Irish Times Inside Business

Farming In Ireland can often feel like a gamble, with external factors like Brexit, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine often impacting a producer’s bottom line. Speaking to Ciaran Hancock on this week’s Inside Business, Rob Coleman, a tillage farmer in North Cork, and Shane McAuliffe, a pig farmer based in Kerry, point out that it’s not just the weather forecast that influences their decisions wi...

With the temporary 9% VAT rate for hospitality set to return to 13.5% at the end of August, what impact could that have on a sector still finding its feet post-pandemic? Ciaran Hancock gets some insights on the multitude of challenges facing the sector from hotelier Lorraine Sweeney and chef & restaurateur JP McMahon – challenges that already include rising food prices, huge electricity bills,...

With cement giant CRH shifting its primary listing to the New York stock exchange and noises that gambling group Flutter could soon follow suit, the Irish stock exchange is facing significant challenges. Will there be moves to make the domestic stock exchange easier to join? Perhaps a vibrant junior exchange could provide a solution? Ciaran Hancock gets the thoughts of Current Affairs Ed...

This week Accenture announced they are to cut a further 890 staff from their Irish workforce. The news comes just months after their last round of redundancies, which saw 400 staff let go from the company in March. To discuss the job losses, the reaction from staff and the wider issues facing the tech sector, Ciarán Hancock is joined by Ian McArdle, Deputy Secretary General of the Communications W...

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, Director General of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, and Founder and managing director of Tour America and Cruise Holidays, Mary McKenna, join Ciarán Hancock to discuss where the aviation sector finds itself post-Covid. Has air travel demand fully recovered? Are fares going to continue to rise? And will sustainable aviation fuel...

Will Government’s plan for a 20c tax on disposable coffee cups have the desired effect or could it end up hurting businesses? On this week’s episode of Inside Business, co-owner of Olive’s Room restaurant and co-founder of Vytal Ireland, Michelle Moloughney, gives Cliff Taylor her thoughts on the divisive levy.   And Irish Times business and technology journalist Ciara O’Brien on why she has...

On this week’s episode of Inside Business with Ciarán Hancock, Chief Economist at Davy, Conall MacCoille, explains why labour shortages and capacity pressures are putting the brakes on growth in some sectors here.   And Irish Times Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy runs through the headline details from both the exchequer receipts and the Summer Economic Statement.  Hosted on Ac...

On this week’s episode of Inside Business with Ciarán Hancock, IDA chief executive Michael Lohan tells us how housing, energy supply and a ready pipeline of new talent are need to keep Foreign Direct Investment flowing into the country.   Michael and EY partner Feargal de Freine discuss a new report from EY covering 44 European countries on where Ireland sits in the competition for forei...

With the European Central Bank raising rates to a 22-year high, should Sinn Féin’s proposal for an introduction of mortgage interest relief be entertained by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien? Brendan Burgess, founder of the consumer forum, askaboutmoney.com, thinks it is a poorly thought-out plan. As he tells host Ciarán Hancock, despite the increases in mortgage rates, most mortgage holders are n...

With the latest CSO figures pointing to data centres in the Republic using as much electricity as urban households last year despite an effective moratorium on new connections to the grid in the Greater Dublin Area, does the proliferation of data centres here in recent times represent a real threat to our carbon emissions goals? Ciaran Hancock is joined by Irish Times Business Reporter Ian Curran...

Fifteen years on from the 2008 financial crash, a new accountability regime is due to come into force in Ireland for senior executives in the financial services industry here.   In March, the Central Bank launched a three-month consultation period on key aspects of the Individual Accountability Framework for bankers.   Derville Rowland is Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Ireland wi...

In the United States, the legislative limit on the amount of national debt that can be incurred by the US Treasury has reached its absolute limit. As it stands, the US government is limited by law to borrowing no more than $31.4 trillion, this debt ceiling is routinely reached, but once that happens Congress can simply vote to raise the ceiling and allow the US to borrow more money, and thus conti...

Tom Keogh delves into the 200-year history of his family's farm business in north county Dublin, the pivots those before him were forced to make, and how ingenious branding and marketing helped Keogh's stand out in a crowded market. We also hear how a conversation with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration official inspired Tom to start making crisps, the challenge of taking on Tayto, and how the pa...

Cork entrepreneur Norman Crowley has signed a deal with a leading global mining company to retrofit some 8,500 diesel mining trucks into electric vehicles over the next three years, with much of this work to take place at sites in the Republic, he tells Ciaran Hancock on today's podcast. Norman's company Cool Planet Group will carry out some of the work at a new factory it has just completed at Po...

Barry Connolly scooped the award for Business Person of the Year in February at the fifth annual Irish Times Business Awards. He joined Ciaran at the time for a wide-ranging chat about his successful career to date. Barry is co-founder of nutrition bar ‘Fulfil’, which was sold in April of last year for a reported €160 million to confectionary giant Ferrero. After giving his reaction to receiving t...

The fact that winning the League of Ireland Premier Division is less lucrative than a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying round tie speaks volumes about the financial state of football here. Could government intervention have a positive impact? Perhaps a redistribution of the tax income from betting is a good place to start. And with facilities from a bygone era still a feature throughout the...

With some 4,000 homes in its portfolio, and few or no vacant units at this time, Ires Reit should be raking it in.  So, why are they planning to sell off the "crown jewels" of their assets in an attempt to balance the books? The company's annual general meeting on May 4th looks to be more interesting than usual, with Canadian investor Vision Capital calling for the board of directors to...

With KBC and Ulster Bank having exited the Irish market, what is out there for Irish customers when it comes to loans and savings? Could Fintech companies like Revolut and N26, along with more established companies such as An Post and our Credit Unions, prove to be viable alternatives for consumers looking to change? Plus, are house-hunters likely to see asking prices dropping across the board ove...

In this episode, Cork-based developer Michael O’Flynn shares his views on the new Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT), which will come into effect in 2024, replacing the existing vacant site levy. The new tax aims to increase housing supply by encouraging developers to build on land owned, rather than hoarding it. While O’Flynn explains that he’s in favour of the concept, he doesn’t agree with the w...

Despite a slowdown in the tech sector, Ireland’s corporation tax receipts are as healthy as ever. The latest exchequer returns show the Government collected €3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023, €1.3 billion higher than in the same period last year. Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Cliff Taylor talk to Ciaran Hancock about the government's plan for the takings.  Later, Marian Finnegan, Managing Di...

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has published a new report on Ireland's economic circumstances. Conor O'Toole, Associate Research Professor with the ESRI, joins Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Ciaran to talk about the report. They discuss inflation, growth, the impact of inadequate housing supply and the problem of relying so heavily on a few major industrial sectors. Plus: London corresp...

With Amazon announcing a further 9,000 jobs job cuts this week, and Workhuman’s plans to reduce its global workforce by 10%, it could be many weeks or even months before we learn how many Irish roles are affected. Business and technology journalist, Ciara O’Brien, analyses the latest retrenchment in the tech sector. Business reporter, Ian Curran, examines the potential risk of contagion following...

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week has spooked financial markets, with global banking stocks dropping significantly as a result. With a new CEO at the helm, SVB is declaring ‘business as usual’, but the ripple effects of the bank’s failure can still be felt. To discuss the reasons behind the bank run and the wider implications on markets and the tech sector, Ciaran Hancock is join...

This week's podcast is focussed on stock market and banking news. Host Ciaran Hancock is joined by Aidan Donnelly, Head of Equities at Davy and Joe Brennan, Markets Correspondent with The Irish Times. It is reporting season, so news is emerging about the performance and intentions of Irish plcs. And some are indicating plans to shift their main stock market listing to the United States. Why i...

The deal is done between the UK and the EU to solve problems with the Northern Ireland protocol, and should it become operational, that deal means Northern Ireland will remain within the EU single market, with the added benefit of access to the UK market. So what will that mean for its economy - and what will it mean for the economy in the Republic? Ciaran Hancock and Cliff Taylor are joined by Ma...