Irish Times Inside Business

Eoin Burke Kennedy from the Irish Times and DCU Professor John Doyle join Ciaran Hancock to discuss the potential economic impact of Irish reunification. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After more than sixty years in business, Irish travel agent Joe Walsh Tours has announced it has ceased trading. The well known tour operator cited Ireland’s strict travel restrictions as one of the main reasons behind the closure. Irish Times Consumer Affairs correspondent Conor Pope and CEO of Irish Travel Agents Association Pat Dawson join Ciaran Hancock to discuss the uncertain future for tour operators and travel agents and their expectations for overseas travel in 2021. Later, Consumer advocate and founder of Askaboutmoney.com Brendan Burgess speaks to Ciaran about the imminent exit of KBC and Ulster Bank from the mortgage market and the impact this may have on competition and mortgage rates. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Sunday, twelve of Europe’s biggest football clubs announced plans to form a breakaway Super League, drawing an onslaught of criticism from fans, players and regulators alike. Less than seventy two hours later, their grand plan had collapsed, with six English clubs bowing out of the proposal. So what are the core problems at the heart of European football which led to this shock move and how can the model be adjusted to better serve the sport? Ken Early of The Irish Times and Second Captains and Andrew Doyle, owner of Shelbourne Football Club, join Ciaran Hancock to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today’s episode Ciaran Hancock is joined by hotelier John Fitzpatrick, owner of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group in New York City. Later this month, the Fitzpatrick Manhattan will reopen following over twelve months of closure. In today's episode we hear about the reopening plans, the impact of Covid-19 on the hotel business and Fitzpatrick's thoughts on the Irish mandatory hotel quarantine system. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe says better-than-expected exchequer returns show our economic "resilience", but do the numbers hide deeper scars? Cliff Taylor joins Ciaran to look at the latest set of economic figures showing Ireland's tax, spending and unemployment in the pandemic-stricken Q1 of 2021. Plus, Barry O'Halloran looks at Ryanair's passenger numbers for the same period of time and assesses the health of our aviation sector. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week the Government revealed its plan for the phased reopening the economy from April 12th onwards. On today’s show, Ciaran is joined by Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy and Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times to discuss what will it mean for Irish business and the wider economy. Is the timeline for reopening too sluggish? And, with the pace of the vaccine rollout ramping up, when might the Government begin withdrawing the financial supports currently propping up so many parts of the Irish economy? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Value(s) is the new book by economist and former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney. It’s an exploration into the ways in which economic and social values have become blurred and the radical change that is needed to build a better world for all. Recently, Irish Times columnist Chris Johns sat down with the Canadian banker for a wide ranging discussion on reshaping societal values, his involvement with online payment firm Stripe and his proud Irish heritage. Today we bring you that interview. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a year since the Irish economy first shut down. Parts of it have scarcely reopened since. For an update on how the pandemic is affecting the overall economy, Ciaran talks to Mark Paul of The Irish Times and economist Jim Power. In the retail sector, many businesses are carrying significant rent arrears from periods of lockdown. Some of them may never be able to pay those arrears back. But the shopkeepers and stall-holders of George's Street Arcade in Dublin won't face this problem, because their landlord has suspended rents throughout the periods of lockdown. We hear from Gwen Layden of Layden Group, the family company that owns the Arcade, about why she has taken this approach, how much it has cost her family and why she says all commercial tenants should be treated in this way. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We look at the extraordinary events of the past week at Ireland's biggest stockbroker Davy, with help from reporter Joe Brennan and Professor Niamh Brennan, an expert on corporate governance. Davy was fined €4.1 million for conducting a bond deal in which 16 of its own employees, including senior executives, were the buyers, a fact unbeknownst to the seller. How could such a breach occur and what comes next for the company? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With such reduced passenger numbers, how has Dublin Bus adapted and survived in the age of Covid-19? And what does the future hold?To find out, Ciaran went to the semi-state transport company's newly refurbished Broadstone depot to meet CEO Ray Coyne. They talked about the future of transport in Dublin, how technology will allow bus routes to become more flexible, the electrification of the fleet, and how Dublin Bus may diversify into "last mile" transport solutions such as e-scooters. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Twinlite describes itself as the best property company in Dublin. A family run business, their property portfolio consists of housing and apartment developments in Dalkey, Clongriffin and Stepaside. In today’s episode, Ciaran Hancock sits down with Executive Director at Twinlite, Rick Larkin, for a wide ranging discussion on the Irish housing market. Larkin speaks about the impact of lockdown restrictions on construction, the economics of building apartments and the future of housing design. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After almost a year in an out of lockdown, many retailers have seen their premises shuttered for vast majority of the last 52 weeks. A good deal of them have managed to strike rent agreements with their landlords, but some are refusing to make concessions for the pandemic. Ciarán talks to Michael Callaghan, head of commercial finance at Carraig Donn, about how they've been handling the issue with their 42 landlords across the country and the future of the retail sector after coronavirus. They're joined by Mark Paul, The Irish Times business affairs correspondent. Plus: We could find out this week if Ulster Bank is to exit the Irish market, when its UK parent company NatWest publishes full-year results on Friday morning. Joe Brennan has the background on what’s led to this moment and the impact a wind up of the bank would have here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's podcast we look at how Covid-19 has created a series of complications for the many companies based in Ireland with large numbers of employees from other countries. What are the tax implications for foreign workers employed here who, having been sent home from the office, decided to return to their home countries temporarily? Ciaran asks reporter Colm Keena and Daryl Hanberry, tax partner with Deloitte. Plus: Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons on his recent report for property website Daft that shows residential rents in Dublin have dipped by 3% in the past year while continuing to rise elsewhere. Ronan explains what is behind these trends and what lies ahead for our dysfunctional housing market.This podcast is sponsored by Davy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Galway-based company HidraMed Solutions has won the Irish Times Innovation of the Year award for 2020 for developing a novel dressing system aimed at those suffering from the incurable skin disease, Hidradenitis Suppurativa. In today’s episode, HidraMed founder Suzanne Maloney joins Ciaran Hancock to speak about the company’s origins, products and plans for expansion. But first, Ciaran is joined by Irish Times business journalist Eoin Burke Kennedy and by James Benson, Director of the Irish Home Builders Association to discuss the impact ongoing lockdowns are having on the construction sector. The IHBA has estimated that the supply of new homes could be reduced by 8,000 this year as a result of the current stoppage, so what will this mean for the already squeezed housing market if the lockdown is extended beyond March? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a devastating 2020, it was hoped that the tourism sector could be restarted in the second quarter of 2021. With the extension of Level 5 restrictions to March 5th and new mandatory quarantine travel rules, that now looks unlikely. Just when, and how, will tourism - domestic and overseas - get its post-Covid reboot? Ciaran talks to Dublin travel agent John Galligan, hotelier and president of the Irish Hotels Federation, Elaina Fitzgerald Kane and Irish Times business journalist Mark Paul. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Olympic Federation of Ireland president and Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane and GAA director of communications Alan Milton join Ciaran Hanacok and Michael O'Keeffe to talk about the challenges and opportunities for sport in Ireland in 2021. But first, Michael has some research on the disruption created by Covid-19. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A group of Irish banks is seeking to set up an instantaneous money-transfer mobile app to take on the likes of Revolut and N26. Synch Payments, a joint venture between AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and KBC, is awaiting approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. In today's podcast, Ciaran is joined by Irish Times markets correspondent Joe Brennan and Hesus Inoma, associate director at Grant Thornton's Financial Services Advisory practice, to discuss the move.Later, Laura Slattery on the growth of television viewing in 2020, driven in part by pandemic lockdown restrictions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In December 2020, An Post delivered a staggering 14 million parcels. This figure comes in at more than double the amount handled by the company in the same period last year. The pandemic and subsequent lockdown have resulted in phenomenal e-commerce growth for the business, with most consumers doing their shopping online.In today’s episode, CEO of An Post David McRedmond sits down with host Ciaran Hancock to discuss the company's overall performance in 2020, the multi-million euro investment plans which include the relocation of An Post’s headquarters from the GPO in Dublin and the impact Brexit is having on parcels coming in from the UK. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ciarán is joined by a panel of guests to look ahead to 2021 and the major challenges facing Irish businesses and the economy. On the panel are Danny McCoy, CEO of business representative group Ibec, Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority, and Mark Paul, business affairs correspondent with The Irish TimesDanny tells Ciarán what Brexit really means for Ireland in 2021, Anne explains the investment programme planned for public transport and Mark talks about what the State can do to help reboot our ailing aviation and tourism sectors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin says widespread vaccination against Covid-19 is possible by "late autumn". In this podcast he talks to Ciaran Hancock about the vaccine rollout plan, how the Government will extend supports to businesses and employees beyond the current expiration date of those schemes, the likelihood of a Brexit deal and much more. To all our listeners, we wish you a happy and safe Christmas. Thanks to our sponsor Davy for its support throughout 2020. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.