Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
Podcast
The Explainer: How do Oireachtas committees work, and how did Tubridy end up in front of one?
Presenter Laura Byrne is joined this week by Gavan Reilly, political correspondent with Virgin Media News, to look behind the scenes at Oireachtas committees, from the grandstanding to the selection process, as well as to analyse previous appearances by John Delaney, Angela Kerins, and – of course – Ryan Tubridy.
IT’S RARE THAT the nation’s attention turns to an Oireachtas committee – but it’s not unheard of.
Ryan Tubridy’s appearance on Tuesday alongside his agent Noel Kelly received intense media coverage and even spawned live viewing events in some pubs.
But you might also recall John Delaney, former chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland, being grilled by politicians in a similar manner back in 2019, or the fallout from how the Public Accounts Committee handled the appearance of former Rehab boss Angela Kerins in 2014 (and which is still before the courts).
The drama of these sittings pale in comparison to what normally happens at committees, which is more often the methodological analysis of legislation or the dissection of an important subject (with some grandstanding or showboating thrown in from certain TDs and senators).
Presenter Laura Byrne is joined this week by Gavan Reilly, formerly of this parish but now more commonly seen as political correspondent with Virgin Media News, to examine what normally goes on in these meetings. How do you end up on a committee, or even chair one? What happens now for Tubridy?
The Explainer / SoundCloud
This episode was put together by presenter Laura Byrne, senior producer Nicky Ryan and executive producer Sinéad O’Carroll.
