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 firms, 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, jointly launched this morning by Minister for Finance Simon Harris and Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Financial Services Robert Troy, comes ahead 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, while legislation will be reviewed to support areas including tokenised investment funds.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 Government wanted “to build on the sector’s strong employment growth over the past decade, while ensuring Ireland remains competitive, trusted and well positioned to attract further investment and high-value jobs”.Minister Troy said the new strategy was “about building on Ireland’s success in international financial services and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by transformation and new technology, while maintaining a robust and proportionate regulatory framework”.