The Lord Mayor of London, Dr Andrew Parmley, will be visiting Dublin on 9-10 October to strengthen ties between the UK and Ireland in the financial and related professional services sector. It will be one of the final countries he will visit as part of his term as the City’s leading spokesperson.

The Square Mile’s 689^th Lord Mayor will meet a number of senior business and government representatives as part of the visit, with the aim of strengthening the links between Dublin and London - the world’s leading financial hub. He is scheduled to meet the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald, and the Governor of the Bank of Ireland, Philip Lane.

Brexit will be a central topic of many of the meetings, in which the representatives will discuss a range of issues ahead of the UK leaving the European Union in March 2019.

It is the penultimate visit the Lord Mayor will make in his role as the most senior representative of the UK’s financial and related professional services sector before his year-long term ends next month. His final visit will be to Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The UK has long been established as Ireland’s most significant trading partner. It is estimated that over €1.1 billion of trade is conducted between the two countries each week, which directly supports around 400,000 jobs.

As well as meeting a number of senior government representatives, the Lord Mayor will also meet the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Commenting on the visit, Lord Mayor Andrew Parmley said:

“I am delighted that my final visit as Lord Mayor is to Ireland, one of Europe’s most innovative and thriving financial hubs.

“Brexit has inevitably thrown up a number of questions for firms based across the EU but the focus of my visit is much more than that. I want to ensure that London and Dublin continue to work together to strengthen sectors both in Ireland and the UK, particularly in key areas of growth - such as FinTech and InsureTech.

“Dublin’s establishment as a major European financial hub has undoubtedly been aided by its close ties and proximity to London - the world’s leading financial centre – and is now ranked seventh in Western Europe, ahead of Amsterdam, Jersey and Stockholm.

“As my term draws to a close, I know just how determined the UK’s financial sector is in maintaining a strong bond with Ireland. I am confident that our close collaboration will only continue to strengthen in the coming months and years.”

Ambassador to Ireland, Robin Barnett said:

“I look forward to welcoming the Lord Mayor of the City of London to Dublin. Our two countries have a unique and strong relationship, not least economically. This is very much reflected in the collaboration between us in the financial and professional services sectors, including in innovative areas like FinTech, where Dublin and London have complementary strengths. So this timely visit will help develop further our strong partnership, as well as helping to enhance the civic and people to people links between the great cities of London and Dublin.”

As part of his term, the Lord Mayor has already visited 25 countries across the world including, Hong Kong, Pakistan, China, South Africa and Mexico.

Notes to Editors

About the Lord Mayor of the City of London:

• The Lord Mayor is head of the Square Mile’s City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role; the Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year).
• The Lord Mayor represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister.

• On average, the Lord Mayor will meet one head of state a month and will meet a prime minister or finance minister each week to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor, who is unpaid, lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.

More information on the Lord Mayor can be found here.