operate the irish deposit guarantee scheme. finally, the regulation of the conduct of financial firms and the operation of financial markets is a vital part of the overall regulatory architecture in order to protect consumers and investors. within the general european - level regulatory policy framework, conduct regulation is primarily carried out at the national level and our mission statement of “ maintaining stability, protecting consumers ” conveys the priority attached to consumer protection in the regulatory work of the central bank of ireland. i hope that this brief overview gives you a basic understanding of the post - crisis european monetary - financial landscape and the important role played by the central bank of ireland, both at the national level and through our contributions at the european level. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

gabriel makhlouf : opening remarks – “ enterprise financing and investment in ireland – tackling the challenges of covid - 19, digitalisation and climate change ” opening remarks by mr gabriel makhlouf, governor of the central bank of ireland, at the webinar “ enterprise financing and investment in ireland – tackling the challenges of covid - 19, digitalisation and climate change ”, jointly hosted by the central bank of ireland, economic & social research institute ( esri ) and european investment bank ( eib ) and held in partnership with the kemmy business school, university of limerick, 19 april 2021. * * * good afternoon, it is a pleasure to welcome you all to this webinar on enterprise financing and investment in ireland, with a particular focus on the challenges of covid - 19, digitalisation and climate change. we in the central bank are delighted to host this event with our colleagues from the economic and social research institute ( esri ), the european investment bank and the kemmy business school from the university of limerick. and i would like to thank all of our speakers today including minister for finance, pascal donohoe, minister of state for business, employment and retail, damien english, and christian kettel thomsen, vice - president of the european investment bank. an event like this highlights the wide range of actors and agencies that have an interest and a stake in the success and the resilience of the enterprise sector. indeed, our own presentation today is of work undertaken jointly with the esri, using data collected by the department of finance, highlighting just how important collaboration is in addressing the key problems facing our economies and our societies, and in navigating the uncertainty of the pandemic. the presentation of the eib and participation in our panel from a range of international institutions is also extremely welcome, allowing us to gain insights into the irish economy and wider issues facing the business sector from those observing from a distance. i would of course much prefer to meet you all in person, but nonetheless i am looking forward to our ‘ virtual ’ discussions. small and medium enterprises ( smes ) in ireland while our event today will touch on issues relating both to smes and larger corporate businesses, i will focus my remarks on the sme sector. we are all aware of the enormous impact covid - 19 has had on our societies and our economies. smes have certainly not been spared, particularly with many businesses having to close their