A Way Forward : The Future of Irish and European Union Financial Regulation

The Irish financial crisis caused unprecedented damage to the national economy. While large amounts of tax-dollars have gone towards understanding the events leading up to the crisis, there has not been a concentrated effort to consolidate the lessons learned for both Ireland and the European Union (EU) as a whole. This paper seeks to fill that gap, providing an overview of the key lessons learned from the financial crisis. First, we interrogate the domestic response and evaluate the immediate government intervention and longer-term investigation process through the Banking Inquiry. Second, we focus on the broader domestic policy lessons learned from the crisis. Lastly, we evaluate key changes in E.U. policy that will in turn shape the future of Irish regulatory policy. We find several areas where further reform is necessary, helping chart a path forward for future legislation in the financial regulatory space