Where, exactly, will these 10,000 new IFSC jobs be?

As far as barnstorming announcements go, this was a pretty big one - the government wants to create 10,000 new jobs in the IFSC over the next five years.

One of the first questions to ask is whether there's a big enough skills-base locally for this sizable expansion plan. After all, a large proportion of both Ireland's recent graduates and its financial services expertise have looked overseas for work recently due to a lack of local opportunities.

The government admits this is a challenge - particularly in compliance, quantitative finance, risk and accounting. However, it says that it's aiming to attract more international students through improving the quality of domestic finance degrees and is developing more professional training initiatives. There's also likely to be more people available because of the fallout from the domestic banking sector, it says.

So, according to the report, where can we expect these new roles to crop up?

The banking sector:

· Generally, the idea is to both convince existing international banks to increase their Irish presence and attract new institutions, particularly from Asia and the Middle East.

· Aircraft leasing: The 2011 Finance Act allows more aircraft to be held by special purpose vehicles (SPVs), which could spur expansion, and a "supportive personal tax regime" will attract more talent in this area.

· Payment services:...Or electronic payments, credit card transactions, direct debits and the like. The Electronic Money Payments Association is convinced Ireland has the infrastructure in place to gain substantially more market share, and the government is targeting 25 of these regulated firms.

· Green finance: Plans for a 'Green IFSC' have been mooted before, but the government is now stepping up its efforts to turn this into a reality. Expect jobs across banking, project finance, treasury, asset management and more. Already, the DCU Business School is preparing to start a Carbon Finance module in September.

· Islamic finance: Specifically, the government wants to target Middle Eastern and Asian firms investing in Europe. There could be jobs around the more conventional Islamic finance areas - sukuk issuance, for example - but also fund administration, aircraft leasing and Ireland as a location for family offices.

Fund administration:

The funds industry has been a rare positive this year - with nearly 800 new jobs predicted in 2011 - but the government has admitted it has become a more competitive market recently. Therefore, it's looking ways of improving current the legal and tax environment and ensuring it's up to scratch for attracting more internationally distributed funds.

Specifically, it could shake up the tax framework to attract funds holding investments in green asset classes, private equity, infrastructure, distressed debt and emerging market funds. It's also looking to ensure its Qualifying Investor Funds (QiFs) are prepared for the implementation of the Alternative Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD); something we've already highlighted as a potential catalyst for new jobs.

Asset management:

· New firms: More asset managers from Asia and the Middle East are looking to develop a European presence, why not set up in Ireland?

· Scoop up some outsourced work: More asset managers are outsourcing middle office functions, and Ireland's funds industry expertise makes it an obvious target for this work, suggests the report.

· Convince firms to invest in Ireland: Ireland's better quality regulatory environment, together with its low-cost base, should encourage asset managers already here to expand.

· Exchange-traded funds: Ireland has been developing its reputation as a top location for skills related to exchange traded funds (ETFs), suggests the report. It's time to leverage this to attract a bigger share of these funds to our shores.

Insurance:

· More Irish HQs: Ireland's insurance industry has reasons to be thankful for the Solvency II Directive. One of the knock-on effects of this regulation is that it's now beneficial for firms to create a single European headquarters. The likes of Zurich, Axa and XL Capital have already re-domiciled in Ireland, for instance. The government expects more pan-European hubs.

· Room for life insurers to expand: International life insurers set up in Ireland to provide cross-border products to particular countries. Some firms have expanded this range of products, others have not. The government views the latter as a potential opportunity.

· Variable annuity products: Over the last few years, Ireland has been successful in developing a reputation as a centre to develop and distribute variable annuity products (where the payment to the owner is determined by the performance of the policy's underlying assets, rather than being fixed) as they expanded from the US into Europe. These are now changing in nature and there's an "opportunity for Ireland to participate in the next wave of development", says the report.