Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 July 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters

Increased Employment Participation, Self-employment and Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities: Discussion

Mr. Matt McCann:

It is great to see Senator O'Loughlin again.

Yes, that competition, Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur, was a fantastic opportunity. The competition, unfortunately, is in some sort of stasis at the moment. It is really disheartening to see that because, to be honest, while the win was great, it was actually the boot camp and the direct support from a LEO that took me from a computer science student who did not know how to string two words together in public to the point where, just before the regional competition, as I remember, we had an opportunity to meet with the Minister and, unfortunately, I could not go to that event because I was given the opportunity to speak at the United Nations. I know that it was the support I was given at that boot camp that gave me the confidence to do public speaking and go to that event. If we could have competitions like that back, it would not only give that support and develop that network for young entrepreneurs but also give that confidence to disabled entrepreneurs to just go in and apply for such competitions. I did that. I did not think I would get that far, and here we are now. It was a matter of being given that chance. I urge the Government to look at bringing back Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur because that is one of the key reasons I am here today.

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