Ibec Podcasts

The autumn season is often a busy time of year from an employee relations and employment law perspective, and we expect 2023 to be no different.  In this podcast, Linda Reid, Senior Employer Relations Executive and Briana Duffy, Employer Relations Executive, provide listeners with an update on any legislative developments we expect to see over the Autumn period along with other HR updates or watch...

The European single market represents a vital component of Ireland's economy. Over the past thirty years Ireland has been able to take advantage of the free flow of goods, services, capital, and people, which has led to significant growth in the country's trade and investment.  The single market has provided Irish businesses with access to a market of over 500 million consumers, allowing...

Ireland has a long and tradition of storytelling, from captivating mythology to heartfelt recounting of daily life to tales that impart lessons or foster a sense of community or historical understanding. These fascinating stories pique interest, broaden horizons, and encourage us to learn about and experience the world outside our own. They told in poems and homes, through ballads or fairy and fol...

The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was signed into law in April of this year and introduces various new entitlements for employees. In this podcast, Linda Reid, Senior Employer Relations Executive and Nichola Harkin, Head of Employment Law Services, provide listeners with a practical view of the new rules relating to breastfeeding breaks and leave for medical care purposes...

For businesses, climate action is no longer simply a question of environmental compliance and corporate responsibility. Today it is a matter of business value and competitiveness. Businesses that do not address their climate impacts will increasingly get left behind by consumers, investors, and talent. Most businesses recognise these imperatives but simply do not know where to start. The task is c...

Internationally, Ireland’s education system has an enviable reputation due to high participation in higher education and the collaborative nature of the system in the development of a graduate talent stream.  Talented people, the availability of key skills, and the ability to connect easily with universities are real positive features of Ireland’s competitive offering. Ibec have been at the forefr...

Finding and sustaining work is a challenge for many people with disabilities, and often conversations around disabilities come from a place of reasonable accommodation rather than capturing the talent and innovation that many people with disabilities bring to their work. People with disabilities make up 13.5% of the population in Ireland, yet only 36.5% (of people aged 15-64 with a disability) are...

2023 is the European Year of Skills, which aims to address skills shortages in the European Union and boost the EU skills strategy. In this episode of Ibec Responds we explore the importance of lifelong learning to business and how Ibec is driving this important initiative. Nikki Gallagher, Ibec Head of Public Affairs,  is joined by Claire McGee, Ibec Head of Education and Innovation Policy, and M...

Better health and the subsequent increase in life expectancy has created a demographic where people are seeking to work longer. Following the publication of the Report of the Commission on Pensions and the Oireachtas Joint response, Government announced in September 2022 a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system in Ireland. On the 10 October 2022, Government approved the General Sch...

Meat Industry Ireland, the Ibec sector association representing the primary beef, pork and lamb processing facilities located in the Republic of Ireland, launched the Irish Beef Sector Sustainability report in February. The report outlines the progress the industry has made to date in reducing GHG emissions and delineating the roadmap to further emissions reductions in line with government Climate...

The European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations, S.I. No. 686/2022 were signed into law on 16 December 2022. The Regulations amend existing legislation concerning contracts of employment and introduce new obligations in relation to probation and parallel employment.  In this episode of KC Connect, Ibec solicitors Catriona McKeating and Pauline O’Hare will run throug...

Our past few episodes of Ibec Voices placed a focus on a critical component of the Irish economy, the small business community.  We visited the Small Firms Association Strategic Management Masterclass in Athlone to sit down with SFA National Small Business Awards Finalists and hear their stories. This two-day programme is offered as part of the prize package for Finalists. We were joined by a sele...

Our next few episodes of Ibec Voices will place a focus on a critical component of the Irish economy, the small business community.  We visited the Small Firms Association Strategic Management Masterclass in Athlone to sit down with SFA National Small Business Awards Finalists and hear their stories. This two day programme is offered as part of the prize package for Finalists.  We were joined by a...

In this episode of KC Connect, Ibec experts Aisling McDevitt and Kevin Feighery discuss the transposition of the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working conditions into Irish law as it relates to probationary periods, and the role of fair procedures in the context of the Industrial Relations Acts.  The discussion will include the current position on the following legislation:  The comm...

Our next few episodes of Ibec Voices will place a focus on a critical component of the Irish economy, the small business community.  We visited the Small Firms Association Strategic Management Masterclass in Athlone to sit down with SFA National Small Business Awards Finalists and hear their stories. This two day programme is offered as part of the prize package for Finalists. We were joined by a...

Ibec is marking the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement with a new campaign, For Peace + Prosperity. The campaign illustrates the pivotal role that business has played in perpetuating peace and prosperity on the island. In this episode of Ibec Responds,  Ibec CEO Danny McCoy is joined by two important architects and advocates of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement ,...

The Experience Economy is a diverse and substantial part of Irish life and plays an important role in Ireland’s international reputation as a place to live, work and visit. In this episode we will discuss the scale of Ireland's Experience Economy, Ibec’s ambitions for its growth, and recommendations to Government for further support. We are joined by Sharon Higgins, Ibec Executive Director of...

With global pandemics, climate change and military aggression against Ukraine, we see unprecedented generational challenges to our economy and well-being. A core element in responding to these challenges involves technological change, how we interact with that change and with each other.   In this episode of Ibec Voices we are joined by Jackie King, Executive Director of Ibec Global, and Ciaran Ma...

An inadequate supply of affordable housing is the greatest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible. In this episode of Ibec Responds we are joined by Ibec Executive Director of Lobbying and Influence Fergal O'Brien and Ibec Chief Economist and Head of National Policy Gerard Brady. They share their insights into...

This year has seen a vast array of proposed new employment legislation, along with the requirement to transpose EU Directives into local legislation, with many employers waiting for clarity on dates of commencement of these Acts.   In this episode of KC Connect, Ibec experts Aoife McFadden and Linda Reid appraise employers of these pieces of legislation and outline what timeframes we can expect fo...

Ireland has made some real progress on gender equality over the last number of decades. We’ve seen significant changes in both the personal and professional lives of women.  However, since the #MeToo movement, and throughout the pandemic, a real spotlight has been shone on how fragile some of that hard won progress is.    In this Ibec Voices episode we will be exploring a transformative approach t...

In this episode of KC Connect, Ibec experts Stephen Driver and Fiona Higgins discuss the pay and HR trends emerging from the recently published HR Update report. Addressing issues relating to pay forecasting for 2023 and HR priorities, the report expresses the views of 329 Senior HR leaders employing over 143,000 of the Irish workforce.    Read the report here . Thank you for listening. To explore...

Gender equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of progressive societies. While female representation in the general population of financial services firms tends to be equally balanced, significant differences emerge in the progression to more senior levels.  Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter is an industry-led, Government-supported measure to encourage gender diversity in the financia...

In the final episode of our Ibec Responds mini-series on COP27, Fergal O’Brien, Ibec Executive Director of Lobbying and Influence, sits down with Minister Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport. They reflect on COP27, and discuss what it means in terms of our progress in relation to climate, and for Irish citizens and the economy.  Thank you...

We were delighted to have David Collings, Professor of Human Resource Management at DCU, as a guest speaker at Ibec's HR Leadership Summit in October. The impactful research he and his colleagues have conducted into the lessons from the HR response to Covid-19 spotlights many lessons that will continue to resonate as we manage through the current economic challenges facing business. In this e...