Professor Philip Lane:

Without knowing the details of exactly what happened in Ireland, it is part of the broader global debate about corporations trying to decide where it makes sense to put their activities. There have been repeated debates regarding, for example, the base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, process with a greater focus on offshore centres and on having visibility regarding the organisation of global corporations. The Central Bank sees, in the context of the IFSC, that there has been an increase in financial activity in Ireland because there has been a migration in various sectors away from offshore centres towards high-level financial sectors like Ireland. That is one global trend, although I am not sure if it corresponds exactly with the 2015 event here. Essentially, that is one element. A second element is the rise in the world of the value of intangible assets. We know that brand value, the value of intellectual property in the world of the Internet and so on are more important for an increasing number of corporations than machines. The nature of corporations has moved in a way that puts a greater premium on these intangibles compared to physical assets.