like that? Lucky they have Mom's apartment!!

Total sympathy with the single lady abd the renterd who are totally priced out.

washman3 · 31-01-2023 1:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180237#Comment_120180237

Will you still be laughing though when the taxpayer will have to foot the bill...??

NIMAN · 31-01-2023 1:42am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180370#Comment_120180370

Maybe the 10 available homes were within walking distance to mammy or something?

thesandeman · 31-01-2023 5:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180324#Comment_120180324

Not really as most of the guests will probably be politicians.

Fred Cryton · 31-01-2023 10:18am

God how i miss the PD's...McDowell spot on there with the 20% from Georgia and 14% from Albania - clearly and obviously economic migrants taking advantage of the stupid Irish and their ridiculous asylum system.

We badly need a moderate proper centre-right common sense party that simply addresses basic rule of law issues like this instead of burying head in the sand and parroting the woke line.

FrancieBrady · 31-01-2023 10:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180929#Comment_120180929

Yeh, let's bring back a party whose policies and shoring up of FF led to us going off a cliff. Can't wait.

Patrick2010 · 31-01-2023 11:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120180083#Comment_120180083

Ah not that crap again, we can opt out.

https://ireland.representation.ec.europa.eu/news-and-events/news/ireland-voluntarily-agrees-take-part-eu-schemes-resettle-refugees-2021-02-28_en

Factsheet28 February 2021

Ireland's participation in EU schemes to relocate and resettle refugees

Ireland voluntarily agreed to fully participate in the EU relocation and resettlement schemes set up in response to the migrant crisis that peaked in 2015.

The EU has never forced Ireland to take in refugees or immigrants.

In fact, Ireland has no obligation to take in refugees as, along with Denmark, it has an opt-in or opt-out clause on justice and immigration measures under the Lisbon Treaty.

However, Ireland voluntarily agreed to fully participate in the EU relocation and resettlement schemes set up in response to the migrant crisis that peaked in 2015.

hawley · 31-01-2023 11:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120181153#Comment_120181153

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic broke European law when they failed to give refuge to asylum seekers arriving in southern Europe, often having fled war in Syria and Iraq, the EU’s top court has ruled.

The three central European countries now face possible fines for refusing to take a share of refugees, after EU leaders forced through mandatory quotas to relocate up to 160,000 asylum seekers at the height of the 2015 migration crisis.

Issuing its judgment on Thursday, the European court of justice said the three member states “had failed to fulfil their obligations under European Union law”. The Czech Republic took in just 12 asylum seekers, while Hungary and Poland refused to take a single person.

The court rejected the legal argument that Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic were entitled to disregard EU law in order to maintain public safety, law and order. None of the countries had proved it was necessary to invoke that opt-out clause in the EU treaties, the court concluded.

The European commission is now entitled to embark on legal action to impose fines on the three member states.

The decision to impose mandatory quotas of asylum seekers was taken in the teeth of fierce opposition from Hungary and the Czech Republic. After the nationalist Law and Justice party was elected in October 2015, Poland joined its neighbours in opposing the scheme.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/law/2020/apr/02/eu-court-rules-three-countries-czech-republic-hungary-poland-broke-law-over-refugee-quotas

If the EU always allow member states to do as they like as regards refugees, why did the EC take this case?

farmingquestion · 31-01-2023 11:41am

The show is far too rushed, similar to what Claire Byrnes was. What was the actual need to bring another topic (Miggeldys) homework comments onto the show when people were already rushed and told hurry up when asking their question/comment.

Quite worrying when they all said there is no way we can put a cap or limit on refugees. We are a country of 5m. There are hundreds of millions of people in awful conditions in the world...and we have no way of stopping them coming here if they wanted? 1m people could come here next year and we have no say in that? Meanwhile, 120 people can block a housing development.

Where is this country headed? What does this country look like in 5 years with this insane amount of asylum seekers which is going to grow and grow as more and more of them come here and let everyone else know how soft a touch Ireland is.

Carroll McNeill defending the passport ripper uppers. Why? Why defend those scammers?

Also I really wish someone would challenge this whole "far right" thing that's happening in the media. People can't stop the far right attaching themselves to protests or causes. Michael McDowell called out economic migrants last night...the far right would agree with him. Does that mean Michael McDowell should no longer hold that view?

The same people in the far right now, were also part of the anti water charge protests. But I don't remember the media calling the protests far right protests. It's entirely acceptable for people to be against economic migrants posing as asylum seekers, it's entirely fine for people to be against the level of Georgians and Albanians coming here as asylum seekers, it's entirely acceptable for people to be against the level of refugees we are taking as we clearly don't have the space or services for them! We can't stop the far right attaching to that and being extremists.

No one calls housing protests far left, where you have communists wanting to end capitalism and think they should all get free houses.

Patrick2010 · 31-01-2023 11:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120181313#Comment_120181313

Because unlike Ireland they didn't have a derogation plus unlike Ireland they didn't want to take any.

"Issuing its judgment on Thursday, the European court of justice said the three member states “had failed to fulfil their obligations under European Union law”. The Czech Republic took in just 12 asylum seekers, while Hungary and Poland refused to take a single person."

farmingquestion · 31-01-2023 12:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120181313#Comment_120181313

How much was the fine?

Government go on about a moral obligation but what about the moral obligation to its own citizens?

I don't remember the government shipping covid vaccines out to the poor countries who had none while young and healthy people here were getting their 2nd and 3rd vaccines?