School SNA row teaches Government a valuable lesson

Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

· The sharp criticism that greeted a review of allocation of special needs assistants in schools around the country prompted a hasty retreat by Government. The review has now been paused which should buy the Government some time to soothe tensions.

· The Government are yet to act on their own voiced concerns around under-16s using social media. The problems arising from children using these platforms has been thoroughly diagnosed, but what will actually be put in place to address them?

· Ireland’s only directly-elected mayor, Limerick mayor John Moran, is finding it difficult to achieve what he has set out to do in his role, and has questioned whether there is a strategy in place to “create sufficient pressure that I might simply walk away”.

· The International Protection Bill is quickly working its way through the Dáil to be in place by June, in time for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum which will take effect then.

· And splashed across every front page on the planet this week was former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who had been detained by police on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

· A revolt against Microsoft in a small German state (which Hugh fully supports), doyen of the Irish business world Michael Smurfit, and the street sweepers who keep Dhaka in Bangladesh ticking over.

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