Taking Stock

This week the massive spike in the rate of inflation has meant the Government has had to revise its plans for Budget 2023. Their own spending guidelines have now been set aside –– and it is clear that the budget will involve a big increase in spending. But is pumping so much into the economy at a time of such high inflation the right thing to do? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston will be asking economist Austin Hughes for his views. Mandy is also joined by ICTU General Secretary Patricia King to look at union membership here in Ireland and around the world in a time of great change and uncertainty for workers. Plus following the strangest week in UK Politics Mandy talks to Political Commentator Will Hutton about how it all finally went wrong for Boris.

Concerns for Ireland’s energy security gather apace with some ominous reports this week that Britain may stop supplying gas to mainland Europe if the country is hit by extreme shortages in the coming months and this week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston will be discussing the potential implications of this and the wider issues with Paul Deane from UCC & Mark Varian, Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee with the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. PwC has called for greater clarity on new rules that oblige larger companies to report and publicly explain their gender pay gap. Mandy is joined by Doone O’Doherty to examine what’s happening Plus it’s been another eventful week for UK politics and Mandy takes stock of recent developments and what it all means for Boris Johnson's leadership with political scientist Sir John Curtice.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston is joined by Daniel Susskind, Fellow in Economics at Balliol College, Oxford & co-author of ‘The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts' to discuss the impact technologies are having on the way we work now and will continue to do so in the years to come. Trócaire CEO, Caoimhe de Barra & Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland discuss the battle they faced during the pandemic, pivoting their models to accommodate the drastic changes throughout that time and where the sector is now. And according to the latest figures, private flights now account for one-quarter of all air traffic in the United States. To discuss the boom in this market is Doug Gollan, Editor of Private Jet Card Comparisons and Travel Contributor to Forbes Magazine.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Martina Lawless of the ERSI about a possible looming trade war between the UK and The EU and what that might mean for Ireland. Author Bernard Marr talks about his latest book which has been named as Business Book of the year for 2022; ‘The 25+ Trends That Are Redefining Organisations’. And we hear about the Committee examining last year’s attack on the US Congress when Mandy is joined by Financial Time journalist Kiran Stacey from Washington to tell us about what has been happening and what does it all say about the state of American Democracy.

Are we working harder than ever before? This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston hears how the 9 to 5 job is a dim and distant memory as she chats to Sarah O’Connor from the Financial Times who has written about the growing trend of seemingly never-ending work. Mandy chats to Journalist Erik Sherman about Global Supply Chain Problems and what’s really going on and how business can guard against future supply chain shocks. Plus Danny McCoy of IBEC on where the Irish economy is at now and what the Irish business sector want from Government as they struggle to deal with inflation, housing, and the energy crisis.

No room at the inn for tourists coming into Ireland; this week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Mark Paul from the Irish Times to hear his views on why supply and pricing is a big issue and who is to blame. Online Bullying; Mandy talks to Dr Tijana Milosevic of the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre and ask if we are making any advances or becoming conditioned to living with online negativity. Plus Simon Kuper from the Financial times joins us to discuss his new book ‘Chums; How a Tiny cast of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK’

Banter in the workplace is often harmless in nature but in some cases it may be disguising a toxic work culture. This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks to Clinical Psychologist Anna Eliatamy about how to deal with a difficult work environment as an employee. Irish holiday makers are stuffing their wheelies and taking to the skies again with gusto, but where are they going? and how are international energy prices and supply chain issues affecting the cost of global travel and your summer breakaway? Mandy Chats to Paul Hackett, CEO of Click and Go and Travel Journalist and Broadcaster Simon Calder. Doom and gloom at Davos, economist Dan O’Brien gives us take on the prospects of a global recession and the potential end of globalisation.

This week on Taking Stock Mandy Johnston talks about the economics of golf; as the PGA Championship kicks off this weekend she is by journalist Fionn Davenport to discuss the mind boggling figures on offer to players for a breakaway tournament sponsored by money from the Middle East. A study of Irish Business has thrown up some very interesting information. It seems Irish companies are good at revealing gender diversity but not so much when it comes to disability or sexual orientation. We’ll hear about a new study which raises the question - Have we made the progress we think we have when it comes to diversity in the workplace? Plus Mandy is joined by the US Managing Editor of the Financial Times Peter Spiegel to talk about the economic and political landscape in the run-up to the US midterm elections and she’ll be asking why - despite losing the Presidential Election last year - Donald Trump is still very much in the picture.

How Opinion Polls and Market Research Actually Works

This Week's Taking Stock looks at the gathering Economic Clouds