jean - pierre roth : the population is ageing - we cannot wait any longer! summary of a speech by mr jean - pierre roth, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the association suisse des actuaires, basel, 17 june 2005. the complete speech can be found in french on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ). * * * like other developed countries, switzerland has been hard hit by the phenomenon of demographic ageing. it is putting our old age pension scheme to a severe test. the ageing of the population is also impacting on our ability to innovate, our potential to achieve productivity gains and our competitive dynamism in a globalised and demographically diversified world. this is why measures need to be put in place quickly. at the heart of this demographic challenge lies the need to enhance the productivity of our economy as well as our productive capacity. it is all the more important to secure favourable growth conditions because the ageing of the population in itself could impact negatively upon our capacity for growth – which is under strain already now. increasing the productivity of our economy and the pace of growth is essential if we wish to maintain our system of social security. at the macroeconomic level, the financing of old age pensions works according to a simple principle. this involves imposing a levy on the incomes of the working population and transferring these funds to pensioners, either through redistribution in the present ( pay - as - you - go system ) or via a capital funding system which benefits future generations of senior citizens. thus, demographic ageing means that the working population is obliged to shoulder ever greater levies. if, at the same time, the global creation of wealth progresses slowly, the responsibility of financing old age pensions is going to impose an increasing social burden. thus, it is not only necessary to improve our economic efficiency, we also need to be careful not to impede these efforts through inappropriate measures. we must allow the invisible hand of competition to bring about the most efficient allocation of our resources possible in both the domestic and the foreign arenas. consequently, we need to do more with the resources at our disposal. at the same time, we need to make sure we have access to better quality resources. this means taking a longer - term approach to our system of education. the conditions within which our economy operates also play an important role. growth in investment activity not only allows us to create new jobs but also

song black rose which is also inspired by ireland ’ s cultural wealth. [ ii ] its lyrics remember another local, brendan behan. the central bank ’ s commemorative coins play an important role in recognising that cultural wealth which i will return to in a moment. * * * to many, phil lynott is seen as the father of irish rock. the emergence of thin lizzy in the early 1970s, and their confidence and ambition, was a break from the music scene that existed in ireland up to that point. the success of whiskey in the jar showed that traditional irish music could also be rock and roll. thin lizzy soon developed a strong following – not just in ireland but internationally. thin lizzy were ostensibly a hard rock band but phil lynott, like all musical greats from david bowie to madonna to prince, turned his hand to a variety of styles over his career, including forays into reggae, electro - pop as well as numerous blues and soul numbers. in an interview with gay byrne on the late late show in 1981, phil spoke of his love of dublin ( and crumlin ) ; the homesickness he experienced while on the road touring ; and his desire to return home. [ iii ] his classic song, ‘ old town ’, although ostensibly about heartbreak after the end of a romance, has become something of an ode to the city, largely due to the music video that accompanied it. the video brought together two dublin icons - phil lynott and the ha ’ penny bridge ( which has also been honoured in recent years with a central bank coin ). whilst not an immediate hit, the song ’ s popularity has grown, particularly amongst dubliners. from watching the music video, and seeing phil interact with people around the city, it is very evident how popular he was amongst the people of dublin. his love of dublin is clear. it is also very evident that this popularity has endured, not just in dublin and ireland, but globally. the music has influenced and inspired musicians around the world ever since. indeed, thin lizzy ’ s international success has also seen them recently nominated for induction into the rock ‘ n ’ roll hall of fame 2020. [ iv ] many of the musicians and bands that emerged in ireland in the 1970s and 1980s recognise the help and support they received from phil lynott. this includes u2, who supported thin lizzy when they were a promising young band from the north side of dublin. [ v ]