Lisa silences Dragons with brave decision

Award-winning Mullingar businesswoman Lisa O"Connell waded into one of the most testing atmospheres of her business career when she signed up for RTÉ"s Dragon"s Den, and in the episode, aired last week, she made a surprising decision.Lisa, Managing Director of the Forus Training Centre on Castle Street, Mullingar, brought Cleanpass - a training scheme for those working in hospitals - before the Dragons, and turned down a €130,000 investment from businessman Sean Gallagher.The first person to spurn an investment from a Dragon, Lisa - who won an award for her work at Forus at last year"s Mullingar Chamber of Commerce Business Awards - showed her mettle with a brave and risky decision, given these frugal times, when money is hard to come by.But she defended her decision to reject the €130,000 investment for thirty percent of Cleanpass, saying that she had compelling reasons to do so.The reasons, she submits, refer to 'matters of life and death in our health services' - holding the Cleanpass service above merely financial considerations.Cleanpass is the brainchild of Lisa, Ann Byrne and Dr. Maeve Harbourne.The combination of their practical healthcare skills, knowledge of education and scientific background has resulted in a breakthrough for healthcare training.Similar the Safe Pass concept (that applies to the building industry), Cleanpass is specialised for anyone working in a healthcare support role. It is this Nationally recognised accreditation and training records database that puts Cleanpass training in a class above all others. It has a unique ID card (similar to the Safe Pass Card) and also has FETAC Level 3 Certification as well as a full online backup system.Cleanpass has been training workers in Ireland"s healthcare facilities since early 2008.Describing Cleanpass as a 'noble cause', Lisa said that she wanted the Dragons to buy into her business for reasons other than simply adding to their wealth.