Politics watch: 'Mary Lou-splaining' jibe will set tone for Dáil theatrics

James Cox

Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political debate in the week to come.

Local and European election fallout

Sinn Féin's struggles in the local and European elections set the tone for some tense Dáil exchanges during the week.

After Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had a much better election than the polls predicted, Taoiseach Simon Harris came out firing.

As Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald attacked the Government's record on care for special needs children, Mr Harris accused her of "Mary Lou-splaining to me".

Some colleagues in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were reportedly agitated by Mr Harris' apparent arrogance at the results, but similar exchanges will only heat up as we head towards a general election.

Coalition leaders continue to insist the Government will serve its full term to March, but rumours of a November election persist.

EU Migration and Asylum Pact

There will be five hours of debate on the EU Migration and Asylum Pact on Tuesday.

Opposition parties have raised a lot of concerns about the provisions of the pact, and with migration being a core voting issue, this will likely be revisited tomorrow.

On Wednesday, there will be a motion for approval of the pact.

Abroad

In the UK, the general election campaign continues.

With Labour far ahead in the polls, the challenge to Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party from Nigel Farage's Reform UK has become the main story.

In the US, all focus is on the presidential election campaign, with president Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump set for their first debate in ten days' time.