The European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland is to host an online event looking at how blockchain technology can benefit Ireland and Europe.

The event, chaired by Fine Gael MEP Frances Fitzgerald, will take place on Thursday, 27 May, with a 12pm start.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe will deliver the keynote address before a panel discussion involving a number of experts from the EU and business. Participants will be able to comment and ask questions through a live chat.

Surge of interest

The parliament’s office says the seminar is being held because of a surge of interest in blockchain technologies in the past few years, and because the EU believes the technology can provide significant benefits to industry, the economy and society as a whole.

Best known for its role in cryptocurrencies, blockchain has also been used in maintaining asset registers for smart contracts, shares, property and other titles to ownership and documentation.

The event will address a number of issues, including how to provide legal certainty for the technology, and how blockchain can overcome difficulties in operating under the provisions of GDPR data regulations.