Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive,together.

The IFSC Clearing House Group has met on three occasions to date in 2013; 17 January, 7 March and most recently on 16 May 16. These meetings were chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and were attended by a number of officials from relevant Departments, including my own Department. The minutes for all three of these meetings have been published and can be viewed on either the Department's website or on merrionstreet.ie.

The next meeting of the IFSC Clearing House Group is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 24 October. While the agenda for this meeting has not yet been finalised, the focus of the group throughout 2013 has been on job creation and specifically the further potential for the international financial services sector to contribute to job creation and to address challenge of unemployment. This will continue to be the key priority for the group in the future. The strategy for the international financial services industry in Ireland 2011-2016, sets a target of creating 10,000 net new jobs by 2016. These targets are challenging but attainable.

They require a sense of vision, a determination and pace of implementation, a focus on the specific outcomes which are articulated in the strategy and an implementation process which is flexible and attuned to developments in the operating environment, internationally as well as domestically. The IFSC Clearing House Group actively monitors progress on implementation of the strategy, including identifying any unnecessary barriers which might exist to maximising the opportunities to Ireland from the sector in terms of growth and jobs.

At the last meeting of the IFSC Clearing House Group on 16 May, it was agreed to assess the effectiveness of the IFSC Clearing House Group and make recommendations as to how it could be enhanced to progress the achievement of these job targets and maximise opportunities for job creation within the sector. It was agreed that this would be progressed through a focused engagement within a smaller group composed of the Secretaries General of the Department of Finance and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the chief executive officer of the IDA and representatives of three employers from the international financial services industry in Ireland. Two meetings of this group have taken place to date, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department. The first, on 15 July, identified a range of challenges and opportunities facing the international financial sector in Ireland and discussed how best the current arrangements and structures could support the leveraging of potential job opportunities. The second meeting of the group, on 2 September, involved a further discussion of particular areas of opportunity and considered some specific options with regard to the Clearing House Group structure to maximise its effectiveness in driving the jobs agenda, which is recognised by both public and private sector members as a priority currently facing the country. The IFSC Clearing House Group will be updated on the group's progress at its next meeting on 24 October and if there are any subsequent proposals regarding reform of the group's structure, they will be considered by the Government. Briefings on any relevant developments will also be offered to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.

Finally, it is encouraging to report that in terms of the specific job targets, the IDA pipeline has produced more than 90 investments, with over 7,000 associated jobs approved in the international financial services sector since January 2010. The pipeline into the future remains strong. This year has seen a number of jobs announcements across the sector, including in companies such as Northern Trust, Capita, Zurich and Virtu Financial. I am confident that the work currently under way to improve the workings of the Clearing House Group will contribute to further progress in terms of job creation and the development of the international financial services sector, which remains a vital contributor to the Irish economy.

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