Students from Belvedere College in Dublin claimed the top award after beating tough competition from Coláiste Ghobnatan, Cork, and Killorglin Community College, Kerry, in the national final of the Generation €uro Students' Award.
The school competition, run by the Central Bank of Ireland in association with the European Central Bank, challenges Transition Year and 5th Year students to design monetary policy.
Economic students Garret Molloy, Paul Flanagan and Vincent Lin from Belvedere College, and their teacher Caoimhe McCormack, will now represent Ireland at the ECB where they will virtually meet ECB President Christine Lagarde and the other winning teams from across Europe.
Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery praised the budding economists for participating in the final. "The Central Bank is committed to encouraging the economists of the future, and the students demonstrate there is a strong pipeline of young people interested in economics who may choose to forge careers in this area.
She said the students showed a great understanding of the principles of economics and monetary policy, and the work performed by the ECB, the Eurosystem, and the Central Bank.
"Selecting a winner was a difficult decision for the judging panel," Ms Donnery said. "The teams analysed the challenges faced by the euro area and should be commended for their ability to assess the rapidly changing economic environment against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis."
