Interview | Business Post

The Big Interview

About the protocol, we would say ‘don’t throw the baby out with the bath water’ – Kevin McNamee, Denroy

From hairbrushes to Airbuses, the family-owned Denroy Group makes a wide variety of products and components at its Bangor plant, and its chief executive is hoping that issues around the Northern Ireland protocol can be resolved in ways that don’t affect businesses in the North

Ray Foley interview: ‘Keeping people company is the most important thing’

The new presenter of Today FM’s 2pm-4.30pm show credits the late Gerry Ryan with igniting his love for radio and reflects on the highs and lows of his own career behind the microphone so far

Seán Ó Fearghaíl interview: ‘It's no longer acceptable to have sessions of the Dáil in the early hours of the morning’

The Fianna Fáil TD and Ceann Comhairle says bar a disaster situation, the Dáil will now remain in Leinster House and among the items to be addressed in the new year is the recording of TDs fobbin in, and a proposal for remote working

Heather Humphreys interview: ‘If people have defrauded the system, they should face the full rigours of the law’

Fraudulent PUP claims, the thorny pensions issue and child maintenance reform are among the priorities in 2022 for Heather Humphreys, the minister at the heart of the welfare response to the pandemic

John Fitzpatrick interview: ‘You won’t find one big hotel in Manhattan that has an owner on the floor every day, but I’m here and I’m watching’

His relationship with his father wasn’t always easy, but New York hotelier John Fitzpatrick learned a lot from it, including ‘never to forget that you’re an innkeeper’

Roderic O’Gorman interview: ‘There’s a commitment across all three government parties to deliver affordable childcare’

The Minister for Children has a busy year ahead, with his main priority being to overhaul a dysfunctional childcare sector in a way that will reduce fees for parents while at the same time increasing pay for childcare workers

Mary Lou McDonald interview: ‘I’m not one bit presumptuous about Sinn Féin’s automatic ascent to power’

The Sinn Féin leader’s prospects of becoming the first ever female taoiseach are looking increasingly good, but she is adamant that she won’t take the result of the next general election for granted

Peter Tyndall interview: ‘If you are going to have transparency, part of that has to be about ethical standards’

As he prepares to step down as Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, the veteran official holds forth on FOI requests, the rise of WhatsApp as a communications record, and his frustrations when dealing with the healthcare system

Earls eases fears of life after rugby with new coffee venture

The Munster and Ireland star has been a source of inspiration not just for his sporting prowess, but for his battle against mental ill-health and physical injury. Now he’s pivoting into the world of business

Brosnan targets €500m sales with BHSL to build second multinational

The former Kerry Group titan sees huge opportunity in the water and waste solutions sector, and is making inroads with the acquisition of Glan Agua

Beyond the binary: Can Alliance capture the North’s middle ground?

The Alliance Party, which represents a growing cohort of voters who are neither unionist nor nationalist, could find itself in second place after the Northern elections next May. Its leader, Naomi Long, says change is coming

Jamie Dimon interview: ‘A Covid wave of insolvencies will not happen’

The world’s most famous banker Jamie Dimon, the head of JP Morgan Chase, holds forth in an exclusive interview on America’s post-pandemic prospects, the role his bank played in the 2008 global crash, and the new technology-driven banking landscape

Yellen: historic global tax consensus ‘likely to prove durable’

In an exclusive interview, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen reveals a belief that Ireland’s corporate tax reform will put it on the right side of history

Eddie O’Connor interview: ‘Airtricity and Mainstream were good, but that will pale into insignificance compared to Supernode’

The veteran eco-tycoon’s latest project, Supernode, is his most ambitious yet – to turn Ireland into the renewable energy powerhouse of Europe

Ireland ‘struggling to grasp’ opportunity to harvest offshore wind, SSE chief says

Country’s ‘fantastic track record’ with onshore wind has not been replicated offshore, according to Alistair Phillips-Davies

The Big Interview: Dan Purcell, founder Ceartas DMCA

Dan Purcell’s social media start-up Ceartas DMCA aims to take cases of image-based sexual abuse off the internet, as well as help OnlyFans content creators to protect their revenue from piracy

Justice John Hedigan on banking: ‘Regulation can change behaviour, but not culture. They have to want to do it’

While he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the future, Hedigan, chairman of the Irish Banking Culture Board, knows there is still a lot of work to be done to restore public trust in the sector

The Big Interview: Conor McCarthy

After 43 years in the business, Conor McCarthy is now chief executive of Ireland’s newest start-up airline, Emerald Airlines, which will fly around 30 routes from early next year

Pete Lunn interview: ‘The system is full of people – and an awful lot of them are actually doing a spectacularly good job’

When Covid-19 struck, the head of the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit saw an opportunity to make a real contribution. After more than a year observing public behaviour, he now feels that Ireland is having a ‘good pandemic’

Zero-tolerance needed for unruly fans, says Leicester boss Whelan

The Howth-born chief executive of the English Premier League club has sharply criticised the behaviour of some England fans at last Sunday’s Euro 2020 final at Wembley