Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of entrepreneurship and, in particular, commend a new local group in Galway, Startup Galway, whose aim is to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the area. Galway has two start-up clusters, one being in the tech sector and the other in the biotech area. It has several national research labs, including the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, formerly known as DERI, and the Irish Marine Institute. This greatly complements the number of researchers and PhD students in our third level institutions. Startup Galway will play a very important role and aims to encourage other start-up businesses in this area. Also on the employment front, I note that businesses are reporting a marked increase in the number of emigrants returning to Ireland to work. The employment market monitor of CPL, one of the largest recruitment agencies in the country, has found that for the first three months of this year the UK, Australia and Canada are the locations from which most Irish workers are returning home to find work here. The director of CPL has said that 63% of companies intend to increase their workforces this year. Given that these people are returning from abroad, they are bringing added expertise to their new positions here. That they are returning to Ireland to get a good job and one they want is encouraging. It shows the positive steps the Government has taken since coming to office that Ireland is now recognised as being the fastest-growing economy in Europe. These figures are encouraging and show that we are back on track. They are based on a solid foundation, not on the property boom of the past decade.