Inside Business with Ciaran Hancock

On today’s Inside Business podcast Cliff Taylor from The Irish Times discusses the latest inflation figures, and our Current Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope offers tips on cutting your energy bills.

Headline inflation in the Irish economy remained steady at 3.6% in April, figures published today show.

“It’s hard to know how things will go but it looks like we could have a turbulent three to six months where energy is concerned” Cliff Taylor said.

For consumers that could mean the need to take a look at the small changes that could, by the year’s end, tally up to substantial savings.

The time you spend in the shower, the amount of water you put in the kettle, and how often you put the immersion heater on are all behaviours worth looking at, explains Conor Pope.
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Our guest this week on Inside Business is Edmond Scanlon, chief executive of Kerry Group, the global food ingredients player and one of Ireland’s biggest stock market companies.

The Tralee-based company has left behind its dairy roots to focus on high value nutrition and ingredients, supplying major food companies around the world.

Edmond joins host Ciarán Hancok in studio to discuss how Kerry Group has created ingredients that have reduced the salt and sugar levels in popular foods without compromising on taste while also keeping prices down.

It is also working on ways to extend the life of bread, so it lasts for up to two weeks.

Edmond also explains how the current Middle East conflict is affecting its operations in the region and why the weak dollar, rather than Donald Trump’s tariffs, are impacting on its operations in the US.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock speaks to Mayo entrepreneur Ciaran Crean.

Ciaran is co-founder of Micksgarage.com, a business founded in 2004 selling car parts online. There have been a few bumps on the road since its foundation, but Micksgarage is currently in growth mode and has spun out a couple of businesses.

One of those is WaveOMS, which provides software to Irish retailers looking to fulfil their online orders.

Plus, IFAC chairman Seamus Coffey discusses the Government’s €505 million package of supports in response to last week’s fuel protests around the country.

Is this money well spent? Will it be enough if the Middle East conflict drags on? And is it now a case that those who shout loudest will be appeased by the Government?

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
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In the 10 years since Aimee Connolly founded the viral beauty brand Sculpted by Aimee, it’s become a multi-million euro enterprise with plans to increase its revenues this year by 25 per cent.

Today, Ciaran asks about her early days as an entrepreneur, starting the business with €10,000 in savings, and her tips on leadership, scaling, and plans to enter the lucrative US market.

Connolly tells Inside Business that her supply chain - with some products coming from South Korea - have been impacted by delays in freight getting through the Middle East.

“I remain optimistic and hope that whatever happens [in the conflict] we’ll be able to pivot” she says.

Following the ceasefire between the US and Iran which began on Tuesday, Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times explains the impact of falling oil prices, and the jump in European and Asian stock markets.

Produced by Andrew McNair and JJ Vernon.
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It’s a year on since Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs and host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by Aidan Meagher, EY partner and co-head of the geopolitical strategy team; to hear about the impact this has had on Irish exporters and global trade.

They also chat about the current market turmoil and an increasing level of cyber-attack on the operations of American companies in Ireland by Iranian interests.

In the second half of this week’s Inside Business, Ciarán speaks to Declan Bolger, the chief executive of the Irish Life group, one of the biggest asset managers in the country.

Declan gives his thoughts on the State’s new auto enrolment pension scheme, the rising costs of health insurance premiums, and the impact of AI on his sector.

He also explains why Simon Harris’s plan to introduce a tax-friendly savings and investment scheme will be an “absolute failure” if only viewed for the wealthy.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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