Breakfast Business

The exchequer returns for the first quarter of the year show that the public finances remain broadly on the course set on budget day last October. Susan discussed the returns further with Seamus Coffey, Former Chair of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and Lecturer in Economics at UCC.

Activity in Ireland’s services sector increased again in March but at one of the weakest rates over the past five years, as new business growth moderated and price inflation accelerated sharply to a three-year high.      That’s according to AIB’s latest purchasing managers’ index report. To discuss further was John Fahey AIB Senior Economist.

Drone delivery firm Manna recently announced it has raised €43.1m in a new Series B funding round with plans for 400 extra jobs in Ireland and the US.  All to discuss with Alan Hicks Chief Technical Officer of Manna. 

Tuesday's business news headlines along with Susan Hayes Culleton.

As US markets become more expensive and uncertain for Irish firms, one sector struggling among many is MedTech.  To discuss the pressure and the solutions is Tim Jones, CEO of Galway medtech company SymPhysis Medical.

PwC’s latest Insolvency Barometer shows that there were 212 insolvencies recorded in the first quarter of this year. Ken Tyrell Head of Insolvency at PwC discusses the findings with Emmet.

This week, you likely heard thieves stole more than 400,000 KitKat chocolate bars weighing around 12 tonnes from a truck in Europe.  While it might have gone viral, Geotab are warning that it points to a larger issue, a marked increase in cargo theft.  Emmet discusses further with   Phil Barnes, Business Development Manager at Geotab. 

The new Banner Plaza on the M18 from the owner of Supermacs includes a supermarket, play area and a large food court a €20m investment and 120 new jobs.  But it was far from smooth sailing to get it opened.  In fact, it was 8 years behind schedule thanks to a number of judicial reviews and challenges from environmental groups and serial objectors. Joining Joe this morning was Pat McDonagh is the founder of Supermacs.

New figures for motor insurance by the Central Bank showed a 4% rise in premiums in the first half of last year. The National Claims Information Database shows that the cost of repairing cars went up again last year and is up 155% since covid but payouts for claims in the courts are down 24% in that time. That report comes on top of a huge surge in complaints to the Financial Ombudsman about insurers last year mostly for not paying out. All to discuss with Moyagh Murdock the Chief Executive of Insurance Ireland.

Wednesday's business news review along with Joe Lynam.

How often do you see some very special piece of old furniture and cover it immediately? Perhaps it’s the shape, the colour but more often than not it’s wood. My next guest sells special lighting, kitchen islands and tables and every piece is a story which is usually at least one hundred years old, whether taken from a convict ship or an old church or a railway sleeper. The company is called Copperfish and the founder Eoin Shanley, is our Green Businessperson of the month for March thanks to Repak.

Despite the trade barriers created by Brexit, the UK remains Ireland’s second biggest trading partner. But the red tape in shipping stuff from here to there is acting as a deterrent to trade. So now An Post is launching a new streamlined service for companies to get their goods to Great Britain called ‘UK Direct’. It includes pre-clearance and payments of any duties in advance. Garret Bridgeman is MD of An Post Commerce and joined Joe Lynam on the show this morning.

Tuesday's business news headlines with Joe Lynam.

Across the island of Ireland, 3.6 million people save with a credit union. They’re very local and connected to customers and have been slow to digitalise and try to compete with the traditional or neo banks when it comes to mortgage lending and account management. Now, many credit unions have signed up to a new digital platform to meet the banking needs of their customers. It’s called CU-Tech and the company behind it is the Irish business Metamo. Ciara Prendeville, Deputy CEO of Metamo, joined Joe Lynam on the show to discuss.

It’s not news that Ireland earns the lion's share of its Corporation Taxes from a handful of American companies and that it hasn't enough of large indigenous businesses. My next guest used to advise the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and is now a professor of economics in the University of Galway. He was commissioned by the Collison brothers to assess the long-term health of the Irish economy and has concluded that a pivot is now urgent if we are to improve the productivity of local companies. Alan Ahearne joined Joe Lynam on the show this morning.

Joe Lynam was joined by Mike O’Sullivan from Unio for Monday's business news review.

How many times have retailers had only seconds to judge whether a young adult is old enough to buy alcohol or vapes or cigarettes? Mercury Retail Services uses AI to fairly accurately estimate the age of a customer and the estimation service is already in use in the Galmont Hotel in Galway.      He also uses technology to monitor and hopefully prevent shoplifting. Joining Joe was Felim Meade the Business Development Manager with Mercury Retail Services.

Kate English from Deloitte joined Joe to look through Friday's business news stories.

France is Ireland’s biggest EU Trading partner these days, accounting for 11% of Irish imports. But a recent report from the France-Ireland Chamber of Commerce has highlighted some of the infrastructural and talent shortage failings that are holding it back. All to discuss with Chris Smyth, is the President of the France-Ireland Chamber of Commerce.

Thursday's business news review along with Joe Lynam.