Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has discussed at a recent European Council meeting or at any bilateral he attended concerns that Ireland has regarding creeping regulatory arbitrage by other EU countries in trying to win business from the financial services in the City of London; the actions being taken in order to attract jobs from there; and his views on present infrastructure. [15139/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, I would like to state that I have not discussed regulatory arbitrage at any meeting that I have attended and the topic has not been on the agenda of any meeting of EU Finance Ministers.  I also understand from the Department of the Taoiseach that regulatory arbitrage has not been discussed at the European Council, nor has it been on the agenda of any of the Taoiseach's bilaterals with fellow EU leaders.

In his role as Minister of State for Financial Services, my colleague Eoghan Murphy monitors developments as they impact on the international financial services (IFS) sector.  Arising from this role, a range of IFS-related issues were discussed in a meeting with Commission Vice President Dombrovskis, including ensuring that there is consistency across EU Member States in the application of European and Member State regulatory standards for financial services.  Minister of State Murphy raised these issues with the Vice President in the overall context of potential stability risk to the European financial system. I understand that it was also mentioned that there were concerns about an apparent impression about some Member States applying less than full regulations to financial services activities that were considering relocating from London. It has to be clarified that these were concerns rather than "complaints" per se and they echo the sentiments of some other Member States. In fact, the Chairpersons of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) also voiced similar sentiments recently.

In general terms, the Government will continue, through IDA Ireland, to promote the attractiveness of Ireland as a location of choice for financial service firms that are considering moving out of London or those firms not currently based in Europe that are considering a move into the EU after a UK Brexit.  Both Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are in close contact with their clients on the challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents.  We will, for example, continue to implement our clear strategy for driving growth in the financial services sector and we will maximise any opportunities that might arise.

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 Sector, in particular over the past 30 years. The continued successful development of the financial services sector in Ireland is a priority for the Government.

In March of 2015, the Government launched the lFS2020 Strategy, a whole-of-Government approach to further driving the growth and development of the IFS sector in Ireland. The IFS2020 Strategy represents a clear and coherent plan for driving further growth in the IFS sector. The Strategy, led by a specifically appointed Minister of State for Financial Services is supported by all relevant public and private sector stakeholders.

In terms of the vision underpinning the Strategy, we want Ireland to be recognised as a global location of choice for specialised international financial services, building on our strengths in talent, technology, innovation and excellent client service while also focusing on capturing on new opportunities in a changing market and embracing the highest forms of governance.

The IFS2020 Strategy combines long-term strategic thinking with the flexible tools to react to any domestic and international developments occurring over the period, including Brexit. The Strategy, through a series of annual Action Plans over its life, provides a clear framework to maximise any opportunities that might arise from Brexit. The annual Action Plans enable a tailored response to deal with these challenges and opportunities as they arise. The IFS2020 Action Plan for 2017 was developed in close consultation with all IFS stakeholders. It was launched at the European Financial Forum in Dublin Castle January of 2017 by Minister of State Murphy. The 2017 Action Plan places a strong focus on Brexit and it underpins the Action Plan for 2017 while also featuring within the suite of 40 individual measures to be actioned in 2017.

Since the UK EU referendum of last June, Minister of State Murphy has undertaken a significant number of visits overseas to promote Ireland as a destination of choice for financial services investment. Opportunities in the IFS sector in Ireland were also strongly reflected in the key messages from all Government Ministers during the Saint Patrick's Day overseas programme of engagements and these will be followed-up in due course by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.

An IFS2020 Communications sub-group consisting of relevant Government Departments and State Agencies has been established to develop and promote messaging on Ireland as a location for financial services.  This Communications sub-group continues to work both with private and public stakeholders to ensure that there is consistent messaging on Ireland's IFS offering.

In regard to infrastructure capacity, there is a strong pipeline of commercial property solutions coming to the market in Dublin. There is currently about 3.5 million square foot of commercial office stock under construction with about a further 1 million square foot under refurbishment. There is approximately a further 5 million square foot of commercial office space with full planning permission for future developments within the greater Dublin area, along with competitive property solutions coming on stream throughout the regions.

The Government's Housing Strategy aims to boost housing supply by at least 25,000 per annum by 2020.  NAMA has become an active funder of the housing market and plans to build more than 20,000 new homes. The Strategy also includes an investment of €200 million to support the development of large sites and measures to speed up the planning process for larger developments.

We have good air connections with the rest of the world especially Europe and, of course, the very large number of flights to and from London and the wider UK. Specifically, Dublin Airport offers direct flights to almost all of the major North American financial centres in addition to flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Istanbul and (from this year) Doha with extensive onward connections to Asia. Shannon airport offers direct flights year round to Boston and New York (JFK and Newark).

International schooling is available in Ireland. This international schooling includes international Baccalaureate education. One of the measures in the 2017 Action Plan is that relevant Departments and agencies will continue to monitor the provision of international schooling in Ireland.