of issues whether it is around financial resilience, better management of conflicts of interest, or greater transparency and security for customers. conclusion to finish where i started, smil posits that a realistic grasp of our past, present and uncertain future is the " best foundation " for approaching the unknowable expanse of time ahead of us. we cannot be specific but know it will include both progress and setbacks. " the future, as ever, is not predetermined, " he writes. " its outcome depends on our actions. " 7 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches as a regulator, when thinking about the complexity of new terrain and its many challenges, that call to action chimes greatly with me. in concluding, let me emphasise that, in the central bank of ireland, as we cover new ground, we do not move in isolation or with our peer regulators only. we are an open and engaged regulator, knowing the importance of listening to our stakeholders, building dialogue and being open to feedback. we don't just welcome your continued engagement – we see it as essential to our mission of serving the public interest by maintaining monetary and financial stability while ensuring that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers, investors and the wider economy. thank you for your attention and i wish you an enjoyable and productive conference. 1 with thanks to jonathan dent, caroline mehigan, kevin mullen, cian murphy, james o'sullivan and darragh rossi for their support in preparing this speech. 2 smil, " how the world really works " ( 2022 ) penguin. 3 makhlouf, " the central bank's regulatory philosophy : regulating for stability and positive outcomes " ( 2022 ). 8 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches

to alleviate the tensions in money markets. we did not hesitate to charter unknown territory and to move forcefully to counter the adverse consequences of the financial crisis. at the same time, we always kept our medium - term perspective fade in mind, and inflation expectations remained fully anchored. the governing council made always clear that we would not compromise – in any respect – the longer - term achievement of the price stability objective or encourage or tolerate imprudent behaviour by market participants. the specific and targeted changes to our operational framework – some of which can be called “ non - standard ” – have played a critical role : they have been instrumental in organising the defence against the systemic liquidity risk that occurred in september last year and in preserving the availability of credit for households and companies at accessible rates, thereby creating the conditions for the best possible transmission of our subsequent easing of monetary conditions. we cut our key interest rate in a series of seven unprecedented steps by a cumulative 325 basis points within about half a year. the eurosystem is currently providing unlimited refinancing at 1. 0 % in its main refinancing operations. from a historical perspective, these measures are unprecedented in terms of their breadth and depth. at the same time, these measures have been taken in full consistency with our monetary policy framework and our primary objective of maintaining price stability. the crisis has not changed this objective. in contrast, the fundamental principle on which our actions were based on is that any course of policy – conventional or unconventional – should be firmly grounded on and directed to the achievement of the eurosystem ’ s primary objective of preserving price stability over the medium term. this objective will always provide the context and limits within which our course of action is framed and enacted. the evidence on our bold yet solidly anchored response to the crises is encouraging. while long - term inflation expectations continue to remain broadly anchored at levels consistent with price stability, our measures show some signs of revival in the functioning of money markets in europe. banks are at the heart of the financial system in the euro area. this is the main reason why our policy response so far has been tailored to the specific nature of europe ’ s financial structure. it is also the reason why the governing council decided in its meeting in may to proceed with its enhanced credit support approach. our enhanced liquidity provision supports banks in continuing their lending operations to firms and households. in full continuity and consistency with the operations we have undertaken since october 2008, we have delivered an array of policy decisions