Ireland’s new minister of state to speak at Global Government Fintech Lab 2024
Ireland’s newly appointed minister of state with responsibility for fintech is to deliver the keynote address at the Global Government Fintech Lab 2024, taking place in Dublin this week (Thursday 25 April).
Neale Richmond was named as minister of state at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for financial services, credit unions and insurance earlier this month (10 April). His opening keynote at the event – a one-day gathering for public servants and fintech suppliers worldwide interested in exploring the possibilities of technology to transform public sector operations and services – will be his first formal public remarks on the topic of fintech and digital finance.
The Global Government Fintech Lab 2024 is free to attend for all public servants and is organised by our sister title Global Government Fintech, in partnership with Ireland’s Department of Finance. The event, which was also held in Ireland’s capital in 2023, includes speakers from across the European Union (EU) and the UK, alongside representatives from nations including India, as well as international bodies.
“Fintech is foundational to how both the public and the private sector can harness the opportunities that innovation and the digital transition are creating. I am looking forward to attending the Global Government Fintech Lab as it returns to Dublin and seeing how different organisations are leveraging financial technology, including to deliver better public services,” said Richmond.
“Ireland is a leading location for fintech. As an established centre for international financial services and a recognised technology hub, we sit at the nexus of innovation between technology and the financial services industry,” added Richmond, who was previously minister of state at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Irish presence at the event
Speakers already confirmed from the host nation include Karen Cullen, head of the international financial services unit and fintech steering group in the Department of Finance; and Mai Santamaria, who leads the financial advisory team in the same department (the former spoke at our 2022 event and the latter spoke at last year’s event).
Also returning – having both spoken at the 2023 event – are Denise Delaney, who is head of the policy and risk horizontal function at the Central Bank of Ireland, and Fintech Ireland’s Peter Oakes. Bernie Kelly, chief executive officer of Ireland’s National Shared Services Office (NSSO), will be taking part in a ‘fireside chat’.
Delivering the keynote speech at the 2023 Lab, Richmond’s predecessor Jennifer Carroll MacNeill – who is now minister of state for EU affairs and defence – championed the role that financial technology “can play for governments in the future as we look to achieve our public policy goals”.
Read more: Irish minister champions fintech’s public policy potential
Ireland’s fintech priorities
Ireland’s government has recently published its latest annual priorities for fostering growth of the fintech sector in an Ireland for Finance: Action Plan 2024 strategy document.
The original ‘Ireland for Finance’ strategy was unveiled in 2019 and its update – a whole-of-government strategy charting the development of international financial services in the European Union (EU) member state to the end of 2026 – was published 18 months ago.
The strategy’s five themes are: sustainable finance; fintech and digital finance; diversity and talent; regionalisation and promotion; and ‘operating environment’.
The 2024 action plan contains 13 ‘key deliverables’’, and ‘assessing proposals for the establishment of a national fintech hub’ is among the priorities in the fintech and digital finance section.
Implementation of the ‘Ireland for Finance’ strategy is overseen by a public-sector high-level implementation committee with input from an industry advisory committee. Minister Richmond will chair the joint committee, supported by the Department of Finance’s international financial services unit.
Register now to attend Global Government Fintech Lab in Dublin on Thursday 25 April
International line-up in Dublin
The Global Government Fintech Lab will include keynote speeches, panel sessions and plenty of opportunities for international networking.
Session topics include governments and the future of finance, public sector financial innovation through payments technology, fighting financial fraud with technology, and financial regulators and innovative technology.
Speakers from the following nations and organisations are also confirmed: Austria, Bermuda, Denmark, Estonia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and the UK.
The 2024 event, being held at Dublin Castle’s Printworks venue, is partnered by ClearBank and Microsoft, which will also have representatives on the panels.
The inaugural Global Government Fintech Lab was held in Estonia’s capital city Tallinn in June 2022. This event was organised in partnership with the Estonian government.
To discuss the 2024 Lab, please contact Anne Simonsen: [email protected]
To discuss ongoing Global Government Fintech commercial opportunities, including partnering the 2024 Lab, please contact Matt Hoare: [email protected]
