Breakfast Business

A look at today's business stories and websites along with Newstalk Business Editor Joe Lynam.

Ireland may be getting a new Environment and Energy Minister soon but its moratorium on the construction of new data centres will remain government policy for the lifetime of this coalition. It means that large technology companies on whom the Irish economy depends, may have to think twice before further investment in this country if they cannot get easy and quick access to terabytes of data relating to their customers. Also, AI continues to drive investment in other countries but may not be possible here due to issues with our digital infrastructure. All topics to discuss with Seamus Dunne, UK&I Managing Director at Digital Realty which is one of the biggest technology companies in the world and part of the S&P 500 index. 

Earlier this week the EU council passed the 14th package of sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  These measures focused mostly on energy and Liquified natural gas imports from Russia.  The measures also include ways of dealing with circumvention or getting around the existing sanctions by some European companies.  Despite swingeing sanctions, exports of some sensitive products to Russia’s near neighbours have risen exponentially as they always end up in Russia. Speaking to Joe this morning was David O’Sullivan who is a Special International EU envoy for monitoring Sanctions against Russia and former EU Ambassador to the US.

  Do you know what the most suitable broadband provider is for your home?  Can you trust what the companies say?  Well the telecoms watchdog - ComReg is launching its own objective broadband checker to help households decide what the best value and best speeds are on your road.  Joe got the details of this new broadband checker from Barbara Delaney is the Consumer Policy Manager with ComReg. 

Do you ever wonder what happens behind the scenes the moment you reserve a hotel room online?  Well one software company in Donegal town called AccuBook provides a suite of services for hotels all over the world specialising in France and Vietnam in fact. Accubook’s Guest Diary service sits somewhere in the cloud between the likes of Booking.com and a guesthouse in the languedoc.  Joining Joe this morning was Gerry Haughey is the General manager with AccuBook .

A look at today's business stories and websites with Joe Lynam.

Over the last 20 years the number of public companies has halved and in the same period the number of private companies has doubled.  That’s partly because the public scrutiny and pressure of being listed often distracts management from the day to day tasks and from long term strategic thinking.It means that private equity groups such as Primera or Cinvin etc need to get the right advice before placing their bets and that’s where Institutional Limited partners come in. Speaking to Joe this morning was Greg Durst, Director of the Institutional Limited Partners Association.  

The majority of entrepreneurs worldwide are men. Some of that is down to the risk taking gene but some of it is down to the fact that women are less likely to get seed funding for their startups.  That was on the agenda at the InvestHer conference last week in Dublin which aims to change this venture capital bias towards women.  And the goal is to get 1 million women entrepreneurs funded worldwide by 2030. Speaking to Joe this morning was Anne Ravanona, Founder and CEO of Global Invest Her. 

A look at today's business stories and websites with Joe Lynam and Ross Mould from AJ Bell.

Joining Emmet this morning was Dr Angela Quinlan is the MD of Key Patent Innovations which is the company that helps you get patents in Ireland.

Housing construction activity is on the rise in Ireland in 2024 but more labour may be needed to hit the higher targets.  That’s according to the Banking and Payment Federation’s Housing Market Monitor report for quarter 1.  Speaking to Emmet this morning was Ali Uğur is the Chief Economist with the Banking and Payment Federation.

This morning Emmet Oliver takes a look at the stories making the business pages this morning.

Ireland’s famous or infamous bad bank - NAMA or the national asset management Agency is in its final full year of existence.  It returned €350m to taxpayers last year and its annual report says it’s on target to return a total final figure of €5.2bn by the end of next year when it winds up for good.  Economists, politicians and entrepreneurs will debate about whether NAMA has been a success or not?Joe was joined on the show this morning by the NAMA Chief Executive Brendan McDonagh and began by asking him why he described last year a ‘very difficult’ one for the agency.

6.3million people visited these shores from abroad last year most of them were from Britain, the US or Germany and 41% of them were here on holidays rather than on business or to study.  That means the tourism authorities have to continuously refresh what's on offer in a country which is not famed for being cheap. Failte Ireland which is responsible for tourism to the Republic says it will be funding 22 new projects through the EU’s Just Transition Fund to find greener and more environmentally friendly ways of enticing visitors through cycle paths and forest trails etc.  Orla Carroll Director of Product Development with Failte Ireland joined Joe to to tell more about the funding projects.

A look at today's business stories and websites with Newstalk's Business Editor Joe Lynam.

How many of us had never heard of probiotics before the arrival of the famous yogurt drinks such as Yakult 18 years ago on our supermarket shelves.  Pro-Biotics are living bacteria that coexist within us and can improve our health and well-being.  One Cork company, PrecisionBiotics, launched its biotic supplement called Alflorex a decade ago and the Tánaiste was on hand - no less - to mark that anniversary.  The Global dietary supplements business is booming.  It’s set to be worth $128bn worldwide by 2028 according to Fortune magazine.  Speaking to Joe this morning was Colm O'Sullivan the General Manager with PrecisionBiotics. 

Food imports from the UK have fallen dramatically over the past year but our food exports have continued to grow worldwide.  In order to enable that to grow, Enterprise Ireland is hosting its second food innovation summit today which will highlight the research support needed to create the Kerrygold and Strong Roots of the future. Speaking to Joe this morning was Michael Carey Chair of Enterprise Ireland. 

A look at today's business stories and websites with Joe Lynam.

Modified domestic demand, which is a more suitable benchmark for economic growth in the Irish economy than GDP, is set to grow by 2.5 % next year and 2% in 2026. That’s according to the Central bank of Ireland quarterly economic bulletin which also predicts that inflation will hit the sweet spot of around 2%, over the next two years. But it warns that the pace of excessive spending risks a crisis and that housing and other infrastructure issues need to be sorted.To discuss further Joe was joined on the show by  Robert Kelly the Director of Economics and Statistics with the Central Bank of Ireland.

The mobile operator Vodafone has been awarded ‘Best in test’ by the independent assessment company Umlaut.  It was adjudged to be best for reliability and best for voice calls in Ireland.  However, the tests were carried out on Samsung only devices.  The report also comes as Vodafone’s 3G services are about to be shut down.  Joe spoke to Amanda Nelson the Chief Executive of Vodafone Ireland.