Karen Clince is CEO of Tigers Childcare, one of the biggest providers in the Irish market with 22 centres in Dublin, Cork, Kildare and Meath. She joins host Ciarán Hancock to explain the economics of running a childcare facility and give her view on proposals from the new Government to boost the sector.

And Laura Slattery of the Irish Times talks us through the findings of a survey from Dublin Chamber which shows how the childcare crisis is limiting the ability of companies to recruit and retain staff, especially women, with a fifth of all companies describing it as the primary barrier to doing so.

Plus, the World Economic Forum kicked off on Monday in the Swiss resort of Davos with many leading business and political leaders assembling to discuss the big global issues of the day.

It’s fair to say that Donald Trump’s return to the White House overshadowed all of that. The new US president hit the ground running, issuing more than 100 executive orders on his first day in office and pulling the US from the OECD’s global corporate tax deal.

That deal is very important to Ireland and could put us on a collision course with Trump’s new administration.

Irish Times Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy joins Ciarán on the line from Davos to go through the event’s main talking points thus far.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week a high-profile residential property scheme for Dundrum village in Dublin, that would have delivered 881 apartments and a mix of commercial units, was rejected by An Bord Pleanála.

The scheme had first been proposed in 2021 by Hammerson and Allianz who between them owned the land. In a rejection letter the board was strong in its language noting the excessive density, height and scale, together with its “monolithic appearance”. And that it would have had an overbearing impact on neighbouring residential properties.

This decision prompted Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times to write a column on the issue and its relevance to the housing crisis here. He joins host Ciarán Hancock on this week’s episode of Inside Business.

Also joining the show is Tom Phillips, an experienced planning consultant who has been involved in a number of large development applications, but not the one for Dundrum. He gives his thoughts on how the planning system works, the role of planning consultants, and the contradictions in the current system that are holding us back as we seek to break the log jam of the housing crisis.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Figures for 2024 showed a 1 per cent decline in total car sales across the Irish market versus 2023. But the number of electric vehicles sold reduced by almost 24 per cent with just 17,459 registered. This is against the backdrop of a government target to have one million EVs on Irish roads by 2030 as we phase out the use of fossil fuels.

Neil Briscoe writes extensively about motoring for the Irish Times and he joined host Ciarán Hancock on the line to go through some of the affordable options for those looking to buy, and explain why sales of EVs went into reverse last year.

In part two of the podcast, we hear from Conor Hanley, chief executive and president of Fire1, an Irish MedTech company that this week raised $120million to fund final clinical stage trials in the US for a device which helps monitor heart failure. He joined Ciarán in studio to explain why he thinks the technology is a major breakthrough for the many millions of people who suffer from this potentially life-threatening condition.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week’s episode, host Ciarán Hancock was joined by a stellar panel to look forward to 2025. They tried to predict what would happen with foreign direct investment with Donald Trump back in The White House, a new coalition government is to be formed but will it solve the decade-plus housing crisis, and they consider the impact of artificial intelligence – can it live up to the hype of the last two years?

The panel comprises Feargal O’Rourke, the former PwC managing partner, who now wears many corporate hats, including as chairman of IDA Ireland, Marian Finnegan is Managing Director of Residential at Sherry Fitzgerald, the country’s biggest firm of estate agents, while Chris Horn is a tech entrepreneur and columnist at the Irish Times.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis was the number one concern for voters as they went to the polls in November with scarce supply and price inflation a feature throughout 2024. It was also a topic covered repeatedly on this podcast throughout the year with many experts and contributors offering context, insight, and in some cases, potential solutions to the housing crisis.

Produced by John Casey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It has been another tough year for restaurant and café owners – according to the Restaurant Association of Ireland, two venues a day are closing as businesses struggle to make ends meet amid rising inflation and a spike in payroll costs.

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Vanessa Murphy, co-owner of Las Tapas de lola on Camden Street in Dublin’s city centre, and Aisling Rogerson, owner of the popular Fumbally café and bakery in Dublin’s Liberties. They discuss their trading struggles post-Covid, rising prices and menu changes, the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff, and how they have changed their trading hours to reflect the altered dining habits of customers.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2024 nears its end, Inside Business looks back at some of the big stories of the year. Everything from rising house prices to soaring corporation tax receipts, to Taylor Swift concerts and Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.

To review the year, host Ciarán Hancock iss joined by Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Conor Pope and Ian Curran of The Irish Times to discuss issues around housing, the cost of living crisis, the €13 billion Apple tax ruling, and the demise of many restaurants and cafes.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Cliff Taylor is joined in studio by Louisa Earls, manager of Books Upstairs, along with Laura Caffrey, & Clare Grennan, Co-Owners of Irish Design Shop, to get an insight into their experience as independent retailers in Dublin city during a period of the year that accounts for up to a third of their annual sales.

Louisa discusses the pivot Books Upstairs made towards online sales during the early days of Covid, the titles that have flown off the shelves this year, competing with Amazon and what the government could do better to protect small independent businesses operating in the city.

Laura and Clare from Irish Design Shop explain the challenges of starting a business in the teeth of the financial crash in late 2008, stocking products from over 60 Irish designers in its Drury Street shop, soaring tourist trade and why so many online orders are now coming from suburban Dublin.

All three guests highlight the surge in shoplifting and why it is so difficult to combat.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Irish government rolling in clover like never before, what is the outsider’s view of our economy?

Max Colchester, Britain Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, has been writing about this following his recent visit to Dublin. He notes how other governments around Europe are struggling and raising taxes while we have set up two sovereign wealth funds to make good use of the billions in corporate tax receipts that continue to roll in – something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Donald Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick.

He joins host Cliff Taylor to discuss the envious position Ireland finds itself in.

Also on this episode, Irish Times Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope digs into whether the onslaught of advertised bargains for Black Friday are as good as they sound.

Why do sales now start weeks before Black Friday? Can I get the same bargains during the year? And does buyer’s remorse and this annual event go hand in hand?

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s stance on imports coming into the US could have very real implications for Irish transatlantic trade.

September proved to be a record month for Irish exports, as well as a record level of exports going to the US. This underlines the importance of a market that could be jeopardised if the president-elect follows through on his promise to introduce blanket tariffs on goods entering the US.

Carol Lynch is customs and trade partner with BDO Ireland and she joined host Cliff Taylor to give some insight into what those tariffs could do to the Republic’s largest export market outside of the EU, and how Irish companies have already started preparations to manage those impacts.

Cathal Foley and his company PACE won the sustainability and overall prize at the 2024 Irish Times Innovation awards.

PACE stands for Platform for Analysing Carbon Emissions, specifically airline carbon emissions. The aviation sector has set an ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2050, something that is likely to cost around five trillion dollars. Cathal explained how PACE aims to help the sector achieve that target.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.