Breakfast Business

The post pandemic rules on the right to request flexible working are 3 years old but the voluntary employer ‘code of practice’ is two years old.  But is it working.  A poll for the law firm Lewis Silkin suggests that only a small number of cases end up before the WRC. All to discuss with Síobhra Rush, Head of the law firm Lewis Silkin Dublin.

TirNua is focused on supporting Ireland’s energy transition through investment in new green infrastructure projects and it got a big shot in the arm worth €140m yesterday from the Irish sovereign wealth fund ISIF.  But have the old problems which have dogged infrastructure projects gone away?  Not by a mile. What will be done with the money? Speaking to Joe was David O'Brien the Chief Executive of TirNua. 

Wednesday's business news headlines with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

There’s a new kid in town when it comes to instant payments between friends, family and contacts. It’s called Zippay and the three pillar banks hope that it will provide an alternative to the near monopoly that Revolut has in Ireland. . But is it too late and will Revolut simply shrug? All to discuss with Brian Hayes the Chief executive of the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. 

According to Julien Moutte CTO at Bentley Systems it is one of Europe’s smarter cities using the Internet of things all over Dublin. The Dublin Fire brigade also uses 3-D imagery of many key buildings so that if they need to deal with a fire, they know exactly how to do so. Bentley Systems provides some of that 3-D information for the fire brigade. Julien Moutte, is the CTO at Bentley Systems joined Joe to discuss all.

Tuesday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

Popeyes restaurants are opening up in Blanchardstown and later on in Westmoreland Street in Dublin. An estimated 500 jobs will be created but what’s it like selling fast food in an era of weight loss jabs and strict animal welfare rules? Joe spoke to Tom Crowley, CEO of Popeyes IRE and UK.

Energy prices have been at the heart of the news for the past week.  Heating oil and diesel prices have rocketed since Iran effectively closed the strait of Hormuz choking off petroleum shipping.  And now the wider oil prices have soared 27% overnight.  So what does it mean for our electricity and gas prices here?  All to discuss with Stephen Gallagher, Managing Director of SSE Airtricity.  Nominations are now open for the Newstalk Changemaker Business awards in association with FBD Insurance, across 9 categories, including Sustainable Workplace, supported by SSE Airtricity. Closing date is March 20th. Nominate now at newstalk.com/changemaker.

Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam and Russ Mould AJ Bell  take a look at today business news headlines.

Friday's business news review along with Newstalk's Business Editor and Kate English from Deloitte.

Sunday the 8th is the actual date for International Women's Day. We’re marking it today and the huge transformation to the workplace and the economy that women have made over the past few decades. Our panel this morning on the show was  Mary Considine Chief Executive of Iarnród Eireann or Irish rail, Emer Higgins is the Minister of State for attending Cabinet at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Also Kate English the Chief Economist with Deloitte.

Ireland is rapidly becoming the European base for medical and pharmaceutical giants, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.  But in order to foster indigenous and smaller Irish medical companies, the new ARC Hub for HealthTech has been set up as part of the University of Galway. Speaking to Joe was Garry Duffy, Professor of Health Technology Innovation at University of Galway and Director of the ARC Hub for HealthTech.

Soon the new Consumer Protection Code comes into force from the central bank. Among the key provisions of the code is allowing vulnerable groups to nominate someone to act on their behalf with banks and insurance companies. The Compliance Institute polled its members and 22% of them believe that preventing so-called “greenwashing“ is also an important aspect of the new code. All to discuss with Michael Kavanagh the Chief Executive of the Compliance Institute. 

Thursday's business news review with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

Yesterday a US appeals court threw out an appeal by the White House to decline refunds for those companies who paid tariffs on imported goods after the US Supreme Court said they were illegal.  That means the lower courts can now start refunding billions of dollars by claimants.  But the White House is using different legal statutes to keep the tariffs in place for nearly all countries in what can technically be described as ‘a mess’ for exporters from Europe.  So what happens now? All to discuss with Mark Ludwikowski Chair of Clark Hill's International Trade Practice. 

If you have money to spare and want to support Irish Startups at an early stage, it’s always possible to do so and is one of the more tax efficient ways of helping indigenous companies through the EIIS scheme. Joe Bergin the Chief Executive Elkstone  specialises in providing a pool of Investment money for Irish Startups and he may find himself busy towards the end of the year if, as expected, the capital gains tax rate is cut to encourage more risk taking investment.

Wednesday's business news review along with Joe Lynam.

Tuesday's business news review along with Joe Lynam.

Repak is an environmental not-for-profit organisation charged with improving recycling and re-use of packaging by companies.  It’s also a major proponent of the circular economy and of course sponsors our Green Businessperson of the Month on this programme.  It’s also a sponsor of ESG Strategy of the Newstalk Changemaker awards and Zoe Kavanagh is the Chief Executive of Repak.

We all know that AI is set to transform our lives but few of us are in a position to leverage it for their companies especially if they are SMEs.  This week - as part of the Local Enterprise Week. Google is getting together with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise offices to create a new scheme called ‘AI Works for Ireland’ in order to foster training and supports for startups and Scale-ups here. All to discuss with Vanessa Hartley, Head of Google Ireland.