Breakfast Business

Solid Fuel Merchants Ireland has warned that fuel smuggling and courier-dropped pallets are now at an all-time high, threatening rural jobs and depriving the exchequer of vital revenue.  Joining Jonathan to discuss more was Colin Ahern, Chair of Solid Fuel Merchants Ireland. 

More than a quarter of Irish adults still have no financial arrangements at all for their retirement, according to new research published today by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. All to discuss with Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at the CCPC. 

The ACORNS programme has been designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland and runs over six months part-time.  It is centered around interactive round table sessions that are facilitated by female entrepreneurs, known as ‘Lead Entrepreneurs’, who have started and successfully grown businesses in rural Ireland.  Among those Lead Entrepreneurs is Geraldine Jones founder and Chief Executive of Skin Formulas,

Energy costs, global uncertainty and labour shortages are the top concerns for Irish businesses, in a new survey from Irish B2B telecommunications provider IP Telecom, whose Chief Commercial Officer Robin Russell joined Emmet this morning on the show.

Ireland has an almost unreachable target of getting 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.  That includes wind and solar but will also include Biomethane which is energy created from such delightful things as agricultural waste, food scraps, sewage sludge and manure. Later this morning Flogas will sign a major biomethane offtake agreement with Nephin Renewable Gas in Ballinrobe Co Mayo.But will it produce enough electricity and will it face objections? Speaking to Joe this morning was Tom O’Brien is Group Chief Executive of Nephin Energy.

The vast majority of corporation tax receipts come from a handful of American companies based here. It’s because of that overdependence and the increasingly unreliable behaviour of the American administration, that small businesses need to be encouraged and fostered to avoid what ISME refers to as “sleepwalking into economic peril“. The Small Business lobby group also wants a so called “reset on the national minimum wage calculation” All to discuss with Neil McDonnell the Chief Executive of ISME. 

Joe Lynam brings us Thursday's business news headlines.

Only this week it emerged that investing in startups in Ireland had dropped to a 10 year low despite surging savings rates and wealth levels.  The financial services sector wants the government to do a lot more in next month's budget to prize open those wallets and invest in indigenous companies.  Financial services Ireland says we need a lot more education about investing and to change to the tax system to link savings to supporting startups. All to discuss with Patricia Callan the Chief Executive of Financial Services Ireland.  

The French Government debt to GDP stands at 113% in the Eurozone’s second largest economy and the budget deficit is at an unsustainable 5.8%.  But any efforts to cut that debt mountain or curb entitlements have been met with violent and sustained protests on French streets.  So what can be done to avoid La Grande nation from going cap in hand to the IMF for a bailout?    Timothy Graf, Head of Macro Strategy for EMEA at State Street Market 

Wednesday's business news review along with Joe Lynam.

A unicorn is an unlisted start up with an actual or strong potential to be worth more than $1billion. We don't have many here in Ireland, 9 according to TracXn including Workhuman, Lets Get Checked and TransferMate. But according to my next guest Irish unicorn owners and owners of smaller start-ups are selling out 12 times faster than they are being created and with that control and IP usually leaving the country. Alan Coleman, from Wolfgang Digital joined Joe Lynam on the show.

Identity theft is a surging problem. Fraudsters only need a few bits of detail about you, much of which is available anyway on your social media feeds. Once they get it they can open up new accounts in your name to prevent this the security software company Entrust works with Mastercard and other card providers using something called its identity verification security platform. But with criminals getting very clever and AI speeding up fraud, are the good guys merely catching up with the baddies?  Minh Nguyen, Vice President of Product Identity Verification at Entrust joined Joe Lynam on the show this morning.

Joe takes a look at Tuesday's business new headlines.

Revolut claims it has at least 3 million customers in Ireland. That’s most adults in this country and the reason is the ease with which customers can set up an account and make payments to friends, family and even total strangers. The Irish banks have long considered creating some sort of easy-pay rival, and now they think they might have it.  The new service, which will start in a few months will be called Zippay and it potentially brings in all the banks and doesn't require a new app or to upload anything. The 3 pillar banks have signed up and Revolut is free to do so too but one wonders whether it would bother.Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, joined Joe Lynam on the show to discuss the new financial product and the other challenges facing the banks.

Russ Mould from AJ Bell takes a look at the main business news stories along with Joe Lynam.

Once you click the fraudsters have a toe in the door and are on the way to ripping you off.  Amazingly Facebook or Instagram are not legally obliged yet to check the identity of advertisers.  But legislation may be on the way in the EU to force them to do so. Joe discusses this and more with Paul O’Brien from Bank of Ireland Security.

The Small Claims court is often a consumer's best option to get redress from companies. The maximum limit for claims though was set almost 20 years ago at €2000.Taking inflation into consideration that sum is now worth only €1,200 in real terms. The Consumer and Competition Protection commission wants to raise that sum to reflect increased costs.  It also wants more transparency in the Small Claims Court and a cut in fees. All to discuss with Grainne Griffin is head of Communications with the CCPC.

Friday business news review along with Joe Lynam and Kate English from Deloitte. 

Fewer than 5% of homes in Ireland have solar panels on their roofs but that’s up from around 1% 5 years ago.  It’s a reflection of the growing affordability of them, EU subsidies and the soaring cost of energy that has driven demand.  Next year a new concept called ‘dynamic tariffs’ will come into force which could drive even more households to create their own energy supplies. Joe was joined on the show by Darren Murray the Chief Operating Officer of Ecoplex which is one of the largest suppliers in the State.

Joe Lynam brings us Thursday's business news review this morning.