Which institution has been Ireland’s central bank since the Central Bank Act 1942 took effect in 1943?

The Central Bank of Ireland has been Ireland’s central bank since the Central Bank Act 1942 took effect in 1943.

The legislation created a national monetary authority with responsibility for issuing currency, managing reserves and overseeing banking. Before then, Ireland’s currency and banking arrangements were closely linked to the British monetary system.

The institution later gained wider financial-regulation powers, especially after reforms in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 2010, the Financial Regulator was merged into the Central Bank of Ireland, bringing prudential supervision and consumer-protection functions under one organisation.

It is often confused with Bank of Ireland, a commercial bank founded in 1783. The Central Bank of Ireland is a public authority and is also part of the Eurosystem, because Ireland uses the euro and monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank’s Governing Council.