payment on ibrc ’ s promissory notes. as you will recall, an interim solution was applied to that instalment, which was effectively settled with a long - term government bond rather than cash. while this was not altogether an ideal solution from anyone ’ s point of view, seeking a non - cash solution for that instalment was a sound tactic for the government, embarking as it was on the larger question of rearranging the duration and terms of the overall central bank indebtedness arising out of the failure of anglo irish bank and inbs and the payment of their creditors. since then, there has been a very intensive process of discussion and negotiation on this matter, which is one of the two main thrusts of the government ’ s policy to have a euro area review of the indebtedness arising out of the banking crisis. there is considerable goodwill from all interlocutors in this process. nevertheless, it has not been easy to find a generally acceptable solution. taking into account both the statutory position and wider policy stance of the ecb, an initiative of this type will be novel and as such challenging. using our knowledge of central banking law and practice, we have been working carefully to build understanding and confidence around a set of proposed transactions designed to deliver for ireland, while not taking other decision makers too far out of their comfort zone. the ecb is an organisation that seeks to proceed as far as possible by consensus, and it is not surprising that this work has been taking quite a while. in fact, what we have designed is, i believe, largely in the interests of the eurosystem as a whole. i have nothing to add today to what has already been said by the minister for finance about the prospects and timing of the conclusion to these discussions. i am happy to take any questions you might have. bis central bankers ’ speeches

patrick honohan : central bank of ireland ’ s strategic plan – re - engineering how we do business opening statement by mr patrick honohan, governor of the central bank of ireland, to the oireachtas ( national parliament ) joint committee on finance, public expenditure and reform, dublin, 16 january 2013. * * * thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee today. your letter of invitation proposed a wide range for our discussion today, and i will not attempt to be comprehensive in my brief opening statement. perhaps the best way of ordering my introductory comments is by reference to the central bank ’ s three year strategic plan which we published in november. consistent with our governing legislation, the central bank commission has set as the key elements : • restore financial stability and support economic recovery in ireland through the successful exit from the eu - imf programme of financial support and restoring a fully functioning banking system ; • reform the regulatory and supervisory framework to ensure risks to stability and consumer protection are identified and effectively mitigated ; • protect consumers by challenging firms, improving firms ’ compliance and promoting a better culture to help consumers have more confidence in financial services ; and • influence international policy making in monetary policy, financial stability and regulatory standard setting. underpinning these activities will be a focus on improved efficiencies and cost effectiveness, alongside the continuing development of our staff. delivering on this extensive mandate has, to say the least, been quite a challenge over the past few years involving a lot of judgment calls, a huge increase in the volume of activity and employment in the central bank and a re - engineering of how we do business. while the condition of the economy and the banking system still leaves much to be desired, i believe that things are moving in the right direction. as far as the economy overall is concerned it is fair to say that, since the level of economic activity collapsed in 2008 – 9, the elevated level of personal savings, the need to repair the public finances and for balance sheet repair more generally has meant that domestic demand has continued to shrink year - on - year. overall employment and incomes would have fallen even further were it not for the offsetting performance of exporting firms despite the much weaker international environment even than was expected two years ago. a reversal of some of the loss of competitiveness that was incurred in earlier years has contributed here, though more is needed if the return to growth in private sector employment is to be accelerated to the point where overall employment is growing