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Ex-RTE star potential presidential candidate amid ‘no comment' nod & joint ballot bid with election date to be finalised

Ex-RTE star potential presidential candidate amid ‘no comment' nod & joint ballot bid with election date to be finalised

The Irish Sun8 hours ago
LEADERS of opposition parties are due to meet next week to finalise a decision on whether to run a joint candidate in the Presidential election – with former RTE star Joe Duffy not being ruled out as an option.
It comes as
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Murphy has revealed that opposition leaders are planning to hold further talks next week
Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved
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Michael D Higgins will be replaced as president
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
An election to replace
However, political parties have been holding back on their candidate selection processes as they fear a lengthy election campaign could get dirty.
Opposition parties previously met to discuss the possibility of joining behind one candidate but there has been no progress as leaders wait to see if Sinn Fein will put forward their own runner.
The group of left leaning parties that are in discussions for a joint candidate include Labour, the Greens, the Social Democrats, Sinn Fein and People Before Profit.
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A move for a joint candidate from the left would become less likely if Sinn Fein decided to go it alone with their own party candidate.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has revealed that opposition leaders are planning to hold further talks next week as he confirmed the idea of a joint candidate is not dead yet.
He said: 'I'm involved in those discussions and People Before Profit are very enthusiastic about the idea of a joint left candidate.
MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN
'We think with the right candidate and the right platform, we might win the Presidency and we could have a left candidate in the Presidency again.
'From our perspective and this is objectively true, this process is still alive.
JOINT CANDIDATE BID
'I would be very hopeful that we would have progress towards a joint left candidate before the Dail recess.'
The
Asked if
The LiveLine host did not rule out running for the Aras after he left his long running show last week but confirmed that he has NOT been approached by a party to run.
It comes as Housing Minister James Browne revealed that he wants to announce the date of the presidential election before the Cabinet breaks for a summer break.
He told the Irish Sun: 'I expect to be having that discussion with the leaders before the recess with a view to bringing something to Cabinet.
'So we will have that detailed discussion. It will be up for the Government to make a decision but I think people need to know the date as soon as possible.'
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Housing Minister James Browne revealed that he wants to announce the date of the presidential election before the Cabinet breaks for a summer break
Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved
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‘The exact number of minutes needed for children to become TikTok addicts' & the hidden dangers posed by ‘filter bubble'
‘The exact number of minutes needed for children to become TikTok addicts' & the hidden dangers posed by ‘filter bubble'

The Irish Sun

time4 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

‘The exact number of minutes needed for children to become TikTok addicts' & the hidden dangers posed by ‘filter bubble'

IT'S an attention economy and social media companies will do anything they can to keep your eyes on the screen. Now, US President 2 It takes around 35 minutes for a kid to get addicted to TikTok Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 Olga Cronin wants Dail reps to back a motion to force social media companies to stop using algorithms on children Credit: PR Handout The app has been ordered to find a This is due to concerns that Americans' data could be passed on to the Chinese government. But where is the concern about what these We all know the horror stories of worrying content about eating disorders, violence or misogyny being pushed the way of our So, campaign group People Before Profit has tabled a Here, Olga Cronin, senior policy advisor at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, tells Irish Sun readers why she believes it is important for all JUST 35 minutes – that's all it allegedly takes for a child to become hooked on Not only that — should a child appear interested in an unhealthy type of content, TikTok's algorithm feeds the child similar unhealthy content in a 'filter bubble'. TikTok users are placed in filter bubbles after just 30 minutes of use in one sitting. These disturbing details were revealed in confidential company documentation disclosed and referenced in a US Trump says he has 'very wealthy people' to buy TikTok after pushing back app ban Why? Because an opportunity has arisen for Irish politicians to support a new bill which could help end this predatory nature of manipulative, harmful and profit-driven social-media algorithms which push content concerning self-loathing, self-harm and ALGORITHMIC PROFILING As the recent Online Safety Monitor from the Children's Rights Alliance called for regulations to require algorithmic profiling to be disabled by default for child and young users, a bill has been put forward by People Before Profit providing for the same. The bill also states that any algorithms based on profiling or sensitive personal data should have to be actively turned on by adult users. The aforementioned US court filing is crucial to understanding why we must demand that these algorithms are turned off by default. TikTok's The court document, from a case taken by the state of "While this may seem substantial, TikTok videos can be as short as eight seconds, and are played for viewers in rapid-fire succession, automatically. Thus, in under 35 minutes, an average user is likely to become addicted to the platform.' THREE STAGES The filing notes how in an internal presentation devoted to increasing user retention rates, TikTok identified three 'moments' when forming a TikTok habit. First there is the Set-up Moment when a young user watches their first video. Next is the Aha Moment when TikTok's algorithm has begun to discern what content a user will respond to, after a child has watched 20 videos or more on their first day on the platform. And finally, there is what they call the Habit Moment in which 'new users start to form a habit of coming to TikTok regularly' which occurs if a youth has watched 260 videos or more during the first week of having a TikTok account. TikTok is aware of negative impacts on its users. The court filing notes how internal reports observed 'compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conver-sational depth and emp-athy, and increased anxiety' — and that 'compulsive usage interferes with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/ And yet, the lawsuit alleges TikTok has failed to disclose these harms and continues to mislead the public. The document outlines how the platform's design exploits psychological triggers that cause compulsive usage, such as low-friction variable rewards (where users are randomly rewarded with engaging content), social manipulation (where users are encouraged to interact and engage with the content), and ephemeral content (which creates urgency by presenting time-sensitive material). CYCLE OF ADDICTION These features make it difficult for users to control their time on the platform, creating a cycle of addiction. But this is not just about TikTok. All Big Tackling this problem is long overdue and, if 35 minutes is all it takes to addict a young child to TikTok, time is not on our side. Politicians of all hues should get on board with this bill and have these manipulation machines turned off.

Tanaiste denies rift in coalition but hints at further college fee cuts
Tanaiste denies rift in coalition but hints at further college fee cuts

Irish Daily Mirror

time5 hours ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Tanaiste denies rift in coalition but hints at further college fee cuts

Tánaiste Simon Harris has denied that there is a rift in Cabinet over student fees as he insisted the programme for government commitment to cut and abolish them will be maintained. He also hinted that there will be a reduction in student fees from January. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been fighting via press release in recent days following Higher Education Minister James Lawless' comments over the weekend, stating that fees would revert to €3,000 in September. On his way into Cabinet, Mr Harris said there is "certainly not" a rift in Cabinet. The Tánaiste said: "Yes, we are doing budgeting in a different way this year. We have to move beyond a budgetary measure between now and Christmas, and then other budget measures that kick in in January. "But that's not the same thing as saying you can't support students in the here and now. "I'm very clear that I signed up for and Fine Gael signed up for, a programme for government that commits to reducing college fees and ultimately abolish them. "I think my own track record on this is pretty clear." Mr Harris said he has been the Minister for Higher Education and that "budget announcements are made on budget day". However, he insisted that the Government has previously found ways of helping students and their parents. Minister Lawless said that as the Government will not be doing a cost-of-living announcement, he will not have the money to reduce student fees by €1,000 as this was a previous one-off measure. However, the Tánaiste criticised suggestions that there will be no cost-of-living supports in Budget 2026 as there will not be a dedicated cost-of-living package. He continued: "Yes, it's true, there won't be a big bag or series of announcements to take effect before Christmas. "But it's also true that's not the way college fees fall due to be paid. Many people - most people pay in instalments. "I'm very clear in the programme for government commitment. It talks about reducing and phasing out. That's what I want to see progress on, but I want to do that in a different way, in terms of engaging with our colleagues here in government. And I know all parties in government are very much committed to helping people. "I think in the last few days, there's been kind of a bizarre narrative taking hold that if there's not a cost-of-living package that the government can't do anything on cost of living. That's simply not true. "We have to move back to regular budgets. But of course, that budget can include measures to help people with cost of living." Speaking later at a press conference, the Tánaiste said that a lot of people pay college fees in instalments and decisions made in October's budget could impact later instalments that have to be paid. He continued: "If I was a parent of a child going to college today, I'd be saying, 'Do what happened last year. Do what happened the year before. Do what happened the year before that.' "Pay in instalments and let's see where the budget brings us to." Mr Harris said that while the budget will be "expansionary", there will be no cost-of-living package and decisions will have to be made following a very "sobering meeting" with the two finance ministers over the weekend.

Keeping homeless figures down will be 'very difficult', says housing minister
Keeping homeless figures down will be 'very difficult', says housing minister

Irish Examiner

time5 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Keeping homeless figures down will be 'very difficult', says housing minister

Avoiding crossing the threshold of 5,000 children living in emergency accommodation will be "very difficult", the housing minister has admitted. The latest figures show that 4,844 children were in emergency accommodation in May — the highest number ever recorded in Ireland. James Browne said that it is going to be "very difficult to prevent a crossing of that 5,000 considering how close we are". As the number of homeless people continues to rise each month, Mr Browne denied that a move to limit access to social housing to non-habitual residents is an attempt to improve optics. Under the legislation, those who are not habitually resident in Ireland and who do not have the right to remain, will not be able to access homeless supports. According to the homelessness figures for May, just 51% of those in emergency accommodation are Irish citizens with non-EEA residents accounting for 3,031 people. Groups such as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) previously raised concerns that the legislation would disproportionately impact migrants and ethnic minority communities. Mr Browne said an individual's immigrant status is not relevant to the matter, saying: "We are talking about people who might arrive in the country, who have not been working here, who have not been living here and then seek social housing supports." The move to legislate to provide legal and habitual residency as eligibility criteria to access social housing, which was first raised last year, would regularise what already exists on an administrative basis, said Mr Browne. It is the "right thing to do" and would match current rules for social protection, he continued. The minister was speaking as details were released showing that 17 local authorities failed to reach their targets on social housing delivery between 2022 and 2024. Minister of State for local government and planning John Cummins said it is clear which authorities are performing and which are not. "Some have a can-do attitude, think outside the box, have a clear vision and, to be honest, some don't have those attributes," said Mr Cummins, adding that the system can only move as fast as the slowest cog. However, when it comes to those local authorities that are under performing, Mr Browne said he would not favour introducing penalties. When you penalise what is effectively a social service, it is the customers who will end up suffering and not those in charge, he said. A reward system is being explored for those who are delivering, potentially around the discretionary funding that councillors have available to them as is done in Britain and other countries, Mr Browne said. Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin called the Council League Table on social housing delivery a "cheap gimmick" designed to deflect from the Government's failures. "Government knows that due to their own failures the 2025 social and affordable housing targets cannot be met and are now setting the local authorities up to take the blame come the year's end," said Mr Ó Broin. Read More Cork TDs clash over emigration figures as housing crisis forces more young people abroad

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