Politics watch: Harris takes swipe at Sinn Féin, Oasis ticket fallout
James Cox
Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Harris takes swipe at Sinn Féin
Speaking at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, Co Wexford, on Friday, Taoiseach Simon Harris continued to insist the Government will serve its full term until March.
However, he was not reluctant to speak about the election.
Without naming Sinn Féin or its leader, he managed to take a swipe at the opposition.
Mr Harris appeared to refer to Mary Lou McDonald's RTÉ interview in which she failed to provide figures for Sinn Féin's proposed asylum policy.
"We have to move beyond people saying 'sure don't be asking me those figures, I didn't know I was meant to bring them with me'.
"Come on, we have to have mature political debate around the issues that matter in Ireland."
He made the comment about the March election when discussing his travels around the country over the summer.
Mr Harris said he found Irish people are fundamentally decent, and rejected the assertion that anger has become a defining feature of the country.
"I travelled around this country extensively, as you may have noticed, over the summer months... for the March election.
"In doing so, I've met thousands of people, and not people specially selected to meet me... people in all sorts of scenarios.
"Some people will never vote for me in a month of Sundays, some people think we're doing a great old job and will vote for us, others are in the middle. My fundamental takeaway from this is decency.
"I'm not allowing colourful characters from other jurisdictions, or the amplification on social media, to suggest that all of a sudden we've lost that sense of meitheal, lost that sense of community, decency and respect. I don't think that is reflective of the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland."
Sinn Féin housing policy
Sinn Féin has launched 'A Home Of Your Own,' essentially the party's alternative housing policy.
The party promised €39 billion in social and affordable housing over five years.
It also pledges €7.8 billion every year on social and affordable homes, to deliver 125,000 of these homes over five years.
Speaking at the launch of the document, Mary Lou McDonald reiterated that housing is Sinn Féin's main priority.
Oasis ticket fallout
Irish Oasis fans are still reeling from a Ticketmaster nightmare that saw thousands miss out on gigs for the band's Croke Park reunion gigs.
Some found the site crashed, while the only tickets available minutes after the sale opened were so-called 'dynamic pricing' options, for upwards of €400.
Numerous politicians have called for investigations into ticket-selling practices since Saturday.
Speaking in Skibbereen, Co Cork, Tánaiste Micheál Martin described as “quite shocking” the escalating prices which Oasis fans experienced whilst buying tickets for the Croke Park gigs.
“We have the competition and consumer authority and I think there is a role there for it, which is the body designated to do these things, to investigate this.
"But more broadly speaking, I do think we need a strong reflection on this kind of runaway inflation on costs for concerts of these kinds with so many people looking forward to it.
"Clearly, it is beyond the reach of many, many people to purchase or to be in a position to be able to afford a ticket to a concert given the rampant acceleration of price increases.
"There is still time for redemption I would hope and I would hope all of those organising this could reflect on what has transpired, because certainly there are a lot of disappointed people out there from the perspective of what they would see as price gouging."
Abroad
In the UK, Conservative politicians are vying to succeed former prime minister Rishi Sunak as party leader as Parliament resumes.
Meanwhile, UK prime minister Keir Starmer has warned the public that his first budget will be a tough one.
In the US, campaigning is only intensifying ahead of the November presidential election.
Gold Star military families have launched an attack on vice president Kamala Harris, stating Donald Trump’s campaign to accuse the Democratic nominee of politicising fallen US service members.
On Saturday, Ms Harris accused Mr Trump of using the Gold Star families, who have all lost a relative or loved one due to military service, to stage a “political stunt” that “disrespected sacred ground” where many Afghanistan soldiers are buried.
The families say the former US president was merely honouring their loved ones when he came to Arlington.