Difficulty in attracting skilled labour is a key challenge facing Irish entrepreneurs, according to the latest EY Entrepreneur of the Year survey.

Almost one third of 416 entrepreneurs surveyed by EY cited a shortage of experienced talent as their number one challenge.

While 87 per cent of respondents said they felt positive about the current economic environment, 64 per cent believed there was not sufficient support in place for those whose businesses are struggling or have failed. This compares with a figure of 37 per cent last year.

Of those surveyed, 46 per cent said they had had a business fail in the course of their career.

Kevin McLoughlin, partner lead of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year programme, said difficulties with recruitment were directly contributing to the issue of scaling, which was cited by 22 per cent of entrepreneurs as their key challenge.

“Irish entrepreneurs are struggling to compete with large multinationals that can offer higher salaries and fringe benefits in the race for top talent. Interestingly, only 6 per cent rank graduate recruitment as their biggest challenge, favouring a more skilled workforce,” he said.