Ibec Podcasts

The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was signed into law in April of this year and introduces various new entitlements for employees.

In this podcast, Linda Reid, Senior Employer Relations Executive and Nichola Harkin, Head of Employment Law Services, provide listeners with a practical view of the new rules relating to breastfeeding breaks and leave for medical care purposes. They also update listeners on when we might expect to see the remaining entitlements including the right to request remote and flexible working and domestic violence leave coming into force.

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

For businesses, climate action is no longer simply a question of environmental compliance and corporate responsibility. Today it is a matter of business value and competitiveness. Businesses that do not address their climate impacts will increasingly get left behind by consumers, investors, and talent. Most businesses recognise these imperatives but simply do not know where to start. The task is complicated by an overabundance of target setting frameworks, climate pledges, policies, and commercial offerings. 

In this episode of Ibec Responds we hear from Conor Minogue, Ibec Senior Executive for Infrastructure, Energy and Climate Policy, about the new 'Climate Action: A toolkit for business', developed by Ibec in collaboration with Accenture, and how it can help businesses develop a best-practice climate action strategy and avoid common pitfalls like greenwashing. We also talk to Nicholas Reynolds, Sustainability Manager with O’Brien Fine Foods and Caoimhe Donnelly, Chief Sustainability Officer with CIE, who share their experience developing climate action strategies, and setting emission reduction targets.

The Toolkit can be accessed here. 

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Internationally, Ireland’s education system has an enviable reputation due to high participation in higher education and the collaborative nature of the system in the development of a graduate talent stream.  Talented people, the availability of key skills, and the ability to connect easily with universities are real positive features of Ireland’s competitive offering.

Ibec have been at the forefront in highlighting the national deficit created by underinvestment in this sector. The devastating impact has widened the gap between Irish universities and international counterparts, damaged our reputation to attract research and business investment and is silently eroding our competitive edge.

In this episode of Ibec Voices, Claire McGee, Ibec Head of Education and Innovation Policy, is joined by Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin. Dr Doyle provides a compelling insight into Trinity College Dublin’s relationship with society, business and learners as it continues to lead in research, education and international networks. 

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Finding and sustaining work is a challenge for many people with disabilities, and often conversations around disabilities come from a place of reasonable accommodation rather than capturing the talent and innovation that many people with disabilities bring to their work. People with disabilities make up 13.5% of the population in Ireland, yet only 36.5% (of people aged 15-64 with a disability) are at work. 

Ibec’s Founders campaign aims to establish an eco-system in which Irish entrepreneurial endeavours can thrive and prosper. In this episode of Ibec Voices, we look at entrepreneurship through the lens of disability, and consider the unique challenges individuals with a disability face when founding and sustaining a business.
 

Sharon Higgins, Ibec Executive Director of Membership and Sectors, is joined by Professor Thomas Cooney, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Technological University Dublin, Claire Kennelly, Managing Director of Inclusive World Training, and Noel Joyce, lecturer at New York University Shanghai. They discuss the substantial contribution to entrepreneurship and innovation those with a disability have, and how being innovative involves understanding and accepting divergent perspectives. The episode highlights how diverse backgrounds and experiences can yield insights that can challenge the status quo and create real value.

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

2023 is the European Year of Skills, which aims to address skills shortages in the European Union and boost the EU skills strategy.

In this episode of Ibec Responds we explore the importance of lifelong learning to business and how Ibec is driving this important initiative. Nikki Gallagher, Ibec Head of Public Affairs,  is joined by Claire McGee, Ibec Head of Education and Innovation Policy, and Meadhbh Costello, Ibec Social and Education Policy Executive, to discuss talent opportunities and what L&D investment bring to a business.  

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Better health and the subsequent increase in life expectancy has created a demographic where people are seeking to work longer.

Following the publication of the Report of the Commission on Pensions and the Oireachtas Joint response, Government announced in September 2022 a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system in Ireland. On the 10 October 2022, Government approved the General Scheme of the Auto Enrolment Bill.

While we await legislation in this area , this KC Connect episode looks at the continuing challenges in this area for employers.  Our Ibec experts Kevin Feighery and Aoife McFadden discuss challenges employers have in both fixing mandatory retirement ages and managing requests for longer working against the backdrop of imminent reform.

Book your place at the Ibec Employment Law Conference 2023 here.

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Meat Industry Ireland, the Ibec sector association representing the primary beef, pork and lamb processing facilities located in the Republic of Ireland, launched the Irish Beef Sector Sustainability report in February. The report outlines the progress the industry has made to date in reducing GHG emissions and delineating the roadmap to further emissions reductions in line with government Climate Action Plan targets.

 In this episode of Ibec Responds, Síle Sweeney, Senior Executive at Meat Industry Ireland, is joined by Philip Tallon, Operations Manager at Dawn Meats and Margaret Berry, Head of Sustainability at Kepak, to discuss sustainability in the meat sector. 

Read the Beef Sector Sustainability Report here. 

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

The European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations, S.I. No. 686/2022 were signed into law on 16 December 2022. The Regulations amend existing legislation concerning contracts of employment and introduce new obligations in relation to probation and parallel employment. 

In this episode of KC Connect, Ibec solicitors Catriona McKeating and Pauline O’Hare will run through the terms that must now be included in contracts of employment, the pitfalls of exclusivity clauses and how to manage probation without falling foul of the Regulations.

Book your place at the Ibec Employment Law Conference  here.

Ibec members are encouraged to explore the Ibec guidance note on the EU Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive and Ibec Contracts of Employment sample documents. 

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Our past few episodes of Ibec Voices placed a focus on a critical component of the Irish economy, the small business community. 

We visited the Small Firms Association Strategic Management Masterclass in Athlone to sit down with SFA National Small Business Awards Finalists and hear their stories. This two-day programme is offered as part of the prize package for Finalists.

We were joined by a selection of owners, managers, and employees of small business from all sectors and from across Ireland. They told stories of tenacity, risk, and innovation, and across the series of interviews we get a real insight into the resilience and agility in the small business community. 

In our final episode we are joined by: 

·       Barry Prost, Co-Founder, Rent a Recruiter

·       Sinead Hayes, Director and Co-Owner, Nationwide Safety Training

·       Phoebe Clarke, Financial Controller, Finnegan’s Farm

·       Ronan Garvey, Chief Product Officer, ZEUS Scooters

Explore the Small Firms Association National Small Business Awards here. 

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.

Our next few episodes of Ibec Voices will place a focus on a critical component of the Irish economy, the small business community. 

We visited the Small Firms Association Strategic Management Masterclass in Athlone to sit down with SFA National Small Business Awards Finalists and hear their stories. This two day programme is offered as part of the prize package for Finalists.

 We were joined by a selection of owners, managers and employees of small business from all sectors and from across Ireland. They told stories of tenacity, risk and innovation, and across the series of interviews we get a real insight into the resilience and agility in the small business community. 

 In our second episode we are joined by: 

·  Aine Kennedy, CEO and Founder of the Smooth Company

·  Jenny Diamond, Founder and Director of Corporate Services, Nanny Payroll

·  Jamie Flannery, Social Media and Marketing Manager, Dingle Sea Safari

 
Explore the Small Firms Association National Small Business Awards here. 

Thank you for listening. To explore all of Ibec's podcast offering, visit here.  Make sure to follow Ibec Podcasts to stay up to date with new episodes.