Written answers

Thursday, 6 July 2017

Department of Finance

Financial Services Sector

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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73. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of each investment that has been announced for Ireland in the financial services area since the Brexit vote in June 2016 involving the transfer of operations from the City of London; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31975/17]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Contingency planning for Brexit has been ongoing at all levels of Government well in advance of the UK EU referendum in June 2016. 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.

In March 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. Implementation of the IFS2020 Strategy and the annual Action Plans is driven by a public sector High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC). The Minister of State for Financial Services chairs quarterly meetings of the IFS2020 Joint Committee, comprising of members of the public sector HLIC and senior IFS industry representatives. Brexit is a standing agenda item at these quarterly meetings. 

The Government is keen to maximise on opportunities that arise from Brexit where possible. The IFS2020 Strategy, the long-term vision for international financial services, was developed and put in place long before the UK decision to leave the EU.  However, it provides a clear framework to maximise any opportunities that might arise from that decision particularly through the annual Action Plans. The annual Action Plans enable a tailored response to deal with these challenges and opportunities as they arise. The IFS2020 Strategy combines long-term strategic thinking with the flexible tools to react to any domestic and international developments occurring over the period. 

In January the IFS2020 Action Plan for 2017 was launched, the Action Plan has two sections, the first is a contextual piece in respect of Brexit, and the second section outlines the 40 specific measures to be actioned under the plan and the lead government departments, agencies or industry bodies who lead on each measure.  

Also in January, the second annual European Financial Forum was held in Dublin Castle. The forum, which was hosted by the then Minister of State Eoghan Murphy TD is designed to showcase Ireland's financial services offering to an international audience and highlight the Government's commitment to the development of international financial services in Ireland. 

The former Minister of State for Financial Services has undertaken a significant number of overseas visits to promote Ireland as a destination for financial services investment and launch the IFS Ireland banner brand.

The IFS2020 strategy is on track to meet and possibly exceed its job target of 10,000 by 2020. The first 2 years of the governments IFS 2020 strategy has seen consecutive years of net job gains consisting of approximately 2,500 net job gains in 2015 and 2,000 in 2016. 

While some companies have chosen their preferred post Brexit location many others have yet to make a final decision on their post Brexit strategy and associated location choice. It is anticipated that many of these companies, particularly the large more complex entities requiring extended regulatory lead times will make their decision in the coming weeks and months.

It is difficult to specify the potential outcome of these companies’ deliberations as all are closely monitoring the ongoing UK-EU Brexit discussions and with view to assessing the impact on their respective operations in the UK and across the EU.

Various state actors including IDA Ireland, the Department of Finance and the Central Bank of Ireland as a regulator are involved in detailed discussions with numerous companies positioning Ireland as their preferred Brexit location

Over a dozen firms have indicated that Ireland is their preferred choice for their post Brexit operations. In respect of relocations not every firm will want to make the relocation decision public for commercial and other reasons. The State continues to engage with a substantial number of other firms who have yet to make their final decision.

We have a very strong offering and we've done extensive work to promote that offering. We are aware that not every decision will go our way. There will be an ebb and flow to this, and the flow to Ireland will be strong from decisions that have already been made in our favour. Despite the many advantages that Ireland can offer firms moving operations from the UK to Ireland because of Brexit other factors could also determine their final relocation choices. 

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