Ireland seeks Hedge Funds

Nat O'Connor23/12/2009

Nat O'Connor: A article in the Financial Times states that the Government is seeking to attract hedge funds to Ireland.

Dublin to open door for hedge funds (19 December 2009): "The Irish government has passed legislation to make it easier for hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens to move to Dublin."

The new legislation reportedly "cuts red tape to a minimum" in terms of moving companies to Ireland.

The Minister for Finance is quoted as saying that the finance bill early next year to will "strengthen Ireland's competitive edge in this important sector".

Howver, the FT states that many investors are looking for hedge funds to be more tightly regulated. Billy Kelleher, Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, is quoted as saying that "Funds are looking for stronger oversight, and better regulation, and we believe Ireland has that in spades."

Patrick Honohan, Governor of the Central Bank in a speech (1 Dec 2009) has written that "I will certainly not allow Ireland to become a soft option for firms or activities that are no longer welcome elsewhere."

However, Honohan concludes "the primary onus for sound operation must fall on the directors and management of the banks themselves. They must renew and reform their business models and culture to ensure that a recurrence of such a collapse becomes unthinkable. As has been suggested by one former regulator abroad, a watchword for supervisors in the new era must be: trust less, verify more."

How is this different from what has gone before? Is Irish banking regulation really tightening up? And can it be tight enough (and expert enough) to regulate an influx of hedge funds?

Posted in: EconomicsFiscal policy

Tagged with: hedge fundsregulation

Dr Nat O'Connor     @natpolicy

Nat O'Connor

Nat O’Connor is a member of the Institute for Research in Social Sciences (IRiSS) and a Lecturer of Public Policy and Public Management in the School of Criminology, Politics and Social Policy at Ulster University.

Previously Director of TASC, Nat also led the research team in Dublin’s Homeless Agency.

Nat holds a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin (2008) and an MA in Political Science and Social Policy form the University of Dundee (1998). Nat’s primary research interest is in how research-informed public policy can achieve social justice and human wellbeing. Nat’s work has focused on economic inequality, housing and homelessness, democratic accountability and public policy analysis. His PhD focused on public access to information as part of democratic policy making.


Share:



Comments

Newsletter Sign Up  

Categories

Contributors

Jim Stewart

Dr Jim Stewart is Adjunct Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin. His research …

Vic Duggan

Vic Duggan is an independent consultant, economist and public policy specialist catering …

Robert Sweeney

Robert Sweeney is a policy analyst at TASC and focuses on issues surrounding Irish …



Podcasts