Ms Evelyn O'Toole:

I thank the Chairman, Senator Ó Céidigh, and the other members of the committee for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to represent the SMEs of Ireland. It is a great opportunity and one for which I am very grateful.

I am an entrepreneur. It started 24 years ago, when I was made redundant. I am from outside Clifden. I was based in Rosmuck in Connemara and I set up a company called Complete Laboratory Solutions, CLS. CLS is a contract laboratory. We are accredited to test food, water, environmental and medical devices, pharmaceutical products and clean rooms. We also train up lab analysts in our labs and transfer them on to client sites around the country. We are 24 years old and employ 160 people. I decided to make this move very quickly after being made redundant because I did not want to leave Galway or Connemara. Overall, we need a commitment at a larger level to people such as me who are willing to put a stake in the ground, to try to create something special and to create their own security, which, if they are successful, will create security for many more. Ninety-nine per cent of our staff are scientists. We are still operating in Rosmuck. We also have a special facility in Galway city for pharma and medical devices.

Our route was such that we started very small and with a very small financial background, so I needed every support in the world to survive. I did not look good on paper. I think Paddy Power would have given me very poor odds. My company is a great example of something that can go through if one gets the right supports. There are different levels of support depending on the stage one is at and how the company starts up. The first stage to note, which is really important, involves the local supports, the guys who understand and are in one's own locality. I refer to the likes of Údarás na Gaeltachta and the local enterprise offices, LEOs. They can pick people up, give them a lift and get them started. Then, as one grows, the support needs grow, as do one's skill set and knowledge set. Then a company becomes nationwide and then it becomes an international prospect. At present we produce 12% of our income internationally without actually having an international structure. This is where Enterprise Ireland comes in, and I must compliment our State bodies and supports because they are really good at what they do. They interleave at different stages when companies need them to lift them. Equally important are our business communities and ecosystems. I refer to things like our connectivity, broadband and being able to conduct an international business from anywhere. As Mr. Walsh said, we have a huge opportunity to become global players.

I wish to identify two challenges. I think because of our economic success at present and the way things are driving, especially in the life science area, we are competing heavily for talent, so our resources on the ground are becoming quite sparse. The attrition rate is costing a lot of money in training and retraining and onboarding people. Companies in the SME bracket such as CLS are competing with the multinationals for the same talent. This is an issue for SMEs, which are not on the same scale as multinationals.

I wish to identify two opportunities. I think the SMEs and the multinationals can collaborate at a higher level. I propose we make our multinationals the best of the competition within their corporate groups globally. I think we can achieve this by two means: first, by supplying the best workforce they can get anywhere in the world, and second, by having the best supplier base. The best supplier base comes from our bracket, the SMEs. We are innovative, really efficient and really good at the non-core stuff in which the multinationals should not be involved. Therefore, I think that by partnering closely and collaborating, the two largest factions of employers in Ireland, the multinationals and the SMEs, can produce a higher level of wealth, which we can turn into a bigger export opportunity.

Ireland should look seriously at developing a national strategy to give leadership in the area of female leadership opportunity, and we should become the best in Europe for this. I think our partner will become the US because currently it is the leader in this area, but we have a real opportunity.

Diversity and inclusion are not only about gender or diversity more generally, they are about economics and the best economic driver and it makes business sense. I can address that later in the questions and answers if members wish.