Speech
Speech of An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar T.D., MoneyConf, RDS Dublin
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Good morning everyone and welcome to the Royal Dublin Society. We are of course a Republic! But we are one comfortable with our history!
I’d like to thank Paddy, Ruth, and the team for inviting me to join you here today. We are delighted to host MoneyConf in Ireland. The Web Summit was born in Dublin and it is good to have one of the conferences that spun out of it here. You are all very welcome.
In particular, I would like to welcome those of you who have come from overseas. I do hope you find some time to explore all that Dublin has to offer and better still that you manage to get out of Dublin and see some of the country.
We have people from over 70 countries with us today, and more than double as many people as last year. This is a testament to the work of the Web Summit team and it also demonstrates the importance of fintech globally.
I think there is no better place to discuss issues like cybersecurity, blockchain, cryptocurrency, AI, regulation, and the future of fintech than here in Ireland, one of Europe's leading technology hubs. And here in Dublin, the city that I want to become Europe’s tech capital.
Ireland is one of the most globalised and open economies in the world.
Our philosophy is to be a leader and not a follower when it comes to emerging economic, social and technological developments.
Ireland is emblematic of the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the worlds of finance and technology. Changes that have occurred at a speed many believed impossible. From being an inward looking, insular place at the edge of Europe, Ireland has become a multicultural and globalised country, a melting pot of nationalities, proud to engage with the world.
In 2015, we became the first country in the world to legalise marriage equality by popular vote.
And, in the last few weeks we voted to remove the constitutional ban on abortion so we could provide compassion and care to women in crisis.
At a time when attitudes to globalisation, free trade and multilateralism are hardening in much of the world, Ireland is a beacon for liberal western democratic values.
There are now more than 2.2 million people at work here in Ireland, and the next set of figures will show that we have more people in employment now than at any point in our history.
We have sustainable growth and we want to use this to improve the lives of all our people and all parts of the country.
Whenever I talk about our economy and society, I tend to do so in terms of six principles.
The first is prudent management of the public finances and reducing our national debt. Last year, for the first time in a long time, we ran a budget surplus, and we reduced the national debt as a percentage of GDP.
Second, we want to continue to raise living standards in a sustainable way for all our citizens, reducing the cost of public services.
The third is achieving full employment with good jobs. We are approaching full employment, so our emphasis now is on good jobs, jobs that pay the bills so people can aspire to home ownership and have pensions so they can plan for the future.
Our fourth principle is investing in infrastructure. With Project Ireland 2040 we have an ambitious ten-year plan to invest €116 billion in our public infrastructure. This means investment in housing, healthcare facilities, education, transport and climate change. It’s a long-term strategic approach and it provides the clarity and certainty that businesses require in order to plan ahead with confidence.
The fifth is our commitment to reforming and modernising our public services. This year we are spending over €15 billion on health, representing the highest ever level of expenditure and one of the highest per-head anywhere in the world, and we are spending over €10 billion on education.
The sixth principle relates to our role internationally, as an island at the centre of the world.
We see ourselves not as an island at the edge of a continent, but an island that’s at the centre of a connected and globalised world.
We are at the heart of the common European home we helped to build, committed to multilateralism as the best way to solve the world’s many challenges.
1. Climate Change
2. Illegal Migration
3. Taxation in a digital world
4. Extreme Poverty
On Monday, the Government launched Global Ireland 2025 - an ambitious plan to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint over the next seven years.
For over 35 years, Ireland has invested in educating and attracting software engineers. The result of which is a vibrant start-up community, cutting-edge research and leading multinational companies. It’s seen in the innovative work of our government-funded research centres, for example, ADAPT which is taking part in the events here and I’m delighted to be able to announce today that ADAPT has been awarded almost €2m in funding through Science Foundation Ireland for its ambitious FinTech Spoke project.
Stephen Hawking believed that ‘intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.’
Today, Europe needs to be intelligent in how it adapts to the change of a generation.
The shadow of Brexit hangs over Europe. However where there is confusion we are working to provide certainty.
As Sarah Connor said “There is no fate but the one we make ourselves.”
No matter what happens with Brexit, Ireland will continue to offer a stable and competitive corporation tax regime and strong incentives for research and development.
I know many fintech and payments companies are seeking e- money and payment institution licences in order to have continued access to the single market post Brexit.
I believe Ireland offers real certainty, as firms authorised here, to carry out certain regulated activities, may passport this authorisation into other EEA states.
Being in Ireland provides access to an EU market of over 500 million people, and an EU labour pool of 250 million people.
Recognising this, many financial services firms have already chosen Ireland as their preferred European base now and after Brexit.
And, we are now seeing the result of our work developing the fintech and blockchain ecosystems in Ireland.
I think the diversity of financial services firms and technology firms in Ireland provides the perfect environment for ideas to be exchanged and developed and for fintech to flourish.
As a result, we are now seeing breakthroughs in research and development in areas such as Machine Learning, Blockchain, Big Data, Cyber Security, Analytics, Digitisation and Risk, and Payments and Innovation.
Companies like Stripe, Mastercard, First Data and Yapstone have established or expanded global Research and Development centres in Ireland and the benefits are becoming clear.
The same applies to companies like Square and Global Payments who have established and expanded their international operations centres here.
However we are not complacent. There are many countries more than willing to eat our lunch and we know it.
The Government is determined to ensure that Ireland stays a very competitive location for global fintech investment and we recognise that there is always more that can be done.
We are currently undertaking a census of the fintech sector.
This will allow us to compare ourselves with other leading fintech hubs and highlight areas which need improvement, drawing on best practice from elsewhere.
Later this year, Ireland's Central Bank will launch an innovation hub and an industry engagement programme. This will ensure that we keep pace with the evolving fintech and regulatory landscape.
Think of the reasons why MoneyConf and Web Summit became global successes. It was the combination of creativity, imagination, a vision, and a certain amount of Irish charm.
We are using the same ingredients in our strategies for the future of fintech.
It is said that the past is a foreign country. The future is a foreign country as well, but if we start planning now, we will know only opportunity and not fear.
Hosting MoneyConf ensures that we benefit from the testing of ideas that will take place here. By challenging our assumptions, we will break new ground and make real advances.
In turn, I hope the connections you make here in Dublin will provide inspiration and promise for you.
I hope you have an interesting, enjoyable and fruitful conference.
Thank you.