Irish Times Inside Business

On Monday, markets were in meltdown when it emerged that a Chinese app called DeepSeek had developed a low-cost AI technology that can compete with those of US giants but at a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the computing power. So, who is behind DeepSeek? And what is the future for the huge valuations on Big Tech and data centre stocks in the US and Europe?For some insight on this, host Ciarán Hancock was joined by Ciara O’Brien of the Irish Times and Aidan Donnelly, head of Global equities at Davy.Earlier this week, the State sold another 5 per cent of its holding in AIB. This reduced taxpayers’ holdings to 12.5 per cent in the Irish lender, which was bailed out by the State post the 2008 financial crash. Why has the State decided to sell more shares in AIB? What do we know of Paschal Donohoe’s plan for the remaining 12.5 per cent stake? What about the cap on pay and bonuses? Joe Brennan of the Irish Times covered the story and joined us on the line to explain.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on

Karen Clince is CEO of Tigers Childcare, one of the biggest providers in the Irish market with 22 centres in Dublin, Cork, Kildare and Meath. She joins host Ciarán Hancock to explain the economics of running a childcare facility and give her view on proposals from the new Government to boost the sector.And Laura Slattery of the Irish Times talks us through the findings of a survey from Dublin Chamber which shows how the childcare crisis is limiting the ability of companies to recruit and retain staff, especially women, with a fifth of all companies describing it as the primary barrier to doing so.Plus, the World Economic Forum kicked off on Monday in the Swiss resort of Davos with many leading business and political leaders assembling to discuss the big global issues of the day.It’s fair to say that Donald Trump’s return to the White House overshadowed all of that. The new US president hit the ground running, issuing more than 100 executive orders on his first day in office and pulling the US from the OECD’s

Last week a high-profile residential property scheme for Dundrum village in Dublin, that would have delivered 881 apartments and a mix of commercial units, was rejected by An Bord Pleanála. The scheme had first been proposed in 2021 by Hammerson and Allianz who between them owned the land. In a rejection letter the board was strong in its language noting the excessive density, height and scale, together with its “monolithic appearance”. And that it would have had an overbearing impact on neighbouring residential properties. This decision prompted Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times to write a column on the issue and its relevance to the housing crisis here. He joins host Ciarán Hancock on this week’s episode of Inside Business. Also joining the show is Tom Phillips, an experienced planning consultant who has been involved in a number of large development applications, but not the one for Dundrum. He gives his thoughts on how the planning system works, the role of planning consultants, and the contradictions in th

Figures for 2024 showed a 1 per cent decline in total car sales across the Irish market versus 2023. But the number of electric vehicles sold reduced by almost 24 per cent with just 17,459 registered. This is against the backdrop of a government target to have one million EVs on Irish roads by 2030 as we phase out the use of fossil fuels.Neil Briscoe writes extensively about motoring for the Irish Times and he joined host Ciarán Hancock on the line to go through some of the affordable options for those looking to buy, and explain why sales of EVs went into reverse last year.In part two of the podcast, we hear from Conor Hanley, chief executive and president of Fire1, an Irish MedTech company that this week raised $120million to fund final clinical stage trials in the US for a device which helps monitor heart failure. He joined Ciarán in studio to explain why he thinks the technology is a major breakthrough for the many millions of people who suffer from this potentially life-threatening condition. Produced by

For this week’s episode, host Ciarán Hancock was joined by a stellar panel to look forward to 2025. They tried to predict what would happen with foreign direct investment with Donald Trump back in The White House, a new coalition government is to be formed but will it solve the decade-plus housing crisis, and they consider the impact of artificial intelligence – can it live up to the hype of the last two years? The panel comprises Feargal O’Rourke, the former PwC managing partner, who now wears many corporate hats, including as chairman of IDA Ireland, Marian Finnegan is Managing Director of Residential at Sherry Fitzgerald, the country’s biggest firm of estate agents, while Chris Horn is a tech entrepreneur and columnist at the Irish Times.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis was the number one concern for voters as they went to the polls in November with scarce supply and price inflation a feature throughout 2024. It was also a topic covered repeatedly on this podcast throughout the year with many experts and contributors offering context, insight, and in some cases, potential solutions to the housing crisis.Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It has been another tough year for restaurant and café owners – according to the Restaurant Association of Ireland, two venues a day are closing as businesses struggle to make ends meet amid rising inflation and a spike in payroll costs. On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Vanessa Murphy, co-owner of Las Tapas de lola on Camden Street in Dublin’s city centre, and Aisling Rogerson, owner of the popular Fumbally café and bakery in Dublin’s Liberties. They discuss their trading struggles post-Covid, rising prices and menu changes, the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff, and how they have changed their trading hours to reflect the altered dining habits of customers.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2024 nears its end, Inside Business looks back at some of the big stories of the year. Everything from rising house prices to soaring corporation tax receipts, to Taylor Swift concerts and Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.To review the year, host Ciarán Hancock iss joined by Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Conor Pope and Ian Curran of The Irish Times to discuss issues around housing, the cost of living crisis, the €13 billion Apple tax ruling, and the demise of many restaurants and cafes.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Cliff Taylor is joined in studio by Louisa Earls, manager of Books Upstairs, along with Laura Caffrey, & Clare Grennan, Co-Owners of Irish Design Shop, to get an insight into their experience as independent retailers in Dublin city during a period of the year that accounts for up to a third of their annual sales.Louisa discusses the pivot Books Upstairs made towards online sales during the early days of Covid, the titles that have flown off the shelves this year, competing with Amazon and what the government could do better to protect small independent businesses operating in the city.Laura and Clare from Irish Design Shop explain the challenges of starting a business in the teeth of the financial crash in late 2008, stocking products from over 60 Irish designers in its Drury Street shop, soaring tourist trade and why so many online orders are now coming from suburban Dublin. All three guests highlight the surge in shoplifting and why it is so difficult to c

With the Irish government rolling in clover like never before, what is the outsider’s view of our economy? Max Colchester, Britain Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, has been writing about this following his recent visit to Dublin. He notes how other governments around Europe are struggling and raising taxes while we have set up two sovereign wealth funds to make good use of the billions in corporate tax receipts that continue to roll in – something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick.He joins host Cliff Taylor to discuss the envious position Ireland finds itself in.Also on this episode, Irish Times Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope digs into whether the onslaught of advertised bargains for Black Friday are as good as they sound. Why do sales now start weeks before Black Friday? Can I get the same bargains during the year? And does buyer’s remorse and this annual event go hand in hand?Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. 

Donald Trump’s stance on imports coming into the US could have very real implications for Irish transatlantic trade.September proved to be a record month for Irish exports, as well as a record level of exports going to the US. This underlines the importance of a market that could be jeopardised if the president-elect follows through on his promise to introduce blanket tariffs on goods entering the US.Carol Lynch is customs and trade partner with BDO Ireland and she joined host Cliff Taylor to give some insight into what those tariffs could do to the Republic’s largest export market outside of the EU, and how Irish companies have already started preparations to manage those impacts. Cathal Foley and his company PACE won the sustainability and overall prize at the 2024 Irish Times Innovation awards.PACE stands for Platform for Analysing Carbon Emissions, specifically airline carbon emissions. The aviation sector has set an ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2050, something that is likely to cost aro

Research from online broker Doddl.ie has estimated that savings of about €7,400 a year could be achieved by switching your mortgage rate. Martina Hennessey is chief executive of Doddl.ie and she joined host Ciarán Hancock to go through the maths on this. She also explained how the most attractive rates available apply to those with the most energy efficient homes.In the past week, the US stock market has surged following Donald’s Trump’s election victory. Donnacha Fox is chief investment officer at Quilter Cheviot and joined Ciarán in studio to explain why US stocks and crypto have spiked since it became clear that Trump was heading back to the White House.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a remarkable political comeback, Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. So, what will that mean for the Irish economy, given that he has threatened huge tariffs on imports and promised to slash its corporate tax rate.Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times to get his view on how bad a Trump presidency could be for Ireland.Also on the show, Conor Pope of The Irish Times explains why being single can cost you more than €300,000 over and above what a person in a couple will pay over the course of their adults lives, taking into account areas like housing, groceries, and taxes. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode looks at the housing crisis from a slightly quirky angle.Imagine if Michael O’Leary decided to set up a development company to build housing and applied some of the lessons from Ryanair’s experience in disrupting the air travel business over the past three decades.It’s a point that Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burke Kennedy posited in a column earlier this week. Could a no-frills approach reduce construction costs that could in turn be passed on to home buyers?Paul Mitchell, director of construction consultancy Mitchell McDermott and an expert on construction costs, also joins the podcast to give his thoughts on potential solutions to ease the housing crisis in the coming years. Mitchell McDermott recently produced a cost study report on behalf of the Department of Housing, contained in which is the eye-watering figure of €600,000 now necessary to build a two-bedroom urban apartment.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

In his recent piece for the Irish Times, Harry Goddard, CEO of Big Four firm Deloitte, argues that Ireland needs to build more data centres. He says this could generate the demand for a sufficient number of renewable energy projects to be built to help those facilities operate on a carbon neutral basis.He joins Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock to explain why more data centres need to be built here, despite the large amount of electricity and water necessary to run them and the relatively small amount of people employed by them.Also on the podcast, Eoin Burke Kennedy of The Irish Times outlines five key battlegrounds in the upcoming general election, which we now know will be held this year. He cites housing, spending overruns, the cost-of-living crisis, interest rates, and business failures.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These are some very challenging times for retail and hospitality here, with news this week that men’s fashion retailer Alias Tom was placed into liquidation while high profile Dublin restaurant Shanahan’s on St Stephen’s Green closed, and Dillinger’s in Ranelagh will close in November after 16 years in operation.On Tuesday, hundreds of hospitality, tourism, retail, and other small business owners protested in Dublin outside Leinster House about the increasing costs of doing business here, with many of those costs being Government imposed. The Restaurant Association of Ireland was one of the groups that organised that protest, and its CEO Adrian Cummins joins Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock to discuss the key issues raised at the protest, while Eoin Burke Kennedy of The Irish Times explains the backdrop to Alias Tom’s winding up this week.At the end of last month, the Government announced that the much talked about auto enrolment private sector pension scheme would finally come into effect in September 202

According to PwC’s quarterly insolvency barometer, the retail sector now accounts for one in four of all insolvencies so far this year. Hospitality is also being adversely affected with smaller operators more likely to fail.Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Ken Tyrrell, business recovery partner at PwC Ireland, to go through their research and get a handle on how many more insolvencies are potentially in the pipeline as we head towards 2025.Also on this week’s episode, Irish Times Work Correspondent Emmet Malone talks us through two industrial disputes affecting some big-name multinationals here with members of trade union Connect deferring a 24-hour work stoppage at a Meta data centre in Clonee on Monday. And separately, Unite trade union has warned of more pickets being placed on selected large construction sites around the country after strikes at an Intel site in Kildare. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by guests to pore over the main points of Budget 2025. The €10.5 billion package has a range of measures, including the threshold for higher income tax rate rising to €44,000, the minimum wage gets an 80 cent bump to €13.50 an hour, the USC rate will be cut to three per cent, income credits will increase by €125, and a €12 weekly increase to welfare and pension payments.On the panel:Michael Rooney, EY Ireland Tax PartnerElaine Dunne, chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood providersCliff Taylor, Irish Times Managing EditorJenifer Bray, Irish Times Political Correspondent Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock speaks with Bank of Ireland chief economist Conall MacCoille about their latest economic bulletin. It shows that almost 40 per cent of Irish housing transactions are now settled at a minimum 10 per cent premium above the original asking price, something Bank of Ireland puts down to “the intense competition for homes”. Conall Mac Coille is author of the bulletin, and while he points to lack of supply and wage growth as factors driving house price inflation, he notes that we might be experiencing a peak at the moment. He also gives his thoughts ahead of next week’s budget and whether Ireland is insulated from the economic woes affecting Britain, Germany and the wider EU bloc.Also on this episode, we hear from HR expert Louisa Meehan about return to the office trends in the wake of Amazon’s recent decision to order staff back to the workplace five days a week.Is that likely to become a trend here? And is working from home potentially detrimental

In his piece for the Irish Times earlier this week, CEO of Ibec Danny McCoy wrote about the ‘generational opportunity’ the next government will have to transform the country. Speaking with host Ciarán Hancock on this week’s episode of Inside Business, he explained how the key areas of infrastructure, education and energy strategy are central to maintaining a competitive economy here.And in terms of the funding needed to address those three areas, McCoy warned against a long-term reliance on the current corporate tax bonanza, he instead suggested more taxation on the individual, a move he knows would be politically unpopular. And what about the €13 billion of Apple tax? Ibec’s chief suggested that Ireland could take the noble step of giving it to poorer countries who really need it.Also on this episode, Irish Times Soccer Correspondent Gavin Cummiskey on the continuing financial struggles of the Football Association of Ireland as it finds itself still tens of millions in debt. Where does it leave League of Ire