Politics watch: Justice Minister under fire over child deportations
Here, we have a look at the issues likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Deportation flights
The latest deportation flight from the State, to Lagos, Nigeria, has made headlines but not the type the Government will have hoped for.
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Minsiter for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has been criticised for his tweets about the deportation flights, with some accusing him of trying to score political points.
Another deportation flight left Dublin last night and landed safely this morning in Lagos, Nigeria. There were 35 people on board who had received but had not complied with Deportation Orders.
— Jim O'Callaghan TD (@OCallaghanJim)
June 5, 2025
The 35 people deported to Nigeria included five children, and the manner in which two of the children were removed from their primary school in Dublin has led to huge criticim of the Department of Justice, and Mr O'Callaghan.
Gardaí from the National Immigration Bureau carried out the operation of removing individuals from the State. The children involved were deported as part of family groups.
Principal of St James Primary School in Dublin 8, Ciarán Cronin, told Newstalk that two of the boys who were deported had been in his school for three years.
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'In 2022 we enrolled 32 children that were living in the Red Cow Hotel. We're on the Luas line, there's no school based out there, so we thought it would be a good fit.
'They all joined our school on a Tuesday, and they were just the most fantastic addition to our school.'
He added: 'That that things are done in a respectful; a trauma-informed way.
'This won't leave children for the rest of their lives, that have witnessed that, that have seen that – they're going to be scarred for life from this. It's as if someone's passed away."
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Defending the measures, Mr O'Callaghan said: "I can understand the concern that people have about it, but I just say the system will become untenable if a rule was introduced which said that children could not be deported.
'It would mean that people could come to Ireland with children in the knowledge that no matter what the outcome, they would never be required to leave.'
Social Democrats deputy Gary Gannon said that children were being made 'victims for a state wanting to look tough'.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said he will be raising the matter in the Dáil on Tuesday, he also accused Mr O'Callaghan of facilitating 'performative cruelty'.
'What we are witnessing is the Minister for Justice engaging in performative cruelty to boost his Fianna Fáil leadership bid. One of the most powerful people in the state kicking down at the most vulnerable and boasting about it publicly because he wants even more power."
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Mr Murphy added: "'It is disgusting and I will raise this matter in the Dáil when it reconvenes on Tuesday to demand an end to this performative cruelty against children and their families and instead for badly needed investment in local communities and services."
Cowen asks for Irish industries to be protected from counter-tariffs
Irish MEP Barry Cowen has written to the EU trade commissioner to request the protection of three Irish industries from planned counter-tariffs against the US.
The EU is still hoping to make a deal with US president Donald Trump's administration, but a second counter-tariff list is due to take effect on July 14th or earlier if negotiations fail.
In the letter to EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, seen by
BreakingNews.ie
, Mr Cowen requested additional protections for spirits, medical technologies and aviation.
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Mr Cowen first outlines his belief that US bourbon whiskey should be excluded form counter-tariffs, as "this risks triggering US retaliatory tariffs - potentially up to 200 per cent - on EU alcohol exports".
He adds that Ireland exports 53 times more whiskey than it importants bourbon - €420 million vs €8 million.
Call for 'facts not misinformation' in triple lock debate
Fine Gael TD Catherine Callaghan has said the current debate over changes to
Ireland's triple lock
needs to be grounded in facts and not misinformation.
Ms Callaghan is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security.
Ms Callaghan, a TD for Carlow-Kilkenny and a former member of the Defence Forces who served in Lebanon, has said that under the current triple lock system, countries like Russia and leaders like Vladimir Putin have the power to veto Ireland's participation in peacekeeping.
'We don't believe that Putin or others should have a veto on whether our troops can be deployed on peacekeeping missions.
'Currently members of the UN Security Council bind Ireland's hands on peacekeeping missions, when these are decisions that should be made by our Government and the Dáil."
Ms Callaghan pointed to the fact that no new peacekeeping missions have been approved by the UN Security Council since 2014.
Abroad
In the US, the fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is the main talking point.
Mr Musk said Mr Trump would not have won the presidential election without his support, while he also claimed the US president was in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Mr Trump threatened to pull the government contracts of Mr Musk's SpaceX.
He also warned there would be "serious consequences" for Mr Musk, if he
funds Democratic candidates
.
In a telephone interview with NBC News, Mr Trump declined to say what those consequences would be, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to investigate Mr Musk.
Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive was over, Mr Trump said, "I would assume so, yeah."
In the UK, Reform UK are once again dominating the political debate.
Conservative leader
Kemi Badenoch
has said employers should be able to decide if their staff can wear burkas in the workplace.
It comes after Reform's newest MP Sarah Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions whether he would support such a ban on burkas.
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