Hugh, Pat, Ellen and Jack took to the stage at Electric Picnic on Saturday to discuss politics and take some uestions from the audience. They discussed UK prime minister Andy Burnham's controversial comments on the possibility of a border poll before moving on to take stock of the political positions and futures of the Big Three party leaders: Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Minister for Finance Simon Harris and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald. Here's an excerpt of their conversation.

Thanks to Electric Picnic and MindField for having us.

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Ellen Coyne and Jack Power join Pat Leahy to look back on the week in politics:

· All 27 EU foreign ministers will gather in Druids Glen in Wicklow next week for a “Gymnich” meeting. What is that you ask, it is characterised as a more informal chat with no expectation of any hard decisions being made. The lull of August will now give way to a hectic calendar culminating in difficult choices around the next seven-year EU budget.

· Andy Burnham made his first visit to Northern Ireland this week as UK prime minister. He raised eyebrows with his assertion that a Border poll is “off the table”. This won’t please Sinn Féin given the money and energy they are putting into making a vote on a united Ireland a reality.

· The Dáil sat briefly on Friday, where, among other topics of debate, it decided to vote against fuel price increases. The Government now further defers clawing back the cuts in excise taxes it announced earlier in the summer for two more months. Can it continue to shield the public from increasing fuel costs beyond November?

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

· The unifying power of the late Dolly Parton, Scouting Ireland’s future, and CIA chief visits Moscow to urge a Ukraine war deal.

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Inside Politics Live is coming to Cork on September 30th. Get your tickets here.

Pat Leahy is joined by Ellen Coyne and Liz Carolan to talk about the response to the circumstances around the recent fatal M9 motorway crash. They examine Coimisiún na Meán’s response and the powers it has under the EU Digital Services Act, and the refusal of Tiktok to appear before a Dail committee. They consider proposals like making joyriding videos illegal and weigh up concerns about free speech and enforceability.

In part two: the Government has u-turned on whether to pay for Skyclarys, a drug that treats Friedreich's ataxia, a rare neurodegenerative disease. Why did it take so long?

Liz Carolan is a journalist, author and consultant. She writes The Briefing, a newsletter about technology and politics.

Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/

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