Inside Business with Ciaran Hancock

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, we look at the sluggish delivery of large and necessary infrastructure projects that has been a feature of several successive Governments.A population surge means building more and better infrastructure for transport, water and housing has become increasingly urgent.The Government unveiled a new plan this week. The Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce contains 30 actions and deadlines by which projects have to be completed.This comes at a time when there are legal delays to the Greater Dublin Drainage project, and potentially to the capital’s MetroLink too.To get some insight into whether a plan like this can address the key issues holding back delivery, host Cliff Taylor was joined on the line by taskforce member and Chairperson of IDA Ireland, Feargal O’Rourke.Also in this episode, Irish Times Deputy Business Editor Dominic Coyle on the new pension auto-enrolment scheme 'My Future Fund' which begins on 1 January. How many employees will be opted in? Are companies ready? What are the concerns of employer groups like Ibec? And are employers already gaming the system?Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

On this week’s Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by senior lecturer in housing at TUD Dublin, Lorcan Sirr.The episode starts with some recent good news, that the net wealth of Irish households is nearly €1.3 trillion, or an average of €228,000 each.Sounds good but as Lorcan explains, this is an illusion. He argues that Ireland isn’t really a wealthy country in spite of what the statistics tell us. Lorcan also touches on the housing crisis in its many forms and goes through some possible solutions. And he does have some solutions. He also explains why he thinks judicial reviews of planning decisions haven’t caused the housing crisis. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, we look at the role of AI in the hiring and firing of workers.Host Ciarán Hancock is joined on the podcast by Ciara O’Brien of the Irish Times to discuss why Amazon recently announced 14,000 job cuts globally as it seeks to trim expenses. Is this being driven solely by AI? Well, in an update to staff in June, Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy stated the company would reduce jobs in some areas while it hired in others. And more AI would mean fewer corporate staff at Amazon, with the slack being picked up by generative AI and high-tech agents. Separately, we have new research from hiring platform Greenhouse which suggests that AI has created a ‘doom loop’ between applicants and those who are hiring. Irish Times Work Correspondent Emmet Malone explains the issue, along with the new phenomenon of fake job postings. Plus, Ciarán is joined in studio by Darryl Byrne, Chief Executive of Irish stock exchange operator Euronext Dublin, to discuss the future of the market here and a proposal he has put forward to introduce a future-focused SIA (Savings Investment Account).Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

This week on Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by Gary McGann, a grandee of Irish business whose many roles included being chief executive of drinks group Gilbeys, Aer Lingus and packaging group Smurfit. Born and raised in Dublin, Gary actually began his career in the civil service, with the Comptroller & Auditor General. He studied at night to become an accountant and later moved into the private sector, rising up the ranks and moving around to eventually become CEO of Smurfit in 2002.He has also had a busy career as a non-executive director, including roles with Anglo Irish Bank at the time of its collapse, and with bakery goods group Arytza, at a challenging time for that business. We covered a lot of ground in this interview. You’ll hear Gary talk about his childhood, his time in school and a couple of false starts in university. We also take a deep dive into his business careers, the highs and the lows. And he gives Ciarán his perspective on the current state of the Irish economy, and what we could be doing better. Along with some tips for young business leaders starting out in their careers. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

This week’s episode of Inside Business sees host Ciarán Hancock joined in studio by Niall Tallon, chief executive of Irish telecoms group Imagine. A minor in the Irish market, the company recently made a bold move offering cheap fibre broadband products along with a promise not to increase those prices for the next five years. This is designed to double its customer base by 2030 as part of a multi-million investment in growing the business. It’s a brave strategy given that Imagine has just 35,000 existing customers and big competitors such as Eir, Vodafone, Three and Virgin Media who control a large chunk of the market between them.Niall explains how the offer will work and the business case behind it, as well as discussing the company’s Armenian owners and how he came to run a telco with a chequered history that was originally founded by the late Irish entrepreneur Sean Bolger. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

This week’s guest on Inside Business is Tom O’Brien, group chief executive of Nephin Energy. Nephin owns 43 per cent of the Corrib gas field off the west coast of Ireland and also has ambitious plans to develop a network of agri-based biomethane plants across the country. While gas is a polluting fuel it continues to be an important part of our energy mix. Tom joins host Ciarán Hancock in studio to talk about the chances of extending the lifetime of the Corrib field, why biomethane is a potential win-win for the country, the future of offshore wind as a natural resource for Ireland, and whether gas prices are likely to go up or down over the next couple of years. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

There is research from Brussels think tank Transport & Environment suggesting that plug-in hybrids are just as polluting as petrol cars. Neil Briscoe is a motoring expert and writes extensively on this for The Irish Times. And given his knowledge of motoring and our transition to EVs, were the findings a surprise to him? In the second part of the podcast, host Ciarán Hancock speaks to Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times about an upgrade to Irish growth forecasts by stockbroker Goodbody and some research from Ibec on hybrid working, suggesting that employees are expected to attend the office on more days each week. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Ciarán Hancock is joined by guests to pore over the main elements of Budget 2026. The €9.4 billion package includes a minimum wage increase of 65c to €14.15c per hour, a €10 across-the-board increase to core weekly welfare payments, but no once-offs like double child benefit payments and electricity credits. On the panel:Cliff Taylor, Managing Editor, The Irish TimesFrank O’Neill, Tax Partner, EY IrelandSean Collender, President of the Restaurants Association of IrelandEllen Coyne, Political Correspondent, The Irish Times Produced by John Casey.