The Government is to consider fast-tracking work visas for non-EU nationals to address the growing skills shortage in the financial services sector.

Responding to calls for radical migration policy reforms from Ibec's Financial Services Ireland (FSI) at its annual conference, Regulation 360, yesterday, the Tánaiste, Michael McDowell, said serious consideration will be given to the FSI's proposals.

FSI director Aileen O'Donoghue called for "fast-track measures for specific financial occupations in the work visa/authorisation scheme". Similar measures already exist in healthcare, construction and ICT, she pointed out.

Ms O'Donoghue also recommended the reintroduction of an intra-company transfer scheme to allow the transfer of key staff from non-EU jurisdictions to Ireland.

"Our industrial policy is geared to attracting investment from key non-EU jurisdictions such as the US, but our migration policy makes it difficult to bring senior staff to Ireland to establish new business here," Ms O'Donoghue explained.

Unlike other sectors of the economy, the Irish financial sector urgently needs graduates from outside the EU, she said.

According to FSI's estimates, financial services employment will increase by 75 per cent by 2020.

Moreover, roughly 300,000 new graduates will be required over the next five years to meet overall demand in the workforce.

Also addressing yesterday's conference, William Beausang announced that the Department of Finance is in the "preliminary stages" of a project to consolidate and modernise existing financial services legislation, which he described as "fragmented and complex".

The Department will examine the degree to which the current legal framework strikes the appropriate balance "between effectiveness and efficiency", he said, and will identify any anomalies or inconsistencies in the law.

The Department has set a deadline of one year in which to complete the project.