Pádraig Ó Céidigh (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ní bheidh mé ach nóiméad nó trí. I thank the witnesses very much for coming and for the time they have put in. It is important, despite the small number of Senators we have here. The contributions set out in all their submissions are very much taken on board, as will be the case with the presentations and information they are about to share with us. I said earlier that companies do not grow; people do. It is all about our people. There are a couple of factors. I used to teach maths and I think visually. If one thinks of three circles which interact in the middle, one will be the entrepreneur, business person or SME and the supports they get. The witnesses' organisations support them in a key and fundamental way. The other part of it will be the employees and the people. An entrepreneur or SME can only do so much alone. Support, commitment and that work ethic together are also needed. The third area is the environment within which they work, namely the State, and the way we as legislators in the Seanad and the Dáil can work proactively to help those three circles to be in sync to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to start up, run and grow a business.

We had entrepreneurs and SME representatives before us earlier, including Netwatch which employs 600 people, 200 of whom work in Carlow. The company pays out more than €8 million a year in salaries to people in Carlow, which is a major contribution. The best thing one can do in life is give a person a job. If one gives a person a job, one provides the opportunity for independence, integrity, choice and so on. One gives a person options. I am passionate about this particular aspect of the work I am doing in the Seanad, about the support and contribution of the witnesses and about those three circles working very much in synch. My colleagues on the committee are committed to this as well. It is not a political issue and we are all here together wearing the same jersey.