Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The amendment deals with ethos, with the institutions promoting an ethos that would support entrepreneurship. The ethos is separate from the laudable matters outlined in the Senator's speech. Senator Gavan mentioned America and I was there. The only support one gets in America is through entrepreneurship. The only grants that governments are willing to give out relate to entrepreneurship. One could be on one's knees but if a person is an entrepreneur, he or she will get something. In my lifetime there has been an increase in the celebration of entrepreneurship, which is fine, but not if the vast majority of the entrepreneurs are not among those wealthy people that we picture, or if entrepreneurs live in poverty. I presume the description of entrepreneurship accepted by the Government is those who are employed independently, such as sole traders, etc. That is not the aspiration of everybody who goes to college. Is this a Government for IBEC or is it a Government for the people? There are issues raised by the amendment from Senators Norris, Boyhan and O'Sullivan, including the creativity element. Every Government strategy, including Culture 2025, which has the aim of putting culture at the heart of our lives and developing a more collaborative approach across all sectors, runs against the grain of what is currently in the Bill so I support the amendment.