The warm, sticky end-of-term feeling has descended on Irish politics during these final two weeks before the Dáil rises for its summer recess. As the temperature rises, attention spans can fall. But this year, politicians have to concentrate on the dull but worthy business of Ireland’s Council of the European Union presidency – which, as we know, will continue to dominate the political agenda throughout the summer even when Leinster House is more idle. One week into Ireland’s important EU presidency formally beginning, Eurocrats descended on Co Mayo on Monday where local Minister Dara Calleary played host for a meeting. A number of Cabinet members will get a turn to show off their constituencies throughout the six-month presidency, with high-profile meetings being scheduled all over the country – though most of the set pieces will orientate around Dublin. “I think it’s important that events are held outside Dublin,” said Minister of State Alan Dillon, who is from Co Mayo. Pat Leahy has a dispatch from St Mary’s secondary school in Ballina, where some 150 delegates gathered. He writes that as well as EU member states, “representatives of some nations aspiring to join – including Ukraine – attend these meetings.” Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU, and the delicate and difficult issue of Aughinish Alumina, has emerged as a dominant subplot to Ireland’s EU presidency. Elsewhere in the paper, our World News section is reporting on a “wave of Russian missiles and drones” that struck Ukraine on the eve of a Nato summit in Turkey. MEPs will today be debating Ukraine’s progress towards membership, with some expected to use the debate to again call for a ban on the sale of alumina to Russia. Taoiseach Micheál Martin will be setting out Ireland’s priorities for the rest of the presidency, when he addresses a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Back in Mayo, domestic politics continued to feature, with Calleary indicating to journalists that a second child benefit payment to help children living in poverty is unlikely to be announced in this year’s budget. The new tier had long been called for by advocacy groups who believe it would be a relatively efficient way to lift children out of poverty, as tackling socioeconomic inequality for children had long been flagged as a priority for Ministers. There had been some expectations the measure would have been announced in Budget 2026, with the impression then being given that it would be included in Budget 2027 instead. But Calleary indicated that proposals would not be ready in time this year. In Dublin, Ministers will gather for their weekly Cabinet meeting at a later time than usual on Tuesday evening. The meeting has been pushed back to facilitate the Taoiseach, who needs to get back from Strasbourg.Cormac McQuinn has a detailed brief on some of the top issues expected to dominate the agenda. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers is bringing forward another measure designed to tackle the endemic lethargy that is slowing the delivery of big infrastructure projects. Cormac reports that civil servants and other public service decision-makers will be supported in taking greater risks as part of efforts to speed up the building of more homes and infrastructure. He writes that the move “comes in response to concerns raised about a culture of risk aversion having emerged across the public sector, driven largely by concerns regarding legal challenges, planning and consenting complexity, reputational risk, and cost escalation”.Still-rising road deaths After another devastating weekend on Irish roads, 2026 is set to exceed the 2025 death toll for road incidents. I have a piece asking why road deaths are continuing to rise in what the Government had promised would be a year of “renewed focus” on road safety. On Wednesday, the Road Safety Authority will be before the transport committee – where TDs will be eager to hear details of sweeping reforms that Minister of State Sean Canney had promised to impose on the State agency. This came after the Government abandoned a plan to split the RSA into two separate agencies: one of which would be devoted to road safety, while the other could concentrate on issues such as NCT and driving tests. Elsewhere, coverage of the trial of abusive swimming coach George Gibney is dominating our news coverage. You can read detailed coverage of how the now-dishevelled 77-year-old was finally forced to face justice after 50 years of evasion. In our politics section, we have a separate story relating to historic abuse – something that endures as a political issue in Ireland. Personal records of children who were “boarded out” from religious institutions will be withheld from a new public archive set up to remember the abuse of women and children in 20th-century Ireland. The Department of the Taoiseach will give special permission for personal data to be held back from large sections of the Clandillon Papers, which were inspection reports detailing the lives and experiences of 28,000 children who were hired or fostered from institutions, including mother and baby homes.And on the theme of legacy issues for victims, there is some disappointment among thalidomide survivors over a Government belief that more work needs to be done before the State can issue an apology. Best Reads As Irish holidaymakers abandon their belongings as they flee wildfires in France, Sadhbh O’Neill is writing today about how Ireland can’t decide whether to protect the environment or undermine it.Fintan O’Toole is writing about William Johnson – aka Chief Warraghiyagey – who is the Irish-Mohawk chief at the centre of a great what-if in US history.And Hugh Linehan is broaching the great unspeakable in Irish broadcasting: is it time to end the Late Late Show? Playbook The schedule in Leinster House today looks like this:Dáil 14:00 Leaders’ Questions 14:34 Order of Business and Questions on Policy or Legislation15:04 Motion(s) without debate15:05 Government Business, which is report and final stages of the Bill known as the Occupied Territories Bill 16:35 Followed by more Government Business: Postal and Telecommunications Services (Amendment) Bill 2026 – Second Stage18:27 Government Business: Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Council Decision (EU) 2023/1076 with regard to matters related to judicial co-operation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement19:27 Private Members’ Business (Sinn Féin): Planning for Constitutional Change Bill 2026 (Second Stage)21:27 Parliamentary Questions: Oral – Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation23:03 Topical Issues00:03 Dáil adjournsSeanad12:30 Commencement Matters13:30 Order of Business14:15 Motion(s) without debate14:20 SOS14:45 Government Business: Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Bill 2026 – Second Stage16:00 Government Business: Finance Bill 2026 – Committee and remaining Stages17:15 SOS17:30 Government Business: Criminal Justice (International Cooperation on Electronic Evidence and Other Matters) Bill 2026 – Committee and remaining Stages18:30 Government Business: Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 – Committee and remaining Stages