EY Funds Forum 2024

I was delighted to once again attend the Annual Christmas EY Funds Forum in The Shelbourne on Tuesday 3rd December 2024. Compered brilliantly by both Fergus McNally & Lisa Kealy, we were treated to an excellent range of interviews, fireside chats and panels.

​

• Merheen Khan (Economics Editor of The Times) was excellent as she provided her views on Ireland's position with the change in administration in the US (and capital to be gained in the next few years) and the likelihood of deregulation and deflation depending on tarrffs

• Brian Corr, Head of Funds Review 2030 at the Department of Finance, had some interesting insights on Ireland’s potential to shape global markets

• On the Panel "Accelerate to Elevate", Joan Kehoe highlighted that there are still challenges with the CBI with respect to speed and engagement, being much slower to get regulated than in the US or Luxembourg and can see why some new start-ups have chosen other jurisdictions. Additionally, Enterprise Ireland grants need to be enhanced

• Bertie Ahern was shooting from the hip during the fireside chat, noting that Fine Gael had underperformed in the election while Fianna Fail had surpassed expectations. With respect to forming a new government, Bertie was of the opinion that Holly Cairns wouldn't be strong enough to support or hold up a government which drew a couple of gasps from some members of the audience. He didn't see multinationals withdrawing from Ireland as a major threat, rather maybe less levels of investment. We would need to stand on our own two feet versus Europe and leverage on our strong historical relationship with the US, albeit we aren't as close with senior Republicans as Democrats

​