Breakfast Business

We are 5 months or so away from the budget this autumn but already positions are being staked out.  For its part, the government has already said there won't be as many giveaways as last autumn due to the tariff war and global uncertainty.  But already some sectors are setting out their wish list.  Deloitte says Capital Gains taxes are too high and a disincentive to invest here.  It also wants AI and decarbonisation tax credits. To discuss this and more Joe was joined on the show by Daryl Hanberry Partner and Head of Tax & Legal for Deloitte. 

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund is in effect Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund worth just under €15bn and designed to generate returns for taxpayers.  ISIF, which is part of the National treasury management Agency, is very distinct from the new Future Ireland Fund which was set up last year.   Joining Joe this morning on the show was Nick Ashmore the Chief Executive of the ISIF.

What do you get when you merge the words Water and Vinyl? You get Wavin one of the world’s most famous pipe and ducting companies.    Wavin has been in Ireland for decades in Balbriggan. But it no longer makes any of those famous orange pipes here.  They come from Britain these days.  But it is moving to a new logistics centre and customer facility in North County Dublin. Speaking to Joe this morning was Michael O’Donoghue the Commercial Director of Wavin. 

On Monday next week Keir Starmer will host a major EU delegation as part of what is shaping up to be a major reset of UK EU relations.  There have already been hints at what might be agreed including a youth mobility scheme as well as a new and deeper Defence pact. The UK government still says that rejoining the Single market or the Customs Union are red lines that won't be crossed. Joe discusses this and more with Marie Doyle President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. 

Thursday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.

On paper at least the 2 richest economies in the EU are also among the smallest:  Ireland and Luxembourg.  Our economy relies on technology and pharma of course but it’s also a major player in fund management.  Our biggest European rival to lure these big global pension funds is Luxembourg whose regulator might be seen as more relaxed than our Central bank.  Both nations have been accused of being tax havens.  But are they?  Speaking to Joe in studio this morning was Quentin Werlé, head of portfolio management at the Luxembourg advisers 6 Monks which specialises in cryptocurrencies. 

t’s nestled in the foothills of the Dublin mountains and is a hive of science, adventure and learning.  It’s 112,000 sq ft and it’s a year since it reopened after Covid.  The Explorium science immersion museum in Ballinteer is already the 9th most visited tourist site in Ireland and aims to become the nationally recognised Children's science centre. But it was a long bureaucratic journey to reopen and now there’s talk of a rival city centre museum as well. Charlie Kelly is the owner and Managing Director of Explorium Science Museum joined Joe this morning on the show.

Wednesday's business headlines and news along with Joe Lynam.

They are called Dub 20 and Dub 30. They are the latest large data centres to be opened by the Taoiseach in Arklow in Co Wicklow.  They claim to be the most sustainable data centres in Ireland and will feed almost as much energy into the grid as they will take out.  But the planning process took 7 years and a trip to the High Court. Newstalk's Alex Rowley caught up with  Graham McWilliams, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Echelon Data Centers and began by asking him about the green credentials of Dub20 and 30 .

Private markets contain less well known companies which do not float on the stock exchanges and are therefore not subject to filing quarterly returns nor some other rules.   But according to Elkstone’s State of Private Markets report, the giant private equity houses such as Blackstone and KKR are getting the lion's share of all investment flowing into these private markets.  Speaking to Joe this morning was Karl Rogers the Chief Investment Officer for Elkstone. 

Tuesday's business news review along with Joe Lynam,

There aren’t many kitchens in Ireland that don’t have devices or machines made by DeLonghi. The Italian coffee machine-maker also owns global brands such as Kenwood and Braun. They have benefited from the surge in popularity of frothy coffees. Susan Coleman is the Chief Executive of Delonghi Ireland and Susan joined Joe this morning on the show.

You’ve heard of the Cat laughs in Kilkenny and you may have heard of Kilcenomics which merges comedy with Economics but now you may need to get your head around comedy and the legal profession because this coming weekend will be the first Kilkenny Law Festival. The idea is to bring the law to a wider audience and perhaps dispel some of its reputation for stuffiness and being aloof. One of the main organisers is Mark Tottenham, who presents the podcast: The Fifth Court and Mark joined Joe on the show this morning,

Monday's big business stories along with Joe Lynam and Ross Mould.

Artificial intelligence is fuelling a rise in hard to detect bots, that now make up more than half of global internet traffic. That's according to the 2025 Imperva Bad Bot Report.Speaking to Emmet this morning was Rob Elliss, Vice President of EMEA for Thales Cybersecurity Products. 

Aidan Donnelly from Davy takes a look at Friday's business new headlines along with Emmet Oliver.

The UK and US have agreed trade deal terms with Keir Starmer's government agreeing to concessions on American food and agriculture to ease tariffs on car exports   Speaking to Emmet Oliver this morning with more on this was Professor of Finance Valerio Poti, Academic Director of the UCD Smurfit School Doctoral Program and Doctoral Research Centre.

Sinead Donovan used to chair Grant Thornton under whose tenure the consultants went from 60 to 3000 staff.  Sinead Donovan was also the president of Chartered Accountants Ireland as it merged with CPA Ireland and now she’s with the headhunters Barden as a non Executive Director.  I’ve asked Sinead to join us to talk about what boardrooms in Ireland should be thinking about amid some of the most uncertain economic environments since Covid shut us all down 5 years ago. 

This time 5 years ago most of us were working from home and amazingly it worked. Technology enabled us to do jobs without being face to face.  But now that the virus has abated many employers want their staff in the office.  But they have to offer incentives and make the workplace more attractive - especially Gen Zs.  Savills have carried out a comprehensive survey of what people want at work and how much commuting they will tolerate.  To discuss the survey findings was Shane Duffy is a Director with Savills Ireland. 

Thursday's business news headlines along with Joe Lynam.