Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. Much of the content has been covered this evening and during the passage of the Bill through the Dáil. My party will support this legislation.

In the course of the debate in this House and in the Dáil we heard a great deal of praise for a certain industry, with which many people might not be familiar. It is an industry that has a great deal of influence.

In the first instance, I am not aware of any other Bill which has come about as a result of the efforts of a single industry and which has not been mentioned in any real way in the programme for Government and which may be seen to have leapfrogged many other pressing issues. I would muse, "Why this Bill and why now?" Many of the answers lie with the IFSC Clearing House Group. This hugely influential body put the issue on the agenda in this House. In fairness, many community groups would love to hold such influence. However, as the Minister of State stated and as other Senators alluded to this evening, the industry is a major player in Ireland, employing over 10,000 people. We have heard figures in the trillions in terms of how much is being managed by it, making it a significant economic player and one which warrants significant attention.

In some ways, there are facets to the Bill which could be seen as a lightening of regulation. Senator Barrett mentioned some concerns he has in terms of the legislation. To be fair to the Minister of State, I know he has listened to my colleague in the other House, Deputy Pearse Doherty, and addressed some of his concerns. The sustainability of an approach which allows American companies to invest on a "check the box" basis has been questioned. The idea that Ireland could compete with Luxembourg is very risky given it is a micro-state built on finance and this is not particularly suitable for the Irish economy.

I do not intend to labour these points. Many of them have already been dealt with in the other House. I have expressed my concerns and I know the Minister of State has addressed many of them with my colleague, Deputy Doherty. I look forward to the rest of the debate in this House.