Breakfast Business

It’s not often a profession that women choose to go into. Safety wear for people who work in construction and the oil business. But our winner this month made the leap from modest circumstances to one of the very short lists of women in the construction and trade sector. She formed Ennis Safety Wear during the Pandemic and it’s grown by 200% in 2 years. Her name is Angela Ennis and she is the Newstalk BPTM for January.

2022 was a perfect storm for farmers and food producers. Not only did energy prices soar but also fertiliser costs trebled because Russia was one of the biggest suppliers in Europe. Add in problems getting staff and anyone will tell you that the sector was braced for a tough 2023. How have things started? To discuss Joe was joined by Pat O’Toole, Irish Farmers, political editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.

Joe takes a look at todays business stories and markets with Aidan Donnelly from Davy Stockbrokers.

This time a year ago household finances looked pretty healthy. Then came the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation. But after a milder expected Winter and government support, household incomes are starting to look up. According to the Credit union sentiment survey, it’s at a 7-month high. But the mood music is still far below the long-term average. The economist Austin Hughes compiled the Credit Union survey alongside Core Research and spoke to Joe this morning.

Everyone knows that we have a major problem in Ireland building things. It costs too much, there is too much red tape, there are too many objections and of course, Planning takes too long. Planning has turned into the whipping boy for anyone or anything that can't get a project built. But is that unfair? Speaking to Joe this morning was Gavin Lawlor is the VP of the Irish Planning Institute

Joe Lynam takes a look at Thursday's business papers and websites.

Small businesses have had to deal with a slew of challenges over the past 3 years including, Brexit, Covid, and soaring costs but there’s a new bureaucratic train coming down the tracks which could be far more burdensome. It's called the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. It’s a new obligation for companies to audit the impact of everything they do not just on their immediate environment but also on their supply chains. These new requirements might be an irritant for larger firms but a real headache for smaller ones. Neil McDonnell – the CEO of ISME joins me now

The sudden departure of Damian English due to planning irregularities 3 weeks ago, opened the door for the relatively new TD Neale Richmond as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and the Retail Business. It is a portfolio of interest to Breakfast business listeners or anyone in the retail or Human resources and the Minister joined Joe on the show.

A look at today's business papers and markets with Joe Lynam.

It’s tough in any town to get people to spend money in the local economy - especially when it’s up against bigger shops in cities and giant eCommerce players like Amazon. It’s especially tough if you're in one of the more remote towns close to the border where things might be cheaper. But that’s the challenge that faced Letterkenny in Co Donegal and it rose to that challenge by introducing its own local voucher scheme - with a payment card that can only be spent in local shops. It’s been working for 19 years and now has 240 retailers involved It’s called ShopLK and Claire McDonough is the Vice President of Letterkenny Chamber of commerce which administers the project. Claire spoke to Joe on the show this morning.

You've heard of technology or simply Tech. You've also probably heard of Fintech but the latest iteration of tech and one which is growing rapidly because of its necessity is Climate Tech. The Irish Climate Tech Opportunity 2023’ written by SustainabilityWorks and PwC is out and it’s a call to arms for anyone in the technology space not to miss the boat and help heal the planet as well. Joe spoke to Laura Heuston Co-Founder of SustainabilityWorks.

A look at Tuesday's business papers and markets with Joe Lynam.

We’re in the final full week of January. So we have a fair idea of whether the mild uptick in the European economy has continued into the new year. Ireland - by most measures appears to have avoided the economic malaise that many had feared 6 months ago - despite soaring inflation, an oil price shock, and a technology Winter. And that doesn't even mention rapidly rising interest rates and a war on the European continent. So how well placed are we for the coming year? To discuss with Joe was Dan O’Brien Chief Economist with the IIEA and Simon McKeever is the head of the Irish Exporters Association.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Joe Lynam.

An acute shortage of qualified accountants will worsen in 2023, as the talent crunch is on course to worse in 2023 as Irish businesses and firms struggle to access the talent they need to support the economy That’s according to the Chartered Accountants of Ireland President, Pat O’Neill who joined Emmet this morning on the show.

Irish-owned architectural company, ARGO has expanded into the United States with the official opening of a New York Office and intends to tap into a €12 billion US investment potential David Campion, Founder of ARGO Development Studio spoke to Emmet this morning.

Emmet Oliver takes a look at today's business papers and markets with Aidan Donnelly Head of Equities in Davy Private Clients, Dublin.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme 2023 is officially open for nominations from this morning. Entrepreneurs from emerging, established, and international businesses operating across all industry sectors across the island of Ireland are invited to submit their nominations between now and March 2nd. Emmet Oliver spoke to Roger Wallace, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Programme.

Ireland will not experience any industry growth in 2023 but should remain on par with 2022 levels. That’s according to infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, which today published its annual Irish construction industry review. John O’Regan is AECOM’s Ireland Director joined Emmet this morning on the show.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Emmet Oliver.