Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

I have had no direct contact with the IFSC Clearing House Group recently. My last direct contact was a brief meeting when the strategy for the international financial services industry was launched in July 2011. That group is chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, as has been the case since its inception in 1987.

The Clearing House Group last met on Thursday, 7 March 2013. The main agenda item was job creation and specifically the further potential for the international financial services sector to contribute to job creation and to address the challenges of unemployment. Several areas of potential were identified in this regard and these will be examined further in subsequent meetings of the Clearing House Group.

This afternoon along with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I was delighted to announce the creation of 112 high quality jobs in Dublin by Zurich Financial Services. We are not yet past quarter 1 of 2013 and already we have seen several highly significant foreign direct investments from companies including Quantcast, Facebook, eBay and Sanofi. During my visit to the USA last week I was pleased to announce further investment by McAfee and Yahoo, creating more than 250 jobs.

As I have referenced in previous responses on this issue, my Department has supported the international financial services industry in Ireland since the establishment of the IFSC in 1987 by providing a forum for the exchange of views and the co-ordination of effort through the mechanism of the IFSC Clearing House Group and its related working groups. During this period the IFSC has grown to employ 33,000 people and to contribute over €1 billion annually through corporation tax and payroll taxes.

The primary focus of the group is on identifying and considering issues of importance to the long-term development of the international financial services industry in Ireland in line with the programme for Government. The programme states the Government "fully supports the future development of the IFSC as a source of future employment growth, subject to appropriate regulation" and commits to the development of the financial services sector to maximise employment opportunities. In line with the Government's focus on increasing the transparency and openness of government and a commitment I gave to the Dáil on 13 November 2012, a number of measures have recently been taken with regard to the IFSC Clearing House Group to improve transparency and accountability in its work. The minutes of meetings of the clearing house group which have taken place since my election as Taoiseach to the end of November 2012 have been published on my Department's website and merrionstreet.ie. The minutes of the group's meeting on 17 January 2013 will be published next month and the minutes of all future meetings will be published online three months after the date of each meeting. A report on the work of the group during this period was also published on the websites. The Secretary General of my Department and chair of the group has written to the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform offering to brief the committee on the work of the group. I understand the committee will hold a hearing shortly.

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