Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today is National Women's Enterprise Day and it is appropriate to acknowledge the many women involved in business throughout the country who do sterling work at both local and national level. I want to acknowledge a number of excellent businesses in my own area run by women that are unparalleled. I could talk about numerous shops, restaurants, accountancy firms and lawyers in the area but I want to mention a couple in particular, including Jane Carroll Design in Blackrock, a shop that provides good quality clothing and interesting toys for children. Jane had difficulties in the past year when the lease on her building ran out in Blackrock. She had to move to another premises but it is a testament to the strength of her business that she has been able to do so and continues to meet the great demand for her services. Louisa Cameron runs Raven Books in Blackrock, which is recognised nationally as an award-winning bookshop. Raven Books is a small, independent bookseller that sells used and new books. If one goes into Raven Books, one will get great recommendations. Louisa has also run good workshops for children in conjunction with Blackrock Library to set them on the path of reading the kinds of books they want. I also want to mention Pat Kane's Reuzi shop in Foxrock, which sells items that enable people to genuinely follow a path towards a sustainable lifestyle, and Nuala Woulfe's beauty salon in Glasthule. There are many others that I do not have time to mention but it is appropriate on National Women's Enterprise Day that we recognise that so many women throughout the country are at the core of the local economy, delivering services and providing employment and so many other benefits to their local areas.