Inside Business with Ciaran Hancock

This week the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, which represents the broad hospitality sector, made its pre-budget submission to Government. Among the asks, were a return to the 9 per cent VAT rate, more cash from the State to promote the industry and a lifting of the 32m passenger cap at Dublin Airport, the country’s main gateway for visitors. So, how is the hospitality sector in Ireland doing given it is peak tourism season and Covid is a distant memory?Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by an expert panel, with Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, Paul Donnellan, Head Chef and Owner of Gemelle’s Restaurant in Galway, and Paul Gallagher, General Manager of Buswells Hotel in Dublin.Paul Donnellan explains why half of his restaurant in Galway city is currently mothballed, while Paul Gallagher outlines the financial hit to Buswells Hotel from recent Aer Lingus flight cancellations and the empty rooms it was left with on the first night of Taylor Swift concerts in Dublin at the end of June. But this episode begins with Eoghan O’Mara Walsh explaining why the industry was once again asking Government to restore the 9 per cent VAT rate.Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, the Government published its Summer Economic Statement, which provides a framework for tax and spending in October’s budget. We discovered that the budget will be framed around a massive tax and spending package of €8.3 billion. Strip out Covid and cost of living years, and that would make it one of the most generous in the history of the State.In turn, this has fuelled speculation of an early general election in November.On this week’s episode of Inside Business, Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Cliff Taylor join Ciarán Hancock to go through the headline numbers in the statement and how the €8.3 billion breaks down.In the second half, we hear from Martin Muller, professor of geography and sustainability at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. He’s been crunching the numbers on the costs and payback for host cities for big events such as the Olympic Games, and following many years of preparation, billions spent on facilities and new infrastructure and the promise of an economic bounty, is Paris set to benefit from playing host to this year’s games?Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are focusing on mortgages and housing supply. Host Ciarán Hancock is joined by an expert panel comprising Irish Times finance correspondent Joe Brennan, economics correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy and Home & Design Editor Fiona Reddan. Fiona Reddan profiles the typical Irish house buyer in the market. How old are they? Where are they buying? What kind of salary are they earning and how big a part does the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ play?Eoin Burke-Kennedy explains why there are so many differing views in the market as to how many houses we need to build to meet annual demand. Will 50,000 suffice, or should it be as high as 85,000?And Joe Brennan discusses plans by digital bank Revolut to offer mortgages in the Irish market from next year. A move that should make AIB and Bank of Ireland sit up and take notice.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 we start with Jack Chambers’ appointment as the new Minister for Finance following Michael McGrath’s nomination by the Government as Ireland’s next European Commissioner.So, who is Jack Chambers and why has he been given such a plum role in Cabinet? Irish Times Political Editor, Pat Leahy, charts the rise and rise of someone many are tipping as Micheál Martin's heir apparent to lead Fianna Fáil. Also on the podcast: aggression against workers in the Irish retail sector has been on the rise, prompting employers’ group Ibec to draft a toolkit to help businesses address this growing problem.Nicola Harkin is head of employment law services at Ibec and she joined Ciaran Hancock to explain the reasons behind this surge in aggression and how its new toolkit might help.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, we begin with Aer Lingus, after pilots at the airline voted again on Monday to pursue industrial action over a long-running pay dispute with the company. On Tuesday, the pilots’ union Ialpa announced a work-to-rule that will begin on June 26th and run for an indefinite period. Barry O’Halloran of The Irish Times has been covering the various twists and turns in this pay dispute for many months now and he explained what impact a work-to-rule would have on Aer Lingus’s schedule. And what could this dispute mean for customers planning costly holidays this summer? Tune in to hear Conor Pope explain what protections are in place for those booking independently or through a travel agent.Also on this week’s podcast, we hear from Irish Times London Correspondent Mark Paul who has been on the campaign trail around the UK with the Tories and Labour.Data from the Bank of England suggested inflation had returned to its 2 per cent target, which should be good news for the Conservative Party. Instead, Rishi Sunak has failed to generate any cut through with voters, in spite of announcing a number of tax cuts and other headline measures. But what would the economic policy of a Labour government look like?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 Ciarán Hancock is joined by Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy to discuss the three global mega-trends that he believes stoked the Irish housing crisis and what, if anything, can be done about it. Are government supports such as the Help to Buy Scheme pushing up house prices? Will families ever be able to compete with financial institutions for properties that come to market? And should the Government employ drastic measures to increase affordability? Listen to this week’s Inside Business to find out.Plus, why is the minimum threshold for new building inspections so low here? Head of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, Kevin Hollingsworth, feels Ireland’s enforcement of building regulations is totally inadequate and needs to be significantly ramped up if we are to avoid a repeat of issues such as defective Celtic Tiger-era apartments or homes affected by mica and pyrite. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s latest report has reiterated their stance that government spending plans risk overheating an economy already at full capacity. Is their plea for caution correct given the corporation tax receipt bonanza that shows little sign of abating in the short-term?Niall Conroy is chief economist with IFAC and he joined host Cliff Taylor on this episode of Inside Business to air the council’s concerns.Plus, there is likely to be a rise in workplace audits after Revenue state commissioned freelance work will ‘generally’ indicate person should be treated as an employee. So, how do you know if you are a freelancer or a company employee? Irish Times journalist Laura Slattery and head of employment law at Addleshaw Goddard, Maura Connolly give some insight into Revenue’s guidance on the issue.#Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to Conor Pope, Irish holidaymakers have been playing a game of chicken with airlines in recent weeks and – for once – it seems that the holiday makers are winning. With June on the horizon airlines have seats to sell with plenty of capacity at many accommodation options for the peak months.Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary recently said air fares had not increased at the anticipated pace, with peak prices more likely to rise by “zero to 5 per cent” rather than the “5 to 10 per cent” the carrier had expected. Conor joins Ciarán Hancock in studio to discuss that story, along with tips on how to get value when travelling abroad this summer. Also on this week’s episode of Inside Business, Fiona Reddan of The Irish Times explains Revenue rules around parents giving gifts and payments to their children. Can you pay for your son or daughter’s wedding? Can you gift them their honeymoon? What about buying an apartment for them to live in while they go to college? Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last weekend, Tony O’Reilly, one of Ireland’s leading businessmen, died at the age of 88 after a short illness. He had a hugely successful career both on the rugby pitch, as a star with Ireland and the Lions, and in the boardroom where he founded the Kerrygold butter brand, ran the Heinz food group in Pittsburgh for decades, and had a portfolio of personal interests ranging from Independent Newspapers to oil explorer Providence Resources.He was also the co-founder of the Ireland Funds charity which has provided millions of euros in funding for projects on both sides of the border for the guts of 50 years.His business career ultimately ended in failure after bankruptcy in 2015. So, how should we view his career, and ultimately, what will his legacy be?To debate this, host Ciarán Hancock was joined by Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole and Rory Godson, the founder and managing director of communications advisory group Powerscourt - Rory wrote about Tony O’Reilly as a journalist and later worked for him as an advisor.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some 18,000 housing commencements were recorded in April. It’s a huge number and well up on the normal run rate. What was behind that spike? And do we have enough construction workers to build these homes and get to the magic 50,000 new homes a year target that we’re told we need to hit in order to meet demand? On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock is joined on the line by director general of the Construction Industry Federation Hubert Fitzpatrick to discuss these issues. Also on the podcast, this week saw Intel’s huge manufacturing campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare make global headlines with reports of an €11 billion refinancing and the possibility of investment in a new plant there. Local TD James Lawless of Fianna Fail joined us in studio to go through the details.  Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.