Pressure to raise €534m from financial services

Today Ireland will be under pressure to say yes to the idea of raising at least €534 million a year from the financial services industry.

So far they have said no, arguing they could only change their mind if Britain, with Europe’s biggest financial services centre, the city of London, did the same thing. London has said it won’t.

The Government has been following advice from the hedge fund industry, but can they continue to resist, given that more than 1,000 renowned economists have been joined by more than 50 financiers including some from Rothschild, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, banks and stock exchanges who argue it would help stabilise the industry.