Government looks to Dragon for innovative entrepreneurship

RTE Dragon: Sean O'Sullivan

Business man and Dragon's Den star, Sean O'Sullivan will head up a new Government entrepreneurship forum. 

The announcement was made today by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton. The Minister said he has asked O'Sullivan to provide recommendations on how to stimulate greater levels of start-up business in Ireland.

It's understood the new forum plans to meet regularly over the coming months before preparing a policy statement for the Government based on entrepreneurship. 

The policy statement will contain discreet actions for inclusion in the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs. 

 Initial membership of the forum will be supplemented at different meetings with representatives and experts from different areas of the economy that can help the ongoing work of the group.

Speaking about the creation of the forum, Mr O'Sullivan said: “There is a clear and urgent need for the people of Ireland to make more jobs. This may seem impossible, like some kind of fantasy, that jobs can be created out of thin air. But that’s what entrepreneurship is."

"Creating opportunity and economy out of courageous people, discovering and creating market needs and filling them. If not us, who? If not now, when?" added the Dragon investor.

Minister Bruton said that 67 per cent of all new job-creation came from businesses in the first five years of existence. He added that supporting entrepreneurship and start-up activity was a central part of the Government's action plan for jobs.

"Since taking office we have introduced a range of changes to support greater activity in this area, including a microfinance scheme and credit guarantee scheme to provide better access to finance. We have also established a network of 'first-stop' shops in every county to make it easier for businesses to access supports," Minister Bruton said.
Members of the Forum include:

• Sean O’Sullivan, entrepreneur and investor (Chair)
• Joe Cunningham, serial telecoms/software entrepreneur, inventor of the SMS message
• Noelle O’Connor, entrepreneur behind TanOrganic
• Tom Keogh, entrepreneur behind Keogh’s Crisps
• Ray Nolan, serial software entrepreneur, including Worky.com
• Daniel Ramamoorthy, representing local and international entrepreneur networks
• Tom Cooney, Professor of Entrepreneurship at DIT
• Representatives of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation and Enterprise Ireland

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