john hurley : prospects for the irish economy and banking sector address by mr john hurley, governor of the central bank and financial services authority of ireland, at a bloomberg business lunch, dublin, 16 october 2007. * * * the economic outlook remains broadly positive at the global level but the international environment is clearly somewhat more uncertain following the financial market turbulence that began in early august. central banks have sought to limit the impact of financial market developments on real economic activity. the provision of additional liquidity has brought some measure of stability and there are signs of improvement in the key inter - bank market, although some difficulties still remain it is impossible to say how long it will be before such markets will fully return to their normal functioning ; market participants remain uncertain about where exposure to risk lies and, while this continues to be the case, some tensions may persist. with regard to monetary policy, as far as the euro area is concerned, more information will be needed on the impact of recent developments before drawing any further conclusions in that regard. the turbulence also seems to signal the need for changes in the financial system that are likely to centre on issues such as transparency – including the links between on - and off - balance - sheet vehicles – making improvements to risk management frameworks, valuation standards and market functioning including looking at the role of rating agencies. although the irish banking system had relatively little direct exposure to many of the original sources of turbulence, there has inevitably been some pressure on interest rates, resulting from the tensions in the inter - bank market and some generalised tightening of credit conditions seems likely as a result. one cannot rule out other possible direct effects on the economy, such as a reduction in confidence for example, but the main concern centres on indirect effects at this stage, in particular, the possibility of a sharper than expected us slowdown. this could impact on the domestic economy through its extensive trade and investment links with the us. there are other risks that could affect the prospects for growth domestically also, including exchange rate movements and oil price developments. in its most recent bulletin, the bank projected some deceleration in domestic growth. gnp is likely to expand by about 4¾ per cent this year but the growth rate will probably drop to about 3¼ per cent next year. this arises from the combined effect of declines in housing output and a likely slowing of consumption growth next year from its current very high levels. inflation is likely to ease, however, with an average hicp rate of 2. 8 per cent

gabriel makhlouf : opening remarks – “ enterprise financing and investment in ireland – tackling the challenges of covid - 19, digitalisation and climate change ” opening remarks by mr gabriel makhlouf, governor of the central bank of ireland, at the webinar “ enterprise financing and investment in ireland – tackling the challenges of covid - 19, digitalisation and climate change ”, jointly hosted by the central bank of ireland, economic & social research institute ( esri ) and european investment bank ( eib ) and held in partnership with the kemmy business school, university of limerick, 19 april 2021. * * * good afternoon, it is a pleasure to welcome you all to this webinar on enterprise financing and investment in ireland, with a particular focus on the challenges of covid - 19, digitalisation and climate change. we in the central bank are delighted to host this event with our colleagues from the economic and social research institute ( esri ), the european investment bank and the kemmy business school from the university of limerick. and i would like to thank all of our speakers today including minister for finance, pascal donohoe, minister of state for business, employment and retail, damien english, and christian kettel thomsen, vice - president of the european investment bank. an event like this highlights the wide range of actors and agencies that have an interest and a stake in the success and the resilience of the enterprise sector. indeed, our own presentation today is of work undertaken jointly with the esri, using data collected by the department of finance, highlighting just how important collaboration is in addressing the key problems facing our economies and our societies, and in navigating the uncertainty of the pandemic. the presentation of the eib and participation in our panel from a range of international institutions is also extremely welcome, allowing us to gain insights into the irish economy and wider issues facing the business sector from those observing from a distance. i would of course much prefer to meet you all in person, but nonetheless i am looking forward to our ‘ virtual ’ discussions. small and medium enterprises ( smes ) in ireland while our event today will touch on issues relating both to smes and larger corporate businesses, i will focus my remarks on the sme sector. we are all aware of the enormous impact covid - 19 has had on our societies and our economies. smes have certainly not been spared, particularly with many businesses having to close their