Breakfast Business

A look at today's business stories and websites with Joe Lynam and Austin Hughes.

The International Energy Agency said that 17% of Ireland's total energy usage was accounted for by data centres in 2022.  That number may well be higher now. But data centres could well be considered as important to this economy as Ardnacrusha was to electrify Ireland a decade ago or even water treatment facilities are today.  There’s no doubt that data centres are the backbone of the internet. But do we appreciate that?  Joe discussed this with Garry Connolly,  Founder of Host in Ireland. 

The Employment Permits Bill was set to change what kind of workers outside the EU and UK could get permission to live and work here.  It covers seasonal employment and whether spouses could also come live here.  But the Minister steering the Bill through the Oireachtas Neale Richmond has moved to the Department of Finance and immigration has also suddenly become a very hot political and geopolitical issue for Ireland.To discuss further Joe was joined on the show by Claire Cumiskey, Director of Fragomen which is a consultancy on immigration issues.

A look at today's business stories and websites with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

Bord na Móna used to be the cause of some of the biggest carbon pollutants in Ireland by burning Peat and briquettes from Boglands. It has done a full U-turn on its business and now aims to be very green. One of the ways that it is doing this is by establishing wind farms on its lands mostly in the Midlands and as part of that it has opened the first Eco-energy park, in Co Offaly. Its first big customer is none other than the biggest cloud computing business in the world Amazon web services.We hear all about their plans with John Reilly the head of renewable energy at Bord na Mona. 

Advertising is the backbone of the world of radio, television and online. Without it, most of the stuff that we enjoy for free wouldn’t be possible without some sort of subscription. But does advertising work in the way hoped for by companies? There’s a new major survey underway called the Good Life 2030 Ireland. The survey seems to suggest that 77% of people expect advertising to improve lifestyles but 45% think that we’d all be better off without it. To take a look at the findings with Joe was Laura Costello from Think House who is carrying out the survey.

There is a growing body of people who think that flying is seriously bad for the environment and should be curtailed.  There is talk about a tax on aviation fuel and even some sort of levy on frequent flyers.  But would that work?  Would it stifle economic activity and perhaps not even help the environment as planned? Speaking to Joe this morning was Cathal Foley, is the chief executive of PACE part of the Fexco group down in Killorglin. PACE stands for Platform for Analyzing Carbon Emissions.

It’s hard to believe Samsung was only founded 54 years ago in what was then a relatively underdeveloped South Korea. It now employs more than a quarter of a million people and is a by-word for affordable quality.  Samsung has just launched a new suite of products at EuroCucina trade Fair and we find out a bit more about the company by speaking to Tanya Weller, Marketing Director for Home Appliances at Samsung Electronics.

A look at today's business stories and websites with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

The Global Economic Summit is taking place next month in Co Kerry and there will be quite a few celebs attending including Hilary Clinton, Prince Albert of Monaco and Mary Robinson.  But one person who will be there is Hilary O'Meara, Country Managing Director for Accenture in Ireland.   She’s in charge of more than 6,000 people here on the consulting side which has also proven to be the backbone for the big technology giants based here. Hilary joined Joe on the show this morning.

When it comes to energy, the direction of travel is clear fossil fuels are bad while renewables are good.  But getting us to use more electricity will be a long, messy and expensive business. There will be lots of stakeholders including government, landowners, lawyers, experts and a few NIMBYs. So a new body has been formed which includes the likes of the ESB, Bord na Mona and SSE Airtricity.      It’s called Ireland Electrified and it will be chaired by EM3 chief technology officer Donall O'Brien who joined Joe on the show this morning.

A look at today's business stories and websites with Joe Lynam and Kathleen Brooks from XTB.

The tax man collected a record €128bn last year buoyed by very robust income tax and continued strong corporation tax.  Even more heartening for the government who will spend this money on our behalf, the revenue commissioners say compliance is up to 98%. But there have been complaints about the new real time reporting for companies which places a huge red tape burden on smaller businesses.  Joining Joe in studio this morning was Niall Cody the Chair of the Revenue Commissioners.

Joe Lynam takes a look at today's business markets with Aidan Donnelly from Davys.

Revolut is less than 10 years old but has already hit the landmark of hiring more than 10,000 people. As the company continues to grow its workforce, Newstalk's Technology Correspondent, Jess Kelly takes a closer look at the origins of the FinTech startup and how it went from strength to strength. 

With the new Taoiseach came of course a minimum reshuffle and the junior minister in charge of financial services Jennifer Carroll MacNeil was moved on to the European brief.  In her place came Neale Richmond now Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance and this morning he joined Joe on the show to tell us what he hopes to do in this vitally important sector of the economy. 

  Dell has been in Ireland for almost 40 years. They continue to have a huge presence here in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick- focusing a lot more on cloud computing than making PC desktops. They also have been looking into whether their clients are ready for AI and the sweeping changes that will come with it.Catherine Doyle Managing Director for Dell Technologies Ireland joined Joe on the show this morning.

A look at today's business news stories with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

It was Earth Day this week, so many companies may be trumpeting their ESG credentials.  But does sustainability bleed through your business when it comes to Governance, Risk, Compliance and Audit?  New EU disclosure rules mean it should be and soon.  But what does that entail? Speaking to Joe this morning was Brian Stafford, President and Chief Executive with Diligent the American Saas company with a large presence in Galway. 

We all try to do our bit for the environment whether it’s with recycling or installing double glazing. But is sustainability your number one thought when you buy a car or even a house?  A study from the banking lobby group the BPFI suggests that’s the case for only 32% car buyers way behind worries about price and reliability.  In fact the BER energy rating has dropped to only 40% in terms of importance.  So does this mean it’s more about the Greenback than being green?  Joining Joe on the show this morning was Louise O’Mahony, Head of Sustainable Banking, BPFI.