The Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions, and Insurance Dr Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD launched the first Action Plan from the updated Ireland for Finance strategy following Cabinet approval.
The 2023 Action Plan under the Update to the Ireland for Finance strategy sets out the key measures that the public and private stakeholders will take this year to support the further development of the international financial services sector in Ireland. There are now 56,000 people directly employed in the export of financial services to the EU and other key international markets from Ireland and the industry supports a large cohort of professional service providers. Following the update to the strategy in 2022, the new Action Plan is focused on 12 key deliverables over the remainder of the year:
1. Revise and update Sustainable Finance Roadmap – International Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence
2. Development of an updated sustainable finance value proposition – IDA Ireland
3. Deepen the work of the cross-government Fintech Steering Group and Joint Fintech Group – Department of Finance
4. Promote and support the digital finance agenda for the industry at home and abroad – IDA Ireland
5. Participation in 2023 international fintech events – Enterprise Ireland
6. Communicate and roll out a new pre-seed funding offer for early stage fintech innovators – Enterprise Ireland
7. Export market seminar & peer to peer networking event focusing on International markets for indigenous fintech and financial services firms – Enterprise Ireland
8. Continue to develop educational consumer resources to support consumers to engage with fintech – Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
9. Complete the study by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs on the international financial services sector – Expert Group Future Skills Needs
10. Partner with the IDA and other stakeholders on showcase events in Ireland – Department of Finance.
11. Relaunch the annual European Insurance Forum – Insurance Ireland
12. Review of Central Bank Innovation Hub – Central Bank of Ireland
These measures are in addition to the ongoing work that organisations in the public and industry sectors carry out to make Ireland the location of choice for investors in international financial services.
The commitment to deliver on the strategy is informed by the themes in the updated strategy, namely:
- Sustainable finance
- Fintech and digital finance
- Diversity and talent
- Regionalisation and promotion, and
- Operating environment.
Commenting on the launch, Minister Carroll MacNeill noted, “I am delighted that the Action Plan 2023 under the Update to the Ireland for Finance Strategy has been approved by Government and I am looking forward to continuing the partnership we have with industry to deliver these measures in support of the people that make this a dynamic and growing sector. We have already had a busy start to the year making good progress on initiatives like Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter and reconnecting with investors in key markets overseas. I am also looking forward to future planned engagements as well as connecting with the regional clusters that are a key part of our offering in international financial services.”
