Irish Times Inside Business

The news that VW tested diesel engine emissions by exposing monkeys to the fumes is a PR disaster for the company - another one. But will it matter to its bottom line? Or will the negative findings of the tests harm the diesel market? From Germany, Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally, and from his desk, Motoring Editor Michael McAleer are here to tell us. After that, in our monthly focus on the business of sport, Ciaran and Michael O'Keeffee of Teneo PSG talk to IRFU CEO Philip Browne about the Rugby World Cup bid, doing a deal with TV3, the price of Six Nations tickets and more. Finally, Michael fills Ciarán in on all the big sports business stories of the moment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How has the Trump economy so totally confounded the negative expectations of a year ago? What did we learn about the tracker mortgage scandal from AIB CEO Bernard Byrne's appearance at the Oireachtas finance committee ? And what is stopping us from making real competitors to Dublin out of places like Cork and Limerick, before the entire country becomes a commuter belt and the M50 finally grinds to a permanent halt? In part one of today's Inside Business podcast, Business Editor Ciarán Hancock probes Cliff Taylor and Eoghan Burke-Kennedy for answers to those questions. In part two, Markets Correspondent Joe Brennan reports on the goings-on at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A study of executive salaries at Irish companies by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) released this week, shows the gap between the pay packets of chief executives and the average worker is widening, while bonuses are on the up.Laura Slattery is joined by Ictu's Dr Peter Rigney, Global FDI director at Morgan McKinley Trayc Keevan and Irish Times business affairs correspondent Mark Paul to discuss the findings.Also on the show: the CSO has introduced its Labour Force Survey to replace the Quarterly National Household Survey as the most accurate barometer of conditions in the Irish labour market. Eoin Burke Kennedy explains what it says about the state of Irish employment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Demand for residential property in Dublin is sky-high, particularly around Grand Canal Dock. That's where development company Cairn Homes is building 122 new apartments. But the hefty price tag means they are not for everyone. Cairn CEO Michael Stanley showed Ciarán around the building and talked about the high cost of construction, why we need to add more floors to our city centre buildings and what needs to be done to ameliorate the acute shortage of housing. But first Joe Brennan pops in to tell us about the history of Cairn. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

2017 was another busy year for the Irish hotel industry with many new openings, customer growth and increased room rates. Tim Fenn, CEO of the Irish Hotels Federation, talks to Ciarán about the industry: the health of the market, whether value for money is being eroded, the impact of Brexit and the fight to retain the 9% VAT rate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What challenges and opportunities face the Irish economy and business in 2018? Bank of Ireland chief executive Francesca McDonagh, Ibec CEO Danny McCoy and Irish Times columnist and technology entrepreneur Chris Horn, join Ciaran Hancock to look ahead to the next 12 months. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cliff Taylor joins Ciarán Hancock to discuss what led to Ireland having Europe's fastest growing economy in 2017. Also casting a glance back at the year that was, Laura Slattery chronicles the ups and downs at RTÉ, Mark Paul reviews the extraordinary goings on at Independent News and Media, while Dominic Coyle and Joe Brennan have the latest on the ongoing tracker mortgage scandal and what might happen next.In the second part of the show, Sport Ireland CEO John Treacy is this month’s guest on the Business of Sport, co-hosted by Mick O’Keeffe of Teneo PSG. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Irish Times columnist Chris Johns joins Laura Slattery and Cliff Taylor to discuss the Great Brexit Fudge and an apparent comeback by Prime Minister Theresa May. Also on today's podcast, Proinsias O'Mahony on the Bitcoin bubble and Barry O'Halloran on Ryanair's industrial relations woes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chief economist at Davy Conall Mac Coille joins Washington correspondent Suzanne Lynch, Cliff Taylor and Ciarán Hancock to discuss the failed Brexit talks, US tax reform and what it might mean for Ireland. The panel also look at the exchequer returns for the first 11 months of this year and what they tell us about the health of the Irish economy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today we're excited to introduce a new monthly feature on Inside Business: The Business of Sport. Together with Mick O'Keeffe, CEO of communications company Teneo PSG and former Dublin footballer, we'll be examining the stories where sport and business interact. Joining us for the our first instalment of The Business of Sport is Paraic Duffy, Director General of the GAA. He talks to Ciarán and Mick about getting to grips with the vast machine that is the modern GAA, what missing out on the Rugby World Cup bid means for development of gaelic stadia, and the future of GAA broadcasting - could RTÉ lose more games to rivals?But first Ciarán talks to Cliff Taylor about the Central Bank's relaxation of some of the macroprudential rules governing lending to prospective homebuyers. Some good news for first time buyers at last? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today's episode, Deputy Chief Executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, Lorraine Higgins and Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope go head-to-head on the merits of Black Friday.And, in the second part of the show, Denis Staunton joins Ciaran Hancock and Cliff Taylor on the line from London, where the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond delivered the UK’s autumn budget earlier this afternoon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are landlords are leaving long-term rentals, switching to the more lucrative short-term market? What's going on with a potential personal data breach at INM? And what are the latest developments in the tracker mortgage scandal? Fiona Reddan, Mark Paul and Joe Brennan join Ciarán Hancock to discuss.In the second part of the show, Peter Vale, tax partner at Grant Thornton, is in studio with Deputy Business Editor Dominic Coyle to talk about the “Single Malt” tax loophole, which companies are now turning to after other structures were shut down in recent years. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"It might be legal there, but that's because very little is illegal there".Richard Murphy and Colm Keena join Ciarán Hancock to talk about the wonderful world of offshore tax avoidance revealed in the Paradise Papers. Colm looks at the details of the Irish cases found among the cache of leaked documents, while Richard explains the unusual way in which the Isle of Man has managed to fund itself while offering a 0% corporate tax rate. They also discuss our own status in the international tax community. How realistic is an international approach to thwarting tax avoidance, and what role should Ireland play? Richard Murphy is professor of practice in international political economy at City University, technical director of the Fair Tax Mark and director of Tax Research UK. Colm Keena is Legal Affairs Correspondent with The Irish Times. In part two, our reporter Charlie Taylor reports on the clever robots and gregarious AI systems that, along with tens of thousands of techie humans, populate this year's Web Summit

This week's podcast looks at the latest radio listenership figures, Ryanair's healthy profits despite the problems of the past months, and why Ireland's bid for the Rugby World Cup was ranked third behind France and South Africa, meaning likely disappointment for Irish rugby fans and also for Ireland Inc. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A woman who says she was taken off her tracker mortgage by Permanent TSB without her knowledge in 2006, has described her future as “too scary to even think about.”On today’s Inside Business podcast, Marian Kenny tells Ciaran Hancock that she sees no use in naming and shaming the banks involved in the tracker mortgage scandal because “you need to have a conscience to feel shame”.In the second part of the show, chief executive of Irish Mortgage Holders David Hall joins Cliff Taylor to discuss how the crisis may eventually be resolved, if at all.The panel also reacts to the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe’s statement on Wednesday, that most of the tracker mortgage customers who have already been identified as being affected by the scandal will receive compensation by the end of the year. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gavin O'Reilly, former CEO of Independent News & Media, Chairman of Red Flag Consulting and son of Sir Anthony O'Reilly, talks to Ciarán Hancock about the case Denis O'Brien has taken against Red Flag, corporate governance at INM today and his father's life after business. He also talks about his own life in business, from advertising and stockbroking to the music and newspaper industries, and an unusual encounter with disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To look at the measures introduced in today's budget, Business Editor Ciarán Hancock is joined by Fiach Kelly and Cliff Taylor (The Irish Times), Peter Reilly (PwC) and Marian Finnegan (Sherry FitzGerald). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Inside Business Podcast LIVE at the GPO: "The Future Of Retail"Irish Times Business Editor Ciaran Hancock talked to a panel of retaill experts about the future of the industry in the digital age for our second ever live recording of Inside Business. The event took place at the G.P.O.'s Witness History museum on O'Connell Street, Dublin. On the panel: Maurice Pratt, formerly the face of Quinnsworth and Tesco Ireland, current chairman of pharmacy chain Unipharm, and a director both of Boyne Valley food group and Donnelly's fruit and veg. Lorraine Higgins, Deputy Chief Executive of Retail Excellence Ireland and a former Labour Party senator. Lorcan O'Connor, a director of the Carrolls Irish Gifts chain and chairman of Dublin Town, the business improvement organisation. Dave McRedmond, CEO of An Post, former head of TV3 and Operations Manager with Waterstones. GPO Witness History is a brand new permanent visitor attraction in the iconic GPO building on O’Connell Street, Dublin. This highly immersive and engagi

Ryanair is making headlines for all the wrong reasons for a second week running, with 400,000 customers set to be affected by further flight cancellations over the winter period.On the latest Inside Business podcast, Barry O’Halloran says Michael O’Leary’s airline could have been forgiven for an isolated mess up that led to last week’s PR disaster and the cancellation of two per cent of its flights over a six week period, but this latest crisis gives the impression of an organisation that is stumbling.He is joined by consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope who says Mr O’Leary’s announcement that Ryanair is to “grow more slowly” over the coming months due to “sensible schedule changes” is a nicer way of saying that he doesn’t have enough pilots or crew to cover shifts.In the second half of the show presenter Dominic Coyle speaks to CEO of Hospitality Ulster Colin Neill, Adrian Cummins of the Restaurants Association and Irish Times business affairs correspondent Mark Paul, about the thorny issue of the hospit

It's been a week of uncharacteristically poor PR management at Ryanair with the airline forced to cancel 2 per cent of its flights over the next six weeks, due to a cock-up concerning pilots holidays.Irish Times Consumer Affairs correspondent Conor Pope says Michael O'Leary is clearly raging over the blunder but it's unlikely to have any lasting impact on the brand.He joins business reporter Barry O'Halloran to discuss the crisis affecting more than 300,000 of the airline's customers.In the second part of the show Business Affairs correspondent Mark Paul hits the National Ploughing Championships to take the pulse of Ireland's agriculture sector and find out what farmers are most concerned about with Brexit just around the corner. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.