Breakfast Business

Profits could be hit by tariffs on large US multinationals and as such our golden goose ie Corporation tax receipts could be affected. We may also end up building fewer houses again this year than expected. However on the upside the domestic economy remains robust and inflation should remain low in the coming months.  These are the views of the Central Bank of Ireland, which today published its latest quarterly bulletin. Speaking to Joe this morning was Martin O'Brien, Head of Division of Irish Economic Analysis with the Central bank of Ireland.

We are heading for a country where the vast majority of its citizens and companies have access to full fibre high-speed broadband. Only this week EIR achieved a milestone of 1.4 million premises being covered with its full fibre meaning that 3.6 million people can download their movies or fat files that bit faster.  Speaking to Joe this morning was Maeve O’Malley the Managing Director of open EIR Wholesale which is that bit of the business that deals with wholesale customers and infrastructure. 

Joe Lynam brings us Wednesday's business headlines and news.

The Enterprise Forum was set up in 2017 to provide a platform for companies to share their concerns with the Government directly.  Initially it discussed Brexit then Covid and now it meets to analyse what the government can do to shield Irish businesses from US trade tariffs. As well as the soaring cost of doing business in Ireland.  The forum meets again today and at the table will be Alan Dillon who is the Minister of State at the Dept of Enterprise.The Minister spoke to Joe ahead of today's forum. 

Tuesday's business news headlines with Joe Lynam.

In 22 days from now, the so-called 90 Day pause on huge tariffs announced on April 2nd, comes to an end.  It could mean 50% taxes being applied to EU goods being sold in the US. We shed some light of the state play in tariff-land with Valerio Potí Professor of Finance and the Director of the Doctoral Studies Program at UCD.

Panda waste management is the biggest in the country with more than 30 sites nationwide.  Now to remove and separate even more waste at its giant Millennium Park facility in Finglas, Panda, is creating a new €5m sorting facility to remove plastic out of black bin rubbish and cut down on the thousands of tonnes of waste that end up in incinerators. Joining Joe this morning was Brian McCabe the Chief Executive of Beauparc which owns the Panda brand, which itself is part of the Macquarie Group.

Russ Mould from AJ Bell takes a look at Monday's international business news along with Joe Lynam.

Up to very recently a doctor‘s surgery or the administration of a hospital was done exclusively on paper. Increasingly though it is being digitised. The company TPro speeds up the process by taking automated notes of the medical consultation and helping with recordkeeping when it comes to medication and referrals. They started their business 11 years ago in Dublin and now have well over 100 staff selling to hospital administrators in Britain, Australia, the far east and even here in Ireland.  Jonathan Larby Co Chief executive of TPro joined Joe this morning on the show.

The EU has launched a pilot programme to look into having a Europe-wide Age Verification.  But some retailers aren't waiting.  MyCheckr uses a Special camera with AI technology to assess the age of customers and is usually very accurate.  Andrew O'Brien, Head of Biometric at Innovative Technology which created the MyCheckr age verification system.

Emmet Oliver takes a look at the business stories in the papers this morning and that markets with  Aidan Donnelly from Davys.

A global study by State Street has revealed that private markets are entering a period of structural change. Emmet discusses this further with Ciarán Grant, MD, Private Markets Product, at State Street.

ABP Food Group recently marked a decade of research on their Demonstration Farm in Co. Carlow, with a special event highlighting progress made to date on reducing climate emissions and improving on farm efficiency. Speaking to Emmet this morning was Agri Sustainability Manager at ABP Stephen Connolly. 

Thursday's business news headlines with Joe Lynam.

The Irish economy continues to grow, but the risks are now rising due to geopolitical and trade issues which will have a disproportionate impact on our economy due to our overdependence on American multinationals.That’s the view of the Central Bank of Ireland in its latest financial stability report. Joe spoke to Gabriel Makhlouf, the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and began by asking whether there was a risk that American companies.

15 years ago, Ireland was in a very different place economically. The economy was on its knees, and the government had to step in to bail out the entire banking system. It created a so-called “bad bank“ to take on €31.8 billion of banking debt where no one else would. People were skeptical that it would ever break-even but NAMA winds up this year having paid back that €32 billion and a surplus of €5.5 billion to Irish taxpayers. Speaking to Joe this morning was Brendan McDonagh the Chief Executive of NAMA.

Rumours of a wobble among Irish consumers appear to have been exaggerated according to the latest Personal Finance outlook from Bank of Ireland.  It says that debit and credit card spending rose by 6.5% year-on-year led by spending in restaurants and on accommodation.  But with the world only adjusting to a global tariff war, is it too soon to say the consumer is brushing off any of the impact? To discuss further Joe spoke to  Conall Mac Coille is the chief economist with Bank of Ireland. 

Taste of Dublin starts tomorrow in Merrion Sq.  It’s a chance for people to sample all sorts of cuisine including food that is grown and made right here in Ireland.   The body which represents many food producers - Love Irish Food - has conducted a poll of its members and it found that wage inflation and retaining staff were the 2 biggest threats facing the sector.  Despite that 70% remained confident about the future and the sector. Speaking to Joe this morning was Conor Kilduff is Executive Director, Love Irish Food.

Wednesday's business headlines and news with Joe Lynam.

It's no secret that housing and failure to deliver enough of them, is one of the most pressing issues facing the economy. The arrival also of AI and its importance to a knowledge based economy like Ireland are also among the top three priorities included in Pwc‘s pre-budget submission. But are there any easy political solutions to these issues? speaking to Joe this morning was Paraic Burke, Tax Leader at PwC Ireland.