Racism threat to economy - O'Brien

A rising undercurrent of racism and the decline of the family pose big threats to the future of the economy, according to entrepreneur Denis O'Brien.

The businessman also identified the rise of Sinn Féin and increasing business costs as significant threats.

"Given the economic policies of Sinn Féin, the prospect of them coming to power is a frightening vista for me," he said.

"Another threat is the rising costs of doing business, while the rising cost of regulations imposed on business by a multiplicity of agencies is becoming a nightmare," said Mr O'Brien, who is chairman and principal shareholder of Jamaica-based mobile company Digicel.

Mr O'Brien said the climate for creating entrepreneurs had dramatically improved since the 1980s when he set up Esat in competition to Eircom.

"If we wind the clock back to the 1950s, 60s and 70s, most mothers would have wanted their children to be priests, nuns or civil servants, so great was the fear of failure. Although there are things we yearn for about old Ireland, the fear of failure is not one of them," he said.

He also said that Ireland's agricultural heritage had been positive in generating entrepreneurship in Ireland compared to the United Kingdom.

"We were all born closer to the land. A farmer who has bought or sold a cow is already someone who has walked and talked the universal language of commerce. Entrepreneurship is a state of mind that comes back to what you pick up early in life sitting around the family dinner table."

Mr O'Brien said that the role of the State and public sector management were issues that needed to be addressed

"We need to privatise airports and the Government should get out of electricity generation," said Mr O'Brien.

"We might ask: would we still have the present problems in the health service if the nuns were in charge?"

When asked about social partnership, he said it had stood the Republic in good stead and should be continued. Mr O'Brien was addressing the 2005 annual conference of the MBA Association of Ireland.