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The predictably slow delivery of infrastructure here has a raft of negative consequences, not least how it undermines our competitiveness in a very challenging global environment.
So why are vital projects so slow to get over the line? How does Government prioritise one project over another? And what can be done to streamline the planning process?
To get into the causes and some potential solutions to these issues, host Cliff Taylor was joined by chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council Frances Ruane.
And from air fryers and skiing gear in the middle isle, to expanding into manufacturing and shipping, Lidl, part of the Schwarz Group, has evolved hugely from its early days of obsessive penny-pinching efficiency and prices written in pencil.
In part two of this week’s Inside Business, Irish Times Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally joined Cliff on the line to discuss how this evolution and success has been achieved, and the influence of, among other things, Irish consumer habits.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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The Economist magazine recently published its annual country rich list. Ireland was nowhere to be found on the list in spite of the fact that we are constantly being told that Ireland is one of the world’s richest countries.
Host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times to talk about how rich we all are, or not as the case may be, and the measures that ruled Ireland out of consideration.
Also on Inside Business this week, Conor Pope of The Irish Times discusses the companies that consumers complain about the most to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
Who are they? What are the most common complaints? And how much out of pocket are consumers as a result of their bad experiences?
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week Inside Business is looking at tourism. Data from the Central Statistics Office earlier this year suggested that the number of visitors to the country had fallen off a cliff.
Not so said the industry, while acknowledging that the market was a bit soft compared with the past two years of trading.
Joining host Ciarán Hancock in studio to discuss this is Paul Gallagher, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation and Sean O’Driscoll, chief executive of iNua hotels, one of the biggest hospitality groups in the country.
They tease out the issue of the 9% Vat rate, with some strong criticisms of the Department of Finance from Sean.
They also talk about the slow death of food and beverage in the country, the Dublin airport passenger cap, AI’s increasing use in the business and hotel prices around the Oasis concerts.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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We start this week’s episode of Inside Business with a look at how influencers have been reminded recently by Revenue of their obligations to pay tax on their earnings.
Siobhan Maguire is a contributor to The Irish Times and wrote an excellent piece this week on this hot topic.
She joins host Ciarán Hancock on the line to go through the many ways influencers expose themselves to tax liability as outlined in a new guide issued by Revenue.
Is there such thing as a free dinner for influencers and what part does non-monetary compensation play?
Also on this episode, Ciarán speaks to young Dublin entrepreneur Luke Joyce about setting up Ireland’s first online subscription window cleaning service.
Luke grew up on a farm in Saggart, Co Dublin, did entrepreneurship at Maynooth University and then set up Thecleaningcompany.ie. The company has gone from strength to strength since it was established in 2019 with projected turnover of €2.5m for this year.
His success cleaning windows recently spurred him into launching new businesses painting houses and doing general maintenance work.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by economist and Irish Times contributor John FitzGerald. He gives his reaction to the EU-US trade deal that will see a 15% tariff rate on European imports going into the US, a deal that he feels the EU had agreed to with ‘two hands tied behind its back’ on account of its continued reliance on the US when it comes to the war in Ukraine.
Also, ahead of Budget 2026 John outlines the need for the Government to stop pumping money into a booming economy and focus on making space for much-needed infrastructure. He feels we are inflating the economy when we should be cutting expenditure or raising taxes, neither of which would be politically popular.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week the Government outlined spending of €200 billion on a National Development Plan stretching over the next decade.
In parallel it also set out its stall for this year’s budget, signalling a spending and tax package of €9.5 billion.
Joining host Ciarán Hancock in studio to dissect these spending plans and tax cuts against a backdrop of a potential trade war between the US and the EU were Ellen Coyne, political correspondent of The Irish Times, Ferga Kane, EY Ireland’s strategy and transactions team lead, and Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times.
They tease out the headline numbers in the National Development Plan, the areas being targeted over the next five years, and the likely impact on future foreign investment.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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Economist and writer David McWilliams was scathing about the level of dereliction in Dublin city in a recent article in the Irish Times.
He suggested tax breaks and other measures to breathe new life back into the capital and to get more people living in the city centre. He joined host Ciarán Hancock to discuss his ideas and how we can learn from the mistakes of the not-too-distant past.
Plus, it’s been another busy week on the tariff front with US President Donald Trump sending a letter to the EU threatening higher taxes on European imports into America.
Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times has been covering this story and he joined Ciarán to talk through the contents of the letter, potential consequences for Ireland and whether this is yet another ploy by Donald Trump in this drawn-out negotiation with the EU.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week we’re looking at the Juggle that women with young children have to make in Ireland to find a work-life balance.
It’s an age-old problem in Ireland with no solution yet in sight. Margaret Ward writes about Work issues each week for the Irish Times as well as running her own consultancy business Clear Eye and she’s written a series of articles on the Juggle in recent weeks.
Aideen Finnegan is an audio producer with The Irish Times and the host of the Better with Money podcast. She has two young children, and you’ll hear her tell host Ciarán Hancock about the daily grind she and her husband face to get their kids to creche and school while also commuting to work to earn a living.
Both of them offer their clear views on what Government and employers need to do to help young mothers balance their responsibilities at home and in the workplace.
Also in this episode of Inside Business, Donald Trump recently got his Big Beautiful Act through Congress, which allows for major cuts in taxation while boosting spending in key areas to support his policies. It will also involve cuts in Medicaid and other assistance offered to the most vulnerable in the US.
Keith Duggan joins host Ciarán Hancock on the line from Washington to discuss this and the latest developments in Trump’s tariff threats.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week we are looking at the phenomenon of the D4 farmer. Not some wealthy entrepreneur herding cattle in Ballsbridge but wealthy individuals buying up farmland around the country as a wheeze to reduce the inheritance tax bills for their children.
How does the tax break work? What impact will it have on land prices? And is anything being done to change it?
Fiona Reddan of the Irish Times wrote a brilliant article on this last week and she joins host Ciarán Hancock in studio, along with Marty Murphy, who is head of tax at IFAC Ireland, one of the country’s biggest accounting firms with a large number of farmers on its books.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Willie Walsh, the director general of IATA, the Geneva-based representative group for the airline industry.
Willie will be known to you as the Irish man who was a high-profile chief executive of both Aer Lingus and British Airways.
He then became head of IAG, which is the parent group to both of those airlines plus some Spanish carriers, including Iberia.
He’s now in charge of IATA, with his contract set to run until 2027.
You’ll hear Willie talk about airline profits and whether air fares are likely to go up or down in the near term.
He spoke about aviation’s role in reducing harmful carbon emissions and the chances of a climate-friendly biofuel being developed for commercial use.
He gives his view on why emerging markets such as India and burgeoning economies in Africa are entitled to grow their airline industries and passenger traffic as they become wealthier.
He also expresses his frustrations with the inefficient way air traffic control is managed in Europe.
And Willie explains why, in his view, Ireland has become something of a laughing stock on the international stage over the legal battles being fought around the Dublin Airport passenger cap. In his view, this is hindering growth here and jeopardising foreign direct investment.
And the 63-year-old talks about his plans for retirement, which could include Italian wine.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week we’re flying high with the Irish drone delivery company Manna.
Its founder and chief executive is Bobby Healy, who joined host Ciarán Hancock in studio to discuss what he believes is Manna’s massive growth potential.
Set up in 2019, Manna only recently began generating revenues and is yet to turn a profit. It is currently flying nine drones in Dublin 15 and has made more than 170,000 deliveries in Ireland so far.
It has another eight drones operating outside Ireland.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
You’ll hear Bobby’s ambitious plans for expansion into the United States and the Nordic countries and how it would need 45,000 drones just to serve the UK market.
And he wants to manufacture all of those drones in Ireland.
It’s a cash hungry company with plans to raise many millions of dollars from investors but Healy is thinking big and believes Manna can become Ireland’s biggest corporate success story.
Of course, not everyone is delighted by having drone deliveries in their areas and Healy addresses some of those complaints in the interview.
An engaging entrepreneur, Healy has previously sold three travel tech companies. So, he has form in this space.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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Conall Mac Coille, chief economist at Bank of Ireland, joins Cliff Taylor and Ciaran Hancock to talk about Irish economic and business news:
Produced in association with EY.
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Donald Trump’s second term in the White House has seen markets go through a period of extreme volatility, something that has worried many Irish pension holders.
How should they react? Should they react at all? And what is the outlook for the rest of this year?
Munro O’Dwyer is a partner at PwC Ireland and joins host Cliff Taylor in studio to discuss managing your pension in volatile times.
In the second half of this episode of Inside Business, Irish Times Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy looks at why so many companies are pulling back from their pledge to go green and lower carbon emissions.
This alarming trend is worrying given the latest analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency that shows that Ireland is going backwards in its attempts to achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets.
So why the about-face on an issue that affects us all? Is reaching net zero emissions simply not realistic for many companies?
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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New electric vehicle sales here dipped last year by 24% when compared to 2023, further making a mockery of the government’s target of 1 million EVs on Irish roads by 2030.
A reduction in the SEAI grant and gaps in charging infrastructure fed into consumer uncertainty when it comes to making the switch from petrol and diesel vehicles.
But that trend looks to be reversing this year, something that Lisa Brankin, chairman and managing director of Ford UK & Ireland, will be keen to see accelerate.
She joined host Cliff Taylor in studio to discuss the challenges of going electric, her plans for the company’s future, and the launch of Ford Power Promise across Ford’s range of electric cars in Ireland.
Also on this week’s episode of Inside Business, AIB’s Economic Outlook Report for May highlights how global uncertainty and an escalation in trade tariffs could lead to a slowdown in global and Irish growth in 2025 and 2026.
That said, the report also points out that the Irish economy has built up a certain level of resilience to withstand a potential trade shock in the short term.
AIB Chief Economist David McNamara went through the risk US tariffs and future US tax policy pose, and the outlook for 2025 and 2026.
Produced by John Casey and Suzanne Brennan with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week brought more bad news for first time buyers and those renting.
Figures from both the CSO and property website Daft.ie suggest that house prices and rents continue to soar across the country.
The national monthly average rent between January and March surpassed €2,000 for the first time. And the chronic shortage of supply for those looking to buy put house price inflation at 7.5% in March.
To discuss these numbers and to tease out some potential solutions to the housing crisis, host Ciarán Hancock was joined by Eoin Burke Kennedy, economics correspondent of The Irish Times who has reported on the data.
And by Marian Finnegan, an economist and a senior executive at Sherry Fitzgerald, Ireland’s biggest estate agent.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week’s episode of Inside Business starts with an interview with Irish entrepreneur Jordan Dargan.
Fans of the popular BBC show The Apprentice, will have seen Jordan come within a whisker of reaching the final two who got to pitch to secure Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment.
There was some consolation for the 22-year-old Dubliner with Lord Sugar giving him his business card before he left the boardroom and encouraging him to keep in touch.
Jordan joined host Ciarán Hancock in studio to detail his experience on the Apprentice, how the business he pitched to Lord Sugar has developed since recording finished last year, and offers he has received here to pursue a career in media.
Earlier this week, US president Donald Trump pressed for drug companies to invest more in the United States and to lower their prices for medicines.
So, what would that mean for the Irish pharma sector, which exports a huge amount of medicines to the US each year.
Dominic Coyle of The Irish Times has covered the story and goes through Trump’s proposals and the possible implications for Irish pharma.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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Earlier this week, US meal delivery group DoorDash agreed a deal to take over its British rival Deliveroo, which has a big presence in Ireland.
The deal is valued at £2.9 billion and will pit the merged group in competition with other online delivery platforms such as Just Eat and Uber Eats.
Callum Cant is an author and senior lecturer from the University of Essex and also worked for Deliveroo while he was in college.
He joined host Ciarán Hancock on the line to discuss the merger and what it might mean for Deliveroo’s battalion of gig economy workers and for retailers using the online ordering platform.
Also on this week’s Inside Business, the Department of Finance’s annual progress report on the Irish economy, a document that informs budgetary strategy and is filed with the European Commission.
This week it brought news of a slowdown in growth, reduced job creation and a significant fall in corporation tax receipts.
Eoin Burke-Kennedy covered the story for The Irish Times and explained the headline numbers in the report and what impact Trump’s tariffs will have on Irish economic growth this year.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week Inside Business looks at the impact of Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office on markets.
The sweeping US tariffs announced on April 2nd rocked equity and bond markets.
They plunged in value to such an extent that Donald Trump was forced into a quick U Turn, postponing all of the tariffs for 90 days, with the exception of China.
Aidan Donnelly is Head of Global Equities at Davy stockbrokers and joined host Ciarán Hancock in studio to consider the impact of those tariffs and to offer a view on where markets might go for the rest of the year.
In the second half of the show, Hugh Linehan of The Irish Times will reflect on the terms being offered in RTÉ’s latest voluntary exit programme for staff in an effort to help the broadcaster reduce its headcount by 400 over the next four years.
The funding for this restructuring has essentially been provided by the State via a €725 million three-year funding plan agreed last year with the Government.
In a column in The Irish Times this week, Hugh Linehan of The Irish Times examined the plan and asked the question as to whether RTÉ was in a worse position than other media companies in Ireland?
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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This week’s episode features Patrick Guilbaud, the French chef who brought fine dining to Ireland 44 years ago.
Situated beside the Merrion Hotel in central Dublin, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud continues to thrive with two Michelin stars.
Guilbaud moved to Ireland in the early 1980’s when the country was in recession, and it wasn’t always plain sailing. A visit from the sheriff for unpaid debts led to a partnership with successful businessmen Lochlann Quinn and Martin Naughton that helped put the restaurant on a sound financial footing. It also led him to relocate the restaurant to the Merrion Hotel site which was developed by Quinn and Naughton. A move that he considers to be the making of the business.
In February Guilbaud received the Distinguished Leader in Business award at the Irish Times Business Awards.
In this interview with host Ciarán Hancock he discusses those difficult early days of trading, changes in the Irish restaurant trade over the past four decades, the current challenges facing the sector in terms of cost, and his plans for retirement.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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Kerrygold is one of the biggest food brands in Ireland and one of our largest exports.
Earlier today, its parent company Ornua announced that revenues last year were flat at €3.4 billion but its operating profit and Ebitda were up, helped by efficiencies achieved during the period.
But that was last year. Before Donald Trump won the US presidential election and later announced sweeping tariffs on all imported goods.
Kerrygold is one of the main Irish food brands facing a hit from Trump’s tariffs, which are currently set at 10 per cent for 90 days but could ultimately rise to 20 per cent.
Conor Galvin is chief executive of Ornua and he joined me in studio to discuss the impact the 10 per cent tariff is currently having on Kerrygold sales in US retail.
Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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