Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, to the House. The decision came down to the split vote of 13-13 and the drawing of lots. We are disappointed at the outcome. However, it shows the strength of the case put forward by Ireland that even Frankfurt, vying to be one of the financial centres of Europe, did not make it to the final round with ourselves and Paris. No doubt the French Government is delighted because of course it adds to its efforts to make Paris the new financial centre of Europe. We have to commend the diplomats and the officials who worked on this issue. While the authority does not have a huge number of staff it does assist in enticing other banks to Dublin.One issue that came up in the Seanad discussions and debates on Brexit was that the Central Bank no longer goes out and sells Ireland as a location. It came as some surprise to us that it was unaware as to whether other European central banks were selling their particular capitals or countries as locations for financial institutions that would be leaving London and going to the eurozone or the European Union. I know it is a side matter but it is important. There is a problem as after a crisis, there is a tendency over-regulate. People said central banks should not be a policeman and salesman at the same time so they split the function and they would not allow the Central Bank to be a salesman any more. The other central banks are doing it and we need to follow suit.

There was support for the bid in the form of €13.5 million in rental support and €1 million for staff relocation, which was part of the package put forward by the Government. It sounds like an enormous sum but I am sure it could have been recouped if we managed to secure those bodies, as other businesses would have been attracted and located around them. We are now in a highly competitive world and when it came to the drawing of lots, unfortunately it was in the lap of the gods. Other matters came into play with regard to child care and taxation considerations for high earners, as well as the issue of accommodation. There are other agencies and EU functions we hope to be able to attract, as well as other businesses. The fact we came so close with this one demonstrates we are making a competitive case with Dublin and Ireland as a location for much of the business that will fall out of Britain as a result of Brexit.