Ireland's Department of Finance publishes first National Financial Literacy Strategy with a 2025 action plan and school education guidelines

Ireland’s Department of Finance has published the country’s first National Financial Literacy Strategy, setting a five-year framework to raise financial literacy and improve day-to-day money management, particularly for groups most in need. The strategy responds to evidence that 57% of adults meet the minimum OECD level of financial literacy, leaving 43% below that threshold. The strategy is structured around three work streams. “Establishing Structures” focuses on governance and delivery, including working with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Central Bank of Ireland to put an appropriate governance structure in place, convening an annual stakeholder forum, and maintaining ongoing stakeholder engagement. “Giving Guidance” covers how initiatives should be delivered, monitored and evaluated, and includes steps to increase consumer awareness of rights and protections, promote information sharing, and highlight the need for further research, alongside publication and monitoring of “Financial Education in Schools: Guidelines for the Financial Services Industry”. “Catalysing Change” aims to develop new partnerships and initiatives and sustain existing programmes, with emphasis on under-addressed areas such as digital financial literacy, retail investment, understanding credit and managing debt, and increasing support for under-served groups. An Annual Action Plan will be published during the strategy’s lifetime, setting out agreed stakeholder actions. The Department of Finance also launched the National Financial Literacy Strategy 2025 Action Plan alongside the strategy.