Inside Business with Ciaran Hancock

House price growth hit 6.5 per cent in March, the slowest rate in two years, offering some chink of light to those hoping to buy.

For tenants however, the news is grim, with rents rising by 4.4 per cent in Q.1, the highest quarterly increase since 2022. While the number of eviction notices issued by landlords rose by 50 per cent in the same period. All that against the backdrop of new government rules around renting.

To make some sense of these data points, Inside Business host Ciarán Hancock is joined in studio by Marian Finnegan, CEO of Sherry Fitzgerald, the country’s largest estate agent, and on the line by Irish Times Economics Correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

In the second part of this episode, Ciarán is joined by Irish Times business reporter Ian Curran who was in Toronto last week as part of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards programme. Ian highlights some of the business leaders who impressed, their sales pitch, and reaction to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney’s group address as he seeks to wean Canada off its reliance on the US.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How high could oil prices go?

It has shot up since the United States and Israel’s war with Iran began a couple of months ago. But not by as much as might have been expected.

Talks on a deal are taking place but in the absence of a deal there is concern that a prolonged conflict could lead to a global recession.

Economist John FitzGerald and Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times join host Ciarán Hancock in studio to discuss the implications for Irish householders and businesses.

In the second half of this week’s Inside Business, we hear about how plans for a €250 million winter sports arena in Cherrywood, south Dublin are progressing. This week we learned that several US and Canadian ice hockey stars, including former Stanley Cup winners, have signed on as investors in the proposed ice hockey arena.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy of The Irish Times has been covering the story, and he joined Ciarán to outline who these investors are and what their involvement means for the project.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First up on this episode of Inside Business, the rising cost of living.

Prepay Power last week became the first Irish energy supplier to announce an increase in its prices since the Middle East conflict began.

Daragh Cassidy is Head of Communications at consumer advice website bonkers.ie, and he joins host Ciarán Hancock to discuss the outlook for a range of consumer prices, and whether other energy suppliers would follow Prepay Power’s lead and increase their prices.

In the second half of this episode, Professor at the School of Computer Science & IT at UCC, Barry O’Sullivan, joins Ciarán to get under the skin of artificial intelligence and its poor image.

Some say it will cure cancer and solve climate change; while others view it as a threat to humanity and something that will take away all our jobs.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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