Breakfast Business

Mortgage drawdowns have decreased 17% in volume and 12% in value in the space of a year. That’s just one of the findings in the Banking and Payment Federation’s Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q2 2023. Brian Haynes, CEO of the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland joined Emmet Oliver on the show.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Emmet Oliver who was filling in for Joe Lynam.

The food and drink sector has called on the Government to extend its energy support schemes for businesses as cost pressures linger. Jonathan McDade is the deputy director of Food Drink Ireland and joined Emmet Oliver on the show.

One company is aiming to reach net zero by 2024 and calls for the energy scheme to be extended. ‘Hitting net zero is hard work but anything worthwhile is’ - so says David Russell, chief executive of Elio Networks who joined Emmet Oliver on the show.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Emmet Oliver who was filling in for Joe Lynam.

What started out with the simple need to provide a service for local people in and around Wexford town, now has 61 buses on the roads travelling not just from Wexford but also to Maynooth, Carlow, Wicklow, Waterford, and Dublin airport. Brendan Crowley is the founder of Wexford Bus and he’s our July Businessperson of the Month. All with thanks to Eversheds Sutherland.

As part of the government’s Housing for All strategy, The First Home Scheme was set up last year with a €400m war chest to get first-time buyers on the housing ladder. Its first annual progress report is out this week and 2000 buyers have been approved with 500 of them already moved into their new place. The scheme - like all things in housing - faces criticism that the government may in fact be pushing up house prices with this subsidy scheme Michael Broderick, Chief executive of First Home

A look at today's business papers and markets with Aidan Donnelly from Davy's.

Earlier this month, the IDA revealed that the pace of inward investment had slowed compared to last year. The State’s inward investment agency said it had secured 139 investments in the first six months of the year - down 10pc on the same time the previous year. The number of jobs that could be created was also down 33% on the first half of last year. It all shows that competition is hotting up from other European countries to get Foreign direct Investment. Joe caught up with the Chief executive of the IDA Michael Lohan and began by asking him about that competition

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

We all recall the winking paper clip which said ‘it looks as if you're composing an email’. And we all know that chatbots with your broadband provider rarely end up helping much. But now an Irish company Viatel is launching a generative AI chat bot for Teams which will do a lot more than direct you to the website. Speaking to Joe this morning Finian Nally Head of Microsoft Cloud Solutions with Viatel is with me now.

Earlier this week, Russia said it was tearing up the grain shipment deal which allowed Ukrainian grain to pass freely through the Black Sea and on to mostly poorer African nations that need it. We ask how the war is affecting Ukraine as well as Russia economically as we pass the 500-day mark since it started. Joining Joe on the show this morning is David Zaikin Co-Founder of the consultants - the Key Elements Group. Born in Ukraine, David is an experienced strategic advisor to a number of leading multinational brands and NGOs.

The owners of Centra and Supervalu supermarkets - Musgraves - say they’ve cut their carbon in both chains by 9% since last year and aim to slash their overall emissions by 46% by the end of the decade. They did it focussing on packaging and waste a lot as well as replacing all light fittings with low energy bulbs. Owen Keogh, Musgrave Head of Sustainability joined Joe this morning on the show.

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

We’ve all heard of horrifying cases of young people being bullied online or watching videos that encourage them to harm themselves. Ireland’s new media watchdog and media development agency, Coimisiún na Meán, is canvassing views from the public about Ireland’s first binding Online Safety Code. The idea is to ensure that giant social media platforms such as Instagram and tiktok take swift action to take down harmful videos. Jeremy Godfrey is the Executive Chair of the Coimisiun na Meán joined Joe this morning on the show.

The good news for a news station like Newstalk is that the public appetite to stay up to date is as strong as ever according to the latest PTSB Reflecting Ireland study. Even better news is that Radio and TV are the 2 most trusted sources for news. But there is a growing sense of distrust about the reliability of social media as a source of news. The research also found that worries about the economy have abated a little compared to last year. Leontia Fannin the Head of Commercial Affairs with Permanent TSB Bank discusses the findings of the research.

A run-through of some of the business stories today with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

The serial entrepreneur Declan Ganley made his money in telecoms and has had business centuries in Albania, Russia, and the US. He was also briefly a politician, but his latest venture is in Space. He’s chair of the satellite company Rivada which hopes to match Elon Musk’s Starlink service. Declan Ganley joined Joe this morning on the show.

The financial services provider and private equity the Apex Group is expanding its presence in Ireland by opening up a Limerick office to add to facilities in Dublin, Cork, Maynooth & Sligo. Apex is a global fund manager which started in Bermuda but has spread its wings to include current account management as well as ESG ratings. Speaking to Joe this morning was John Bohan Country Head of Business Development at the Apex Group.

Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam takes a look at some of the main business stories in the business papers.