A member of Ireland’s Ministry of Finance’s senior management Board, Dr Paul Ryan leads its International Finance Division.
The Division is responsible for developing and implementing policy on Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism/Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) and international, UN and EU, sanctions (restrictive measures) regimes. The Division leads negotiations at EU level across these policy areas and it is currently engaged in the transposition of the latest EU legislative package establishing the new central EU AML/CFT supervisor for the financial and non-financial sectors (the Anti-Money Laundering Authority or AMLA), a new rulebook of AML/CFT measures (6AMLD). It collaborates closely with the Department of Justice and the Central Bank of Ireland on this work.
Dr Ryan is Ireland’s representative to the inter-Governmental FATF (the Financial Actions Task Force) and a range of OECD and other international fora across these areas. As Chair of the Government’s Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee (AMLSC), he has responsibility for delivering the National Risk Assessment (NRA) into Ireland’s AML/CFT/CPF regimes and developing its subsequent AML Strategy. Both are critical preparation for the 2027-28 FATF MER (Mutual Evaluation Review) of the Ireland which covers both public and private sector stakeholders working in this area.
The Division is also responsible for developing and implementing policy covering Ireland’s membership of, and relationship with, fifteen International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) including the IMF, World Bank and ADB. In his role, he attends Annual Meetings of the IFIs/MDBs as Ireland’s Alternate Governor/temporary Alternate Governor.
The primary objective of Ireland’s IFI/MDB engagement is to influence their strategies and polices to reflect and promote the country’s economic and policy objectives and interests, including those relating to international development and climate. This also includes securing investment funding for Ireland and business development opportunities for Irish companies.
Until recently, Dr Ryan was responsible for driving the continued growth of Ireland’s international financial services (IFS) sector against international competition, and in the context of UK Brexit, with a focus on digital transformation and Sustainable/Green finance. The latter area was related to responsibilities for the Ministry of Finance’s role on Climate Action and Climate Finance to meet ambitious Government commitments to reducing emissions by 51% by 2030 and a carbon neutrality by 2050.
Previously responsible for public sector financial management reform projects to modernise and centralise these services. Over his career, he also led the Ministry’s Finance & Corporate Directorate and worked on taxation policy, budgetary policy and debt management. A career Civil Servant since 1990, Ryan has experience in other Government Ministries: Education & Science; Environment & Local Government; and Justice. Previously, he was a University Lecturer in Geography for which he holds a PhD, along with qualifications in Accounting and Finance, Banking, Sustainable Finance and Corporate Governance.
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