philip r lane : 2019 - 2021 strategic plan focuses on consumer protection, resilience and brexit introductory statement by mr philip r lane, governor of the central bank of ireland, before the joint oireachtas ( national parliament ) committee on finance, public expenditure and reform, and taoiseach ( head of parliament ), dublin, 26 march 2019. * * * chair, committee members, i welcome the opportunity to meet with you today for our regular engagement. i am joined by derville rowland ( director general for financial conduct ) and ed sibley ( deputy governor for prudential regulation ). the irish economy continues to perform well. while i will return to brexit - related risks later in this statement, our most recent projections are that underlying domestic demand will expand by 4. 3 percent in 2019 and 3. 9 percent in 2020. unemployment is projected to average 4. 9 percent in 2019 and 4. 7 percent in 2020. the improvement in the labour market means that we expect wages to increase by 3. 4 percent this year and 3. 6 percent next year. given the recent downgrades in european and global economic forecasts and the list of downside risks, we will be closely monitoring the impact for ireland of any further deterioration in the external environment. the mission of the central bank is to serve the public interest by safeguarding monetary and financial stability and by working to ensure that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy. in terms of policy priorities, our new strategic plan for 2019 – 2021 highlights : ( a ) strengthening consumer protection ; ( b ) resilience ; and ( c ) brexit. i will address the issues listed in your invitation letter by reference to these strategic priorities. strengthening consumer protection the protection of consumers is a priority for the central bank. our aim is to enhance confidence and trust in the financial system through high quality regulation, purposeful engagement, effective gatekeeping, assertive supervision and robust enforcement. consumer protection is therefore embedded in every key area of the central bank ’ s work. for instance, the macroprudential mortgage measures are designed to both enhance the resilience of the financial system and protect borrowers from over - indebtedness. our work on mortgage arrears has also involved considerable collaboration and coordination across all parts of the bank and has been central to our analysis of non - performing loans ( npls ). furthermore, the work of prudential supervision in

, after the formation of the albanian state. during ww2, the albanian currency underwent radical changes. on its obverse and reverse we no longer see king zog. instead, victor emanuel iii is featured and the most significant change is that the albanian franc was officially pegged to the fate of the italian lira. we will have the opportunity to hear, during the day, other interesting and important examples in the monetary and economic history of albania. dear ladies and gentlemen, this conference does not seek to analyse wars and the various factors triggering them ; instead, it aims to show how the radical changes introduced by wars or conflicts on political systems and alliances, or the divisions between states have affected monetary developments. the history shows that conflict or war periods are particularly related to radical changes in monetary systems and policies. over the centuries, we find various examples of such developments, materialised in changes in the monetary system or introduction of temporary fiscal policies, additional quantity of money 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches issued before the start and during a war, massive circulation of a monetary type in areas far away from their place of origin, higher number of hoards found in a conflict zone or massive usage of the currency of allied countries. numerous phenomena testify to the constant presence of a relationship throughout epochs, between military conflicts on the one hand and the role of money in wartime on the other. to better reflect the relationship between conflicts or war and money, we have decided for the conference proceedings to follow a chronological order of presentations, starting from antiquity, to middle ages and the modern history of the xx century. our guests are distinguished professors, scholars, historians, and representatives from central bank museums who responded to our invitation to research and lecture on this topic. the views and conclusions expressed in the presentations are of the authors and not necessarily of the respective institutions or the bank of albania. wishing success to the conference, i hope that all the participants will benefit from the interesting presentations that will be shared with the audience today. i have now the pleasure to invite our keynote speaker, prof. olivier picard, former director of the french archaeological school in athens, professor at the sorbonne university, member of the “ academie des inscriptions et belles – lettre ” ( institute of france ), who will hold a presentation on “ minting of coins in illyria in wartime ”. thank you! 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches