A new study shows that the IFSC sector accounts for about 7.4% of the country's gross domestic product and represents almost 5% of EU cross-border financial services.
The study for Financial Services Ireland - the IBEC group which represents financial services firms - was conducted by consultants Accenture.
It finds that the international financial services sector employs 32,700 people in over 500 firms with a payroll of €1.97 billion. The sector contributes €2.1 billion in tax every year, including 36% of the total corporation tax rate.
An IFSC company is any company which is based in Ireland, whether foreign owned or indigenous, which is mainly involved in financial services exports. Although most are based in Dublin, since the introduction of the 12.5% tax rate, companies now have a presence in 20 counties.
The report also found that IFSC employment is high-end, knowledge economy jobs with the average salary estimated at over €60,000 a year.
IBEC says the report highlights the growing importance and resilience of the IFSC sector despite current economic difficulties and the importance of the indigenous Irish firms to the growth of the sector.
'The IFSC can play a strong role in Ireland's economic recovery and Ireland needs to stay focused on nurturing the success of our exporting firms,' commented Fergus Murphy, Chairman of Financial Services Ireland.
'The study shows that successful IFSC companies are already constantly reinventing and repositioning themselves,' he added.
Welcoming today's report, the President of IFSC Ireland, John Bruton, says that the sector needs to be competitive with other western European centres of similar scale and sophistication, including Luxembourg and emerging centres in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
'The success of the IFSC is critical to the Irish economy. These are highly skilled and well-paid jobs, in stable and responsible firms. The IFSC is a demonstration of the knowledge economy in action,' he added.
