patrick honohan : banks and the budget – lessons from europe address by mr patrick honohan, governor of the central bank & financial services authority of ireland, to renmin university, beijing, 17 august 2010. * * * my topic today goes to the heart of the financial crisis from which we are emerging. for it is abundantly clear that a breathtaking series of banking failures have, directly or indirectly, been at the root of the budgetary problems now being faced by so many countries, and the impact of the banking crisis on national budgets is set to colour the pace, character and geographical differentiation of the economic recovery generally over the coming years. but there are several important channels of influence between banks and the budget, some more obvious than others. because of the scale and pervasiveness of banks, and the speed with which liquidity conditions can change, the impact of banks on the budget can be crucial. at the same time, budgetary decisions including tax and quasi - taxes crucially impact on the banks themselves as do indirect influences through the direction of credit ; when banks get into trouble, they are more likely than almost any other sector to be rescued by a government whose interventions are backed up by budgetary resources. all of this has been dramatically illustrated in recent years, months and indeed weeks. and although the epicentre of the global financial crisis was the us investment banking market, the links between banks and the budget have arguably been recently illustrated in no region more than europe and in few european countries more than in ireland. two - way channels of influence between banks and the budget – the irish example the channels of influence are present on the way up and the way down, and in both directions between banks and the budget. let me make this concrete by giving you some flavour of the irish situation. from 2003 to 2007 the irish banking system imported funds equivalent to over 50 per cent of gdp to fund a runaway property and construction bubble. the tax revenue generated by the boom came in many forms : capital gains on property, stamp duty on property transactions, value added tax on construction materials and income tax from the extra workers – immigrants from the rest of europe, from africa, from china, flooded in as the construction sector alone swelled up to account for about 13 per cent of the numbers at work ( about twice the current level, which is closer to what would be normal ). for over a decade the budget was in surplus ( averaging over 1½ per cent of gdp ) almost

philip r lane : inauguration of ireland's central bank dockland campus speech by mr philip r lane, governor of the central bank of ireland, at the inauguration of the dockland campus, dublin, 24 april 2017. * * * minister, former governor honohan, distinguished guests, i am delighted to welcome you to the inauguration of the central bank of ireland ’ s dockland campus. today marks an important step for the future of the central bank, as we adapt to fulfil our increasingly complex mandate in a more interconnected and challenging global environment. there is also a nice parallel with the past. in 1927, when deciding on the first permanent premises of the currency commission – the precursor to the central bank – members of the commission emphasised the importance of placing it in close proximity to the shareholding banks, and foster place was chosen. 1 in the same vein, our dockland campus, incorporating north wall quay and spencer dock, again places us firmly at the centre of ireland ’ s international financial district. 2 * * * the central bank is a vital institution of the state. when the currency commission was dissolved in 1943, the central bank was established with an enhanced role, the most important of which was “ safeguarding the integrity of the currency ” and, echoing a phrase from article 45 of the constitution, ensuring that “ in what pertains to the control of credit, the constant and predominant aim shall be the welfare of the people as a whole ”. 3 in the years since its establishment, both the domestic mandate of the central bank and our european roles have expanded. our european role is critically important and the bank is recognised as a strong contributor to the work of the european system of central banks and european system of financial supervision. but while our mandate has expanded and our staff has doubled in recent years, what has not changed is our core mission of protecting the public interest, and public service is central to the ethos and culture of the bank. the fact that this site was originally intended to host the new headquarters for anglo - irish bank has invited much commentary. in one sense, history is again repeating itself. foster place was leased in perpetuity from bank of ireland. commercial buildings on dame street – as the name suggests – was formerly occupied by members of the chamber of commerce, the stock exchange, merchants ’ offices and brokers. my own view is that this juxtaposition is quite fitting in serving as an ongoing reminder of the severe economic and social