Shortlisted entrepreneurs leading the way to economic recovery

Announcement of the shortlist for the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Programme 

24 of Ireland’s premier business leaders have been shortlisted for the coveted Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award 2011.  A record 140 nominations were received for this year’s awards. Speaking at the announcement of this year’s shortlist, Frank O’Keeffe, Ernst & Young Partner-in-Charge of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® Programme spoke of the unprecedented level of interest for this year’s awards and acknowledged the unique contribution made by Ireland’s entrepreneurial community.

“As Ireland continues on the path to economic recovery, we need to look towards the future and celebrate our entrepreneurs and their businesses. The record number of nominations received this year is a testament to the resilience and ambition of these exceptional individuals and the teams supporting them. The entrepreneurial business community continues to prove that businesses in Ireland can and do still succeed in extremely challenging business conditions, both domestically and globally. The unyielding ambition and drive demonstrated by these finalists should inspire us all and will be vital to help ensure the next generation of economic success across the island”.

Padraig O’Ceidigh, Chairman of Aer Arann and winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in 2002, is once-again Chair of the 11-strong panel of judges.

The 24 businesses that have made it to the final stages have a combined turnover close to €600 million and employ a staggering 11,000 individuals. Eight companies have been selected in each of three categories – Emerging; Industry; and International – representing a diverse array of business sectors ranging from insurance, food production, engineering to online services. Winners from each of these three categories, in addition to the recipient of the overall Entrepreneur Of The Year® award, will be announced at a televised Gala Awards Ceremony to be held in October.

This year’s finalists will be joined by members of the programme’s extended entrepreneurial community at the annual CEO Retreat, which will take place in India in June. During the week-long trip, participants will engage in a number of workshops and leadership strategy sessions, meet with key Indian industry leaders, and develop a wide network of contacts, all of which will assist the Entrepreneur Of The Year® community to develop and build on their own winning strategies.

The 24 finalists are:

Emerging        
Annadale Technologies – Denis McCarthy
Blue Insurances Ltd/ Multitrip.com- Ciaran Mulligan & Rowan Devereux
Bubblebum UK Ltd - Grainne Kelly
Joule – Ronan Ginnell & Ian Barrett
Crospon – John O’Dea
Crowley Carbon Ltd – Norman Crowley
The Now Factory – Tom Morrisroe
Dublin Aerospace – Conor McCarthy

Industry        
Homecare Independent Living – Mairead Mackle
PFH Technology Group Limited – Paul Hourican
Itsabagel Ltd – Domini & Peaches Kemp
Largo Food Exports – Raymond Coyle
Noonan – John O’Donoghue
Argento - Peter Boyle
Centre For English Studies – Justin Quinn
Version 1 – Justin Keatinge

International        
Openet – Joe Hogan & Niall Norton
Telestack Limited – Adrian McCutcheon
Texthelp Systems Limited – Mark McCusker
MJM Group – Brian McConville
Munster Simms Eng Ltd (Whale Water Systems) – Patrick Hurst
XSP – Brendan Farrell
Intune Networks Ltd – John Dunne
Sammon Contracting Group Ltd – Miceal Sammon

The 24 finalists will be profiled in the Irish Times over the next six weeks, and each finalist will also feature in a four part series to be televised on RTE in September and October.

Brian Conlon, founder and Chief Executive of First Derivatives Plc, was named as the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® and will represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur of the Year® Awards in Monte Carlo later this year, where he will compete for the global title.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® is part of a global recognition programme, to identify, acclaim and support entrepreneurs and is currently run in over 50 countries, across six continents. The Irish programme, now in its 14th year, continues to go from strength-to-strength, championing the spirit of enterprise and creating a new era of opportunities for participants.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year programme is supported by The Irish Times, RTE, Enterprise Ireland, Invest NI, Intertrade Ireland and Newstalk.

I am today calling for urgent legislative action from the Government to ease the huge pressure and strain being exerted on those indebted to the banks and other financial institutions.

This follows a controversial statement made last week by the Master of the High Court, Mr. Ed Honohan, who stated that he has personally seen many cases where borrowers are driven to taking their own lives due to the pressure of huge debt on their shoulders.

Our courts system is failing those who are saddled with debt.

It is quite clear that the Bankruptcy Act of 1988 is simply inadequate in tacking the intricacies and difficulties of modern bankruptcy. Our courts system provides no reprieve and no way out for those struggling with rising debts. Instead of being guided and helped they are being punished. They are branded as a debtor for life. This is different from other legal systems which allow for some level of debt forgiveness once the debtor co-operates and fully discloses the extent of his debts and any remaining assets. In our system all the power is in the hands of the lender. It is time to provide some support to those in debt.

In fact the Law Reform Commission has already undertaken the lion’s share of the investigative work on this issue and has proposed some valuable reforms and steps to equalize our system. Proposals include preventative measures to address personal indebtedness at an early stage and interventions to resolve debt problems in an efficient way. It also tackles the need to bring debt enforcement processes into line with international best standards and questions the utility of imprisonment as a means of enforcement.

While I welcome the announcement by the Government that they intend to introduce interim measures to help struggling borrowers and mortgage holders it must be said that the time for promises is past. Both An Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter have strongly affirmed their dedication to change, yet neither could provide any substantive information as to the form this change might take. Now is a time for action and for concrete legislation to be brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

 This was a key election promise made by both Labour and Fine Gael and now the time has come to make this promise a reality.

I am adding my voice in support of Dairy Farmers across the constituency and country who are struggling to keep their heads over water in light of the reckless pricing of milk and dairy products by supermarkets.

 It is an unacceptable fact that many Dairies are selling milk at prices which are unsustainable for Irish farmers, failing to recognize the increased costs of production. In addition the importation of milk from other countries is threatening the very viability of the domestic milk market.

 I believe these continued price wars are literally driving dairy famers out of business. The IFA have stated this week that milk producers need a minimum annualized price of 38c/l + VAT simply to make a modest wage and cover costs. I am calling on dairies and supermarkets to recognize dairy producers as producers of a specialized, quality, food product and to desist from their reckless pricing practices.

 The continuing deterioration in the Irish situation is highlighted by the fact that last week in the UK, Tesco agreed to pay an additional 1.6 c/l.

I am calling on the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Mr. Richard Bruton, to tackle the huge backlog of applications for redundancy payments that currently exist within his Department.

 Individuals who are made redundant from their positions, where the company cannot pay redundancy, are entitled to apply to the Department to recoup this payment so long as they meet certain prescribed criteria.

 However there is an excessive delay in processing such applications.

I frequently meet with constituents who are waiting months upon months for their redundancy claims to be processed. This causes huge financial strain not to mention stress and anxiety. We are talking about families and individuals who have suffered the upset of losing their jobs and through no fault of their own are now left with absolutely no income.

Due to the huge backlog in the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation it can take up to six months for an application to be processed. During this time the application is faced with mortgages, loan repayments, mounting bills and day to day expenses.

 I believe that urgent steps need to be taken to alleviate this backlog to ease the financial strain caused to families.

I have today called upon Government to increase funding for suicide awareness and prevention services across the country. This follows information received from a number of professional sources highlighting the increased rate of suicide. 

 Earlier this month, the Offaly County Coroner Dr. Brian Mahon, while appearing at an inquest, flagged the urgent need for action to be taken to tackle the growing number of suicides.  This was followed by subsequent reports in the media which stated that the rates of suicide for Old Age Pensioners are on the increase.

 At the time I welcomed the suicide prevention measures set out in Budget 2011 but I believe that a coordinated and consistent emphasis on this topic must be fully resourced.

 The recent Budget provided an additional funding to the Office for Suicide Prevention.  This will assist to enable the Office build on its awareness initiatives and bring momentum and new impetus to its activities.  I also welcome the fact that in order to further the implementation of ‘A Vision for Change’, the exemption from the moratorium on recruitment was lifted to allow 100 psychiatric posts to be filled by nurses or therapists. 

 Every community has had to face the terrible blow that is a suicide. Everyone either directly or indirectly has experienced the sense of loss, pain and anguish following an untimely death. The prevalence of suicide is a major concern for our society.

 For this reason I am seeking to ensure funding for suicide prevention remains in the forefront of the incoming Government policy. It is essential that they respect the proposals and plans set out in ‘A Vision for Change’. This report has, in practice, made a huge number of improvements to psychiatric care across the county. It is my intention to continue to put pressure on the Government in order to ensure that this most important issue remains on the agenda.