Monday, 25 January 2021

The Governor of the Central Bank has welcomed an ‘important opportunity’ to engage with students and future business leaders as part of a live address hosted by University of Limerick.

Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, met with University of Limerick President Professor Kerstin Mey and students at the university this Monday as part of an address setting out his key priorities for 2021.

Governor Makhlouf met virtually with staff and students from UL as well as representatives from local businesses as part of the Central Bank’s outreach programme.

His live address focused on the outlook for the year ahead, and the Governor discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and policy response to the pandemic. He also set out his key priorities for the Central Bank in 2021.

The Governor took the opportunity to meet with students of UL’s Masters in Economics and Policy Analysis programme. He also met with the President of the University and lecturers in Economics to discuss Limerick’s economic outlook and UL’s plans for 2021.

Speaking after the meetings, Governor Makhlouf said: “The Kemmy Business School at UL is the largest business school in Ireland so today’s meeting was an important opportunity for me to engage with students and future business leaders, which is a priority for me as Governor of the Central Bank. 

“Today’s event gave me an opportunity to hear about the issues that are important to people from all over the country and to get a deeper insight into how these issues are affecting people. I particularly enjoyed speaking with the Masters students and hearing about the areas of economics that are of particular interest to them,” he added.

President Kerstin Mey said she was “both pleased and very proud” to welcome Governor Makhlouf to the UL-hosted event.

Dr Darragh Flannery of UL’s Department of Economics said: “We were delighted to help organise such an important policy event along with our colleagues in the Central Bank and to see such interest from our alumni and other stakeholders. It was particularly exciting that the Governor took the time to meet with our Masters in Economics students and we look forward to hosting him on campus at some point in the future.”

Speaking about the Central Bank’s outreach programme, Governor Makhlouf said: “Education is at the heart of the Central Bank’s outreach activities. For me, it’s really important to continue to engage with students and educators to hear their unique perspectives on our work, and meeting with representatives from communities throughout the country is invaluable for us in fulfilling our mandate. This is the first in a number of similar events that will be taking place throughout 2021.”