REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PERMANENT TSB ETHNIC ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARDS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE PERMANENT TSB ETHNIC ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARDS TUESDAY, 6TH FEB
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá gliondar orm bheith anseo libh inniu ag an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas as an cuireadh agus an fáilte.
Good evening and thank you for both the welcome and the invitation that allows me to celebrate with you the very first business award event focussed on Ireland’s growing ethnic communities. I am very grateful to Denis Casey for inviting me to this showcase of the entrepreneurial talent of those who have made Ireland their home.
And it is an impressive showcase, one which places our new minority communities in the public limelight and sets in front of us the significant and wide-ranging contribution which these communities are now making to Irish life. It is an important part of modern Ireland’s story and one that Ireland needs to hear.
Not surprisingly, the idea for the award came from Chinedu Onyejelem whose advocacy against racism and for tolerant multiculturalism is well known, and who is also the resourceful driving force behind Metro Éireann, Ireland’s first multicultural newspaper. I want to express my appreciation for Chinedu’s tireless efforts and notable achievements and to also thank all the sponsors whose generous support of this Award made it possible.
Not so long ago Ireland’s biggest export was our people who took emigrant boats and planes in their thousands because their homeland offered little opportunity. In an extraordinary shift of fortunes, the remarkable, contemporary economic success has reversed the tide of emigration, bringing new-found prosperity and prospects. Many Irish emigrants have returned home and newcomers have come to Ireland from countries around the globe attracted by the chance to create better lives for themselves and their families by twinning their talents with Ireland’s opportunities. Ireland has quickly become a country of many races, languages and cultures. The richness of all that diversity, the freshness of the new talent, the imagination and creativity unleashed by the intermingling of such a variety of different aptitudes and abilities are already beginning to reveal themselves. I see it in the schools, in community organisations, in workplaces and it is very reassuring to see the role being played in business and commerce by ethnic entrepreneurs. Today’s Ireland is characterised by a strong, entrepreneurial spirit but, as all those involved in entrepreneurial activities know, growing businesses is not for the faint-hearted. All the more credit, therefore, to our ethnic entrepreneurs who, besides the everyday risks and worries associated with self‑employment, face additional burdens and face them down so successfully. Gaining access to finance and support services, overcoming language barriers, acquiring skills and knowledge of the local business and regulatory environment, and unfortunately, from time to time, having to defeat prejudice can all be additional and difficult hurdles to surmount but the entrepreneurs in this room are proof positive that these are hurdles which can be successfully faced down and overcome.
Your determination and vision have helped not just create your own success but your efforts are helping sustain Ireland’s economic success and develop our country as a comfortable homeland for all its citizens regardless of their origin. You bring jobs and create wealth but, much more than that, your lives tell us much about Ireland’s journey towards becoming a fully social inclusive republic where everyone counts and everyone has the chance to make the best lives possible. So while this award event will select one overall Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year, in reality every single participant is a winner and your success makes winners of all those who live in Ireland. You have all come through an exacting selection process in which the merits, potential and sustainability of your business project entries have been subjected to rigorous assessment by a panel of business experts and educationalists, under highly demanding selection criteria. As ethnic entrepreneurs, your success is all the more significant and meritorious given the challenges you have faced in getting your businesses off the ground – a foreign environment, language barriers, information and communication gaps, poor access to funding, unfamiliarity with our State agency system, etc. You have demonstrated an abundance of determination, a can-do ethic and a formidable will to succeed, characteristics which are hallmarks of success in business and are also essential elements in building strong, safe communities and a strong, safe country.
To each and every one of you, therefore, I offer my heartiest congratulations on being chosen to represent a particular category of the five categories of entrepreneurial performance to which this award event relates. I want you to know that the very real contribution that you are making within the economy of Ireland is respected, recognised and valued. So too are the many benefits in cultural and social enrichment which you bring to Irish society and which will continue to reveal themselves over the decades ahead.
I again congratulate all those involved in making this event happen but, most importantly of all, I want to congratulate each of today’s finalists and to wish you all every success with your business plans in the future. We are delighted that you have come to share your experience with us and hope that your business life will be as enjoyable as it is productive.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.