Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on Ireland's bid for the European Banking Authority. We also had a very good discussion last week in Dáil Éireann.

Ministers from the 27 EU member states decided last week where to locate the European Banking Authority, EBA, and the European Medicines Agency, EMA, when both agencies leave the UK. This was a real and visible example of how the EU is moving on in light of the UK voters' decision. Both processes were hotly contested with eight countries in the running for the European Banking Authority and 19 for the European Medicines Agency. The decision on both counts came down to the drawing of lots and in the end, Paris was confirmed as the new host of the EBA and Amsterdam as the host for the EMA.

Ireland had submitted two credible bids to host either the European Medicines Agency or the European Banking Authority. The Irish bids were seen by other member states and the EU Commission as strong due to the size of our pharmaceutical and financial services sectors, the large number of global companies based here from those sectors and also the significant number of skilled workers with relevant experience in both sectors. Connectivity to other parts of the Union was also noted as being good in the case of the Irish bids. In addition, Ireland was seen as one of the locations that would be least disruptive to the important work of the two agencies and to their staff and families as they relocated. As the process advanced we decided to concentrate our efforts on the EBA campaign. This allowed us to allocate our resources to one bid. Like a number of other member states, we formally withdrew our candidacy for the European Medicines Agency shortly before the bidding process closed.

The bids for both agencies involved intensive work by the Government to showcase Ireland as a modern, developed economy that is outward looking and has the proven ability to host large modern entities. The bid documents detailed Ireland's rich historical and cultural roots as well as the cultural diversity of modern Ireland. The European Commission's analysis of both of our bids was strong and this was also recognised by our European partners during political and official engagement to seek support.

The process of building support for our European Banking Authority bid involved engagement with other member states. This involved a number of ministerial visits to capitals, including my own visits to nine member states over a two-week period in late September. Our bid was also promoted through engagement by Ministers and officials from the Department of Finance and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the margins of meetings held in Europe and elsewhere. Contact was also made through our embassy network as well as with the relevant foreign embassies in Dublin. Indeed, our embassy network proved to be invaluable to us in our efforts.

As a result of all of these engagements, it was widely held that Ireland had a strong, well thought-out and professionally presented bid and was a credible and strong candidate to host the European Banking Authority. Ireland received strong support in the first and second rounds of the contest and secured the support of 12 other member states from right across the Union. This strong support for our bid remained, despite the fact that two larger member states, France and Germany, were also in the final stages. Our support came from founding member states, the Nordic and Baltic member states, new member states from the east and from member states in the Mediterranean region.

The European Banking Authority plays a vital role in the European system of financial supervision and it is essential that its work, which helps to protect consumers and contributes to the Union's financial stability, continues during the transition. What is most important now is that there is a smooth transition and successful relocation for the authority.

In all of our engagements throughout the bidding process it was clear that we are seen as a good neighbour by our European colleagues and we are seen by many of the newer member states as a country that they can learn from. I believe it is important for us to recognise the efforts made at a political level and by officials from the relevant Departments involved in the two bids. This was a highly-competitive process and to get to the final round was a major achievement. To have it be decided by the drawing of lots makes the outcome even more disappointing.

However, while disappointing, Ireland obtained support from across the Union and across regional blocks. That was due to the professionalism we showed in preparing our bids, the strong message which we had, and the way that we went about building support for our case. During that process it was clear that Ireland is held in high regard by our fellow member states and I believe this will stand to us in the future. It is important for us to remember that despite the disappointment of losing out, we have proven that even as a small member state we can mobilise our resources in Departments and overseas missions to convert that positive view of Ireland into tangible support when we need to. As such, the job at hand now is to build on this momentum and I believe we will.