Breakfast Business

Thursday's business news and updates with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

The Land Development Agency was set up only three years ago to turn state-owned land into affordable homes.  It's set to become the biggest single house builder in Ireland. But its future may be in jeopardy as Sinn Fein has said this week it would scrap the LDA in order to speed up house building. Speaking to Joe this morning was John Coleman is the chief executive of the Land Development Agency.

We give you Wednesday's business headlines and news.

Dublin airport is only allowed a maximum of 32 million passengers in a single year under planning rules from 15 years ago. It’s applied to raise that cap to 40 million to meet surging demand but that process could take years and so now today DAA which runs Dublin and Cork airports can confirm that it will indeed breach that cap this year. Kenny Jacobs the Chief Executive of DAA tells us why?

IBEC, which represents most Irish employers, is not a political party and is not running for Office but it has just published its manifesto. It’s heavy on aspiration and acknowledges that implementation is a lot easier than publication.  It calls for the speeding up infrastructure delivery, investing in public services, enhancing lifelong Education and reducing red tape To discuss the manifesto details was Danny McCoy Chief Executive of IBEC. 

In exactly four weeks, the Finance Minister Jack Chambers will issue his first and the coalition’s final budget before the election. Every sector has its thoughts on what the government should do including the investment and money management sector. Wealth managers Elkstone, who invest only in Irish ventures, have issued their proposals and there are some interesting suggestions including the creation of Unregulated limited partnerships. Speaking to Joe this morning on the show was Alan Merriman is the Chief Executive of Elkstone.

A look at Tuesday's business news headlines with Joe Lynam.

What do Canberra, Connacht, Leinster and Mexico have in common?  The answer is Darragh Fanning and the Zambrero chain of restaurants.  The former rugby player loved the food so much while playing in the Australian capital that he brought the franchise to Ireland. And this week he marks the amazing feat of opening his 25th outlet.  All the while his group has provided 81 million free meals to those in need.   Darragh Fanning from Zambrero Ireland joined Joe this morning on the show.

The Lockdowns of 4 years created a boom in DIY people tried their hand at doing bigger jobs in their own home rather than pay someone to do it.  One of the beneficiaries of that boom was the giant hardware chain Screwfix which has more than 900 stores in Britain, Ireland and France.  John Mewett the Chief Executive of Screwfix  is worried about a decline in apprenticeships and people going into trades like carpentry and plumbing. John joined Joe this morning on the show.

Joe Lynam takes a look at the main business headlines this morning along with Ross Mould from AJ Bell.

Soon the annual Business to Arts Awards take place in which those companies large and small who make the biggest effort to support music, theatre and dance, and get public recognition for their donations and collaborations. Some businesses donate to help struggling artists, others do so as an act of staff retention and some do it for the tax incentives. Either way the Arts certainly need the money. Joining Joe in studio was Louise O’Reilly is the Chief Executive of Business to Arts which organises the awards.  

In order to deal with global credit card providers such as Visa or MasterCard, companies need something called a PCI which proves that their own IT systems are robust to deal with in a safe and secure way. One Irish company specialises in this and even provides services to the Central bank of Ireland Joining Joe this morning was Ian Brown is the Executive Chairman of Integrity360. 

Kate English from Deloitte reviews the stories of the week along with Joe Lynam.

Every business is trying to reduce its carbon consumption and its carbon output these days but one business has designed a device to suck carbon out of the atmosphere and it could really be a game changer on a worldwide scale if it breaks through. Carbon Collect is an Irish-owned company which has former Taoiseach Enda Kenny on its board, which has worked alongside Arizona State University to design a type of mechanical tree to remove more carbon in one device than an entire forest could. Speaking to Joe this morning was John McKeon Co Founder of Carbon Collect.

For live music fans it’s been an amazing summer:  Springsteen, AC/DC and Taylor Swift and that's before Coldplay arrive here this weekend.  Live music revenues were up 23% last year as we queued up to pay good money to be entertained.  That’s according to PwC’s Entertainment and Media Outlook which says the live sector will grow to €530m by 2028.  It also says that the overall Entertainment and Media sector will continue to grow annually to a value of €7.6bn by that time including Video on demand, cinema going and internet advertising. To discuss further Joe was joined on the show by Conor Forde is director of Entertainment and Media with PwC Ireland.  

A look at Thursday's business news and updates with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

There was a time when the vast majority of employees in the financial services sector in Ireland were based in Dublin.  No longer.  Now the latest ‘Ireland for Finance’ report by the government says that a quarter of the 57,000 banking and fintech jobs are outside the capital.  It comes as Irish banks are enjoying record profits.  But is this mini banking boom sustainable?  Neale Richmond, Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance. 

If you've been to a giant Manor house such as Johnstown House in Wexford or Strokestown House in Roscommon, you’ll see a wonderful slice of Irish history. Good and bad but you’ll also be at one of the many properties not owned by the State but by wealthy individuals which are part of the Irish Heritage Trust.Joe was joined on the show by Anne O’Donoghue Chief Executive of the Irish Heritage Trust and began by asking how these huge houses avoid losing money. 

Joe Lynam takes a look at the main business stories this Wednesday morning.

Kerrigan’s butchers have been plying their trade for 51 years when Brendan Kerrigan opened his first shop in Donaghmede.   It’s got 4 outlets now and focuses more on nutrition and delivers now nationwide.  But with the growth of non-meat diets, what's the future like for those who sell it?  Joining Joe on the show was Barry Kerrigan is the Managing Director of Kerrigan's butchers.