The Government aims to increase employment in the State’s financial services sector to 70,000 by 2030 as part of a new strategy to solidify Ireland’s position as a global hub for the industry.
The sector’s 600 companies, which include big international players like Citibank, JP Morgan, State Street and Fexco, currently employ around 61,000 people.
Employment has almost doubled in the last decade, increasing by 20,000 since 2019, aided in part by Brexit which triggered an influx of business from the City of London.
The Ireland for Finance Strategy, published jointly on Tuesday by Minister for Finance Simon Harris and Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Financial Services, Robert Troy, comes in advance of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre next year.
The strategy contains 31 actions to “cut red tape, boost competitiveness, support innovation and deepen Ireland’s skills base”.
There will also be a “significant focus” on technology and digital transformation, including AI, digital assets and tokenisation. A new digital assets industry group will also be established.
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Ireland is currently the fourth-largest exporter of financial services in the EU and is a major European centre for funds and asset management, aviation finance, insurance, banking and capital markets.
Minister Harris said the financial services sector here was “a major Irish success story … but we cannot take that success for granted. Technology is transforming financial services, competition for investment is intensifying and the global environment is changing rapidly”.
“Ireland has to move with that change and stay in advance of it,” Harris said.
Minister Troy highlighted the success of the IFSC in transforming the industry here.
“Almost 40 years ago, Ireland made a bold choice. We chose to build something new. We chose to compete globally. And we chose to back ourselves,” he said. “The IFSC started with policy ambition at a government level, setting the framework.
The success of the international financial services sector “has been built on strong public-private collaboration through successive strategies and by the countless individuals who promoted Ireland Inc”, he said.
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The new strategy was “about building on Ireland’s success and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by transformation and new technology, while maintaining a robust and proportionate regulatory framework”.
The Government’s revamped strategy will be measured against 36 key performance indicators (KPIs) including the level of assets under management and financial services exports.
Financial Services Ireland (FSI), the Ibec group representing the financial services industry, welcomed the strategy, describing it as an “important blueprint”.
“The strategy comes at a time of significant change for the industry, with intense international competition for investment and rapid technological and regulatory change reshaping financial services globally,” FSI deputy director, Audrey Crummy said.
Aircraft Leasing Ireland chairman, Risteard Sheridan also welcomed the strategy, highlighting the strategic importance of aircraft leasing to the economy.
“Today, the sector supports more than 3,000 high-value jobs and contributes approximately €1 billion annually to the Irish economy, while playing a vital role in connecting global aviation markets,” he said.