The Bottom Line on KCLR

In this episode of The Bottom Line, John Purcell spoke with Jim Power ahead of the European Central Bank meeting this week. Jim shares his insights on interest rates, inflation and the economy in general. John also spoke with Jim about agriculture and the outlook for the sector.

In this episode of The Bottom Line, we hear from Martin O'Brien, Head of Irish Economic Analysis at the Central Bank of Ireland, who joined John to discuss some of the key points in their latest quarterly bulletin which was released during the week.

In this weeks episode of The Bottom Line on KCLR, John Purcell was joined by Alan Seery of O’Neill Foley Chartered Accountants to chat through some of the business news and issues from the week.

Italo Andrade spoke with John about his business – digital business cards.  Italo explained how they work, how they can help save money for businesses and individuals and, how he’s seeking both resellers and investors.

Earlier this week the launch of the County Carlow Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2023 took place at The Exchange in Carlow. John Purcell was at the event and while there he spoke with the newly elected President of Carlow Chamber of Commerce Rowena Dooley.

Economist Jim Power joined John to discuss how business and the economy has been faring over the first six months of 2023 and what he thinks will be the issues and influences shaping the rest of the year.

To contact the show, email: [email protected]

In this episode of The Bottom Line on KCLR, Samantha McCaughren, Business Editor of the Sunday Independent joined John Purcell, to chat through some of the business stories from the week.

Google has announced that starting on July 1st, 2023, the standard Universal Analytics will stop working and, to understand what this means for any business using Google Analytics to guide their ecommerce strategy, John spoke with John Foy, Creative Director at Carlow based, Stratticus Studio about what you need to know and what you need to do.

During the week the Central Bank of Ireland released their second quarterly bulletin of the year and to discuss what has been going on in the Irish Economy and what lies ahead for the rest of the year, John spoke with Martin O’Brien, Head of Irish Economic Analysis at the Central Bank of Ireland.

Climate change is an ongoing subject of concern and while many businesses are well on the road to making their businesses more sustainable there are many others who have put off the necessary changes that have to be made to decrease their carbon footprints. Gillian Peters, Chief Executive of Pragmatica spoke with John about how her organisation works with businesses large and small to devise and implement strategies and prepare for a future where becoming climate friendly won’t be just a choice for business but will also be something which they will have to do to comply with a range of statutory requirements which are coming down the track.

To contact the show, email: [email protected]

This week, John Purcell presented The Bottom Line live from Arboretum in Leighlinbridge, Carlow for a special programme at the launch of well known local entrepreneur Rachel Doyle’s book - “My Tree of Life”.

Rachel along with her husband Frank and sons Barry and Fergal chatted with John about their business, working as a family, the challenges and successes along the way, and the hopes that Rachels story will inspire others.

Throughout the evening, John caught up with some of the guests in attendance who shared their stories of Rachel and her impact on the business community locally and beyond.

To contact the show, email: [email protected]

This week on The Bottom Line on KCLR, John Purcell was joined by Lorcan Allen, Business Editor for the Business Post, to chat through some of the business stories from the week.

With staff recruitment and retention a big business issue that has shot right to the top of the agenda of many businesses, John spoke with John Hurley, CEO of Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and John O ’Shanahan, Managing Director of Lean BPI about an event on the theme of recruitment and retention which is taking place in Kilkenny next Thursday, and is being hosted by Kilkenny Local Enterprise Office in association with Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce.

Gerry Duffy last spoke with John on The Bottom Line in January about goal setting for 2023 and, as we approach the halfway point in the year, John caught up with Gerry to get some advice on what to do if you had set yourself some goals at the start of the year but have wandered a bit off course. 

Riverbend Adventures a kayaking tourist company based in Kilkenny was set up by Roger McClure along with his son David McClure. Roger joined John in studio to tell us more about the business and how it came about from his passion for Kayaking.

To contact the show, email: [email protected]

This week on The Bottom Line on KCLR, John Purcell was joined by communications consultant and former business editor of the Irish Independent, Maeve Dineen to discuss some of the business news stories from the week.

Jimmy Sheehan, Managing Director at Contracting PLUS joined John to chat about blended workforces and the recently released study “Ireland’s Project Economy 2023” -  a collaboration between Contracting PLUS and Trinity Business School which examines  the extent and nature of working as a self-employed contractor or freelancer in Ireland.

Earlier this week the latest Consumer Sentiment Index for May was released and to provide an insight into the findings of the report and understand why consumer confidence is an important barometer, John was joined by Economist Austin Hughes.

With The Cat Laughs festival kicking off this weekend, John chatted to Cat Laughs Founder Richard Cook to talk about the business of comedy festivals and what he’s learned over almost 30 years of producing some of the best festivals around.

To contact the show, email: [email protected]

Jimmy Sheehan, Managing Director at Contracting PLUS joined John to chat about blended workforces and the recently released study “Ireland’s Project Economy 2023” -  a collaboration between Contracting PLUS and Trinity Business School which examines  the extent and nature of working as a self-employed contractor or freelancer in Ireland.

In this episode of The Bottom Line on KCLR, John Purcell was joined by Laura Slattery of The Irish Times to discuss the business news stories making the headlines this week. 

TradeBridge is a new organisation established with the support of Local Authorities and other business development organisations across the South East. Its purpose is to develop trade links between South East Ireland and South East Georgia, USA. This week a delegation of business leaders from Savannah in Georgia were in this area and John Coleman, incoming Chair of the World Trade Centre in Savannah and Claire McInerny Brown, Chief Executive of TradeBridge spoke with John to tell us more about how business links between the South East of Ireland and the South East of Georgia, first established almost two hundred years ago are being revived in the 21st century. 

Liam Anthony Griffin, a Director of Griffin Hotel Group spoke with John about how their business has been on a long running sustainability journey and to discuss the recently announced details of its achievements in developing a Solar Farm adjacent to the Monart Destination Spa in Wexford, a project which they hope will ultimately provide all the electricity for all the hotels in the group.

Dan O’ Connor of The Hot Box Sauna, chatted to John about how the idea to develop a range of sauna locations around the lakes & shores of Ireland came about and their latest venture on the banks of the Barrow on the Carlow Kilkenny border in Graiguenamanagh.  

To contact the show, email: [email protected]

In this episode of The Bottom Line on KCLR, John Purcell was joined by Colin Duggan, President of County Carlow Chamber of Commerce, to chat through some of the business news stories and issues from the week.

Founder of Arboretum, Rachel Doyle joined John to tell us why it’s a great idea to have plants in an office or business, she chatted about Arboretum’s third outlet “Arboretum Urban Green”, and she also provided a sneak preview of her soon to be published book.

Colin Hayes, UK and Ireland Managing Director of local company Netwatch spoke with John about the business and the work they do, as well as a new system they’ve launched to protect retailers and other public facing staff.

Simon O’Dwyer, Managing Director of threesixty joined John in studio to give us the latest on his company, their journey from office to home working to hybrid, a journey that many in business are still wondering which route to take.

To contact the show, email: [email protected]