Irish Times Inside Business

This week on Inside Business we’re looking at the latest data on motor insurance, which shows that premiums continue to rise. The Central Bank’s annual report on motor premiums shows them going up due to increases in both vehicle damage claims and personal injury costs. Darragh Cassidy, the head of communications at Bonkers.ie, and Joe Brennan of The Irish Times joined host Ciarán Hancock in studi...

This week’s guest on Inside Business is Brad Smith, vice chair and president at tech giant Microsoft. He was in Dublin this week to speak at the Government’s international AI summit in the RDS. Brad sat down with host Ciarán Hancock to discuss the need for regulation of AI, both globally and for individual states, Ireland’s potential role in the development of the technology and how it could chang...

First up on this budget special, host Ciarán Hancock was joined on the line by Irish Times political editor Pat Leahy from Leinster House who took us through the headline elements of the budget. In part two we focused on childcare, where many parents are put to the pin of their collar paying for their children to be minded in creches and other facilities. Elain Dunne is chair of the Federation of...

On this episode of Inside Business, we start with Ireland’s economic outlook a week out from the Budget 2027 announcement. After years of consistent steady growth and running a surplus, what potential challenges await next year? Are we putting enough into the State’s rainy-day funds? And why do developments with the US Federal Reserve have a clear impact on our economy? To discuss all this, host C...

On this episode of Inside Business, we look at Ireland’s bulging tax receipts from the major multinationals. Last week in an interview with Naomi O’Leary of The Irish Times, French finance minister Roland Lesscure suggested that this bounty should be shared around Europe, to reflect where the revenue is generated. Naturally, this went down like a lead balloon with our Minister for Finance Simon Ha...

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, fuel prices at the pump continue to rise and Energia last week became the latest domestic player to increase its electricity and gas prices. A winter of discontent potentially lies ahead with the Government scrambling to put together support packages for the budget on October 6th. Muireann Lynch is senior research officer at the ESRI, and an energy exp...

First up on this episode of Inside Business, a family firm that has become one of Ireland’s best-known food brands. Maxine Hyde’s grandmother - Ballymaloe founder Myrtle Allen - began making relish in the kitchen of their family run hotel. Today, Ballymaloe Foods has a range of products sold in supermarkets nationally, and a turnover of €15m. Host Ciaran Hancock gives their signature relish a tast...

First up on this episode of Inside Business, the issue of fuel costs after the Dáil voted to postpone the restoration of fuel excise duty last Friday. Did they wilt in the face of more potential protests? What is the cumulative impact of taxes, levies, regulations and other fuel-related charges on the cost of transport and home-heating fuels? And with the budget around the corner, should any chang...

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council have made their pre-budget submission. They feel the Government’s proposed budgetary package will drive inflation and increase costs for households and firms. The council also warned that current plans would increase reliance on corporation tax receipts, which it considers risky. It also feels more of the corporation tax windfall should be put into the State’s rai...

The Government has introduced 46 tax measures since 2013 to stimulate house building here. Have they worked and do they represent good value for money for taxpayers?  To help answer that question Ciaran Hancock is joined by Marian Finnegan, chief executive of Sherry Fitzgerald, Ireland's largest estate agent, and John McCartney, a property economics lecturer in TU Dublin, who spent 20 years w...

It's been a busy week for tech giant Meta. Its new glasses have sparked controversy over privacy concerns, while founder Mark Zuckerberg published his AI manifesto, and the company indicated that it might be willing to pay local communities to host data centres in their areas. Irish Times tech expert Ciara O'Brien explains why the glasses have caused such a stir and how Zuckerberg's approach to AI...

In a column last week, Cliff Taylor posed the question as to whether middle earners are being ripped off by the Irish income tax system. And with no income tax package introduced in 2026, that meant the real tax burden has increased this year. Minister for Finance Simon Harris has signalled that tax cuts are coming in the budget targeted at middle income earners, but does that require difficult po...

First up this week’s episode of Inside Business, we are looking at pensions and what constitutes a comfortable retirement here. A recent survey from Royal London Ireland suggested Irish workers believe they will need almost €41,000 per year to achieve that. So, when should you start contributing into a pension and what age should you ramp up those contributions? And why is home ownership so import...

First up on Inside Business this week, we look at the woes impacting the Irish aviation sector. Aer Lingus last week announced plans to cut up to 500 jobs at the airline, the equivalent of 8 per cent of its workforce. And Ryanair announced on Monday that its profits had dropped in the first half of the year due to higher fuel costs and a reduction in air fares as people hedge their travel plans am...

First up on this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock speaks to Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times about the State’s purchase of the a 5-acre site on O’Connell Street in Dublin that used to house the Carlton cinema. Officially, it has been purchased for the Metrolink underground rail link to Dublin airport. But is this part of a wider plan by the Government to take charge of regener...

On this special episode of Inside Business recorded at EY’s head office, host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Dr Harriet Treacy, founder and CEO of BeyondBMI, Ireland’s first online medically led weight management and obesity clinic. She explains how frustration at the inefficiencies of healthcare systems was the catalyst in her decision to pivot from a medical doctor to an entrepreneur. Harriet is a...

In the first half of this week’s Inside Business, we debate the merits or otherwise of the now permanent 9 per cent VAT rate for the hospitality sector which kicked in on Wednesday. This followed a pledge in last year’s budget to cut the rate, and a long lobbying campaign by many in the industry.  But at a cost of €681 million in a full year, is it a good way to spend taxpayer’s money? And sh...

On this week’s episode of Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock has Irish Times new recruit Killian Woods in studio to discuss a Government scheme to support the building of apartments in our cities, which looks set to miss a key target. Croi Conaithe cities is a Government support scheme to help plug the affordability gap to support apartment building, which is a key plank in the State’s plan to so...

The announcement of a 60 day ceasefire in the Middle East to allow detailed negotiations on what we understand could be a deal to end the conflict, has given the financial markets breathing space. First up on this week’s podcast is the potential impact on energy prices through the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil, liquified natural gas and fertiliser. The Irish Times’s...

First up on this week’s episode of Inside Business is Elon Musk's company SpaceX and its plan to raise $75 billion through what will likely be the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in history this Friday. The company values itself at $1.75tn, but some analysts feel it is worth far less. Could it prove to be a risky bet for the retail investor given SpaceX's lack of profit? And there are questi...

This week, Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by An Post chief executive David McRedmond, who is about to step down after 10 years in charge of the State-owned company. He recently wrote an article for The Irish Times about the explosion in online shopping in this country and how it would impact on bricks and mortar retailers. Last year An Post delivered 75 million parcels to...

This week Inside Business looks at pay transparency. A new EU directive requiring employers to disclose salary ranges in the workplace and toughen rules enforcing gender pay equality comes into effect on June 7th. However, Ireland is set to miss that deadline, with no draft legislation in place. Nichola Harkin is head of employment law services at employers’ group Ibec and joins host Ciaran Hancoc...

House price growth hit 6.5 per cent in March, the slowest rate in two years, offering some chink of light to those hoping to buy. For tenants however, the news is grim, with rents rising by 4.4 per cent in Q.1, the highest quarterly increase since 2022. While the number of eviction notices issued by landlords rose by 50 per cent in the same period. All that against the backdrop of new government r...

How high could oil prices go? It has shot up since the United States and Israel’s war with Iran began a couple of months ago. But not by as much as might have been expected. Talks on a deal are taking place but in the absence of a deal there is concern that a prolonged conflict could lead to a global recession. Economist John FitzGerald and Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times join host Ciarán Hancock...

First up on this episode of Inside Business, the rising cost of living. Prepay Power last week became the first Irish energy supplier to announce an increase in its prices since the Middle East conflict began. Daragh Cassidy is Head of Communications at consumer advice website bonkers.ie, and he joins host Ciarán Hancock to discuss the outlook for a range of consumer prices, and whether other ener...