Evidence that raising corporation tax could be devastating for employment in Irish financial services

International financial services firms in Ireland account for 36% of total corporate tax receipts in the country and employ more than 32,000 people.

If pressure from France and Germany to increase the 12.5% corporation tax rate as part of the now seemingly inevitable EU/IMF bailout package is pushed through, the fallout could be particularly bruising for the sector.

A new report on the IFSC by Accenture (sponsored by IBEC) shows just how integral international financial services firms have become to the Irish economy.

It's no longer just about the complex in Dublin's docklands - there are more than 500 companies employing 32,700 people across 20 counties throughout Ireland. It contributes 7.4% of Irish GDP and accounts for 10% of total employment within multi-national firms in the country.

Obviously the report was designed to promote the IFSC and demonstrate just how well it's been doing - unlike the domestic banking sector, employment has remained largely stable within international financial services firms over the last two years.

However, it was also published amid a storm of media coverage around the potential banking bailout from the EU/IMF, much of which has been centred on whether Ireland's long-standing low corporate tax rate will be pushed up as part of the deal.

Mary Coughlan, the deputy prime minister, reiterated in parliament yesterday that it was "non-negotiable", while a French official told the FT that Ireland's corporate tax rate was seen by some other European countries as "almost predatory".

There's no guarantee that an increase in corporation tax would necessary spur a mass exodus of companies from Ireland, but some fallout seems inevitable.

One multi-national in Cork told the Guardian that the company would be "out of here so fast" if the tax rate rose, while others seem to believe an increase to 15% would be the tipping point.

Goldman Sachs analysts Nick Kojucharov and Kevin Daly, meanwhile, believe any rise is unlikely, not least because it's out-of-kilter with conditions usually imposed in IMF-supported programmes:

Moreover, given that a higher corporate tax rate would do little to help Ireland's medium-term fiscal position (and would probably harm it), it would be difficult to argue that such a requirement was anything other than a political move

While this debate rages on, it's also worth pointing out that the IFSC is slowly shedding its reputation for merely offered low-paid, arguably tedious, back office roles. The average salary now stands at €60.1k, although this is bumped up by the high pay on offer in areas like banking and asset financing.

Below is a breakdown of employment numbers and average salaries within the various sectors. The funds industry still offers the largest proportion of jobs, employing over 10,000 people.