bring it back under control. in any event, it is not an option for ireland. the burden of some of this debt has been partly mitigated by the low - for - long interest rate policy of the ecb – its policy rate has averaged well below 1 per cent for the past 5 years – which has brought the servicing costs of tracker mortgages well below where they were when the loans were contracted. another category often mentioned are retired persons whose wealth was concentrated as was traditional on long - standing holdings of bank equity. bis central bankers ’ speeches because it too reached the limit of its debt capacity ( for the reasons mentioned above ), the government has little room left for policies involving net additional spending, so in practice it is limited to broadly cost - neutral adjustments to tax and spending. along with this limited capacity, there has been little appetite for a transfer from taxpayers to those indebted households who can still afford to service their debts. personal insolvency legislation has, however, been modernised and streamlined, offering viable options for over - indebted borrowers. ideally, though, lenders should be, and increasingly are, negotiating more favourable arrangements than bankruptcy that restore borrowers to a sustainable position, while husbanding ( as is their responsibility ) the capital of the bank and avoiding unwarranted losses from concessions to borrowers that can afford to pay – concessions that would largely fall on the banking system ’ s largest shareholder, the state. i need hardly recall that walking this tightrope has been a very slow process. some home - owners have seen their income situation deteriorate to the point where they can no longer afford to service the mortgage debt. fortunately, the number of involuntary owneroccupier repossessions has so far remained low : given the sharp fall in property prices between 2007 and 2012, it can make sense for lenders to avoid repossession even for a homeowner who can no longer fully service the original debt. banks have been pressured by the central bank, within the limitations of prudential regulation and their constitutional property rights, to accelerate the conclusion of sustainable loan modification solutions where the existing contracts are no longer viable. gradually – too gradually – we are seeing progress on this front. banks are obliged to comply with the central bank ’ s code of conduct on mortgage arrears in arriving at sustainable solutions in a fair and transparent way. this remains a focus of our close attention at the central bank. indeed,

gabriel makhlouf : opening remarks - economics winter workshop opening remarks by mr gabriel makhlouf, governor of the central bank of ireland, at second annual " economics winter workshop ", organised by the central bank of ireland, dublin, 20 december 2024. * * * good morning everyone, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the central bank of ireland for our second annual " economics winter workshop. " building on the success of last year's inaugural event, it is fantastic to see this workshop going from strength to strength. the program ahead promises a very interesting array of speakers and papers, addressing some of the most pressing issues at the forefront of our work here in policy institutions. this workshop is being held following a turbulent few years for countries around the world, including ireland. policymakers have navigated the profound economic disruptions of the covid - 19 pandemic, the geopolitical upheaval following russia's invasion of ukraine, and the resulting surge in inflation - levels not seen in most advanced economies since the 1970s. at last week's ecb governing council meeting, we made the decision to cut our three policy rates by 25 basis points, reflecting confidence that the disinflation process remains on track. for us, sound policymaking rests on a foundation of robust, evidence - based research. only by delving deeply into understanding individual questions can we fully comprehend and address the complexities of the broader economic landscape. research plays a central role in fulfilling our mandate at the central bank of ireland. earlier this year, for example, our thematic signed article on housing in ireland demonstrated how rigorous internal research directly informs and enhances our policy advice and communication. this thematic article approach is something we plan to continue into the future, exploring some of the most relevant questions for the irish economy. today's sessions and policy panel reflect the four main pillars of our research agenda : the small open economy, new horizons, central bank frameworks, and the evolving financial system. these themes guide our efforts to navigate a rapidly changing global economy. while we are fortunate to have highly skilled researchers within the bank, we recognize that collaboration with external academics and institutions strengthens our capacity to do policy - relevant research. initiatives such as our research affiliates program are helping us forge valuable connections, and we were delighted to host our first two visiting scholars this year. looking ahead, we are excited to welcome several more scholars and research affiliates next year as part of our continued commitment