Brendan Howlin leaves the jungle

Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look at the week in politics:

• If recent years are anything to go by, most Budget 2024 measures will have been leaked by next Tuesday. The fact they haven’t been leaked yet shows how difficult negotiations are this year, with Ministers in a last-ditch contest for cash to spend on their departments and pet projects.
• Labour TD for Wexford Brendan Howlin announced he will retire at the next election. The former party leader and minister for public expenditure gave Cormac McQuinn his parting views on his own career, including his role in post-crash austerity, and on the vitriolic state of today’s politics, calling social media ‘a jungle in essence’.
• UK Labour leader Keir Starmer cast doubt on the prospect of a vote on reunification, should he succeed in becoming Prime Minister.

Plus our panellists pick their favourite Irish Times journalism from this week:

• Finn McRedmond isn’t into a proposed National Women’s Museum.
• Martin Wall on the dramatic ouster of Kevin McCarthy.
• Mark Paul on Rishi Sunak’ attempt to portray himself as a change-maker after his party’s 13-year reign.