Ten years ago the British government made moves to save regional brewers by forcing pub chains to sell so-called real ales, alongside the mass-produced beer of the brewing giants. But smaller breweries have continued to vanish and now the biggest publican in Britain is the giant Japanese finance house, Nomura. Karen Hoggan looks at the brewing scene in The Money Programme. (Sunday, BBC 2, 7.30 p.m.)
RTE's economics editor George Lee and reporter Eilis Brennan return with another series of Money Box (Sunday, Network 2, 9.35 p.m.) that includes a report on credit cards and the best way to use them.
On Monday, controversial farmer Oliver Walston concludes his series Against the Grain, (BBC 2, 7.30 p.m.) - a fairly sharp examination of British agriculture - by looking to the future of the industry. Walston believes that science will continue to play a major role and refuses to accept organic farming as a way forward. Organic farming is only for the well-off consumer, he says.
In Tuesday's Ear to the Ground, (RTE 1, 8.30 p.m.) David Kavanagh meets Belgian John Dunt who came to west Cork in the 1980s. Dunt wanted to escape the rat race and he now runs an alternative farm with a variety of organically-grown fruit and vegetables and a selection of animals.
In Raising the Roof: Rising Damp (Monday, BBC 2, 8 p.m.) reporter Paul Kenyon takes on Britain's multi-million pound damp-proof industry. Hidden cameras show how nine out of 10 damp-proof companies recommend costly, but unnecessary, treatment. It seems that rising damp may be just a convenient myth for the industry, but not the house owner.
Do we really need more pubs in the Republic? Reporter Natasha Fennell looks at the effects the proposed changes in the licensing laws will have on rural and city pubs in Leargas, (Tuesday, RTE 1, 7.30 p.m.). While big city pubs are booming, the population decline in rural areas has created huge difficulties for rural publicans.
The ongoing issue of Japanese imports is examined in Drive! (Tuesday, Network 2, 10.15 p.m.). Averil McGarry talks to both sides of the motor trade and checks out the differences between the new cars sold here and the pre-owned imports.
The Frocky Horror Show, this week's episode in the Blood on the Carpet series (Wednesday, BBC 2, 9.50 p.m.), is the sad tale of Shami Ahmed - the Burnley businessman famous for his Joe Bloggs jeans - and Elizabeth Emanuel, the woman who designed Princess Diana's wedding dress. The unlikely duo went into business together and in the summer of 1997 launched the new Elizabeth Emanuel company. But it all went wrong and the two found themselves locked in the business deal from hell.
