Government to look at future of financial services sector

A public consultation process has been launched on the future strategy of the Ireland’s international financial services sector.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Simon Harris, who has been given responsibility for the review, said there is a need to enhance the sector in line with the country's recovering economy.

The new strategy will be advised through the consultation process with contributions from stakeholders and members of the public.

They will be asked for their views in several areas including Ireland’s international reputation, various tax regimes, the availability of language skills, infrastructure and costs.

It will also focus on the opportunities and risks of Ireland’s role as an international financial services centre and global competition in the development of the tech industry.

"Ireland has a vibrant and competitive international financial services sector," Mr Harris said.

“It has grown and evolved significantly over the past three decades to become a major component of our economy in terms of employment, exports and tax revenues. As stability returns to our economy we must now focus on enhancing this sector’s continuing contribution to sustainable growth and job creation.”

The deadline for submissions is December 15th with specific questionnaires available on both the Department of Finance and Enterprise websites as well as through www.surveymonkey.com.