According to new research from leading digital bank Tandem Bank, conducted by consumer advice expert Savings Champion, while over 90% are worried about the impact on the environment, 56% are not actively contributing to its fight.

90% of people are worried about the climate

Instead, the research shows that Brits trust and have an appetite for their bank to lend their savings to directly support positive impacts against climate change (56% of respondents). Almost one in ten of us would also be happy to accept a lower rate if banks did so.

But with Tandem’s previous research showing some customers are more focused on the rising cost of living and not about the effects of climate change, consumers need more support to make an impact.

And with 75% of respondents trusting their bank to make green decisions on their behalf, Tandem Bank has already illustrated this trust in action, supporting customers with over £230 million for green home improvements, which last year alone financed a reduction of 12,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

The results also confirm appetite for consumers to look after their savings online, with 67% of respondents already using a savings app. 90% would be inclined to manage their savings via an app as well as online. But despite the introduction of new digital technologies aimed at driving efficiencies and value, savers remain reluctant to embrace Open Banking – with the research showing that 62% of consumers are either uncomfortable with, or unaware of, Open Banking.

Commenting on the survey, Tandem’s new Director of Savings, Ben Mitchell, said:

“This research shows the scale of the opportunity for Tandem in the savings market as we look to support and encourage customers to play their part in driving positive climate change.

“Tandem is on an exciting journey to build a bank focused on helping customers make fairer and greener financial choices. We’re making great progress – including the recent enhancement of our online sales journey – and it’s great to see consumer appetite for us to continue to support consumers to make greener and fairer choices, whilst providing market-leading rates for their hard-earned money.”

Tandem currently has a suite of savings products across fixed-rate and instant access, several of which sit at the top of the Best Buy tables. Ben Mitchell recently joined Tandem in his new role to accelerate Tandem’s savings proposition, and one of his first initiatives has been to overhaul and enhance the bank’s online customer experience.

Savings Champion

Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion, said: “The results of the survey are really encouraging as they show just how important environmental issues are to people – and this is having a positive impact on how companies, including banks, behave. The more companies that improve their green credentials the better it is for the planet. It’s good to know that we can all have a direct impact on encouraging companies to become genuinely greener.”

Savings Champion is one of the UK’s leading independent experts on cash-based savings, providing savers with free unbiased, guidance on their cash savings. They have created one of the largest databases of savings account information in the UK, monitoring over 5,500 savings accounts and 18,000 interest rates.

Savings Champion has pledged 25% of its future profits and value to environmental charity Restore Our Planet, one of the financial contributors of the David Attenborough film, A Life on Our Planet, as a fundamental value of the business is to have a significant positive impact towards saving the planet.

87% of Irish adults made donations to charity in the first three months of the year; with nearly half (47%) making donations to charities supporting Ukraine, according to new research published by Enthuse, the donations, fundraising and events platform.

The research was published to mark the launch of the company’s new Irish operations, based in Dublin. The company already works with prominent Irish charities including MS Ireland, Irish Red Cross and Ronald McDonald House. The Donor Pulse research tracks changing consumer habits and attitudes to charity and fundraising on a periodic basis.

Ukraine in Focus

According to the research, the war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on Irish people. 38% of Irish people donated to charities providing humanitarian support on the ground in Ukraine, while a further 23% donated to charities supporting Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland. Tellingly, of those that made donations to charity in the past three months, more than one in five (21%) donated money solely to Ukrainian causes, potentially suggesting a marked rise in charitable donations in the first three months of the year.

The Causes That Resonate With Irish People

Aside from the war in Ukraine, some of the most prominent causes to resonate with Irish people in the last three months were local community charities (25%), mental health support services (24%), homelessness (22%), children’s charities (22%) and cancer research (20%). Other causes to receive donations included:

Animal welfare charities (19%) — Local hospices (17%) — Church or faith-based organisations (13%) — Charities supporting the elderly (9%) — Grassroots sport (9%) — Environmental causes (7%) — Educational charities (7%)

Positive Sentiment, Despite Inflationary Pressures

The rising cost of living has emerged as one of the defining challenges for Irish households in 2022, with 80% of Irish adults citing it as their top concern for 2022. In comparison, only 11% referenced Covid.

However, despite this economic backdrop, the fundraising and charitable sector will be encouraged to learn that Irish adults remain positively disposed to donating to charity in 2022. Nearly two in five (38%) state that they were more likely to give to charity today than they were three months previously.

Exactly half of those surveyed said their attitude to charities had remained unchanged, while only eight per cent said they were less likely to give money to charity than before. The remaining five per cent either never donate to charity (3%) or remain unsure (2%).

Motivating Factors

The three most commonly cited reasons for donating to charity were moral duty (49%), the continued media coverage of humanitarian crises, including the war in Ukraine (29%), and a friend, family member or individual having personally benefited from the charity’s services (25%).

Looking Ahead

The last of the Irish Government’s Covid-19 restrictions were officially lifted on 01 April. In light of this return to normality, there appears to be a considerable appetite among Irish adults to participate in fundraising events or activities in 2022. Over half (58%) are open to participating in fundraising events later this year, with large group events, including fun runs and sponsored walks proving the most popular.

Amongst those who intend on participating in fundraising activities in 2022, exactly 50% are open to participating in large group activities, while 48% prefer the greater flexibility of being able to complete an exercise challenge in their own time. Other popular fundraising formats include pub quizzes and bake-offs (47%), lifestyle challenges (24%) and gaming events (20%).

The findings suggest that there is less appetite among Irish adults for formal fundraising events, including black-tie dinners (only 13%) or traditional professional networking events (just 7%).

Commenting on the research, Enthuse’s Ireland Country Lead, Luke Dixon, said:

“We are delighted to publish our first ever Enthuse Dono...

Catherine Sheridan, an energy professional with 20 years of utility and local Government experience has been selected as one of the top Women Globally in Hydrogen.

Catherine Sheridan

Catherine began her career with Cork County Council before moving to Ervia. A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of Engineers Ireland, she has held senior roles in engineering, project management and communications. Her experience includes site and contract management as well as commercial roles with national utilities.

Catherine is passionate about green energy and a key focus for her as Chief Operating Officer with EIH2 is to help Ireland and Europe achieve Net Zero 2050 through green hydrogen and energy systems integration. She is very focused on community engagement, climate action, gender equity, promoting STEM, diversity and inclusion.

EIH2 is Ireland’s first green hydrogen company, based in Cork. The company’s aim is to transform Ireland’s current energy system based on fossil fuels, and transition to a clean, independent energy future using green hydrogen.

Catherine said: “Ireland is at a special advantage. Offshore wind is one of our most impressive natural resources, and the energy that is generated from our offshore wind is integral to shaping our Net Zero future.”

Making it into the Hydrogen Economists ‘Women in Hydrogen 50’, Catherine was selected as one of only ten women profiled in the policy and regulation category, which is accountable for ensuring that a hydrogen economy and its promise for decarbonisation is supported and held to account.

Alongside some of the world’s leading experts in hydrogen energy, Ms Sheridan will be attending the global and annual ‘First Element’ conference in London on Monday 6th of June, where the event will highlight 50 influential and boundary-pushing women in the growing hydrogen sector.

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There is an opportunity to position Ireland as a global leader in cyber security and to grow the workforce to over 17,000 by 2030, according to a recent report conducted by Cyber Ireland and Cyber Skills, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, has found that. These are among the findings of the report which identified 489 cyber security companies operating across Ireland that employ cyber security teams.

Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, eGovernment and Circular Economy, Mr Ossian Smyth, addressed the report “There have been several significant cyber security incidents in the past number of years, including the incident affecting the HSE in May of last year. I welcome the collaboration between Cyber Ireland and Cyber Skills on The State of the Cyber Security Sector report in Ireland. These findings will be key in developing our ambitious targets to support future growth and development of the cyber security sector in the years ahead.”

Ireland Can Become a Global Leader in Cyber Security according to Report

Cluster Manager of Cyber Ireland, Dr Eoin Byrne stated “This report shows the size and scale of the cyber security sector, critical to our economy and society, which employs 7,300 professionals and contributes €1.1bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) per annum. Cyber security is a rapidly growing industry, and we have the potential in Ireland to grow this industry to 17,000 jobs and €2.5bn in annual GVA by 2030, with the right business supports and measures.”

While the findings of the report confirmed that 83% of businesses expect their IT security team to grow over the next twelve months, 61% have noted a recruitment, training and retention issue, such as a lack of candidates in the labour market with the appropriate skill level (41%), lack of non-technical skills (22%), or unaffordable salaries (21%). Access to training and education is essential in the industry to ensure demand for skills does not outweigh supply.

Professor Donna O’Shea, Chair of Cybersecurity at Munster Technological University (MTU), added “The opportunity for Ireland to grow and develop the cyber security sector to 17,000 professionals, is dependent on a supply of suitably qualified individuals. The HEA Cyber Skills initiative aims to address the challenge of talent and skills, by reducing barriers to participation in the industry, upskilling and reskilling professionals making them industry ready upon completion of their courses. This is done with expertise drawn from top industry leaders and collaboration within the scientific community”

Investment in IT security firms hit record levels in 2021 of over $20b globally, and over the past 5 years 20 Irish cyber security firms raised over €110m in external investment to fund expansion and growth in operations. However, it was found that 26% of businesses that responded have faced issues with raising or securing finance. Quick access to investors is essential for funding, development, competition, connections & access to markets and Irish cyber security start-ups require this funding to scale their business rapidly to meet the demands of the market.

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The Collector’s Dilemma, Role of Crypto Experts, and the Intersection of NFTs and Blockchain Innovation with Sarina Charugundla

Sarina Charugundla is a creative thinker with a background in mechanical engineering, marketing, telecom, and business. Prior to joining TreeTrunk, she worked as VP of business development, analyzing businesses for VC deployment at Eagle. Sarina thrives in the intersections of art and technology. Fostering relationships is at her core, she has worked to uplift communities in NFT, art, and STEM via student entrepreneurship opportunities, art events, and grants for technological advancement.

The Intersection of NFTs and Blockchain Innovation, Sarina Charugundla

Jamil Hasan is a crypto and blockchain focused podcast host at the Irish Tech News and spearheads our weekend content “The Crypto Corner” where he interviews founders, entrepreneurs and global thought leaders.

Prior to his endeavors into the crypto-verse in July 2017, Jamil built an impressive career as a data, operations, financial, technology and business analyst and manager in Corporate America, including twelve years at American International Group and its related companies.

Since entering the crypto universe, Jamil has been an advisor, entrepreneur, investor and author. His books “Blockchain Ethics: A Bridge to Abundance” (2018) and “Re-Generation X” (2020) not only discuss the benefits of blockchain technology, but also capture Jamil’s experience on how he has transitioned from being a loyal yet downsized former corporate employee to a self sovereign individual.

With over one hundred podcasts under his belt since he joined our team in February 2021, and with four years of experience both managing his own crypto portfolio and providing crypto guidance and counsel to select clients, Jamil continues to seek opportunities to help others navigate this still nascent industry.

Jamil’s primary focus outside of podcast hosting is helping former corporate employees gain the necessary skills and vision to build their own crypto portfolios and create wealth for the long-term.

See more podcasts by Jamil here.

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Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

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KPMG Ireland today announced the eight shortlisted companies that will go forward and compete in the Ireland final of the KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition 2022. The competition, now in its second year in Ireland, provides a platform to showcase the best of Ireland’s emerging tech innovators across a range of sectors.

The finalists were selected from over 40 exceptional entries and will pitch their innovations and growth ambitions to an esteemed panel of judges including Anne Sheehan, general manager of Microsoft; Tommy Kelly, founder and CEO of eShopWorld (ESW); Elaine Coughlan, co-founder and managing partner of Atlantic Bridge; Chris McClelland, founding partner at Broadstone; and Seamus Hand, managing partner at KPMG Ireland. The Ireland final will be broadcast online at 4pm on Thursday, 2nd June. Registration is open to the public at www.kpmg.ie/GTI.

The shortlisted companies, which are from Dublin, Limerick, Belfast, Galway and Kildare, offer solutions in areas including fintech, medtech, agtech, real estate and motoring using technologies in blockchain, IoT, AI and machine learning.

The overall winner in Ireland will progress to the final, which will be held during Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon in November, where they will compete with 22 other countries and jurisdictions for the title of KPMG Global Tech Innovator.

The companies that have qualified for the Ireland final of the KPMG Global Tech Innovator are:

Akara – a facilities management robotics company that develops data-driven automation to increase capacity in hospitals and other healthcare settings through improved efficiency. Akara’s mission is to develop tools that empower front line workers and modernise public health.

BioSimulytics – developers of a patented breakthrough technology for molecular simulation in early-stage drug discovery and development. Their platform’s technology uses a combination of AI, machine learning, quantum simulation and cloud computing which enable biopharma companies to get new drug molecules to market much faster and with multi-million-dollar savings in R&D costs.

EquiTrace – a dynamic new software solution that traces horses, horse health, medication and welfare. By unleashing the power of the microchip, EquiTrace allows the creation of live accurate databases urgently needed by the equine industry.

Kinzen – a solution that empowers the people who keep online communities safe from harmful content, using both human experience and machine learning. Kinzen helps safety professionals, content moderators and public policymakers get ahead of threats such as dangerous misinformation, organised disinformation and hateful content in multiple languages.

Provizio – developers of a software-defined active safety platform that perceives, predicts and prevents automotive accidents in real-time using proprietary long-range imaging sensors & AI on the edge. Provizio’s vision is a future world with zero road deaths.

ANGOKA – an IoT security company focused on protecting machine-to-machine communications for smart cities and mobility. Headquartered in Belfast, with offices in London and The Hague, ANGOKA offers solutions that protect devices’ identities and safeguard critical communications integrity and data provenance, creating trusted connections, even over untrusted networks.

Offr – a solution that provides a secure and transparent way for people to make offers to buy or rent real estate. Used by property agents in multiple countries, all buyers are financially qualified, and their offers are verified and published transparently in real-time. With its digital contract and deposit process, Offr delivers the world’s fastest and most trusted way of transacting real estate.

Zoan Biomed – developers of safe, naturally derived, osteogenic medical devices for cutting edge solutions in orthopaedics. Zoan’s goal is to improve patients’ lifestyles and wellbeing while delivering from a uniquely sustainable business model.

For more information visit: ...

Irish business has a huge opportunity to bolster its international competitiveness, but if innovation is the engine for competitiveness, then people are its fuel. The challenge lies in having the capabilities, the people power, available to create a platform for innovation.

One Irish company that is helping Irish businesses bolster their international competitiveness is the Donegal based digital transformation company Endava. Ronan talks to Joe Dunleavy, their Head of Innovation.

Joe talks about his background, digital transformation, how Ireland can remain competitive as it competes against other markets, the scalability of the cloud. Joe also talks about the key to innovation, how we make sure it speaks to the end user, and solar technology.

More about Joe Dunleavy:

Joe is an experienced executive in the Innovation, Software Delivery, FinTech and Business areas. In previous positions, he has held several leadership roles including Innovation Head, Interim CIO, Software Development Lead, and Technical Project Manager.

His experience spreads the range between IT start-up and global corporation, which helps him support a diverse range of clients. Joe also holds degrees in UX, UI and Innovation, Innovation & Leadership, and Computer Science, and he is a certified Amazon Cloud Practitioner and Microsoft Azure Fundamentals professional.

See more podcasts here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that St Brigid’s College Callan has been named as winner of AWS GetIT 2022 in Ireland, a competition designed to inspire young students, especially girls, aged between 12 and 13 to consider a career in technology by challenging longstanding gender stereotypes and inspiring them to become tomorrow’s tech innovators and leaders.

Teams from many schools across Ireland took part in the competition to design an app which solves a real issue faced by their school or community. AWS received entries covering a wide range of ideas, including concepts focused on sustainability, mental health, and personal safety. The final for the competition took place at AWS’s offices in Dublin on Wednesday, 17th May and was judged by a panel of business and technology industry experts.

The winning team at St Brigid’s College Callan, County Kilkenny came up with an app idea called ‘Bee Aware’. The app idea is a call to action for teenagers and encourages them to become involved in their homes, schools, and communities to create and maintain bee-friendly areas.

Runners-up Our Lady’s Grove Secondary School in Dublin came up with an app idea called ‘Climate Change Chats’, an app where people can make videos of themselves taking action against climate change, and inspire others in their local community to do the same.

Lorna Cody, Business & IT teacher from St Brigid’s College said: “St. Brigid’s College Callan participated in the AWS GetIT competition for the first time this year and were absolutely honoured to be chosen as the winning team. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the programme as it gave them an opportunity to ‘learn and be curious’ to move outside their comfort zone and delve into a world in which they had never experienced.

Every single girl in first year took part in the programme, they developed their IT, teamwork, interpersonal and presentation skills. These transferrable skills will benefit them in all aspects of their life going forward. They formed a wonderful relationship with their Ambassador Fiona, who visited the school, on several occasions. Fiona was inspiring and left every single girl in the room feeling, ‘this could be me!’ I have no doubt, that she has inspired some of our girls to consider a future career in technology.”

Mark Finlay, Head of Public Sector at AWS Ireland and one of the judges of the final said: “Programmes like AWS GetIT help to encourage secondary school students – and in particular girls – to study technology, by introducing them to cloud computing and digital skills, and making them aware of the many and varied career opportunities available in the industry today.

We were very impressed with the ideas we received and would like to extend our congratulations to everyone who participated in the programme this year, and in particular, the team at St Brigid’s College who won the top prize for their app to maintain the population of bees. We hope all the teams will be inspired to build on the skills they’ve learned with AWS GetIT, and feel confident that they can achieve anything.”

Carol Gibbons, Head of Technology in Enterprise Ireland (State Business Export Agency) and judge of the final said: “Judging was the impossible task – the quality of the presentation, depth of knowledge and passion for their projects was seriously impressive. It is always a privilege to be involved in a programme like AWS GetIT, and for the students, presenting back in the schools and their communities on their projects shows if you can see it you can be it. Well done to all involved.”

Lorna Martyn, Ireland Regional Chair and SVP, Technology, Fidelity Investments and judge of the final said: “Initiatives like GetIT reach students at a critical stage of development and amplifies awareness of careers in technology. Intervention in the early teens is a particularly important step in increasing gender diversity in the technology sector.

The applied approach used in GetIT provides opportunities for st...

TG4 will host over two hundred delegates who will travel to Galway from across Europe to take part in the 38th CIRCOM Regional Conference from May 25-27th. CIRCOM is a Professional Association of Regional Public Service Television in Europe. The theme of this year’s conference is “Creative Regions, Creative Economy”.

The three-day conference will feature topics of Sustainability of Journalism Creative Regions: Creative Economies, Digital Transformation, Reaching Young Audiences, Climate Coverage in News, PSB Prominence and the role regional public service broadcasters can play in influencing the cultural and economic vibrancy.

TG4 to Host CIRCOM Regional Conference

TG4 is Europe’s most westerly-based broadcaster and supports employment, development and sustainability of talent in Ireland’s regions. As the media world globalises regional broadcasters and regional storytellers offer a unique position as guardians and exponents of the true values of public service broadcasting. Demand for audiovisual content and the value of public service media is stronger than ever despite changing audience viewing habits.

TG4 Director-General Alan Esslemont said “I congratulate all those at CIRCOM who have been involved in shaping this year’s key conference topics of Sustainability of Journalism, Creative Regions: Creative Economies, Digital Transformation, Reaching Young Audiences and PSB Prominence.

It is a truly compelling and forward-looking programme and I look forward to excellent discussions. As our media world globalises and becomes more homogenous, I believe that regional broadcasters and regional storytellers will move to centre-stage as guardians and exponents of the true values of public service broadcasting.”

Conference speakers include RTÉ’s Cormac Ó hEadhra, Irish Satirist and Podcaster Blindboyboatclub, Senior News Reporter at Vice World News Sophia Smith Galer, Nergiz Nora Westerbergh; Head of Digital at Sweden’s SVT News, Máirín Ní Ghadhra; RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta, Páidí Ó Lionáird; Nuacht TG4, Eibhlín Ní Chonghaile formerly of Sky News and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and Tomás Ó Síocháin CEO of Western Development Commission.

Victor Pickard, Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, has written extensively on the role of media in a democratic society.

He will join Olaf Steenfadt who heads the Journalism Trust Initiative at the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Razan Ibraheem, Irish-Syrian journalist and senior analyst with Kinzen to discuss the sustainability of journalism. Dr Richard Burnley from the EBU and Kate Biggs, Director from Ofcom will join Liam Boyle from the BAI to discuss measures to ensure the prominence of public service media.

The keynote on Creative Economy will be from John Newbigin OBE, a special advisor to the UK Minister for Culture, Rt Hon Chris Smith MP. He was closely involved in developing the UK government’s first policies for the creative industries in the 1990s.

The topic of how PSBs ensure Climate is kept top of the agenda will be discussed with Erika Bjerström who was appointed as the first-ever Global Climate Correspondent at Swedish National Television (2020) and Tara Peterman award-winning journalist and Executive Producer of RTÉ’s Climate Change coverage.

As part of the conference events, journalists will take part in a 3-day digital journalism course at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

The CIRCOM Regional 38th conference is supported by the BAI, Fáilte Ireland, Gréasán na Meán, Nuacht RTÉ and Creative Media Europe.

More information is available here:

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Acceptance of crypto continues to grow, but greater understanding is needed between digital assets and digital currencies.

Nearly 60% of attendees at a Matheson / UCD Leadership event have already bought or would consider buying crypto assets, but the vast majority do not think there is enough understanding of the difference between digital assets and digital currencies. However, businesses do see the opportunity with over 90% expecting to new revenue streams from blockchain, digital assets, and/or cryptocurrency solutions.

Matheson | UCD Leadership Series Invitation: Crypto And Digital Assets Revolution, What’s Next?

These are just some of the findings of a snapshot survey conducted at the Matheson / UCD Leadership Series event; “Crypto and the Digital Assets Revolution: What’s Next?” . The survey also found:

Nearly 60% of respondents have bought, or would consider buying, cryptocurrencies in the future but just over 43% have bought, or would consider buying, non-fungible tokens or other digital assets.

97% believe that the difference between digital currencies and digital assets is not widely understood by the public.

91% expect that their industry will see new revenue streams from blockchain, digital assets, and / or cryptocurrency solutions.

The vast majority (86%) believe that new regulation is essential for the widespread adoption of new products and services.

In order to trust new technology, the most important consideration is having a greater understanding (62%), followed by data security and privacy (32%).

The latest in the Matheson UCD Leadership Series, the event in UCD’s O’Reilly Hall was attended by over 400 leaders from across the financial services, technology and industry sectors, and explored the evolving issues, opportunities and risks related to the growth of blockchain, cryptocurrency and virtual assets.

The event featured contributions from thought leaders from across the digital space, including; John Whelan, Managing Director, Crypto & Digital Assets at Banco Santander; Professor Joyce O’Connor, Founding President of National College of Ireland and Co-founder of Block W; Gillian Lynch, Head of Ireland and Europe, Gemini; and Martin Moloney, Secretary-General of IOSCO.

Delivering the closing address, Managing Partner of Matheson, Michael Jackson said; “I want to thank our speakers and panellists for their insightful and very interesting inputs. The clear messages which we heard today are that the pace of change in this area is fast, the use cases for blockchain and crypto assets are evolving quickly and that regulation and legislation will need to evolve at a faster pace to reflect the impact of this.”

“It was also clear that there is a real desire and need for more education about the technologies, opportunities and risks and that businesses, consumers and regulators need to continue to have dialogue and to share experiences to continue to build trust and to ensure that regulation continues to be targeted at the right risks in an appropriate way.”

There are real opportunities for Ireland to become a blockchain and crypto hub and an understanding of the important role regulation can play in that. Ireland has a track record of reacting to innovative change and our reputation as a financial services and technology hub positions the country well to meet the emerging opportunities. Matheson works with the majority of the Fortune 100 companies and 9 of the top 10 global technology brands, so we are fortunate to have a front-row seat working with some of the leading companies in this sector. We are committed to playing our part in continuing the dialogue.

Thank you again to our partners in the UCD Sutherland School of Law. We have collaborated with UCD for several years and we are delighted to once again have the opportunity to explore a topic of national and global relevance as part of the Leadership Series.”

Dr Niamh Howlin, Dean of Law at UCD Sutherland School of Law said; “The increasing significan...