Address

Ante Čičin-Šain Lecture, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, September 22, 2011

The second in the Ante Čičin-Šain series of lectures was held in Zagreb in 2007 and, as it then was a new event here, I felt it appropriate to explain in some detail the reasons why the series had been inaugurated.

Happily, as we gather for the sixth lecture, my task is much simpler and, you will be glad to hear, much shorter.

The lectures have two objectives.

They are an acknowledgment of the late Dr Ante Čičin-Šain's key role in the development of Croatian-Irish relations and a tribute to his great service to his country especially in the establishment of Croatian monetary independence.

They are also intended to promote discussion and facilitate contact between Ireland and Croatia especially on the matters of economic interest. In particular, they reflect the strong links that have been established between the central banks of the two countries.

While he clearly needs no introduction to this audience, it does give me great pleasure to thank Vice Governor Presečan for agreeing to deliver the 2011 lecture. Given his role in the Croatian National Bank, he is ideally placed to deliver an assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing Croatia as it stands on the brink of full membership of the European Union.

However, apart altogether from the gratitude we feel for his delivery of this year's lecture, we are also greatly indebted to Tomislav Presečan for his commitment to this event since its inception. Without his encouragement, the bilateral dimension of the event may not have been achieved. Without his support, the logistical difficulties may have proved too much. Certainly, without his involvement, the event would not have become the success it is.

The only negative note I wish to sound is that if Tomislav believes that by delivering this year's lecture he will get some sort of remission of sentence as regards future involvement with this endeavour, he is in for a sore disappointment.

Our second speaker is Colm McCarthy, a distinguished economist, academic and author, not to mention a man whose name in Ireland has the same effect in certain quarters as, I suspect, the mention by the Croatian mothers of the name of Genghis Khan must have had on obstreperous children when the Golden Horde did its grand tour of the Balkans back when Zagreb was still two cities.

Economic boom and bust in Ireland may appear to be a new phenomenon as far as Europe is concerned but that is only because Ireland's current problems are of concern not only to Ireland but to all of Europe. In fact, a not dissimilar chain of events followed our entry into the European Economic Community as has more recently followed our entry into the eurozone.

Back in the 1980s, radical surgery to the Irish public service and state enterprises was undertaken and one of the surgical team was Colm McCarthy. Just over 20 years and a critical relapse later, Colm McCarthy was summoned back to the emergency ward and called on to operate again. However, I think it fair to say that, just as in the actual Irish health system, the time lapse between diagnosis and treatment has not proved to be as short as it was twenty years ago.

Be that as it may, I feel that in Colm McCarthy we have brought someone to Zagreb who is guaranteed to ally any suspicion that the words "economist" and "straight talking" can never logically appear in the same sentence.

Before I conclude, I wish to thank Ireland's Ambassador to Croatia for being here today. As a non-resident Ambassador himself, Ambassador Brady will appreciate the difficulties previously encountered by the late Dr Ante Čičin-Šain when he served as Croatia's Ambassador to Ireland although based in London. I suppose that with Colm McCarthy listening to me, I had better not make any special pleas for an Irish Embassy in Zagreb in the near future.

Finally, I want to thank Governor Rohatinski and the National Bank for hosting us all here today. Over the years, the organisation, commitment and support of the National Bank here in Zagreb and indeed the Central Bank of Ireland every alternate year in Dublin have been phenomenal and it is with confidence that we can look forward to this event in the future.