gabriel makhlouf : macroeconomic impacts of covid - 19 and the monetary and fiscal policy response introductory statement by mr gabriel makhlouf, governor of the central bank of ireland, at the special oireachtas committee on covid - 19, dublin, 7 july 2020. * * * chairman, committee members, i welcome the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the macroeconomic impacts of covid - 19 and the monetary and fiscal policy response. i am joined by mark cassidy, the central bank ’ s director of economics and statistics. since our written submission of 9 june, we have published both our half - yearly financial stability review and, last friday, our latest quarterly bulletin. both have focussed extensively on the impact of covid - 19 on the irish economy and the macro - financial environment, as well as the risks to the outlook. the macroeconomic impacts covid - 19 has caused a very sudden and severe contraction in economic activity across the world. the speed and scale with which this unfolded has been unprecedented and has posed an unparalleled challenge to the community and to governments and policymakers everywhere. in most countries, including ireland, the policy response has been two - fold ; first, public health measures which have – by necessity – interrupted economic activity and, second, a range of fiscal, monetary, macro - prudential and micro - prudential policy actions to cushion the impact on the economy and the wider community. the central bank ’ s mandate includes monetary and financial stability and ensuring that the financial system operates in the interests of consumers and the economy as a whole. our primary focus since march has been on ensuring the financial system absorbed the shock and supported households and firms through the crisis and was ready to support the recovery. the actions we have taken, including with our colleagues at the ecb, have been designed to ensure supportive financing conditions, enabling credit institutions to absorb losses and to support lending to businesses and households. real - time data for the irish economy point to a trough reached in april, and an increase in activity as the economy re - opens. in recent weeks we have seen the beginning of a return to work in some sectors and a decline in the numbers in receipt of income supports. payments data also point to some rebound in spending. however, overall, economic output has declined substantially in recent months and remains significantly below pre - covid levels. our latest projections imply a fall of approximately 20 per cent in underlying domestic demand in the

john hurley : economic developments in ireland and other issues opening statement by mr john hurley, governor of the central bank and financial services authority of ireland, at the presentation of the annual report 2003, dublin, 12 july 2004. * * * i would like to welcome you all to the publication of the bank ’ s annual report for 2003. as you know, 2003 was a very significant year for us. we have been through a major restructuring process, which has seen the establishment of a new financial regulatory system. the irish financial services regulatory authority is now responsible for consumer protection and prudential supervision while the central bank deals with all matters relating to financial stability. i am happy to report that these new arrangements, which are in place for over a year now, are working very well. this restructuring has allowed us to take stock. as a result, we are also today publishing a three - year strategic plan for the central bank and financial services authority of ireland. a further important development will be the publication of a stand - alone financial stability report in mid - september. up to now, this was included in the bank ’ s annual report. i would also draw your attention to the reproduction in this report of the first lecture in the whitaker lecture series. this series has been established in honour of the former governor, dr. t. k. whitaker, and is intended to contribute to general economic debate in ireland. the inaugural lecture was given by the president of the european central bank, jean claude trichet. the report also includes an article on foreign direct investment in ireland, a vital component of our recent economic success. the study highlights the principal reasons for our success in this area : a stable macroeconomic background, a favourable business environment in its many aspects and a strong emphasis on education and skills. looking to the future, we need to ensure that we have the appropriate policies in place to continue to be an attractive location for foreign direct investment. economic developments turning now to the economic situation : in the context of a weak, if improving, international environment, the irish economy performed well, relative to other countries, in 2003. the latest official data put gnp growth at 2. 8 per cent ( gdp, 3. 7 per cent ). there was significant employment growth last year, which contributed to keeping unemployment at a low level - currently 4. 4 per cent. for 2004, ireland ’ s growth prospects appear generally good - particularly as the us and east asia economies improve. however, considerable uncertainties remain