Breakfast Business

Joe Lynam takes a look through the business headlines.

We’ve spent a bit of time talking about what headline announcements to be expected in tomorrow’s budget. But we’re gonna take a step back now and focus on some of the less spoken about measures we should look for from Jack Chambers - for example something called a Participation Exemption as well as how it could be a strategic budget. Daryl Hanbury is a partner with Deloitte and joined Joe this morning.

In Just over a week from now, Jack Chambers will rise to his feet to give his first and the coalition government’s last budget.  He will have billions to spend and an electorate to woo ahead of the general election which could take place in weeks rather than months.  But what will companies want to see in the budget in light of the fact that many of them have been struggling with much higher employment costs as well as  red tape. We discuss all with Mairead Harbron a partner with PWC. 

The Dublin stock exchange known as Euronext Dublin lost 3 major companies last year CRH, Smurfit and Flutter.  It diluted the depth of capital markets in this country and may lead to other large listed companies to follow them out the door and to float in New York.  But Dublin is fighting back with the launch of an alternative market to make it easier and cheaper for smaller firms to list.  But will it work? Joe discusses all with Daryl Byrne the Chief Executive of Euronext Dublin. 

Joe Lynam was joined this morning with Kathleen Brooks from XTB to take a look at the international business headlines.

There was a time when it took a week to transfer money between bank accounts in Ireland.  From January it should take seconds.  Much of that improvement is thanks to the pressure applied on the traditional banks by FinTechs or technology firms who focus on banking and financial services.  The Fintech sector gathers again today for its conference and AI as well as cyber security will be on the agenda.  But so too will be regulation and the cost of banking no doubt. Joining Joe in studio this morning was Michael Concanon the Director of Strategy with the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland. 

Joe Lynam takes a run through all the business news this morning with Aidan Donnelly from Davys.

One of Argentina’s biggest companies is Globant.  It was the first Latin American business to float on the NY stock exchange and now the IT and software giant supplies the likes of Google, Electronic Arts and even AIB here in Ireland. Joe caught up with the founder Martin Migoya at the Dublin stock

Using the courts to settle disputes is a very expensive business and excludes the vast majority of consumers and SMEs.  But there are cheaper alternatives including Mediation which brings together the warring parties with the aid of specialist mediators.  Why don't more of us use it?  It comes as the legal profession faces questions of speed in delivering justice from the Tanaiste and amid a strike by barristers over fees. Joining Joe this morning was Ronan Hannigan is a partner with the law firm Clark Hill.

Joe Lynam takes a run through Thursdays business news headlines.

 Last week the world of technology and especially the FDI sector here was rocked by a surprise decision by the European Court of Justice to order Apple to pay up to €14bn in back taxes to Ireland over a special tax arrangement in the early 2000s.  The Irish government suddenly found itself having to explain that decision to dozens of other large tech companies based here. Some people worried that it could damage links with large foreign investors.  Joe speaks to Michael Lohan the Chief Executive of the IDA.

LinkedIn is one of the biggest social media platforms and certainly the most polite as its users are primarily professionals.  It’s a popular networking site and frequently used for job hunters.  And the latest survey from LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, shows that Dublin has seen the biggest uptick in hiring among the top 50 cities around the world.  In fact, Ireland comes in as the 6th most popular country for job searches. It comes amid an ever-worsening housing crisis and many employers rowing back on its offers to work from home. Sue Duke Country Manager for Ireland with LinkedIn joined joe this morning on the show.

The latest assessment of the health of the Irish economy from the Central Bank of Ireland suggests that the economy is performing well but bottlenecks are starting to hold future growth back and may even resuscitate the perception of inflation.  And the central bank says that Ireland may need 20,000 more homes built per annum than are currently being constructed. It even provides some advice on how to solve the nations seemingly intractable problem.  Joining Joe this morning was Dr Robert Kelly is the Director of Economics and Statistics with the Central Bank of Ireland. 

We take a look at Wednesday's business news headlines.

Joe Lynam takes a run through of the main business stories this morning.

The biggest annual event in Ireland starts today.  Known simply as ‘the Ploughing’ it brings together hundreds of thousands of people every year and is a ‘must attend’ event for politicians and companies as they get a chance to speak to ordinary people and find out what they like and what they loathe.  It’s akin to the Champions league final for the Irish Farmers Journal and telling us how important this event is to the farming community was Lorcan Roche Kelly is the Agri-Business Editor with the Journal. 

Yesterday one of the most important commissioners in the European Union, Thierry Breton, resigned suddenly in a row with the President Ursula Von der Leyen. It comes as she tries to formulate a brand-new commission. As newly elected MEP‘s digest the crucial report from Mario Draghi last week which hopes to restore European competitiveness which has fallen behind China and the US over the past 20 years.So what can MEPs do to steady the ship and stimulate growth in Europe? Joe asked Aura Salla is a member of the ECON committee of the European Parliament. 

Data centres love them or loathe them are at the heart of the digital economy and will become even more important as the normal economy takes up the usage of AI which requires even more storage and computing power than ordinary text searches. One Irish company MTM Engineering has been around for 27 years and benefited from the surge in data centres here.  Speaking to Joe this morning was Brendan Mee is the Chief Executive of MTM engineering.

We take a look a the main business stories this morning with Ross Mould from AJ Bell.

 Gerald Lawless was the president of the Jumeirah Group in Dubai which includes the iconic Burj Al Arab Hotel. He was also a Director here at the Shelburne hotel and has worked in the Tourism trade in Switzerland. He’s seen how tourist trends develop and has some views on the idea of a tourist tax. Gerald joined Joe this morning.