SF’s Ó Broin has reason to smile: He got to ask all the questions, ...not answer them!
SINN Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin might have found the presenter’s desk a good shield against criticisms of his own party as, yesterday, he was the interviewer rather than an interviewee on Newstalk’s Hard Shoulder.
The Dublin Mid-West TD proved himself an able presenter across a wide range of topics as he took over the evening current affairs show for the full threehour stint.
But it was during a segment on emissions targets that Mr Ó Broin must have felt glad to be the one asking the questions. He was able to show quite a depth of environmental knowledge, but this only served to highlight Sinn Féin’s silence when asked for specifics on the party’s views on emissions targets.
When he was challenged on this issue, Mr Ó Broin used the pulpit of the Newstalk mic to provide a stock Sinn Féin answer to the criticism.
He read out a text asking which side his party stood on. Responding, he said: ‘I’m under strict instructions to not use this as a party political broadcast, but what I will say is that we are 100% behind reaching 51% by 2030, net-zero by 2050. We will work with the Government to do exactly the kinds of things that you heard on this segment.
‘The crucial thing is that it has to be just, it has to be fair and it has to be about not just reducing emissions but making Ireland a better place for everyone.’
Apart from a few stutters at the start, Mr Ó Broin proved himself a comfortable presenter – having spent years honing his radio skill in interviews and at press conferences.
At one point he jokingly reassured the audience that the ‘Shinners haven’t stormed’ Newstalk HQ, adding that he is not sure what the producers ‘were smoking’ when they came up with the idea to allow him to present.
During the show, Mr Ó Broin allowed his guests to do all his talking for him, particularly when it came to the subject of homelessness, where he caught up with his former Focus Ireland colleague Mike Allen.
The item took a look at the Finland model of dealing with homelessness and what can be applied here.
But when a texter pointed out that Finland is able to afford it due to the high levels of tax, Mr Ó Broin took it upon himself to answer how it could be paid for in Ireland.
‘Our problem isn’t that we don’t have enough tax revenue, but we’re not necessarily spending the money that we have in the most effective way to insure longterm stable tenancies for people currently in crisis,’ he said.
As for the rest of the topics covered during the show, it is what you’d probably expect from an evening show at the start of the Irish media silly season.
Yesterday, a paella was cooked in the studio with Mr Ó Broin, who shares pictures of his culinary creations online, at pains to point out that it was initially a poor person’s food in Spain.
Today, the hot seat will be taken by Seanad Leader Regina Doherty and following Mr Ó Broin’s performance, you’ve got to wonder what she will cover given that she is a Fine Gael senator, and a taoiseach’s appointee at that.
‘We will work with the Government’
‘Shinners haven’t stormed Newstalk’