This week’s episode looks at the housing crisis from a slightly quirky angle. Imagine if Michael O’Leary decided to set up a development company to build housing and applied some of the lessons from Ryanair’s experience in disrupting the air travel business over the past three decades. It’s a point that Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burk…

In his recent piece for the Irish Times, Harry Goddard, CEO of Big Four firm Deloitte, argues that Ireland needs to build more data centres. He says this could generate the demand for a sufficient number of renewable energy projects to be built to help those facilities operate on a carbon neutral basis. He joins Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock …

These are some very challenging times for retail and hospitality here, with news this week that men’s fashion retailer Alias Tom was placed into liquidation while high profile Dublin restaurant Shanahan’s on St Stephen’s Green closed, and Dillinger’s in Ranelagh will close in November after 16 years in operation. On Tuesday, hundreds of hospitality…

According to PwC’s quarterly insolvency barometer, the retail sector now accounts for one in four of all insolvencies so far this year. Hospitality is also being adversely affected with smaller operators more likely to fail. Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Ken Tyrrell, business recovery partner at PwC Ireland, to go through their r…

Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by guests to pore over the main points of Budget 2025. The €10.5 billion package has a range of measures, including the threshold for higher income tax rate rising to €44,000, the minimum wage gets an 80 cent bump to €13.50 an hour, the USC rate will be cut to three per cent, income credits will increase by €125, and a…

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock speaks with Bank of Ireland chief economist Conall MacCoille about their latest economic bulletin. It shows that almost 40 per cent of Irish housing transactions are now settled at a minimum 10 per cent premium above the original asking price, something Bank of Ireland puts down to “the…

In his piece for the Irish Times earlier this week, CEO of Ibec Danny McCoy wrote about the ‘generational opportunity’ the next government will have to transform the country. Speaking with host Ciarán Hancock on this week’s episode of Inside Business, he explained how the key areas of infrastructure, education and energy strategy are central to mai…

On this week’s episode of Inside Business we’re looking at the Apple tax judgement from the European Court of Justice with Joe Brennan. It was decided on Tuesday that the tech giant had enjoyed illegal State aid and the ECJ determined that Ireland should collect some €13 billion in back tax. Joe Brennan has covered this saga over the past decade an…

Reports last week highlighted the challenges in the commercial property market, particularly in the offices sector, with some prized assets receiving offers well below the sale prices attached by agents, with banks moving on some borrowers who find they are in breach of their covenants. John McCartney is head of research at BNP Paribas Real Estate …

Inheritance tax has become something of a hot political issue, with hints of change coming in the budget supported by senior Fine Gael members who want to allow people to inherit more without being exposed to tax. But is this justified? Does it simply improve the lot of the better off in society? Or are there real anomalies that need to be addresse…

If you’re trying to buy a home, a report this week from estate agent Sherry FitzGerald on house prices and available stock won’t have lifted your mood. The supply of second-hand properties for sale in Ireland has fallen by almost a third since the pandemic, according to Sherry Fitz figures. And it found that annual house price inflation was running…

The high price of electric cars has long been seen as a barrier for those looking to switch from the traditional combustion-engine car to an EV, but that is now changing with many car makers slashing their prices. But what is driving prices down and what impact will it have on the second-hand EV market here? Irish Times writer specialising in motor…

The Covid-19 pandemic that hit in March 2020 hammered the Irish hospitality and retail sectors. One company that was directly in the firing line was Moriarty’s a family run craft shop and restaurant in the Gap of Dunloe in Kerry that was largely dependent on American visitors for its business. The company survived this near-death experience by beco…

On this episode of Inside Business we look at the €725 million funding plan the Government has agreed to provide to RTÉ over the next three years. Laura Slattery of The Irish Times sat down with RTÉ chief Kevin Bakhurst last week and not surprisingly he was “really pleased” with the settlement. Laura joined host Ciarán Hancock in studio to explain …

This week industrial peace broke out at Aer Lingus when pilots at the airline voted in favour of a pay proposal brokered by the Labour Court, ending weeks of industrial action that disrupted about 86,000 passengers of Aer Lingus. Ryanair also warned of weaker trading and profitability as passengers put a limit on how much they are prepared to pay f…

This week the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, which represents the broad hospitality sector, made its pre-budget submission to Government. Among the asks, were a return to the 9 per cent VAT rate, more cash from the State to promote the industry and a lifting of the 32m passenger cap at Dublin Airport, the country’s main gateway for visitors.…

On Tuesday, the Government published its Summer Economic Statement, which provides a framework for tax and spending in October’s budget. We discovered that the budget will be framed around a massive tax and spending package of €8.3 billion. Strip out Covid and cost of living years, and that would make it one of the most generous in the history of t…

This week we are focusing on mortgages and housing supply. Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by an expert panel comprising Irish Times finance correspondent Joe Brennan, economics correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Home & Design Editor Fiona Reddan. Fiona Reddan profiles the typical Irish house buyer in the market. How old are they? Where are they bu…

On this week’s episode of Inside Business we start with Jack Chambers’ appointment as the new Minister for Finance following Michael McGrath’s nomination by the Government as Ireland’s next European Commissioner. So, who is Jack Chambers and why has he been given such a plum role in Cabinet? Irish Times Political Editor, Pat Leahy, charts the rise …

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, we begin with Aer Lingus, after pilots at the airline voted again on Monday to pursue industrial action over a long-running pay dispute with the company. On Tuesday, the pilots’ union Ialpa announced a work-to-rule that will begin on June 26th and run for an indefinite period. Barry O’Halloran of The Irish…

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy to discuss the three global mega-trends that he believes stoked the Irish housing crisis and what, if anything, can be done about it. Are government supports such as the Help to Buy Scheme pushing up house prices? Will …

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s latest report has reiterated their stance that government spending plans risk overheating an economy already at full capacity. Is their plea for caution correct given the corporation tax receipt bonanza that shows little sign of abating in the short-term? Niall Conroy is chief economist with IFAC and he joined ho…

According to Conor Pope, Irish holidaymakers have been playing a game of chicken with airlines in recent weeks and – for once – it seems that the holiday makers are winning. With June on the horizon airlines have seats to sell with plenty of capacity at many accommodation options for the peak months. Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary recently…

Last weekend, Tony O’Reilly, one of Ireland’s leading businessmen, died at the age of 88 after a short illness. He had a hugely successful career both on the rugby pitch, as a star with Ireland and the Lions, and in the boardroom where he founded the Kerrygold butter brand, ran the Heinz food group in Pittsburgh for decades, and had a portfolio of …

Some 18,000 housing commencements were recorded in April. It’s a huge number and well up on the normal run rate. What was behind that spike? And do we have enough construction workers to build these homes and get to the magic 50,000 new homes a year target that we’re told we need to hit in order to meet demand? On this week’s episode of Inside Busi…