Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals

7:15 pm

Mr. Pat Lardner:

We did not lobby at all this year. When the question of the IREF came up, we did not want to see anything that would discourage managers and providers of investment product investing anywhere in the world that was starting to see taxation or inappropriate leakage of return to investors. We made representations. They were made to ensure that the funds industry would not be damaged. Well over 90% of all assets in Irish domiciled funds have nothing to do with investment in this country. We are not making a virtue of that in itself, but it speaks to the whole point of what the cross-border funds industry is, which is to connect global investment managers with a range of global investors who want to deploy capital globally. Some of that money may find its way to Ireland. Well in excess of 90% of the assets of Irish domiciled funds that are sold on a cross-border basis invest globally. I am sorry that I cannot be more specific.