When auto-enrolment launched earlier this year, many employers understandably had one goal: get it up and running correctly.

Fast forward a few months and the next milestone has arrived.

From July 2026, the first employees automatically enrolled into My Future Fund will reach the point where they can decide whether to remain in the scheme or opt out.

For employers, this isn’t about pressing the panic button. It’s simply the next stage of the process – and a good opportunity to make sure your payroll processes, systems and internal procedures are working exactly as they should.

A Quick Refresher

Under Ireland’s new auto-enrolment pension scheme, eligible employees began joining  My Future Fund earlier this year.

Once an employee has completed their initial six-month participation period, they enter an opt-out window, during which they can choose to:

• Remain enrolled in the scheme.
• Opt-out within the permitted timeframe.
• Receive a refund of their own employee pension contributions made during the qualifying period, in accordance with the scheme rules.

The important point to remember is this:

The decision belongs entirely to the employee.

An employer’s role is to administer the scheme correctly, provide factual information where appropriate, and continue to meet their payroll obligations.

How Does the Opt-Out Process Work?

One of the most common questions we’re hearing is:

“If an employee wants to opt out, what happens next?”

The good news is that employers are not responsible for processing opt-out requests themselves.

Instead, the process is managed by My Future Fund (NAERSA).

The process is straightforward:

1. The employee completes their initial six months of participation.
2. My Future Fund notifies the employee when their opt-out window opens.
3. The employee submits their opt-out request directly through the My Future Fund online portal.
4. NAERSA confirms the request and notifies the employer.
5. The employer updates payroll and stops future deductions from the date instructed.

A Helpful Reminder

Even if an employee tells you they wish to opt out, don’t stop payroll deductions until you’ve received formal confirmation from NAERSA.

This helps ensure compliance and avoids payroll errors.

What Does This Mean for Employers?

For many businesses, this will be the first time employees begin making different decisions about their pension.

Some will remain enrolled.

Some will choose to opt-out.

Others will simply have questions.

That means payroll, HR and management teams should be prepared to respond consistently and understand how the process works.

Fortunately, if your payroll systems and internal procedures are already in good shape, there shouldn’t be any major surprises.

Now Is a Good Time for a Payroll Health Check

Before opt-out requests begin arriving, it’s worth taking a few minutes to review your processes.

Ask yourself:

• Are your payroll systems fully up to date?
• Are employee records accurate?
• Does your payroll team understand how opt-out notifications will be received and processed?
• Are your internal HR procedures clear and consistent?
• Is everyone responsible for payroll aware of the latest scheme requirements?

Like most payroll matters, small issues are much easier to resolve before they become larger administrative headaches.

Communication Matters

Auto-enrolment is still relatively new, so it’s perfectly natural that employees will have questions.

The best approach is a simple one:

Provide clear, factual information and direct employees to the official My Future Fund guidance where appropriate.

Avoid encouraging or discouraging participation. The legislation has been designed so that remaining enrolled – or opting out – is entirely the employee’s decision.

Looking Beyond July

The opening of the opt-out window is another reminder that auto-enrolment isn’t a one-off payroll project.

It’s now part of the ongoing employment landscape.

Businesses with robust payroll processes, accurate employee records and clear internal procedures will find future milestones much easier to manage.

In other words, a little preparation today can save a lot of administration tomorrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employee opt out immediately?

No. Employees must first complete the initial six-month participation period before they become eligible to opt out.

Does an employee opt out through their employer?

No. Employees submit their opt-out request directly through My Future Fund. Employers will receive formal notification from NAERSA once the request has been processed.

Should employers stop payroll deductions if an employee asks?

No. Payroll should only be updated once official confirmation has been received from NAERSA.

Will employees receive their pension contributions back?

Employees who opt out during the official opt-out window will receive a refund of their own employee contributions in accordance with the scheme rules.

Can an employee rejoin the scheme later?

Yes. Employees may choose to opt back into the scheme, and eligible employees may also be automatically re-enrolled under the legislation.

How Fitzgerald Power Can Help

Auto-enrolment has introduced a new layer of payroll administration for employers across Ireland, and the opening of the opt-out window is another important milestone.

Whether you need support reviewing your payroll processes, ensuring compliance, or understanding how auto-enrolment fits into your wider payroll and HR procedures, our Payroll team is here to help.

If you’d like to discuss how the July opt-out window could affect your business – or simply want reassurance that your payroll processes are ready, get in touch with us today.

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Every quarter we’re inundated with economic data. Inflation. Interest rates. GDP. Consumer confidence.

They’re all essential measures of economic health, but they don’t always tell us how those trends are being felt in everyday life. So, we decided to start somewhere a little more familiar.

The price of a Monday morning latte.

Welcome to the Fitzgerald Power Latte Index.

Each quarter, we’ll track the cost of a standard Starbucks Tall Latte across seven major global cities. It’s our own light-hearted take on the famous Big Mac Index – but beneath the foam is a surprisingly useful snapshot of consumer prices, operating costs and inflationary pressure.

No, we’re not suggesting the European Central Bank swaps inflation reports for flat whites. But sometimes the smallest purchases tell us the biggest stories.

Q2 2026: The Story Isn’t Higher Prices – It’s That They Haven’t Fallen

The headline this quarter isn’t another surge in prices. It’s something arguably more interesting. Despite signs that wholesale coffee markets have begun to stabilise after two years of volatility, consumers are seeing very little relief when they reach the till.

Across the seven cities in our index, prices barely moved.

London remains the most expensive city for a latte at €6.00, nudging above the €6 mark for the first time, while Dublin holds steady at €5.65. Elsewhere, Berlin is unchanged, Sydney records only a modest increase and Tokyo remains comfortably the lowest-priced city.

The good news?

Your coffee probably didn’t get more expensive this quarter.

The bad news?

It didn’t get any cheaper either.

For businesses, that’s telling us something important.

The cost of coffee beans is no longer the biggest challenge. Labour, rent, insurance, utilities and operating costs continue to outweigh any easing in commodity prices. Businesses aren’t cutting prices because, quite simply, they still can’t afford to.

Dublin: Still Paying Global Prices

At €5.65, Dublin remains the second most expensive city in our index, sitting just behind London.

For a city of its size, that’s remarkable.

Dublin continues to price like a global capital, reflecting the significant cost pressures facing Irish businesses. Commercial rents remain high, wage costs continue to rise and strong consumer demand allows premium pricing to hold.

Or, put another way… It turns out we’re not just paying premium prices for housing.

The consistency is perhaps the most interesting finding. Despite signs that global commodity prices have started to settle, Dublin’s average latte price hasn’t moved in two consecutive quarters.

That suggests businesses have very little room to reduce prices, even where some input costs begin to ease.

The US: The Quarter’s Biggest Surprise

If there was one unexpected development in Q2, it came from across the Atlantic.

New York fell from €5.60 to €5.03, while San Francisco dropped from €5.00 to €4.51.

Importantly, those reductions are reflected in both euro and local currency, suggesting the movement isn’t simply the result of exchange rate fluctuations.

Before we all start booking flights for cheaper coffee, however, it’s worth exercising a little caution.

The Latte Index uses platform-based pricing, meaning quarter-on-quarter movements can sometimes reflect individual store pricing, promotional activity or platform dynamics rather than a structural shift across the wider market.

In other words, it’s an interesting signal – not yet a trend.

Local Costs Are Now Driving Prices

One of the clearest themes emerging from the Latte Index is that local operating costs now matter more than global coffee prices.

The disruption to coffee supply chains in Brazil and Vietnam pushed wholesale prices sharply higher over the past two years. Those increases have now largely worked their way through to consumers.

Today, the bigger challenge isn’t the coffee.

It’s everything that comes with serving it.

• Payroll.
• Rent.
• Energy.
• Insurance.

For many café owners, coffee beans have stopped being the biggest headache.

Everything else has politely stepped in to take their place.

That’s why cities such as Dublin and Berlin remain unchanged, London continues to edge upwards and Tokyo remains structurally cheaper thanks to its different labour and occupancy costs.

What This Means for Irish Businesses

While the Latte Index is intentionally light-hearted, the economic message behind it is serious.

The pressures facing cafés mirror those facing thousands of Irish businesses.

• Higher employment costs.
• Increasing commercial rents.
• Rising insurance premiums.
• Persistent operating expenses.

Many businesses are no longer increasing prices because costs are accelerating.

They’re maintaining prices because costs remain stubbornly high.

The result is a pricing environment where today’s “expensive” has quietly become tomorrow’s normal.

Consumers may not like paying over €5 for a coffee – but increasingly, they’re accepting it.

The real question is how long that acceptance lasts.

Looking Ahead

We’ll continue publishing the Fitzgerald Power Latte Index every quarter to see whether this pattern changes.

• Will easing commodity prices eventually find their way to consumers?
• Will businesses finally get some breathing room on operating costs?
• Or will today’s prices become the new benchmark?

We’ll be watching closely.

Because sometimes the clearest insight into the economy isn’t hidden in a 200-page report.

Sometimes it’s sitting in a cardboard cup beside your laptop.

The post The Latte Index: Q2 2026 Snapshot appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

Let’s just say what everyone’s thinking. Changing accountant probably sits somewhere between cleaning out the shed and cancelling that subscription you forgot you had! In other words… It’s on the list, but it never quite makes it to the top.

The good news? Switching accountant is a lot easier than most people think. In fact, we handle most of the work for you.

Book A Discovery Call HERE

 

Do any of these sound familiar?

• You only hear from your accountant once a year.
• You have questions but don’t know who to ask.
• Your accounts are historical, not helpful.
• Tax deadlines arrive as an unpleasant surprise.
• You feel like you’re getting compliance, but not advice.
• You’re growing but your accountant hasn’t grown with you.

If you found yourself nodding along to any of the above, it might be time for a different conversation.

 

Switching Is Simple

No drama. No disruption. No form-filling marathon.

Why Businesses Make The Move .

Most businesses don’t switch because something has gone wrong.

They switch because they want:

✔ Better visibility.

✔ More proactive advice.

✔ Faster responses.

✔ A trusted sounding board.

✔ A partner that helps them plan for the future.

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In Fitzgerald Power’s interview series, we’re speaking to people with different perspectives who feel they can offer more to the workplace, from the water cooler all the way up to the C-Suite. Today, it’s Brendan Colbert of Ireland’s favourite lower sugar premium drinks, Poachers. 

How would you feel about giving up your Friday pint? For a growing cohort, that idea is proving more tempting each week. That’s according to the Central Statistics Office at least, which has shown that just 27% of 18-to-24-year-olds drink alcohol weekly, compared with 56% of 55-to-64-year-olds. Indeed, the humble mineral is having a moment, particularly those on the top shelf. “100%,” Brendan Colbert, the CEO of premium low-sugar soft drinks, Poachers, says. “We see it with our interactions with customers as well, both in trade and retail. Without question, there’s a definite shift in alcohol perception, and not only among younger demographics, but across multiple groups. That kind of all came in tandem with the pandemic; people thinking about their health, and also a real appreciation for the Irish countryside for the first time. Suddenly, you saw more and more people going to places like Croagh Patrick and Inishbofin and appreciating the day more instead of the night. Like, where I live, you see more people queuing up outside the gym on Saturday morning than you see outside the pub on Friday night.”

Poachers, a now award-winning business, came about almost by accident. With both hospitality and service in the blood – Colbert’s mother ran Boggans of Kilmuckridge, and his father, a UCD lecturer in management accounting, moonlighted as a sommelier in between managing the family tillage farm – he took it upon himself to capitalise on the then-swelling gin market to create an Irish alternative for tonic. With a business partner, he launched Poachers in 2017 with its first product, a citrus tonic made up of Irish spring water, orange and lemon notes and fresh Irish rosemary. “People thought we were crazy,” Colbert laughs. “Crazy for spending so much money creating a mixer… But we knew what we had could work.”

That instinct, the one that has built Poachers to boast an annual turnover of €1.2 million, was built off the back of Ireland’s changing palate. “The Irish consumer has been changing in a very progressive way for the past 20, or even 30, years,” he says. “Palates have been changing, there’s more disposable income, and a huge thing has obviously been the internet, social media, as well as Irish people literally traveling around the globe and bringing back all these influences. We’re a very open country, very receptive to new ideas, new flavours, new tastes… and really that’s the nub of where all these changes came from. The modern Irish consumer is very interested in what’s happening globally, which allowed us back in 2017 to position our products as international, and of higher quality. But, in essence, we were already preaching to the converted. And thankfully, that change is continuing well.”

Relying on emerging trends is a balancing act. For some, it provides fruitful opportunities. For others, shaky ground. For Poachers, who established their original business plan when going out on a Friday and returning home on a Sunday was a weekly ritual for 20-somethings, their risk has proven successful. “The trends towards health are actually accelerating,” Colbert says. “And there are a number of interesting verticals, even within the soda category, that are emerging that attest to that. Capitalising on trends is obviously how we’ve gotten some of the most interesting businesses in the world, but I think for longevity, you need to keep your core proposition very tight – that way you can weather what comes next. Resisting the urge to shift dramatically between trends as a brand is hard, but worth it. Because in the long run, you just confuse the consumer, or show them that they don’t need it anymore. It’s obviously good to keep an eye on the macro environment, but believing in what you do is absolutely paramount.”

Storytelling has been a huge part of the Poachers brand since day one, with Colbert’s own family farm providing raw ingredients as well as sustainability sensibilities to the brand from the ground up. “It was something we thought about at the beginning,” he says. “But honestly there’s been such an evolution in our story, which has become such a value proposition for our end customers. I mean, there’s so much going on in the world at the minute, but relaying back the story of our unique Irish heritage is something we find our customers love. My family, for example, have been farmers for 200 years, and being able to utilise and capitalise on that has been very special. It’s also definitely a core piece of what Poachers is.”

Throughout changes in the economy and global trends, Poachers have always aligned themselves on one thing: Ireland. With Irish-sourced ingredients – their newest launch, canned sodas, features ingredients like Achill Island sea salt, chilli grown in Galway and mint from Wexford – as well as inscriptions as Gaeilge on the back of each bottle and can, Colbert and his team have remained true to their original prospect: creating a premium product that represents Ireland on an international stage.” “Irish produce has a huge resonance and respect internationally, and we are definitely able to trade on that,” Colbert says. “As a country, even globally, we’re punching above our weight. And that translates to a young, ambitious population who are proud to be Irish, which is why I think you’re going to see Irish representation more and more from Irish brands.”

He pauses, before concluding. “We’re an ambitious country with ambitious people and a great, dynamic population… It’s also kind of sexy to be Irish right now, so why wouldn’t you shout about it?”

Visit Poachers’ Drinks website here.

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Summary Q1 2026:

Irish Economy

The Central Bank released its forecast for domestic economic growth over the next three years, with modified domestic demand (MDD) – a measure of economic performance that accounts for the distorting effects of multinational firms – estimated at 4.9% in 2025, and expected to grow by 2.4%, 2.8%, and 3.4% in 2026, 2027, and 2028 respectively.

Medicine Supply and Pricing Agreement

The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) and Medicines for Ireland (MFI) have in principle reached a new Framework Agreement on the Supply and Pricing of Medicine with the
Government, replacing the existing framework agreement which has been in place since 2021. The new agreement will run until 31st December 2029.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Fitzgerald Power released a pharmacy sector Mergers & Acquisitions Report in Q1 2026, which estimated 98 pharmacy sector transactions over the 36-month period from 2023 to 2025. Data from this report is included in a later section of this report and shows a healthy mergers and acquisitions market in the sector.

Global Economy

A global energy crisis is developing following the closing of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the war between the United States and Israel, and Iran. The conflict could impact up to 15%-20% of the global supply of oil, and potentially lead to a global oil supply shock, economic recession and food crisis.

The post Pharmacy Pulse Q1 2026 appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

Almost every SME out there knows a few things to be true: that being stretched too thin is their day-to-day, that the idea of reviewing retail pricing feels like a mammoth task, and that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. But, as an organisation that regularly conducts valuations, we’ve seen first-hand how re-evaluating one’s retail structure can be a game-changer in order to foster long-term, sustainable growth. Even small, well-informed pricing adjustments particularly across OTC and front-of-shop (FOS) categories can deliver a meaningful impact on profitability without increasing footfall.

Given that the time in which we now live has been marred with economic uncertainty, increased labour costs and a deteriorating geopolitical situation, it’s imperative that business owners become comfortable with adaptation to survive, with pricing strategies, and as such, profitability among the top of that list. Whether that’s value-based pricing, dynamic or competitive is entirely up to you, but what’s not debatable is that this strategy should be regularly reviewed. Here’s why.

Why should I review my retail pricing?

As we are all too aware, Ireland and the UK are currently experiencing a rapidly changing economic environment with high inflation, low unemployment, increasing interest rates and one that is particularly prevalent in the Pharmacy sector, fluctuating supply chain issues. Amongst all of these uncertainties, it’s critical that you remain certain of the things you can control for your business. In this case, pricing.

Irish pharmacies are operating in a uniquely constrained environment:

• Dispensing income is largely controlled through HSE reimbursement structures.
• Wage costs continue to rise in a tight labour market.
• Supplier pricing and margins are under pressure.
• Retail competition, particularly from large chains and online is intensifying.

This means that your controllable margin is increasingly driven by OTC and front-of-shop performance. Yet, this is often the area that receives the least structured pricing attention. If retail pricing is not reviewed regularly, pharmacies risk:

• Eroding margins on high-volume OTC lines.
• Missing opportunities to optimise premium or specialist products.
• Falling out of line with local competitors.
• Undervaluing convenience, service and expertise.

Where Should You Focus? (OTC & Front of Shop)

Unlike prescription items, where pricing is often fixed or restricted, OTC and FOS categories give you real commercial control.

These include:

• Vitamins & supplements.
• Skincare & beauty.
• Pain relief & seasonal products.
• Baby care.
• Wellness products.
• Gifts and discretionary retail.

This is where pricing strategy can and should be actively managed. Some key considerations when you are reviewing are:

• Are you pricing premium brands appropriately, or undercharging?
• Are known-value items (e.g. paracetamol) aligned with local competitors?
• Are you protecting margin on convenience purchases?
• Are slow-moving lines priced correctly to clear?

Many pharmacies default to supplier RRP but this often leaves margin on the table or creates inconsistencies across categories.

How often should I review?

Prices should be reviewed regularly, particularly in light of changing OTC / FOC cost prices which impact the retail price and the retail margin. We would suggest:

• Quarterly reviews of key OTC/FOS categories.
• More frequent reviews (monthly) on high-volume or seasonal lines.

Immediate review where:

• Supplier costs change.
• A competitor opens or adjusts pricing.
• Sales patterns shift significantly.

Staying informed about economic trends, as well as the needs of your consumers will also allow you to make informed decisions when price reviewing. Moreover, you can minimise risks and maintain a competitive advantage by proactively managing pricing in response to economic shifts.

How Do You Decide What to Charge?

Effective pricing isn’t guesswork it’s a combination of data, positioning and local knowledge.

Start with:

1. Know Your Numbers

• Understand your gross margin by category, not just overall.
• Identify your top 50–100 selling OTC products.
• Analyse what’s driving profit, not just volume.

2. Benchmark Locally

• What are nearby pharmacies charging?
• Where are you positioned — value, mid-market or premium?

Fitzgerald Power can help you here as we provide a benchmarking service.

3. Segment Your Products

• Not all products should be priced the same way.
• Known-value items → stay competitive.
• Specialist / premium products → price for value, not cost.
• Impulse / convenience items → protect margin.

4. Understand Your Customer

Your customers aren’t just buying products — they’re buying:

• Trust.
• Advice.
• Convenience.
• Accessibility.

That gives you more pricing power than you might think, particularly in community pharmacy.

How Do You Communicate Price Changes?

Price sensitivity is real but so is customer understanding.

The key is clear and confident communication:

• Be transparent where appropriate (especially for services).
• Ensure pricing is consistent and logical across categories.
• Avoid frequent erratic changes, aim for structured adjustments.

Customers are far more accepting of pricing when it feels considered and fair.

How Fitzgerald Power Can Help

Pharmacy is at the core of what we do. We work with pharmacy owners across Ireland to:

• Review and optimise retail pricing structures.
• Analyse margins across OTC and front-of-shop categories.
• Support financial strategy and profitability planning.
• Prepare businesses for growth, succession or sale.

As Ireland’s leading advisor to the community pharmacy sector, we combine deep sector knowledge with practical, commercial insight. Learn more and get in touch HERE.

The post Pharmacy Pricing Strategy: Protecting Margin & Profitability appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

In Fitzgerald Power’s interview series, we’re speaking to people with different perspectives who feel they can offer more to the workplace, from the water cooler all the way up to the C-Suite. Today, it’s Dr. Matt Kennedy, the Global Head of Client Transformation, from the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Ireland on how choosing sustainable practices within your business model does as much for your earnings as it does for the planet. 

Matt Kennedy has certainly been around the block. A chartered environmental professional and energy engineer with over 25 years’ experience in delivering national and international transformation and climate change initiatives, Kennedy has built a career in providing policy advice and thought leadership for clients, resulting in a global reputation. “The main functions I oversee are support to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) clients in Ireland, under the four briefs in my portfolio: R&D, Sustainability, Talents and Skills and Digital. It’s really about the existing clients within Ireland and helping them to transform; become more innovative, decarbonise, build more resilience in the business, and all the things that you’d expect.”

An internationally recognised expert when it comes to developing policy advice across governments and providing advice to businesses, we begin by asking him what the biggest hurdle is for those looking to integrate sustainable initiatives into their business. It tends to be more than one, he says. “What I would say is that there’s a real focus on decarbonisation,” he says. “Because there is a price on carbon, manufacturers can justify the financial investment – as they get the economic and environmental benefit – in addition to resilience across their business. Some challenges exist for services-type companies, whether FDI or indigenous, that don’t own their own buildings. So encouraging businesses to deliver adaptive measures and to deliver circularity measures can deliver value for all companies.”

Sustainability, in business terms, tends to be talked about in the wrong way. Most of the time, people apply a boundaried lens to it, considering merely the carbon footprints and/or recycling bins. Much of Kennedy’s job is about highlighting the bigger picture, such as resilience through a changing world, or creating a hospitable environment for FDI. “I’ve been in the sustainability business for 25 years,” he smiles. “And it’s been called different things throughout that time. At the moment, a major hook from the sustainability side is how companies link themselves to competitiveness and productivity, and become more sustainable in a way that delivers benefits and value to the business. You could argue that there’s always been a need for an economic driver as well as a social and environmental driver… But ultimately, at the moment, a lot of the focus now is on competitiveness as a narrative or a language or a buzz term, rather than social sustainability, ESG or compliance.”

So much has changed in recent years, he continues, that thankfully, more corporations than not are seeing the myriad benefits available to those thinking green. “A lot of the FDI clients in Ireland have climate pledges that are well in advance of what government pledges are. For example, Ireland, as a country, wants to be net zero by 2050, but a lot of the major FDI clients in Ireland want to be net zero by, say, 2042. So, you know, they’re very conscious that they need to report on their actions. Their shareholders are also expecting them to have sustainable operations, because it’s really good for their economic resilience. And I think that has really changed in the past 5-10 years. Back then, your sustainability officer was over on the left hand side of a business in an organisation structure. Now, an entire sustainability consideration is incorporated through the business and also providing economic value as well as upskilled employees.”

That said, there are challenges. “The main one being that some organisations don’t know where to start,” he says. “They’re also looking across their competitors to see what their competitors are doing, and sometimes they don’t want to be the first to move. So you have market challenges, return and investment challenges, but ultimately, those who are ambitious tend to embrace and deliver quite a large solution.”

Before the IDA, Kennedy worked at Arup, where he held the position of European Sustainable Development & Global Climate Strategy Leader, with previous experience from International Climate Consultancy, Tyndall National Institute and SEAI. Before that again, he was the lead EU negotiator at the Paris Agreement climate negotiations (COP21) and previously Chair of the UN Climate Technology Centre. “Nothing happens in the 10 or 14 days within COP,” he smiles. “I was responsible for technology transfer and trade, which ended up being Article 10 [of the Paris Agreement] for those really interested. And so the first thing about communicating across 27 Member States was to get clear agreement and lines. And that involves bringing people together, sharing what the red lines are and what lines of intersection are, and ultimately whether we could proceed.” A shrewd negotiator, much of Kennedy’s role focuses on communicating, often effectively, difficult subjects to global bodies. His best tip when it comes to effective communication? Leaving out the element of surprise. “The most important thing from the EU position, in advance of COP 21 in Paris, was to communicate to other regions what the EU position was, so that it didn’t become a surprise when you landed. That strategy bore great fruit because the EU then built alliances with like-minded regions that have the same goals. So rather than, you know, in a very strict poker game – our prisoner’s dilemma, as the negotiations are often called – the EU position was very frank and very clear from the start, especially around intellectual property, innovation and the importance of investment within southern hemisphere countries. You never really know who shares your ideals without expressing them in advance.

And that then led us to build great alliances with African states, Asian states, Latin American states, etc.”

While becoming a sustainable business isn’t a matter of just flipping a switch, it is worth the effort – particularly considering that consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of what they choose, buy and throw away. According to a 2020 McKinsey survey, up to 70% of respondents said they’d pay more for a product with sustainable packaging, and that number is only going one way. Kennedy, an eternal optimist, insists everyone has a part to play. “There’s a role for every sector,” he says. “That’s the first thing in terms of sustainability. Looking back, while environmental NGOs have had a strong stance on environmental integrity, it was corporations, including B-Corps, in the 80s that really pushed this forward. Now there may be scepticism, but ultimately, because of the major emissions that have occurred in the last 30 years, corporations now need to own and be responsible for their past and future emissions. Today, there is a significant role for corporations in avoiding greenwashing and gaining clarity on measurement and reporting for their transparency and accountability regarding emissions. We have come a long way in the last five years in terms of those standards, and mainstreaming those standards has become really important.”

Is it too late to start now? “I’m forever an optimist,” he says. “But time is of the essence. You know the decisions you make now in terms of infrastructure, fossil fuel infrastructure, and low carbon, will last for 30-40+ years. So we are running out of time to maintain targets for emissions reductions and broader greenhouse gas emissions, but we will not get there without action from industry. We will not get there without research informing our science from academia. And we will not get there without environmental organisations being the watchdog for such corporations to make sure that they act responsibly and are accountable for their own emissions reduction. Yeah, so everyone plays a role. I’d like to see it happening a little faster… but sometimes these corporations are very big ships. It takes a while for them to turn in the right direction.”

For more information on Dr Matt Kennedy’s work, check out his website here – https://matthewkennedy.org/.

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The latest Tax Pulse report highlights the most important tax developments impacting Irish businesses in 2026. From VAT reform to compliance trends, here’s what you need to know.

1. Strong Tax Performance and Increased Compliance

Ireland recorded €106 billion in tax receipts in 2025, alongside high levels of voluntary compliance and over 290,000 Revenue interventions.

Takeaway: Expect continued focus on compliance and targeted audits.

2. VAT Modernisation and eInvoicing

Mandatory eInvoicing and real-time reporting are on the way, with large businesses required to comply from November 2028.

Takeaway: Start preparing systems now to avoid disruption.

3. Changes to VAT Grouping Rules

VAT grouping is now limited to Irish entities, potentially bringing cross-border transactions into scope for VAT.

Takeaway: Review structures before the December 2026 transition deadline.

4. iXBRL Filing Update

From January 2026, only final signed financial statements will be accepted for iXBRL submissions.

Takeaway: Ensure accounts are completed within required timelines.

5. Revenue Updates and Key Deadlines

• Extended Pay & File deadline to 18 November 2026
• Incentives for energy-efficient investment extended to 2030
• Key tax deadlines across April–June 2026

Takeaway: Plan ahead to stay compliant and maximise available reliefs.

The direction is clear – greater digitalisation, tighter rules, and more active enforcement. Early preparation will put your business in the strongest position to adapt and stay compliant.

At Fitzgerald Power, we’re committed to delivering practical guidance that makes tax easier to understand and act on. Tax Pulse is designed to give you quick, clear insights so you can make confident decisions and stay compliant without the stress.

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At first glance, the price of a coffee might seem trivial. But when tracked consistently across global cities, it becomes a useful and relatable indicator of discretionary spending and cost-of-living pressures.

Introducing the Latte Index: Fitzgerald Power’s quarterly snapshot of the price of a standard Starbucks latte across key international cities, converted into euro using ECB exchange rates.

While simple in concept, the index offers a lens into broader economic dynamics: wage levels, rent pressures, currency movements, and, importantly, consumer tolerance for rising prices.

Q1 2026 Snapshot

In Q1 2026, London ranks as the most expensive city for a latte at €5.93, followed closely by Dublin (€5.65) and New York (€5.60). At the other end of the spectrum, Tokyo remains significantly more affordable at €3.48.

This spread highlights more than just pricing differences, it reflects structural cost variations across economies.

Dublin: Converging with High-Cost Cities

Dublin’s position is particularly notable.

Despite being a smaller market than London or New York, Dublin’s latte price sits firmly within the top tier. This suggests that cost pressures in the Irish economy are aligning with those seen in larger global cities.

Key drivers include:

• Persistently high commercial rents
• Rising wage expectations in hospitality
• Strong urban demand supporting premium pricing

In effect, Dublin is behaving like a high-cost global city — without necessarily having the same scale advantages.

The Role of Currency and Local Cost Structures

Currency movements also play a role.

For example, New York appears marginally cheaper than Dublin in euro terms, partly due to exchange rate effects. However, underlying local costs, particularly labour, remain high.

Similarly, Tokyo’s lower price point reflects both a weaker yen and a fundamentally different cost structure, where wages and rents remain comparatively subdued.

Consumer Behaviour: A Tipping Point?

Perhaps the most important insight from the Latte Index is not the price itself, but what it signals about consumer behaviour.

Across many developed economies, consumers have absorbed sustained increases in everyday costs — from coffee to energy. However, there are signs that this tolerance is being tested.

Recent protests linked to rising living costs and energy prices highlight a growing sensitivity to affordability. While a latte is a small discretionary purchase, it sits within a broader basket of spending that households are increasingly scrutinising.

The question is no longer whether prices can rise, but how far they can rise before behaviour changes.

Why It Matters

The Latte Index is not intended to be a definitive economic measure. Rather, it complements traditional indicators by grounding macroeconomic trends in something tangible and widely understood.

It provides:

• A relatable benchmark for discretionary spending.
• A comparative view across international markets.
• An early signal of pressure points in consumer affordability.

Looking Ahead

Fitzgerald Power will track the Latte Index on a quarterly basis, building a clearer picture of how consumer prices evolve over time — and what that means for businesses operating in Ireland and beyond.

Because sometimes, the most meaningful economic insights aren’t found in complex models…

…but in the price of your morning coffee.

The post The Latte Index Q1 2026: What a Coffee Tells Us About the Global Economy appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

In Fitzgerald Power’s interview series, we’re speaking to people with different perspectives who feel they can offer more to the workplace, from the water cooler all the way up to the C-Suite. Today, it’s Orla Hennelly of Ireland’s premier beauty hack destination, ItsBeautyCheats.

Becoming an entrepreneur, for Orla Hennelly, kind of came out of the blue. “I always loved fashion, and I wanted to work in it, so I ended up doing Communications in DCU, because I thought I wanted to do fashion journalism,” she says. “But that was a long time ago.” Looking back, it was actually through her time in retail that she first realised a penchant for figuring out how the sausage gets made. “I used to like seeing what was coming in and thinking about what would sell and what wouldn’t, so, from there, I realised I wanted to work further back in the supply chain.” She enrolled in a Master’s in Fashion Buying and Management, and from that, got an internship in Dunnes Stores’ Buying Department, where she stayed for seven years. “I loved it, I loved buying things, designing products and seeing them come to life.”

It was around that time that Hennelly was making the professional personal, by choosing the outfit she’d wear for her own wedding. “I really wanted to wear these heavy, vintage earrings for my wedding, but I hated how they were dragging down my earlobes, so I thought, why isn’t there a product that solves this issue?” With a quick Google to see that no such product existed in the Irish marketplace, ItsBeautyCheats was born in November 2023, with a chunk of Hennelly’s own savings and a desire to fix problems for women with similar needs. “In terms of actually launching the business, it wasn’t a hugely expensive product for my first, so I took money out of my savings, and I just thought to myself that if this doesn’t work, whatever. I’ll wrap it up.” Now three years later, ItsBeautyCheats is stocked in Arnotts, One Dame Lane, Ór Jewellery and a suite of pharmacies. Not to mention, it closed 2025 with 100% revenue growth YOY. “It’s going well,” she smiles, bashfully. “Ups and downs, but good overall.”

ItsBeautyCheats bills itself as the ultimate beauty-hack destination and the home of LobeLifts, the innovative earlobe protection patch that prevents earlobe stretching and tearing from heavy earrings. Their products seek to address a range of beauty-related grievances, from necklaces that don’t tangle to discreet, comfortable body tape. Once the success of LobeLifts, the business’s original name, took off – by way of Hennelly’s own marketing and a bit of luck with TikTok virality – eight months later, the business took on its current moniker. “I built the website myself. I kept costs really low, and suddenly I had this niche product that was doing really well,” she says. “As a result, I had to lean into the randomness of it all, and then started listening to consumers who had other beauty-related problems that needed fixing. To this day, I take all my ideas and theirs down in the Notes app on my phone.”

A business penned as a discrete problem solver proved enough to impress the Pitch team at Arnotts – a business accelerator initiative from Arnotts, created to empower innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs based in Ireland or Northern Ireland – and indeed the women of Ireland, many of whom thank Hennelly regularly for catering to needs in a way no one had before. “I remember coming home from a wedding with a friend and helping her take this body tape off, which was literally ripping her skin,” Hennelly says. “I just thought to myself, there has to be a better version of this.” ItsBeautyCheats’ subsequent body tape, priced at €18.95, includes 5 oil-based removal wipes for effortless, skin-friendly removal, and is now one of the brand’s best-sellers. “I’m fortunate enough that every product is close to best-seller status at the moment,” she says. “It feels like whichever one I push the most becomes the best seller, and I’ve had to restock everything. Like, there hasn’t been one product that I haven’t had to purchase multiple times, so it’s been brilliant. What I really love to see, though, is when someone buys one thing and within a matter of weeks they buy another for their friends.”

With just Hennelly at the helm, aside from the occasional contractor, her job spans a multitude: from the back-of-house – quality control, market research, customer service, to the front – courier, social media, marketing. “My family is great,” she says. “My brother has been packing orders, and my husband drives around the place delivering stock. I’m hoping to take someone on soon, but until then, it’s just me.” It seems ludicrous, then, that among her biggest competitors is Amazon. “I do think the people who follow my story and my social media accounts are willing to buy Irish over Amazon,” she says. “It is tough to compare, though, especially with shipping. Like, I ship with An Post, and it randomly went from €5.95 to €6.95 last month, which was huge. For my products that are €12.95, asking for €6.95 shipping is huge, so I didn’t put it up, I’m just taking the hit on that euro.” In times of panic, Hennelly turns to other female entrepreneurs in the business for help. “I can’t get over the support from women in particular,” she says. “I say this all the time, from the influencers and micro-influencers I work with, to those who run pharmacies and helped me get it in stock, to anyone going through the same thing. I had a disaster with a TikTok Shop video two weeks ago, and I wrote to so many other women business owners, and they couldn’t have been more helpful. Then customers with reviews and comments… My biggest takeaway is that Irish women are incredibly supportive all around.”

Today’s SME landscape is undeniably difficult, and despite a wealth of available resources out there – like Enterprise Ireland’s Going for Growth, the programme for ambitious female entrepreneurs across all sectors in Ireland that Hennelly is currently enrolled in – many continue to face significant operational challenges. “The number one thing for me at the moment is just trying to find the time to do everything before I can afford to hire someone,” she says. “I’m lecturing in Buying and Merchandising at the Portobello Institute two days a week to help pay the bills, we have a 10-month-old at home, and my husband works full time, so it’s just finding the time. Apart from that, I would also say it’s hard to get funding. I’ve been working with the local Enterprise Office, which has been great, but it’s just the cash flow issue that is really difficult. I would love to inject a load of cash into the business, and I know it would come back, but just getting it that’s the issue.”

Just last month, Hennelly announced that ItsBeautyCheats closed 2025 with 100% revenue growth YOY and tripled their online sales. How has that informed Orla’s vision for 2026? “I would say, year one, I didn’t have much wholesale at all,” she says. “Year two, I really pushed the wholesale aspect, and that was kind of increasing the revenue. Underneath that, profit wasn’t a 100% increase, so this year, I’m back to pushing direct-to-consumer sales. The wholesale is brilliant, and obviously, I won’t give that up, but to be honest, the big push for me now is back to the consumers and getting them directly to the website, because the dream is to be the number one beauty hack destination online, competing with the likes of Look Fantastic. But my own products that people come back to because they’re reliable, high quality, and they know their work.”

You can follow Orla and ItsBeautyCheats on Instagram here or on the brand’s official website. 

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