REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF OFFALY NEW ENTREPRENEURS NETWORK (O.N.E.) KINNITTY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF OFFALY NEW ENTREPRENEURS NETWORK (O.N.E.) KINNITTY, CO. OFFALY, TUESDAY, 29 JUNE
Dia dhibh a cháirde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the launch of Offaly’s New Entrepreneurs Network and special thanks to the Offaly County Enterprise Board and to Sean Ryan, CEO and Orla Martin, Assistant CEO, for their very kind invitation.
Today’s Ireland is a successful and an ambitious country with a story of economic progress to tell that is second to none in the European Union. The role of direct foreign investment in our success has often been remarked upon and it is certainly as crucial as it is a matter of pride that we attract the biggest and best investors from around the world. But there is another side to the story of our success today, story that needs to be told, and to be encouraged and that is the phenomenal role played in modern Ireland by our own entrepreneurs. They are key to the capacity of our economy to grow, to support sustainable employment and to widen the embrace of prosperity and opportunity. One of the most impressive changes in Ireland has been the growth of Irish entreprenuerialism and now we have a deep vested interest in inculcating a culture of entrepreneurial consciousness, of seedbedding the confidence and the talent that will produce tomorrow’s Irish entrepreneurs. Your newly launched network is part of this national imperative, the nurturing of a fresh culture of entrepreneurialism.
Since their establishment in 1993, one of the tasks facing the City and County Enterprise Boards has been to promote and empower an entrepreneurial culture through education and training. The students of our second level education system were identified as one of the main target groups who should benefit from fostering the creative, self-starting and risktaking talent at an early age. A specific strategy to address the particular issues facing women entrepreneurs was put in place and the evidence is in all around the country that we are at last beginning to fly on two wings instead of one.
The Offaly New Entrepreneurs Network being launched here today, leads the way in innovative supports for fledgling enterprises, and for those preparing to expand their existing business. I know that a least two new enterprises in this county were established in the aftermath of the larger companies closing down. People did not just sit back in despair. They saw the market opportunity and found the motivation, drive and ability to meet it. With the aid and assistance available through the County Enterprise Board network, the good news is that everyone with a viable concept can be an entrepreneur. What you need is a belief in yourself, a capacity for hard work and the determination to make a success of the undertaking.
This new network is not just for people who have already set up their own business. Over 100 people have successfully completed the “Starting Your Own Business” course run by the Enterprise Board. They should take encouragement from the success of others and that is what this Network tries to promote. Meeting like-minded people can be an inspiration to take that first step. As entrepreneurs, you each have your own story. Some of you set up business to follow a life-long dream, some are passionate about a craft or skill and so find a way to allow them do it for a living. Some follow the example of another successful entrepreneur. Others set up in business in response to being made redundant. The diversity of new businesses reflects those different stories. I have come across the stories myself in far way places. In Poland, China and Australia I have seen how young Irish entrepreneurs have followed their dream and having set up in Ireland in a modest way are now expanding to serve world markets.
As new entrepreneurs, you provide new employment and economic activity, which is an especially important contribution to your community at local level. You have local knowledge and local loyalty and already you have created a momentum which has seen over 40 new enterprise projects approved in Offaly last year alone. In the context of sudden large-scale job losses and the difficulties in securing replacement industries, people at local level are becoming much more aware and respectful of the value and economic contribution made by new entrepreneurs to locally based indigenous enterprise. I do not need to tell you that business people do not always get the credit they deserve, but it is your willingness to take a risk that has created the prosperity and employment that we in Ireland now enjoy.
This event here today is a way of congratulating you on your hard work and commitment. I hope it will be a memorable occasion for all of you – a chance to meet others, to exchange experiences and views and through the network to find the support and the synergies to make the future successful, the energy and the reassurance to carry on. Being an entrepreneur can be a rollercoaster, with fluctuating market conditions, financial risks and a level of responsibility that can be lonely at times but it can be also deeply rewarding to you, to those who work for you, to your community and to our country. So today as you take an hour away from the workplace I wish each of you every success and the energy to commit to your unique vocation as Ireland’s entrepreneurs- major contributors to the most successful Ireland in our history. I hope that you enjoy yourselves and I wish all of you every success in your enterprising endeavours.
Rath De ar an obair. Go raibh maith agaibh go leir.