Breakfast Business with Joe Lynam

In 2023 an employee of the Israeli company Wix, based in Ireland, was dismissed for posting pro Palestinian views on social media.   She won compensation from Wix but the matter highlighted the grey legal area of what staff can say on public platforms which may or may not damage the reputation of their employers.  Saying in your Instagram or Twitter profile that all views expressed...

For many micro companies or would-be entrepreneurs, the LEOs or local enterprise offices dotted around the country are the springboard to make a go at their business. They provide advice, training and access to successful business leaders for mentoring as well as a place to set up shop. Last year 7100 new jobs were created by the LEOs and 81% of them were outside the Capital. John Magee is the cha...

Wednesday's business headlines and news along with Joe Lynam.

Ireland has a decent financial services sector. It is the 3rd largest country in the world for investment funds domiciled here. 14 of the top 15 aircraft leasing companies are based here. EY have carried out a survey of companies in this space and it found that Ireland needs to be careful not to get complacent and that countries like Poland or Sweden are stealing a march. To discuss further Joe sp...

Tuesday's business news headlines with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

The annual jamboree of the wealthy and famous starts today in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. The person that everyone will be talking about won't be there in person and will join via zoom on Thursday.  But the rich are set to get much richer and the tokenistic nods to diversity and fairness looks set to be washed away. Suzanne Lynch from Politico is there and joins us live from Davos 

Last year appeared on the surface to have been an amazing year for live music with huge concerts from Taylor Swift, Coldplay, ACDC and of course U2 in the Sphere. But lower down the food chain things are not so rosy in the live music circuit in Europe with many venues shutting down or reporting a surge in costs.  Fernando Bittencourt Hersan from LiveEurope which represents live music venues j...

Bringing us all of Monday's business news stories was Russ Mould from AJ Bell. 

Even though the data is not black and white, all Donald Trump sees when it comes to trade between the US and Europe is a deficit that he wants to reverse.  He has promised across-the-board tariffs on EU imports.  On top of that the Tech Bro’s have squirmed their way into Trump’s affections and want him to push back hard on any big fines for wrong-doing.  So what can and should the E...

The telecoms giant Three has been in Ireland for 20 years. It now provides broadband as well as 5G Mobile phone services.  With younger people calling a lot less these days, the battle of the future is over data and how quick and how much is on offer and Three says it’s well placed for AI and for the Internet of Things.  Eoin MacManus is the Chief Business Officer for Three Ireland joine...

Ever wonder how the rashers on your plate or the shoulder of ham gets on your plate and how value is added along the way? Divilly Meats have been in the pork business as a family for a century and supply many of the pork products in our supermarkets. Also signing a deal renewal with Aldi only this month.   Shane Divilly is the grandson of the founder of Divilly Meats in East Galway chatt...

The vacancy rate for Irish commercial property stands at early 16% at the moment. That’s the highest in Europe and reflects the fact that demand is still soft after lockdowns. However, the retail property market is doing quite well in certain city centres but even that masks the fact that it varies from street to street. But what happens if Donald Trump persuades tech companies to upticks and move...

Aidan Donnelly from Davys brings us all the business news along with Joe Lynam.

Shomera has been making home offices and garden rooms for more than two decades already but has seen a surge in his business since lockdowns gave rise to a roaring demand for working from home. But as some of the biggest companies in the world demand that their colleagues come back into the workplace, what will it mean for the home office business?  Joining Joe on the show this morning w...

For most of last year pub, restaurant and hotel owners have complained about the surging cost to their business of higher minimum wages, holiday pay and sickness pay. They weren’t given any reprieve in the budget last October but now it looks as if some good news is on the way as the programme for government which has been agreed, sets out a reduction in the VAT rate to 9% for food-led hospitality...

Joe Lynam takes a look at today's business news stories.

Businesses supported by Enterprise Ireland increased their headcount to a record 234,000 people last year.  That’s according to the annual report just published by the state agency charged with encouraging domestic companies to grow and export.  But with a trade war looming as Donald Trump promises a hike in global tariffs, what will it mean for a very small, very open economy like Irela...

For a nation with plenty of rain we have major problems with water infrastructure.  So much so that water is set to be pumped from the river Shannon to meet the surging demand for it in the capital. According to infrastructure experts there’s a €15bn deficit in water and waste water pipes and pumps and that money has been set aside for new capital investment in the budget.  Indeed Uisce...

Joe Lynam brings us Wednesday's business headlines and news.

In Norway 9 out of every 10 new cars bought last year was an EV.  Meanwhile in Ireland sales of electric cars are down 25% on last year. It’s a testament to the waning trust in the latest technology and possibly to a lack of charging points. Either way EVs are here to stay and EU law will phase out the traditional combustion engines by 2035.  Joining Joe on the show was Ronan Flood the M...

Things are moving very fast in the world of social media.  X is soon to be embedded in the White House and openly in support of extreme far right groups in Europe. And Meta is radically scaling back its content moderation policies meaning fewer people to protect users from extreme voices. It all poses a challenge to the brand new agency set up only three months ago to arbitrate on decisions t...

Tuesday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

According to the dictionary, Greenwashing is the behaviour or activities that make people believe that a company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is. Given the fact that most of us cannot measure carbon emissions or how to reduce it, greenwashing has become a major issue. There is an Irish start up which verifies whether your green claims are justified or not.  She’s La...

Elon Musk is throwing his weight around politically and economically worldwide and now Mark Zuckerberg has completely diluted the moderation policies of his companies and thrown out its diversity and equality programs. What does it mean for us in Europe where rules are in place agreed to by 27 sovereign governments?  Adam Schwarz is a Political Commentator on Populism and politics and used to...

Kathleen Brooks from XTB Research brings us through some of the international business news stories this morning.