IFSC
End of an era: Why the IFSC risks turning into a fossil of Ireland’s corporate history
The area remains Ireland’s key financial centre, but its buildings are now 30 years old and not suitable for larger firms with ESG commitments
When Charlie Haughey laid the foundation stone for Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in September 1988, the area was a dockside wasteland.
The idea to revitalise it, which Haughey had pilfered for his 1987 general election manifesto from financier Dermot Desmond, was straightforward. The IFSC would be a tax-incentive zone and firms approved to move in would get a 10 per cent corporate tax rate for "designated financial services activities".
It worked. Many of ...
