Analysis

August 2022

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The Irish whiskey gold rush: Growth in drinks business shows no sign of stopping

James Doherty may have been born in England, but he has all the right ingredients for a successful Irish whiskey business.

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Stephen Kelly Opinion The next Prime Minister will need to face the reality on the economy

At the start of September, just as our children go back to school, the UK will have its new Prime Minister — the fourth PM of the Brexit era. Perhaps only Manchester United have gone through leaders more often during that period.

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Aodhan O’Donnell Opinion Projected fuel poverty figures provide a glimpse into how many will struggle to stay warm over the winter

Households have now faced 18 months of increasing energy prices with no sign of them steadying, let alone decreasing.

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Adrian Weckler Opinion Meta woes worsened by Kylie Jenner intervention

When a Kardashian and a Jenner say you’re screwing something up, it’s time to nervously check your stock price.

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July 2022

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David Chance Opinion Brexit’s economic dividend has gone to Republic of Ireland, not Britain

Boris Johnson probably wouldn’t have won many votes if he had campaigned on a slogan of ‘Brexit will make Ireland richer’, but that is precisely what his “oven ready” deal has done by making Britain less attractive to investment and less competitive in trade.

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Paul MacFlynn Opinion Workers are right to seek pay rises

Given the experience of the last two and a half years of the Covid pandemic and the massive swings in employment and economic growth, you would think that we had reached our quota of shocking economic statistics.

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Margaret Canning Opinion Sir William Wright was a visionary and leader who didn’t hide in tough times

The patriarch of our most globally-renowned family firm, Sir William Wright was the embodiment of innovation and entrepreneurialism.

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Andrew Webb Opinion Time to see tourism as the key sector it is in chase towards £2bn target

An American tourist stopped me in the city centre last week and asked me for directions and my opinion on the best pub to try.

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Prepare now for challenging corporation tax increase

In a bid to reduce the current budget deficit, the Government is introducing widespread changes across a range of taxes that will unfortunately see a reduction in the post-tax profits and take-home pay of corporate and individual taxpayers in general.

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Bruce Daisley Opinion Why strict rules on returning to the office could risk a backlash for employers

Last month we saw a glimpse of what an economic slowdown might look like for WFH workers. A survey of over 1,000 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said that one in 10 firms planned to cut the pay of employees who had some mix of home working.

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Margaret Canning Opinion Ryanair hopes that our faith in flying will be renewed after a summer of chaos

Ryanair has announced 12 new routes from Belfast International Airport. mainly to foreign destinations, at a time when some of us would be quite happy if we never saw a plane again.

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Thomas O'Hagan Opinion Time to shift Northern Ireland’s electric car infrastructure out of first gear

As an increasing number of businesses and consumers seek new ways to operate and live more sustainably, there is also a surge in the number of people turning to electric vehicles (EVs).

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Marguerite Shannon Opinion Northern Ireland hit harder by high rate of inflation

Prior to its most recent surge, the rate of inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), had been steadily increasing since the beginning of 2021.

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Adrian Weckler Opinion How the iPhone still leads the way 15 years on from launch

“An iPod, a phone and an internet communicator.”

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Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive Manufacturing NI Opinion Why Independence Day reminds us of importance of US investment in Northern Ireland

“Everything’s big in America,” they say, but as I was reminded at the annual Fourth of July garden party hosted by the excellent US Consul General, Paul Narain and his family, everything about America here is pretty big too.

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June 2022

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John Simpson Opinion The case for income tax devolution

The Independent Fiscal Commission for Northern Ireland has re-orientated the probable direction of plans to use additional devolved key tax changes as a method of strengthening the way in which the local economy will develop.

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Marie Marin Opinion Why a strategy on childcare in NI would be of great benefit

Two stories recently in the news resonated with me. They reinforced why the mission of Employers For Childcare — supporting parents to get into and stay in work — is as relevant today as it was 23 years ago when I founded the organisation.

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Richard Ramsey Opinion Is NI going through a NI Protocol-fuelled economic miracle?

We saw further evidence last week in the form of the output figures for manufacturing and services that Northern Ireland’s economy has been outperforming the rest of the UK.

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Laura Lunn Opinion How to foster creativity in your work

When was the last time you had the opportunity in your working day to stop and think, to take more than a few minutes to learn something new, or to be really creative in your job?

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Steve Dempsey Opinion Netflix was the poster boy for subscription services, now it’s the canary in coalmine

There’s a song on the new Arcade Fire album that references subscription fatigue.

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Philip Macartney Opinion Time to focus on ecommerce profits

There is a common feeling that we are now finally moving out of the pandemic.

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Paul MacFlynn Opinion Take NI protocol announcements with a pinch of salt

You would be forgiven for thinking the Northern Ireland Protocol had been around for an awful lot longer than it has. One question I have been asked many times over these past one and a half years is “what effect has the protocol had on Northern Ireland’s economy?”

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May 2022

Andrew Webb Opinion Disposable income only stretches so far

We are all painfully aware of the current inflationary pressures, particularly when we see our energy bills.

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Stephen Kelly Opinion Manufacturers like Schrader Electronics and Almac give us optimism for the future

Despite all that has been thrown at them, once again Northern Ireland manufacturing community is demonstrating its problem solving and positivity as they lead the fight for economic recovery post-pandemic and Brexit.

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John Simpson Opinion Northern Ireland firms’ pre-tax profits are on the up despite challenges

The 100 businesses earning the highest pre-tax profits, in the reports for the latest annual results, have, on average, improved their performance. Northern Ireland has over 100 locally registered companies which recorded pre-tax profits of £4.8m or over.

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Ann McGregor Opinion Investment in infrastructure is key to Northern Ireland’s recovery plan

A look at the list of organisations on this year’s Top 100 is a reminder, if it were needed, that Northern Ireland is home to fantastic businesses — innovators, exporters and global industry leaders in multiple fields.

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Andrew Webb Opinion All eyes on consumers as recession fears mount amid inflation shock

Starting with the dot com bubble bursting, I think I am on my fourth, maybe fifth, ‘once in a career’ economic shock. There was hardly time to draw breath between the most recent two – the pandemic and the inflation shock — both of which are having a profound impact on our economy.

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Maeve Hunt Opinion Despite it all, post-pandemic Northern Ireland is still in a good place

The last couple of years have posed an unprecedented challenge for society, for government and for business. It has been tough for many people. Many have struggled and some have experienced personal loss and tragedy.

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Glyn Roberts Opinion We need to empower people to instigate retail change

The companies listed in this year’s Top 100 deserve to be congratulated on their achievements and should take time to celebrate rewards that have been reaped through hard work.

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John McGrillen Opinion Tourism in Northern Ireland is facing new challenges

Over the last two years resilience and collaboration has been the bedrock on which the recovery of our tourism industry has been built.