Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In respect of the point raised by Deputy McDonald, I will give some information regarding employment. From 1999 to 2012, the employment levels grew from 8,500 to 33,000. The IDA produced a significant number of investments and more than 3,000 jobs have been approved in the international financial services sector since January 2011.

I do not know that the IFSC Clearing House Group receives individual pre-budget proposals. Clearly, quite a number of firms will send pre-budget proposals to, I would assume, the Department of Finance, which is a matter for them individually, but I do not believe they submit pre-budget submissions to the IFSC Clearing House Group. For example, I meet with the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland a couple of times a year. It co-ordinates its activities in regard to issues it would feel important, such as clarity about the corporation tax rate, which is 12.5% and is not being raised, and other issues as it would foresee opportunities for development of jobs beyond the current position here in Ireland.

Deputy Higgins referred to regulation over the years in different locations around the world. Clearly, greed was an issue as well as the incompetence which led to the collapse of the positions of banks in various locations.

With regard to the green IFSC and green finance, which are now an inherent part of all of this, the report from Ernst & Young noted that the clean and green tech sector has a capacity to create 80,000 jobs by 2020, and this is an important part of the Government's services centre strategy, to which the Deputy referred and which was published. The various types of green climate finance and asset management are a key focus of that. This includes back, middle and front office asset management and builds upon Ireland's existing fund industry, which services more than €2 trillion in assets and supports 12,000 jobs directly. The green IFSC is a strategy and a context, building the public private partnerships of the IFSC Clearing House Group.

It reports to the clearing house group itself. The activities of green IFSC are led by a steering group comprising the Government, enterprise agencies, the Department of the Taoiseach and leading financial institutions and professionals. That is on the basis of the potential for 80,000 jobs.

The fact that we look continuously for new areas of opportunity within the financial services industry is important. Areas being explored at the moment are financial services technology, intellectual property, e-finance and electronic trading, debt capture and predictive analytics, risk management, service innovation, collaborative research development and innovation, pensions and green finance. They all complement existing opportunities being pursued by the IDA with the IFSC.

Clearly, this is an important and potentially expanding area of financial services with great possibilities for future employment. The fact that the minutes are published means there is no secrecy about it, because the issues are there for people to tease out. I will check whether individual pre-budget submissions were made by the IFSC. To my knowledge, that is not the case, but I understand that many individual firms may make submissions to the Department of Finance in the context of the preparation of the budget and the Finance Bill.

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