Inside Business with Ciaran Hancock

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 Burke Kennedy posited in a column earlier this week. Could a no-frills approach reduce construction costs that could in turn be passed on to home buyers?Paul Mitchell, director of construction consultancy Mitchell McDermott and an expert on construction costs, also joins the podcast to give his thoughts on potential solutions to ease the housing crisis in the coming years. Mitchell McDermott recently produced a cost study report on behalf of the Department of Housing, contained in which is the eye-watering figure of €600,000 now necessary to build a two-bedroom urban apartment.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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 to explain why more data centres need to be built here, despite the large amount of electricity and water necessary to run them and the relatively small amount of people employed by them.Also on the podcast, Eoin Burke Kennedy of The Irish Times outlines five key battlegrounds in the upcoming general election, which we now know will be held this year. He cites housing, spending overruns, the cost-of-living crisis, interest rates, and business failures.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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, tourism, retail, and other small business owners protested in Dublin outside Leinster House about the increasing costs of doing business here, with many of those costs being Government imposed. The Restaurant Association of Ireland was one of the groups that organised that protest, and its CEO Adrian Cummins joins Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock to discuss the key issues raised at the protest, while Eoin Burke Kennedy of The Irish Times explains the backdrop to Alias Tom’s winding up this week.At the end of last month, the Government announced that the much talked about auto enrolment private sector pension scheme would finally come into effect in September 2025.A report in the Irish Independent suggested there could be a tax sting in the tail for those workers, following the release of the Finance Bill last week. Dominic Coyle, The Irish Times resident pensions expert, outlines what’s being proposed in the Finance Bill for auto enrolment.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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 research and get a handle on how many more insolvencies are potentially in the pipeline as we head towards 2025.Also on this week’s episode, Irish Times Work Correspondent Emmet Malone talks us through two industrial disputes affecting some big-name multinationals here with members of trade union Connect deferring a 24-hour work stoppage at a Meta data centre in Clonee on Monday. And separately, Unite trade union has warned of more pickets being placed on selected large construction sites around the country after strikes at an Intel site in Kildare. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. 

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 €12 weekly increase to welfare and pension payments.On the panel:Michael Rooney, EY Ireland Tax PartnerElaine Dunne, chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood providersCliff Taylor, Irish Times Managing EditorJenifer Bray, Irish Times Political Correspondent Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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 intense competition for homes”. Conall Mac Coille is author of the bulletin, and while he points to lack of supply and wage growth as factors driving house price inflation, he notes that we might be experiencing a peak at the moment. He also gives his thoughts ahead of next week’s budget and whether Ireland is insulated from the economic woes affecting Britain, Germany and the wider EU bloc.Also on this episode, we hear from HR expert Louisa Meehan about return to the office trends in the wake of Amazon’s recent decision to order staff back to the workplace five days a week.Is that likely to become a trend here? And is working from home potentially detrimental for younger employees at the outset of their careers?Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. 

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 maintaining a competitive economy here.And in terms of the funding needed to address those three areas, McCoy warned against a long-term reliance on the current corporate tax bonanza, he instead suggested more taxation on the individual, a move he knows would be politically unpopular. And what about the €13 billion of Apple tax? Ibec’s chief suggested that Ireland could take the noble step of giving it to poorer countries who really need it.Also on this episode, Irish Times Soccer Correspondent Gavin Cummiskey on the continuing financial struggles of the Football Association of Ireland as it finds itself still tens of millions in debt. Where does it leave League of Ireland clubs and emerging talent in a week where Dundalk FC had a near-death experience?Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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 and joined host Ciarán Hancock on the line to discuss the story. What is the background to the case? How is the money likely to be spent? Will this impact foreign direct investment here?Also on this week’s episode, we hear from Claire Nash who opened Nash 19 restaurant in 1992, going on a rollercoaster ride along with the ups and downs of the Irish economy. In January she pulled down the shutters after a succession of blows dealt by the pandemic, soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. She discusses her reasons for closing, explains why a cup of coffee should really be costing €8 or €9 a pop, and offers her take on how the hospitality sector might be rescued via Government initiatives.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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 and follows the market closely. He joined host Ciarán Hancock in studio to discuss the latest moves in the commercial property market. He began by giving some context to what’s happening in the market in terms of valuations and how private equity firms and the banks are currently viewing their exposures.In part two of this week’s episode of Inside Business we hear how a new survey from recruiter IrishJobs noted how AI is increasingly being used in hiring processes. This is happening on both sides of the equation, with candidates using it for their CVs and covering letters and by employers to sift through applications.Ian Curran of The Irish Times reported on the survey and joined us on the line.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.