Thursday and Friday are the big days for the European Council, as the UK and EU seek to strike a trade deal.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in September that he saw little point talking through autumn, with his position being that if there was a deal to be done it would emerge by this week’s summit.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern joined Kieran on Thursday's edition of The Hard Shoulder to discuss where he sees the talks going.