Tánaiste Micheál Martin has launched his own podcast with the Fianna Fáil leader adopting the role of interviewer instead of being subjected to his usual grilling as an interviewee.
In his inaugural show Mr Martin is in conversation with Dr Mark Henry, author of ‘In Fact: An Optimist’s Guide to Ireland at 100’, to discuss how Ireland has developed since the foundation of the State.
Dr Henry’s latest book examines human progress in recent decades and tracks how Ireland has transformed over the last hundred years. He told the Tánaiste that Ireland has “achieved a lot” and that it is now “up there amongst the leading nations of the world.”
Dr Henry said people are living longer and that cancer mortality rates are just one of the indicators of how far Ireland has progressed in recent decades.
"Even for those in the 1990s, if you had a cancer diagnosis, for 60 per cent of people that was a death sentence within five years. Unfortunately, they passed away. Today that's reversed. More than six in 10 will survive longer than five years. So, we've made very good progress."
The Tánaiste and Mark Henry also talked about the quality of life in modern Ireland through the lens of the economy, education and wellbeing. They also discussed the many challenges that face the country including housing, climate change, biodiversity and the cost of living.
Addressing the housing issue, the Tánaiste admitted that we have to "do more" and to "do more faster" to address the shortage of accommodation.
"Because you see amidst all of this optimism and sort of positivity, there are stories underneath this. Notwithstanding wage growth and employment for young people today, to buy a house is still very difficult.
And that's why a whole range of schemes have been made available to try and enable people to afford to buy and to give the option of home ownership, which I think is an important anchor in society, as well as social housing for those that are not in a position to purchase homes. But we do need to get above 30,000."
There will be further episodes of the podcast later in the year. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It can also be watched on YouTube.
