Mary White (Fianna Fail)

He was supported by his Minister for Finance, Ray MacSharry, and my husband, Pádraig White, who, at the time, was chief executive of the IDA, which had to market the IFSC around the world.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Minister of State that there is a multitude of reasons why leading global financial institutions have been attracted to Ireland but the most notable are the attractiveness of the fiscal and regulatory environment and the availability of highly skilled and educated workers. It is a duty of Government to maintain such attractiveness for the reward is substantial. Ireland has a thriving financial services sector, which employs 51,000 people and contributes at least €700 million to the Exchequer annually. I commend IDA Ireland and the Government on seeking to boost Ireland's attractiveness as a leading location for financial services.

Maintaining a competitive edge requires continued review and reform because the global market continues to evolve and dwelling on past successes is not an option. One must innovate almost on a daily basis to keep ahead of the competition based on my experience in business. The Government must continue to be innovative to ensure continued progress and the legislation has been introduced with this in mind. The Minister of State outlined the importance of the funds industry and its growth over the past 15 years. He also detailed the legislative change that has occurred pertaining to funds vehicles. The Bill is being introduced with innovation in mind. As the Minister of State said, it seeks to provide the greatest flexibility to the funds industry while maintaining appropriate controls. The legislation will, therefore, make a number of important changes to existing law and it proposes a number of other changes to general company law.

I commend the Minister of State because the Bill amends the Companies Acts in anticipation of the transposition of two EU directives, most notably on market abuse. Anticipative legislation is much more preferable to responsive legislation. While the Bill is legalistic and complex, it is necessary and innovative, and I commend the Minister of State and his departmental officials. Given his professional background, it is within his capacity to do this.

As the Minister of State pointed out, recent successes give no assurance for the future. Financial services is one of the most innovative and rapidly evolving sectors and the funds industry operates in a highly competitive environment. I congratulate IDA Ireland, the Government and the Minister of State for their commitment in supporting this industry.