Alan Healy: Ireland is rich in savings — but poor at putting money to work

Government and EU aim to channel household savings into business investment amid funding gaps and persistent risk aversion

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris with the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Gabriel Makhlouf at the first Annual Savings and Investment Forum at the Central Bank. Picture: Leah Farrell

The Department of Finance and the European Commission are embarking on a challenging mission: encouraging a fiscally conservative Irish population to put their money in riskier investments.

It's a tall order when you consider the State's relatively short history and its people's even shorter experience with significant levels of personal wealth.