Mr. Frank O'Keeffe:

I would like to get back to Deputy Calleary's point about the voice or the soundbites and not hearing enough about entrepreneurship and what we in Ernst & Young do with the entrepreneur of the year programme. We have a very strong voice, not only through our 350 alumni but also through our media partners, particularly RTE television, which produced five television programmes on entrepreneurship. Our live awards were attended by President Mary McAleese, as our guest of honour, for the past three years and this year they were attended by President Michael D. Higgins, along with many Deputies, Senators and business-influencers. We are also supported by The Irish Times, which features our entrepreneurs quite regularly and profiles them when they are announced as finalists. Through the Newstalk radio station, our voices and the voices of our entrepreneurs are constantly on the airwaves, talking about things that matter to small and medium enterprises and to entrepreneurs, both aspiring and actual. We do as much as we can to promote entrepreneurship but there must be a balance. Austerity is much discussed and rightly so, as many people are suffering here right now, but we need to hear a more balanced voice. We must get the positive message across and prove to people on the island of Ireland that there is a lot of success here. People need to look at the beacons of light and make sure they give themselves the best opportunity to go forward.

Deputy Calleary asked what I would say to an 11 year old in school. That is a very interesting question which I put to the entrepreneurs in our programme and thankfully it is they who are talking to the 11 year olds and not me. On a serious note, we must remember that the world is changing at a rapid rate. Many of our 11 year olds have iPads, mobile telephones and so forth and are using technology in a very different way from us. They see the world differently and think in global rather than national terms with regard to where they might be for the rest of their lives. They are very interested in doing different things and what we are trying to do with the entrepreneur of the year programme is make sure that we plant a seed in their minds so that they realise they can actually make a difference.

We employ a significant number of graduates and are in the lucky position of being able to hire 150 new graduates this year. Those graduates want a different experience at work. They have many ideas and some of them want to become entrepreneurs themselves, once they qualify as chartered accountants. As the world changes, we need to connect in with our people and with the younger generation in particular. If we can make a difference to a small percentage of those 11 year olds then perhaps by the time they are 25 or 35 they will have set up their own businesses and generated significant employment. It is not just the 11 year olds we must reach, however, but those at all stages in the education system, including third-level students.

I thank Senator White for her comments and wish to add to the point she made about Irish people and entrepreneurship. We are very proud of the fact that, per capita, Ireland is a very strong nation in terms of generating entrepreneurs. We have a general ability to interact with and integrate into different cultures very quickly. We are very good sellers and we like a bit of fun. That is a very good balance and sits well with entrepreneurship, which requires fantastic innovation, self-belief and a strong focus on doing things differently, beating the competition and generating jobs. That is what our programme is all about. We are trying to help entrepreneurs to unlock national and international opportunities. We try to connect them with other entrepreneurs around the world so that they can collaborate, beat bigger businesses and generate jobs.