committees and working groups. enhancing capability the ability of the central bank to deliver our mandate depends on our ability to recruit and retain experienced, skilled and motivated staff. we continually invest in our people including providing opportunities to learn and develop. we are committed to diversity in our workforce. we have significant opportunities for professional development with unrivalled exposure to the financial 7 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches services sector both in ireland and internationally. we will continue to enhance the capability of our team so we can deliver the important mandate of the central bank. as well as investing in our people, we need to continue to evolve our organisation for today ’ s fast moving environment, as the irish financial system and the associated risks are rapidly and disruptively changing. the system, the regulatory environment and individual firms are becoming more complex, increasingly reliant on technology, increasingly interconnected and the volume of data is exploding. “ changes in technology, including artificial intelligence, could, over time, profoundly affect the nature of the financial services consumed and may result in changes to the structure of the financial services industry …. what matters to us as prudential supervisors is the extent to which the development of advanced analytics changes the risks to the safety and soundness of the firms we supervise22. ” in this context, we are in the process of enhancing our analysis and inspections capabilities, to better support and challenge our day - to - day supervisory efforts, to : ensure our supervisory approach uses a wide range of information to make evidenced based decisions ; deliver robust and consistent inspection outcomes underpinned by a depth of technical and practical risk capabilities ; and further develop risk expertise, peer and industry level analysis, and create the space to look ahead and maximises our impact and influence at home and abroad. i will conclude here. while material issues remain and economic recovery has not lifted all boats, it is clear that ireland has emerged from a period of focus on crisis management and entered one of crisis prevention. the central bank is committed to serving the public in delivering this effectively, with the aspiration of a resilient and trustworthy financial system, which sustainably serves the needs of the economy and its customers, in which firms and individuals adhere to a culture of fairness and high standards. we will continue to regulate and supervise the financial system with this aspiration to the forefront of our minds. we will continue to strive to look forward, to anticipate future risks, and we expect regulated firms to do the same. moreover,

responsive regulator requires connection. improved engagement and listening to the perspectives of others helps us to understand better risks posed to the financial system, as well as helping households and businesses to understand our approach to policy and regulation. regulation is about supporting positive outcomes next, and to state the obvious, it is important that leaders are clear about the outcomes they want to achieve. in my view, regulation is about supporting positive outcomes. regulation should follow six principles. it must be forward looking, connected, proportionate, predictable, transparent and agile : forward - looking because, although we need to learn from history, we need to prioritise regulating for the future, especially as the pace of change means it quickly becomes the present ; connected because, in a european and global financial market, being more connected with market participants – whether firms, other regulators, consumers and investors – is essential to better understand risk, and to support agility and foresight in how we regulate ; proportionate, because we want regulation to address the harm or failure on which it is aimed without causing unintended consequences. there needs to be 4 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches an effective and disciplined consideration and weighing of the costs, benefits and trade - offs involved in any regulatory intervention so that we avoid creating distortions and sub - optimal outcomes ; predictable, because consumers, investors and firms need to understand what we're trying to do, and what it is we expect others to be doing ; transparent because building trust in the financial system requires that market participants are able to see that regulators are doing their job and regulations are working as intended. and last and very much not least, agile, because the financial system has shown us that it can change quickly, that it is changing quickly and that it will continue to change quickly. regulation needs to adapt to a changing risk environment at a similar pace. ultimately financial regulation is about supporting the economic wellbeing of the community as a whole. such outcomes may be reasonably intuitive to describe but fundamentally they involve a stable financial system, trust and confidence in financial markets, and ensuring fair treatment of consumers. of course there are challenges and trade - offs to make in delivering effective regulation which i am sure will be discussed in the course of this conference. our ambition : the welfare of the european people as a whole so what, as leaders working at the ecb and ssm, is our ambition? at the central bank of ireland our mission is to serve the public interest by maintaining monetary and financial stability