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______________________________________________
For Oral Answer on : 24/01/2023
Question Number(s): 86 Question Reference(s): 2871/23
Department: Finance
Asked by: David Stanton T.D.
______________________________________________


QUESTION


To ask the Minister for Finance his plans regarding the European Financial Forum 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY


The European Financial Forum (EFF) has been successfully produced by IDA in partnership with the Department of Finance since 2016.  A decision on whether to host an EFF is taken each year, on a case-by-case basis, following a review of the previous Forum and discussions between IDA, the Department of Finance, and other key stakeholders.  In recent years, taking account of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the EFF programme has been slimmed down and the conference has been run as a virtual event with no in-person meetings.

The EFF has traditionally been held in Q1 and a decision was taken not to hold a Forum in Q1 2023 to avoid a scheduling conflict and overlap with the upcoming inaugural Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Europe event organised by IDA. This event was originally scheduled for March but will now take place in Ireland on the 18th and 19th of April.  This event will bring together leaders from private and public sectors to discuss analyse and propose solutions to the global economy’s most pressing problems.  This event is expected to attract a diverse range of senior C-suite leaders and corporate decision makers, from across all sectors, including financial services, and has the potential to positively highlight Ireland’s economic and financial strengths to a wide audience.  

The EFF is now one of a host of financial services events periodically held in Ireland, including Climate Finance Week, the Central Bank’s Financial System Conference and other similar events hosted by industry and representative bodies. A decision on the timing of when it would be best to host the next EFF is one that I, and Minister McGrath have yet to take. I anticipate that we will do so after we have considered the views of relevant interested parties. In order to aid our consideration of the merits of any future Forum my officials are currently in discussions with the IDA on this matter.