Breakfast Business

Two days ago we were telling you about Ireland’s manufacturing sector being in a slump.  Today though we can report that the services sector is enjoying a minimum Boom.  According to the AIB services PMI survey, output in the country’s most important sector is at a 8 month high with employment in services which includes technology as well as  hospitality expanding - even amid an economy at full employment.  David McNamara is the Chief Economist with AIB and discussed the results of the survey with Joe.

When Irish Life was formed 85 years ago Ireland was a very different place.  A poor agrarian recently independent nation with low living standards and life expectancy.  Now it’s one of the wealthier places in Europe with much higher wages and standards.  Irish Life has changed too from being part of Permanent TSB to being part of the Canadian business Great West Lifeco.  It’s still the biggest life assurance player in Ireland but also increasingly in healthcare and one of the biggest investors in Europe. The person in charge is chief executive Declan Bolger who joined Joe in the studio this morning.

The good news is that inflation is now below the target rate for the Central Bank of Ireland of 2%.  The bad news is of course that the higher prices are here to stay and we have to get used to forking out more for our weekly shop.  For example, shoppers in Ireland spent €9.3 million more on Easter eggs this year than last according to the latest data from Kantar.  The sales of hot cross buns increased 28% year-on-year with shoppers spending €1.1 million on these traditional Easter treats. Speaking to Joe this morning was Emer Healy, business development director at Kantar.

The great and the good in the world of Recruitment, gather in Dublin this week for the TalentCon conference. They meet at a time of full employment in Ireland, where employees hold the whip hand over their employers. But of course that won’t be the case forever, and someone whose job it is to “see around corners', says employers and employees need to prepare for the next technological wave and how it will affect hiring and retaining staff. His name is John Healy and he is the Vice President of the World Employment Confederation and he spoke to Joe this morning on the show.

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

Usually when we look at commodity prices on this program, we speak about oil due to its importance to the global economy. We’ve even been speaking about Cocoa prices and the soaring value of chocolate as a result this year. But another hugely important commodity which has risen by 9% so far this year is Gold. Traditionally seen as a store of value, but could it also be something to consider for Investors? Speaking to Joe this morning was Mark O’Byrne the Chief Executive of Tara coins, which has just minted the first Irish gold and silver bullion coins. 

There is still a lot of physical paperwork in Irish healthcare especially compared to our continental cousins.  But the direction of travel is clear: fully digital administration as well as the processing of patient records.  One Irish company is making strides in this space but alas not yet here in Ireland.  It’s called Wellola and was set up by the physiotherapist Sonia Neary.  It has been rapidly raising funds from the investment group Elkstone and Enterprise Ireland. Sonia Neary joined Joe this morning on the show.

A look at today's business news stories in the papers and online.

We've heard plenty about the likes of Chat GPT and Google’s Gemini, but is it time we all embraced AI in our day-to-day work lives? Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent, Jess Kelly reports.  

Dublin Express runs services from the airport through the port tunnel to the city centre.  It also runs buses from Belfast to the airport and now will be travelling deep into Dublin’s southside with services to Terenure. But its buses still use petrol and diesel engines.  To discuss all Joe spoke to Rory Fitzgerald  General Manager of Dublin Express.

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

It’s owned by PDD holdings but its best-known brand is TEMU - which you could describe as an online flea market but it's worth $150bn.  It’s huge in China where it's from and now it's heading our way.  It’s already established its European HQ in Ireland.  But like many Chinese companies its ownership and control is secretive and now the Irish watchdog the Coimisiun na Meán is looking at TEMU as well. Dan McCrum from the Financial Times has taken a deep dive into TEMU. 

Gone are the days when we worried about unemployment and having any economic growth.  The economy will continue to grow and the labour market will remain tight according to the Spring forecast of the ESRI.  The so-called ‘critical issues these days concern public services, infrastructure and capacity constraints which are a fancy way of saying bottlenecks. Speaking to Joe this morning to discuss with findings was Dr Conor O'Toole is an Associate Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute.

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

State Street is the 12th largest bank in America with a significant presence here in Ireland.  In fact it’s beefing up its facility in Kilkenny where it already employs 650 people.  State Street is the largest fund administrator in Ireland with $1.8bn in assets managed here.  Speaking to Joe this morning was Terri Dempsey the new Country Head for State Street Bank in Ireland.  

Although the surge in inflation and energy costs has abated, consumers are still not firing on all cylinders. According to the latest Credit Union, consumer sentiment nudged downwards slightly for this month to a reading of 69 points.  That’s still considerably better than the 53 points exactly a year ago.  In terms of specifics, consumers appear to have splashed out on home improvements.  15% of home improvements was funded by a credit union loan, 7% through bank loan and 4% through other borrowings  To discuss these findings further Joe spoke to Austin Hughes Editor of the Credit union consumer sentiment survey. 

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

Whether on TV or online you've probably seen the latest glitzy advert from Eir called 'Eir For All'.  It stresses that the telecoms giant is there in every county and for everyone.  Certainly Eir is ubiquitous and Ireland’s average broadband speeds are now above rather than below the average for European households.  But the consumer watchdog recently said that Eir was the number complained-about company in the country. So work still to do.   To discuss all Joe spoke to Susan Brady, Managing Director of Consumer and Small Business in Eir. 

Publishing the gender pay gap by Irish companies is now obligatory and sometimes highlights great individual discrepancies.  But we don't get an aggregate picture of the difference in what men earn and their female equivalent.  Now PwC has looked at the gender gap for 500 Irish firms and it shows an average pay gap of 11.2% - down from 12.6% the previous year. Speaking to Joe with more on this was Doone O’Doherty, PwC Ireland People Leader and Workforce Tax Partner. 

Russ Mould from AJ Bell brings us the big international business stories with Joe this morning.