The Central Bank of Ireland has set out its regulatory and supervisory priorities for 2026 alongside detailed advice to Government on strengthening economic resilience amid heightened uncertainty. In a letter to the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf framed the outlook around geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, technological disruption and the climate transition, arguing that Ireland’s economy and financial sector must adapt despite starting from a strong position. For domestic resilience, the Governor advised prioritising infrastructure delivery across housing, transport, energy and water, strengthening the indigenous business sector alongside foreign direct investment, building fiscal buffers through prudent policy and rigorous expenditure control, supporting household resilience by enabling greater retail participation in financial markets and improving access to debt and equity financing for domestic businesses, and working with partners to strengthen Europe’s economic infrastructure and develop new multilateral trading rules. The Central Bank’s 2026 supervisory priorities centre on resilience to geopolitical and macro-financial risks, consumer and investor protection including implementing the revised Consumer Protection Code and enhancing safeguards against financial crime, responding to technology-driven change including continued focus on artificial intelligence and delivery of a second Innovation Sandbox programme on payments, and addressing environmental and societal transitions including assessing firms’ responses to climate-related risks and severe weather events; it also flagged new responsibilities under Access to Cash legislation and a forthcoming discussion paper on tokenisation. The Central Bank will publish its full Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook in the coming weeks.

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