Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Ministers. My question also relates to Brexit. From his wisdom and experience, what does the Minister see as the potential impact of Brexit on foreign direct investment in this country? The programme for Government has clear targets for job creation over the lifetime of the Government’s mandate. If the UK tax position becomes more competitive, particularly regarding financial services and the lowering of VAT rates or even corporation tax rates, does the Minister have a sense of the potential impact that will have on job creation in this country, as well as the ability to attract foreign direct investment?

While there might be an early boost of foreign direct investment into Ireland, the UK still remains the largest attractor of foreign direct investment in Europe. In the context of the financial services sector, there is a concern that Ireland may not be sufficiently diversified in access to markets and exports of financial services. Is there an over-reliance on exports of financial services to the UK? Has there been a significant diversification of exports to the Asian and North American markets?

The Minister stated that there are still 85,998 mortgage accounts in arrears. While this represents an 18% decline, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to examine further measures to support borrowers. Have any of those measures been advanced at this juncture?