Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

I concur with the views of my colleagues, Deputies Terence Flanagan and Paul J. Connaughton. I refer to the battle to attract foreign direct investment. The template for attracting foreign direct investment which this country has used in the past has proved very successful. I refer to statistical information on Ireland's share of foreign direct investment and our share of global income which shows that the country attracts two and a half to three times more investment than our size suggests. We are doing exceptionally well in attracting this investment. It is hoped this Bill will provide the support that is required in this regard. There continues to be a great need to diversify the number of trading partners we have as quickly as possible, as well as the number of investment sources. That is why I welcome the trade delegation the Taoiseach led to China, which included the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney. We should quickly build up our trading relationships with that region. The willingness of companies there to invest in Ireland is of gigantic importance.

Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation have done much work to attract investment from the digital gaming and video games sector. That industrial sector is already bigger than the music industry internationally and will soon overtake the film industry. The jobs action plan recently published by the Government contains a section of action steps to be taken on that sector. I wish to flag the need for us to deliver on those action steps. It was recently reported that the company producing the Angry Birds online video game, which is an extraordinarily successful product globally, is considering shifting its European headquarters to Dublin. If that were to happen, it would be very beneficial for the signals regarding that sector in Ireland. However, we must also deliver upon the steps we have taken to support our indigenous companies in the same sector. The publication of the next quarterly update on our jobs action plan will be important in that regard.

I will end on a point that I know is close to the heart of the Acting Chairman, Deputy Mathews. It concerns the accountability of those who implement accounting practices and oversee accountancy codes. To our cost both here and globally, we have seen that companies which were meant to be overseeing the accuracy and veracity of statements of banks and other companies have let us down. Apart from one incident when a company that was involved in an American firm went bankrupt, I am still at a loss to understand what steps we have taken to improve the accountability of companies within Ireland who are responsible for signing off on accounts and ensuring they represent true and realistic estimates of what is happening within a company. While that is a theme for another day, I cannot let a Bill that refers to accounting come before the House without referring to that issue.

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