Questions and Answers (TV series)

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''Questions and Answers'' is a topical

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

television programme broadcast in Ireland for 23 years between 1986 and 2009. Similar in format to the

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television programme ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

'', it originally aired on Sunday nights but later moved to Monday nights when it was usually shown at 10.30 pm. The first two series were presented by

Olivia O'Leary Olivia O'Leary (born 1949) is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter. Education Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin (UCD), she worked with the ''Nationalist'' and ''Leinster Times'' in Carl ...

; however, John Bowman took over as chairperson for all subsequent series. Broadcast on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

, the show typically featured politicians from large political parties as well as public figures who answered questions put to them by the audience. The final edition aired on 29 June 2009.

Director-General of RTÉ The Director-General is chief executive and editor-in-chief of public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The current director-general is Dee Forbes, who replaced Noel Curran in the role in 2016. Appointment and role The RT� ...

Cathal Goan Cathal Séamus Goan (born 5 May 1954) was Director-General of RTÉ from 2003 to 2011. He also played a leading role in the launch of TG4. Goan was born in Ardoyne, Belfast. He is an Irish language speaker. He studied Celtic studies at Universit ...

described the programme as an "integral part of the national conversation for over 20 years". It was replaced by ''

The Frontline The Frontline is an American rap duo from Richmond, California, consisting of Left and Locksmith, also known as Lock.Hildebrand, Lee (2005)RICHMOND VIOLENCE FUELS HIP-HOP DUO, ''San Francisco Chronicle'', June 26, 2005, retrieved 2010-07-06 T ...

'', a series hosted by

Pat Kenny Patrick Kenny (born 29 January 1948) is an Irish broadcaster, who currently hosts the daily radio show ''The Pat Kenny Show'' on Newstalk and the current affairs show ''Pat Kenny Tonight'' on Virgin Media One. Prior to this, Kenny had a 41-yea ...

Format

The programme, was launched in the late 1980s. Each week the chairperson initiates a discussion between several prominent politicians and commentators. The discussion is led by questions asked by members of the audience. The first question will usually deal with the major political issue of the week. The final question is often a trivial or comic question. ''Questions and Answers'' was usually broadcast from the

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

television complex in

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It was once part of the Pemb ...

with only occasional broadcasts from around Ireland. It was broadcast at 22:30, although one edition which was broadcast at 21:30 drew comment from Declan Lynch in the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' who wondered if it was "a gesture to the poor ould fellas who might have some chance of staying awake past the first question". For its first decade the programme was taped for broadcast from approximately 19:00 on the night of transmission. From the late 1990s, however, the programme was broadcast live, with phoned-in or emailed-in comments from viewers read out on air.

Presenters

(1986–88) * John Bowman (1988–2009) *

Vincent Browne Vincent Browne (born 17 July 1944) is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Sunday Business Post'' and a non-practising barrister. From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show ...

(Guest Presenter)

History

Lenihan Tape Affair: 1990

The programme has occasionally set the national news agenda. During a broadcast in 1990 the then

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

and expected next

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

, Brian Lenihan, badly damaged his chances of being elected. He denied involvement in an effort eight years earlier in January 1982 to pressurise the then President to refuse a parliamentary dissolution – contradicting previous statement he had made. Lenihan had actually confirmed his involvement in the effort some months earlier in an ''on-the-record'' interview with a journalist Jim Duffy, as he had to numerous political colleagues privately over eight years. During the presidential election campaign he changed his story, first in an

Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

interview, and then on ''Questions and Answers''. Some journalists had been told by Lenihan previously of his role in pressurising Hillery, but had been told it in an 'off the record' conversation and so could not reveal it (though one did hint it in an unsigned editorial in the ''Irish Independent'' during the crisis following the programme). However following the programme, Duffy, in a backlash to pressure from Lenihan's

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

not to reveal the information, did reveal that Lenihan's account on the programme conflicted with his pre-campaign version. The minor party in

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

's government, the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Ma ...

, threatened to quit government and cause a general election unless either Lenihan was sacked from cabinet or an inquiry was ordered into the events of January 1982. When Lenihan refused to resign, Haughey, instead of ordering an inquiry into who had made the calls in 1982, sacked him. The "ill-fated appearance" was remembered in the final episode of ''Questions and Answers'' in 2009.

Doherty on McCabe death: 1996

Sinn Féin's Pat Doherty also used the show in 1996 to deny the involvement of the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

in the

death of Jerry McCabe Detective Garda Jerry McCabe (22 November 1943 – 7 June 1996) was a member of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. McCabe was killed in Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996, by members of the Provisional IRA, during the ...

. Members of that group were later convicted of manslaughter and Sinn Féin have campaigned for their early release in conjunction with the Belfast Agreement. Doherty's refusal to condemn the murder was remembered in the final episode of ''Questions and Answers'' in 2009.

McLaughlin and Michael McDowell on Jean McConville killing: 2005

In 2005,

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

chairman

Mitchel McLaughlin John Mitchel McLaughlin (born 29 October 1945) is the former General Secretary of Sinn Féin who also served as an MLA and was once the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He was the first Nationalist speaker of the Assembly. McLaughlin w ...

told viewers that though it had been wrong for the

to kill

Jean McConville Jean McConville (''née'' Murray; 7 May 1934 – December 1972) was a woman from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who was kidnapped and murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and secretly buried in County Louth in the Republic of Ire ...

, a widowed mother of ten young children kidnapped, shot and secretly buried, the action was not a "crime". In the aftermath of his comments, he was subjected to extreme criticism from within the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

, from all the main parties in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

, the media and by the public on radio shows. Labour Party leader

Pat Rabbitte Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 19 ...

, in a press release immediately afterwards commented that "Any civilised society must consider the abduction and murder of a mother of 10 children to be a crime of considerable barbarism" while Mrs McConville's son Michael said that McLaughlin, along with Sinn Féin TD

Arthur Morgan Arthur Morgan may refer to: * Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856) (1856–1916), Premier of Queensland, Australia * Arthur Ernest Morgan (1878–1975), American administrator, educator and engineer * Arthur Morgan (Australian politici ...

, who had made similar comments elsewhere, "should be holding their heads in shame". McLaughlin's refusal to call the murder a crime was remembered in the final episode of ''Questions and Answers'' in 2009.

O'Dea and the abuser: 2008

On 20 October 2008, Defence Minister

Willie O'Dea Willie O'Dea ( ; born 1 November 1952) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick City constituency since 2011, and previously from 1982 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency. He has served as Min ...

was invited onto the show to discuss the fallout of the government budget. Paul Doran, a member of the audience, threw paper at O'Dea. Doran was afterwards given VIP status, as was all who appeared on the show, in the station's Green Room with host John Bowman. Bowman gave Doran a signed copy of his book on his late son, Jonathan Philbin Bowman; Doran had offered him sympathies to the host of the show saying how much he admired Jonathan. It later emerged that it was RTÉ who approached Doran to appear on the show, as is the practice with all guests, sparking questions about the show's apparently impartial production values. He had allegedly been repeatedly invited prior to this but had declined until a phone call arrived from RTÉ at 18:20 on the evening of the show.

Michael O'Brien vs. Noel Dempsey: 2009

In one of the last episodes, former Mayor of

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

and

member, Michael O'Brien confronted

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

Noel Dempsey Noel Dempsey (born 6 January 1953) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Transport from 2007 to 2011, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources from 2004 to 2007, Minister for Education and Scien ...

about the way the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

had treated survivors of the industrial schools, pointing out that the allegedly non-adversarial process had involved him being accused of lying. He said the government should change the constitution so that the assets of the religious orders who ran the industrial schools could be frozen. He also spoke of how he still suffered nightmares about the abuse he suffered in Ferryhouse and how his experience of the questioning had led him to contemplate suicide but his wife had persuaded him not to do it. He ended his remarks by saying "You know me minister" to Noel Dempsey to which Dempsey nodded in silence. Presenter John Bowman in the final show just weeks later said that interruption was "by far the most memorable moment" in the history of ''Questions and Answers''.

Final episode

The final episode was broadcast on 29 June 2009. It featured an interview with

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

plus three separate panels filled with senior politicians. The first panel featured Minister for Health

Mary Harney Mary Harney (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former politician and the current Chancellor of the University of Limerick. She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008, resuming the role aft ...

, Fine Gael leader

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

, Labour spokesman on justice

, tax lawyer Suzanne Kelly, and Senator David Norris. The second panel featured ''The Irish Times'' columnist and writer

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

, former Progressive Democrats minister

Liz O'Donnell Liz O'Donnell (born 1 July 1956) is a former Irish Progressive Democrats politician, who represented Dublin South as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1992 to 2007. Early and personal life O'Donnell was born in Dublin in 1956, where her father worked f ...

Fergus Finlay Fergus Finlay (born 1 June 1950) is the former Chief Executive of the charity Barnardos in Ireland, leaving the post in 2018. He was a senior member of the Irish Labour Party and is also a weekly columnist with the '' Irish Examiner'' and the autho ...

, former chef-de-cabinet of the Irish Labour Party and current chief executive of Barnardos, solicitor Catherine Ghent, and vice-president of Sinn Féin

Mary Lou McDonald Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020 and President of Sinn Féin since February 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central const ...

. The third panel featured Noel Whelan, barrister with political background,

Eddie Hobbs Eddie Hobbs (born 10 November 1962) is an Irish financial advisor, writer, campaigner and former television presenter and author. Hobbs was a co-founder and former president of the right-wing party Renua Ireland, resigning in 2016. Before e ...

financial advisor with political future, Green party leader and Minister for the Environment

John Gormley John Gormley (born 4 August 1959) is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lor ...

, MEP Mairéad McGuinness, editor of the ''Irish Daily Star''

Ger Colleran Gerard Colleran is an Irish journalist, the editor of the ''Irish Daily Star'' from 1999. to 2014, and since 2017 the editor of ''Kerry's Eye''. In 2009, ''Village'' listed him as one of Ireland's 100 most influential people.. He is a native of M ...

. John Boland, writing in the ''

'', described the final episode as "genuinely engrossing", saying that "reminiscence rather than recrimination won through". He described the overall programme as a "weird combination of the unmissable and the frequently unwatchable".

Demise

The final ''Questions and Answers'' aired on 29 June 2009. The decision was taken when the presenter, John stepped aside. It will be replaced by a similar programme said to involve public participation and to run in the same time slot on a Monday night. Some politicians were said to have welcomed the show's demise, saying it was "well past its sell-by date". One government Minister told the ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Even ...

'' newspaper: "Government and opposition parties were finding it more and more difficult to get people to go on a show that was late at night and at the start of the week to debate topics which had been trashed to death on every other show over the weekend." ''Prime Time'' presenter

Miriam O'Callaghan Miriam O'Callaghan (born 6 January 1960) is an Irish television current affairs presenter with RTÉ. O'Callaghan has presented '' Prime Time'' since 1996, and her own summer talk show, ''Saturday Night with Miriam'', from 2005 onwards. In th ...

was speculated upon as a replacement but insisted she knew nothing of the show's departure until she read about it on the RTÉ website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Questions and Answers (Tv programme) 1980s Irish television series 1990s Irish television series 1986 Irish television series debuts 2009 Irish television series endings Irish television news shows RTÉ News and Current Affairs