Down To Business

It’s a technophobe’s worst nightmare. A piece of technology seems to have more powers than its inventors thought, and, in modern parlance, it goes rogue. In the age of AI, the fear becomes more real. Earlier this month, a test by OpenAI seems to have done just that. It went beyond the parameters set for itself and launched a cyber attack on what it was testing. The scion of science here in Newstal...

Liam Kearney, CEO and co-founder of environmental engineering company The Revive Group joins Bobby in this week's Executive Chair.

With the summer economic statement this week, Bobby is joined by economist Austin Hughes to make sense of Ireland's economy in the context of domestic and international matters.

Bobby goes on the road this week to visit the husband and wife team behind Two Pups Cafe in the Liberties.

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is Ronan Reid of Cantor, and Linda Daly, business reporter for the Sunday Times Ireland.

Bobby is joined by the UK's speaker of the year 2026, Robin Kermode, to discuss the value of effective communication in business.

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is Susan HayesCulleton. Presenter of Taking Stock here on Newstalk &Ciaran Hancock, Business Editor of The Irish Times.

Joining Bobby in the executive chair this week is Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland.

Bobby popped out to Dunboyne in Co. Meath to check out a company providing modular solutions for new builds - Steel Frames Direct Ireland.

10 years ago Bobby interviewed a man called Emmet Savage, who was building a subscription service for stock recommendations. After a decade, and a few brand transformations, the company, now called MyWallSt, has finally taken off. Emmet joins Bobby to discuss.

Did you have a summer job? Do your children currently have one? When is too young to start working or should teenagers just be given the summer off? Saoirse Hanley of the Irish independent recently did a deep dive into the area - she joins Bobby to discuss as does Sinead English a career management specialist from ‘HILT'.

Solar power has gone from being a niche technology to one of the fastest-growing parts of Ireland’s energy landscape. But as the sector expands, there are big questions around investment, grid capacity, planning, and whether Ireland has the infrastructure needed to make the most of this renewable resource. So, to look at the future of solar in Ireland, Bobby is joined by three people working acros...

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Professor Nicola Ralph, Consultant Dermatologist and Co-founder of the Institute of Dermatologists, Surgical Institute Dublin and ID Formulas & Professor Caitriona Ryan, Consultant Dermatologist and Co-Founder at Institute of Dermatologists, ID formulas, and Surgical Institute Dublin and a Clinical Professor at University College Dublin.

As it’s agricultural show season, Bobby takes a trip to Tipperary to visit Clonmel Show 2026.

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is Ciara McDonagh of Healy Communications & communication consultant Doug Keatinge.

Sarah Stone McDevitt was made to sit at the back of the class when she was a child in school due to her dyslexia but this experience helped her on the road to writing her book ‘The Round Table- How Relational Intelligence Will Become Your Human Advantage in the AI Age’. She joins Bobby to discuss.

Wages are rising, unemployment is relatively low, lots of people are making Ireland home, and tax receipts are buoyant thanks to our US cousins who manufacture or headquarter here. What could possibly go wrong? One person who thinks things aren’t as rosy, is economist and columnist with The Sunday Times, Cormac Lucey. He joins Bobby to discuss.

Food trucks have become a major part of Ireland’s food scene, bringing everything from gourmet burgers and wood-fired pizza to seafood, Asian cuisine, and locally sourced produce directly to customers.  But behind the popularity of the movement is a challenging business model, with rising costs, licensing issues, competition, and the ongoing struggle to find suitable locations.  Today, B...

Paul English is a serial tech entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and former CTO of Kayak.com . He is also the author of The Meeting Book: How the Best Companies Meet Better, which outlines his strategies for cutting out wasteful corporate meetings and improving decision-making. He joins Bobby to talk about his life in business, philanthropy, and more.

ApexGolf is your personal AI coach for golf and fitness - helping you train smarter, move better, and lower your scores. Bobby speaks to its creator, Barry Moroney to find out more.

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is journalist and author, Valerie Cox & Deputy Business Editor of the Sunday Times Ireland, Jon Ihle.

Joining Bobby in the executive chair this week is Tony Lanigan, MD of Creative Technology Ireland.

For this week’s Industry Review we look at the stock market - what it actually is, what drives it up and down, and why it matters even if you’ve never bought a share in your life.  From interest rates and inflation to global tech giants and pension funds, we’ll unpack how money really moves through the system and who is making the big decisions behind the scenes.  Joining Bobby to make s...

Andy Burnham is expected to become Labour leader at a special conference on July 17th and hence the Prime Minister. One of his plans is to have a Number 10 in the North and he’s attempting what’s being called ‘ Manchesterism” that attempts to rid England of the North South divide - but is that possible? Political Economist Will Hutton joins Bobby to discuss.

This week, Down to Business was coming to you live from the River Court Hotel in Kilkenny as part of Newstalk’s 2026 Summer Tour, all with thanks to ESB - Ireland’s largest EV charging network. There, he had the chance to chat with Kilkenny hurling legend, T.J.Reid.