philip r lane : the macroeconomic outlook, the housing and mortgage markets and tracker mortgage - related issues introductory statement by mr philip r lane, governor of the central bank of ireland, at the joint committee on finance, public expenditure and reform, and taoiseach, dublin, 10 may 2018. * * * chairman, committee members, i welcome the opportunity to meet with you this morning for our regular engagement. i am joined today by ed sibley, deputy governor for prudential regulation ; derville rowland, director general for financial conduct ; and helena mitchell, head of consumer protection supervision. i will first give an overview of the current economic environment and then address some of the specific issues you raised in my invitation. 1 this will include the tracker mortgage examination : we published our latest update on 25 april. the central bank is committed to serving the public by safeguarding stability and protecting consumers. we operate as ‘ one bank, ’ recognising the operational effectiveness of deploying bank - wide resources in meeting our goals. for instance, our macroprudential mortgage measures contribute to both financial stability and consumer protection by guarding against overlending and over - borrowing. equally, our work to ensure that financial firms are prudentially sound is essential if these firms are to meet their obligations to consumers and investors. in these ways, consumer protection is embedded in all key aspects of our work, through close cooperation between our central banking, prudential regulation and financial conduct pillars. the macroeconomic outlook the irish economy is currently experiencing buoyant domestic activity and a strong international economy, which is driving a broad - based expansion in employment and an increase in earnings. our projections for the labour market indicate that ireland is heading towards full employment, although some extra capacity is possible through broader participation in the labour market. while the near - term outlook is positive, ireland faces substantial tail risks. these include “ hard brexit ” scenarios, protectionist pressures and shifts in the international tax regime that would effectively penalise small economies as a location for multinational production activity. in addition, a sudden shift towards tighter conditions in international financial markets is widely cited as a possible trigger of a contraction in international economic activity. it is important that policymakers are mindful of such vulnerabilities in order to ensure that ireland is resilient if any of these tail risks is triggered. irish housing market let me turn to the irish housing market. the increase in house prices in recent years in part reflects the

the ongoing work on the key role biodiversity plays in our economy is important in this regard. but we also need to realise that the status quo is not sustainable – and so big changes are required to our economy and our lives. st. brigid as a symbol for renewal of the land can again be an inspiration for us here. conclusion to conclude, it is more than 1, 500 years since brigid founded and headed a double monastery for men and women ; but it is little over a 100 years since women in ireland have had the equal right to vote. in the intervening years, progress on equality was not linear, and it was not smooth. but then when i think about this progress, the words of eavan boland spring to mind, in her poem " our future will become the past of other women ". 4 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches boland writes of the suffragettes, and how " in the shadow of their past, they vote [ d ] in the light of what will be ", aptly capturing in this instance the torch of progress, being passed – being shone. and thinking of brigid's legacy, i wonder if she ever thought that that future she forged would become the past of other women, just like the suffragettes, just like the women who are breaking through the ceilings of today. as we think of the torch of progress, it is apt that brigid is represented on our coin today holding a torch – a flame. st. brigid's flame burns in this very building – as a beacon of hope, justice and peace for the world. given all of the challenges which we face, it is a symbol which is still very much needed today. finally, before i finish, i want to thank some of the people who've helped to organise this afternoon's event. i want to recognise the central bank's currency centre team for the fantastic work they do each year on the collector coin series ; our team that produced the coin and mary gregoriy for her beautiful design. i would like to acknowledge the ongoing work of the numismatic advisory panel who support the bank's collector coin programme. and finally, on behalf of the central bank, i'd like to again thank everybody here at the solas bhride centre for your hospitality and for hosting us today. it is a great honour to be with you all to celebrate this special occasion in kildare. go raibh mile maith agaibh