Breakfast Business

Last week the government said that the tax cutting package in the October budget would be €1.5bn but that almost ⅔ of that would go to the hospitality sector in order to cut VAT rates for it back down to 9%. My next guest will be one of the beneficiaries of that but, because all his clients are companies, won't be doing any profit taking - he assures me. He runs entertainment and catering for business tourists from all over the world. He even provides the catering for movie sets such as the TV series Wednesday and Ireland now earns around €1bn a year from business tourism. Andrew Rudd is the owner of Medley and joined Joe Lynam on the show this morning.

Joe Lynam was joined by John Alistair the former Director of International Affairs for the EU Commission and Head of the EU Delegation to the WTO as well as the UN. He’s a Senior Trade negotiator and now a lecturer and consultant. He knows a fair bit about international trade and yesterday he described the EU trade deal with the US as ‘the worst trade deal ever’. But what does he really think? 

Joe Lynam takes a run through Tuesday's business news headlines.

Joe Lynam takes a run through Monday's business news headlines with Russ Mould of AJ Bell.

With the rising cost of hiring as well as rents and insurance, it’s no surprise that many companies outsource their customer services overseas.  My next guest operates call centres for a number of Ireland based businesses to India and the Philippines.  But increasingly he is developing an AI operated voice service for his customers in order to cut his price tags for Irish clients.  How does it work and how believable are AI assistants? Niresh Moodley is the Chief executive of Your Team

So we’ve reached a trade deal with the US. All physical European goods will now face a 15% tariff while Americans will pay almost nothing to be sold here. Is it a trade deal or a trade capitulation and what will it mean for our companies selling in the States or American giants based here. My next guest is the chair of the IDA but is also a director on the board of the drink giant C&C as well as the wealth managers Yuno Energy. Feargal O'Rourke, Chair of the IDA joined Joe Lynam on the show.

All the business news and markets this Friday along with Joe Lynam and Aidan Donnelly from Davys.

Ireland has among the least developed and most overused infrastructure in Europe.  The Government will spend €100bn to build the railways, roads and water infrastructure that the nation needs.  But we don't have a great track record when it comes to building stuff while we are past masters of objecting to the construction of nearly everything.  All to discuss with Kaine Lynch works for the infrastructure consultants Turner & Townsend.

Yesterday the government set out 26 actions to cut our astonishingly high insurance premiums down including legal reforms to reduce high payouts in the courts.  Seán Fitzgerald, is a partner with HOMS assist represents people who have been negligence victims. Especially in the case of industrial accidents.  What does he make of the reforms? Seán Fitzgerald discussed with Joe this morning.

Drones are the technological equivalent of the airplane a century ago. Manna Drones delivering food in the West Dublin area. But plans to expand to other parts of the city have faced huge resistance from locals who don't like the buzzing sounds.  Are we about to shoo away a genuine business technology company or can planning rows be surmounted? All to discuss with Bobby Healy the Chief Executive of Manna Drone Delivery. 

The government has launched a consultation to expand the Critical Skills Occupations List that can be fast-tracked into the country when it comes to getting a work permit.  But where will they all live is also the question. Speaking to Joe this morning was Alan Dillon is the Minister of State at the department of Enterprise with special responsibility for small business who has also launched a new strategic review of the WRC.

Joe Lynam takes a run through Thursday's business news headlines.

SCARP is the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process and was designed to cut the costs and timeframes for SMEs needing to be restructured or wound up.  It’s been around in full for 4 years but the take up has been lower than expected.  Many insolvency professionals say that's because the Revenue the nation’s biggest creditor is not using it and has an effective Veto on using SCARPs.  But is that true? All to discuss with Paddy Purtill, Principal Officer in the Collector Generals, Revenue.

Legislation to force all drink companies to include health warning labels on all bottles of alcohol has been postponed due to the additional costs it would impose on smaller producers.  It’s a small welcome break for whiskey makers who are facing a perfect storm of falling alcohol consumption among young people and potentially huge tariffs on the American market. Joe was joined on the show this morning by Eoin O’Cathain the Director of the Irish Whiskey Association. 

Joe Lynam takes a run through Wednesday' business news headlines.

They are the 3rd largest no frills airline in Europe with the youngest fleet on the continent and from this weekend will have 1000 flights a week.  Wizz air started life in Hungary but is now all over Europe except for one notable market Ireland.  Joining Joe this morning was Yvonne Moynihan, Managing Director of Wizz Air UK.

How good are you at accurately working out the size of a room or an entire house and the actual space within it from architectural plans? Lifesize Plans Ireland turns those plans into life-size rooms that you can walk into and around.  It helps homeowners hoping to expand or build from scratch in order to assess exactly how much space they do or do not have to play with. It’s also a benefit for architectural practices and businesses. Joe spoke to John Foley the co-founder alongside his wife Emma of Lifesize Plans Ireland. 

Joe Lynam takes a run through Tuesday's business news headlines.

In the first quarter of the current financial year, Europe’s biggest airline said profits were up 78% to €820m.  It said that average air fares were 21% higher to 51 per passenger.  But only 5 new Boeing 737s were delivered over the past 3 months and the airline was in the news for supposedly incentivizing its staff to charge passengers for oversized luggage. All to discuss with the Chief Executive of the Ryanair Group, Michael O’Leary.

A lot of focus on Ireland’s housing market in recent days and weeks with some significant changes in terms of regulations looking to accelerate development. But what can we learn from other markets in terms of fast-tracking that capital investment that’s badly needed?   Speaking to Tom this morning on the show was Andy Tallon the Head of Debt Advisory at Interpath in Ireland and also the Global Head of Real Estate with Interpath.