More than a quarter of Irish adults still have no financial arrangements at all for their retirement, according to new research published today by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. All to discuss with Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at the CCPC.

Solid Fuel Merchants Ireland has warned that fuel smuggling and courier-dropped pallets are now at an all-time high, threatening rural jobs and depriving the exchequer of vital revenue.

Joining Jonathan to discuss more was Colin Ahern, Chair of Solid Fuel Merchants Ireland.

The ACORNS programme has been designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland and runs over six months part-time.

It is centered around interactive round table sessions that are facilitated by female entrepreneurs, known as ‘Lead Entrepreneurs’, who have started and successfully grown businesses in rural Ireland. Among those Lead Entrepreneurs is Geraldine Jones founder and Chief Executive of Skin Formulas,

Energy costs, global uncertainty and labour shortages are the top concerns for Irish businesses, in a new survey from Irish B2B telecommunications provider IP Telecom, whose Chief Commercial Officer Robin Russell joined Emmet this morning on the show.

The vast majority of corporation tax receipts come from a handful of American companies based here. It’s because of that overdependence and the increasingly unreliable behaviour of the American administration, that small businesses need to be encouraged and fostered to avoid what ISME refers to as “sleepwalking into economic peril“. The Small Business lobby group also wants a so called “reset on the national minimum wage calculation”

All to discuss with Neil McDonnell the Chief Executive of ISME.

Ireland has an almost unreachable target of getting 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. That includes wind and solar but will also include Biomethane which is energy created from such delightful things as agricultural waste, food scraps, sewage sludge and manure. Later this morning Flogas will sign a major biomethane offtake agreement with Nephin Renewable Gas in Ballinrobe Co Mayo.

But will it produce enough electricity and will it face objections? Speaking to Joe this morning was Tom O’Brien is Group Chief Executive of Nephin Energy.

Joe Lynam brings us Thursday's business news headlines.

Only this week it emerged that investing in startups in Ireland had dropped to a 10 year low despite surging savings rates and wealth levels. The financial services sector wants the government to do a lot more in next month's budget to prize open those wallets and invest in indigenous companies. Financial services Ireland says we need a lot more education about investing and to change to the tax system to link savings to supporting startups.

All to discuss with Patricia Callan the Chief Executive of Financial Services Ireland.