Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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215. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on the State's bid to host the European Banking Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38661/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Due to the decision of the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, two European Agencies currently located in London, the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), will have to relocate. 

Member States interested in hosting one or both of the Agencies were required to submit a formal offer to the European Commission and Ireland’s formal offer to host the EBA in Dublin was submitted to the Commission by the Department of Finance on 31 July 2017.

The European Council has received 8 offers from Member States to host the EBA. All offers are available on the website of the European Council.  Alongside Ireland’s bid, offers to relocate the EBA to Frankfurt, Paris, Prague, Warsaw, Vienna, Brussels or Luxembourg were submitted.

The Irish offer document outlines how Dublin meets the objective criteria that have been set out by the European Council and Commission, and highlights how a relocation to Dublin would result in the least amount of disruption for both the Authority and its staff.  

The document outlines that as an integral part of the European System of Financial Supervision, it is essential that the Authority can continue its critical work with minimal disturbance during the transition to a new location. The retention of specialised staff is also vital for the continuity of the EBA’s work to ensure effective and consistent prudential regulation and supervision across the European banking sector.

Ireland meets all the criteria as outlined by the European Council to host the EBA, and given the economic and strategic benefits for Ireland, the proposal includes incentives to support the relocation of the EBA and the establishment of a Relocation Group to facilitate the move to Dublin.

Ireland’s bid document also highlights suitable commercial properties in Dublin which can cater to the EBA’S requirements and timeline. These properties have been identified with the help of the IDA Property Team and are located close to or within the city centre.  

The European Commission will assess all of the formal offers by 30 September 2017, and submit its assessment of them to the Secretary-General of the Council for distribution to the Member States. 

Since the Government’s public declaration in hosting the EBA we have been actively promoting Ireland as the location of choice for the EBA and engaging with relevant stakeholders. 

Minister of State D’Arcy and myself will continue to promote Ireland’s EBA offer in upcoming meetings and engagements with our EU counterparts and other relevant stakeholders.

Officials in my Department are maintaining contact with our Embassies and Missions abroad who are also promoting our bids among relevant contacts in EU capitals. In addition they are also engaging with their counterparts in other finance ministries to put forward Ireland's case to host the EBA.

A final decision on the new location of the Agencies will take place by a voting process on 20 November in the margins of the General Affairs Council (GAC) (Art. 50).