Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Financial services is an area where Ireland could see increased foreign direct investment on foot of Brexit. The reasons for that are well documented. Ireland is remaining as a member of the EU and the eurozone and our capital has become internationally recognised as the home of an array of international financial service providers. Ireland's proximity to the UK and the fact that we are an English-speaking common law jurisdiction are other factors that will make us attractive for new FDI. While the Government will do its best to capitalise on whatever new opportunities emerge in financial services, we must remember that there is stiff global competition in the area. We must be realistic about the scale of any new investment and we should not expect tens of thousands of jobs in the short term. It is clear, however, that there are opportunities in this sector. The IDA is already engaging with potential financial services investors and we hope that in time new investments will be secured for the country. As with all other European member states, we have regulatory standards that we need all companies to comply with in this regard. This is managed by our Central Bank. I am confident that the Central Bank's workforce and contingency planning reflects the additional resources needed to deal with any increase in authorisation applications arising as a result of Brexit. When I was in China and Japan on a recent trade mission, I visited a number of banks which expressed interest in exploring relocation to Ireland.