As summer lies just days away, the Sunday Show's panel sat down to discuss all the biggest stories from today's papers.
Joining Shane Coleman were Herland and Indpeendent journalist Sinead Ryan and columnist Ian O'Doherty.
All panelists made their Ard-fheis fatigue known from the outset, with Ryan going as far to say she'd prefer "to stick nails in [her] eyes" than watch Micheál Martin's speech. However, Doherty disagreed with her that RTÉ should avoid broadcasting the parties' "same old rhetoric," saying that seeing the insides of the party is a valuable if disheartening public service - "political equivalent of sausages being made."
Moving to the Same-sex Marriage Referendum, all were agreed that they Yes side's majority of 72 per cent was 'soft,' and that the result would be much closer. O'Doherty suggested the Yes campaign peaked too soon, and now the public is growing weary of its "sanctimony and sense of moral superiority."
A Niamh Lyons article in the Times calls for more voices from the moderate No side, and Ryan agreed that we should hear more from moderates and and less from "extreme" characters like Breda O'Brien.
O'Doherty said most No voters will realise "they're not the bigots... they're being described as."
The Sunday Business Post had a lengthy interview with former IRBC boss Mike Aynsley, in which he set out his side of the Siteserv issue and offered some insights into decisions made behind the scenes. The most interesting, as Ryan pointed out, was that the EU had pressured a fire-sale of loans worth considerably more than what was received.
She asked whether Nama could get the best value from sales if it appeared to be rushing to deals, though Coleman said it might be because the government wants rid of it as soon as possible.
An article by Thomas Molloy int he Sunday Independent encouraged young people to ignore private healthcare, praiseing the good but flawed work done in the public service. However Ryan said there is an understandable need for insurers to get young people on board - as without the relatively fit and healthy the system does not work.
O'Doherty was annoyed by the idea that anyone would be denied healthcare they could afford to pay for, and was not swayed by Coleman's argument that queue-skipping hurts the less well-off.
Ryan said that polls had shown that those able to afford high premiums had been most against need-based prioritisation in the health system, and held that Leo Varadkar was "at least being honest" when he encouraged private insurance "because he knows [the public system] doesn't work."
