Minister Canney welcomes new Ireland for Finance Strategy to support jobs, innovation and regional growth
Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has welcomed Government approval of the new Ireland for Finance Strategy 2026-2030, which sets out a roadmap for the continued growth of Ireland’s international financial services sector over the next five years.
The strategy aims to strengthen Ireland’s position as a trusted international financial services centre while supporting innovation, attracting investment, developing skills and creating high-quality jobs across the country.
A key commitment in the Programme for Government is to support the creation of 9,000 new international financial services jobs by 2030, with a strong emphasis on growing regional financial services centres alongside continued investment in Ireland’s financial technology sector.
Welcoming the strategy, Minister Canney said: “This strategy sets out a clear plan to ensure Ireland remains one of the world’s leading locations for international financial services while adapting to a rapidly changing global environment.
“It is focused not only on creating more high-quality jobs, but also on supporting innovation, embracing new technologies such as digital assets and tokenisation, developing the skills our workforce will need and ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared across the country.
“I particularly welcome the continued commitment to developing regional financial services centres. Creating opportunities outside Dublin is important for regional development and will help ensure more communities benefit from future investment and employment.”
The strategy is built around four core ambitions:
- strengthening Ireland’s reputation as a trusted and stable location for international financial services;
- building greater scale and expertise to support growth across Ireland and the EU;
- using technology to drive digital transformation and innovation; and
- strengthening links between the international financial services sector, Irish businesses and citizens.
The strategy contains 31 actions to improve Ireland’s competitiveness and will be measured through a new framework of 36 key performance indicators, moving beyond jobs alone to measure wider progress across the sector.
Recognising the growing impact of digitalisation and artificial intelligence, the strategy includes measures to support workforce upskilling, innovation and the continued development of Ireland’s fintech ecosystem.
The strategy also includes reforms to improve how it is delivered, including new governance structures, a Policy Delivery Forum, a Digital Assets Industry Group and an annual State of the Sector report to monitor progress.