Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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91. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps his Department and other State agencies are taking to ensure that Ireland is a beneficiary of Brexit in the area of financial services; the strategy designed to ensure this is achieved; the resources that have been allocated to this objective; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31352/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Financial services is an area that is frequently identified in any discussion of Brexit. Ireland has a successful track record of competing for, and winning, global foreign direct investment. One of the key pillars of that success is the growth of the International Financial Services (IFS) sector, in particular over the past 30 years. Ireland is now recognised internationally as a leading global centre for internationally traded financial services.  The appointment of Minister of State for Financial Services, Eoghan Murphy TD, is a clear signal that international financial services play a vitally important role in the Irish economy.  In March 2015, the Government launched the lFS2020 Strategy, a whole-of-government approach to driving the growth and development of the IFS sector in Ireland.  Following an action plan for 2016, a new action plan for 2017 is being developed in consultation with all key stakeholders which will take on board ongoing developments, both domestically and internationally.

Ireland is in a strong position to build on its successful track record and to compete for future mobile investments in the IFS sector.  In a post UK EU referendum environment, the Government will continue to implement the IFS2020 Strategy to drive growth in the IFS sector.  The Government will continue to promote the attractiveness of Ireland as a location of choice for mobile international investment and for talented people.  There will be opportunities for Ireland arising from the UK's decision to leave the EU. We will of course seek to take those opportunities.  The IFS2020 Strategy, which has been in place long before the UK decision to leave the EU, provides a clear roadmap to maximise any opportunities that might arise.

A key IFS2020 milestone is the hosting of the second annual European Financial Forum in Dublin Castle on 24th January 2017. Given the result of the UK referendum and the potential implications for the financial services industry in that country, the Forum is an opportune time to bring more than 600 financial services executives and policy makers from around the world to Dublin.  The themes of EFF 2017 will focus on the challenges and opportunities for the European financial system as both a source and a provider of capital.  The keynotes and panel sessions will have a focus on Europe relative to the North American and Asian financial systems. 

Over the last two months, Minister of State Murphy has undertaken two significant visits to Asia and North America. The main purpose of these visits was to promote Ireland as a destination for financial services investment and to launch the IFS Ireland brand in the Asian and North American markets.  Minister of State Murphy will continue to promote Ireland overseas as the perfect European location for financial services investment as the IFS 2020 strategy moves into 2017, including during upcoming visits to the UK in November, and Beijing and Hong Kong in January 2017.

Finally, Budget 2017 is the latest step to make Ireland "Brexit ready". The measures announced in Budget 2017 help protect Irish businesses from Brexit volatility, enable them to compete internationally, and make Ireland increasingly attractive for investment. Specifically in relation to the area of financial services, Budget 2017 included a number of measures to respond to the challenges of Brexit, to mitigate future risks, and to maximise any opportunities that might arise. These include the reduced capital gains tax to help entrepreneurs, the Foreign Earnings Deduction (FED) extension and amendment, and the extension of the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP). More information on these measures is available in the Budget documentation.

In addition, Budget 2017 also provides for additional staffing for the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Enterprise Agencies to help them address the challenges and opportunities arising from Brexit. This will help support the enterprise agencies achieve their growth targets across all sectors of the economy, including the IFS2020 target to create 10,000 net new IFS jobs.