Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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489. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the supports available to the aviation leasing industry; the drawdown of these supports and the number employed in this sector. [36902/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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All of the financial (capital, employment, R&D and training) and non-financial supports used by IDA Ireland to attract and develop various sectors are also available to the aviation leasing industry subject to compliance with relevant eligibility criterion and EU State Aid requirements.

Over the last forty years or so, the State has introduced several measures that have supported the attraction and development of an aircraft leasing sector. This includes, inter alia, ratification of the Cape Town Convention, which provides a legal framework for international mobile assets, the 12.5% corporate tax rate, the creation of an extensive Double Taxation Treaty network and the introduction of securitisation legislation (Section 110). These in combination with Ireland’s long history in aircraft leasing dating back to the establishment of GPA in the 1970s and the promotion and marketing of Ireland as a leasing location has resulted in more than 50 global lessors employing more than 1000 staff establishing operations in this jurisdiction. The international lessors operating in Ireland now include globally recognised companies such as: ORIX, AWAS, Airbus, GECAS, Sumitomo Mitsui, ILFC and Avolon. Since many of these companies have located in Dublin to source specialised staff and to be close to the international connectivity afforded by Dublin airport (most of the customers of these firms are based overseas), very few of the aircraft leasing firms qualify for grant support from IDA and instead tend to use fiscal and non-grant incentives.

While leasing doesn’t have the public profile or job numbers associated with our ICT or Life Sciences industries, the competence, global reach and achievements of the leasing companies based here have helped Ireland acquire an international reputation as a centre of excellence in this specialised area. When airlines and their financiers anywhere in the world think about aircraft leasing, they think about Ireland. This is a significant achievement for a small economy and testament to the vision, hard work and expertise of the leasing community.