The European Commissioner with responsibility for financial services has urged financial leaders in Ireland to get to grips with the issue of Capital Markets Union.
Mairead McGuinness said those in the sector here need to identify where they have concerns and try to lead politicians and others beyond narrow national interest.
"I know national interests are really important," she said.
"But they can really stop progress and we have to find ways to encourage members states to see beyond the here and now and to work to create something stronger, something better, that allows us to invest in all of these more sustainable ways of economic sustainability, climate sustainability and environment delivery."
Ms McGuinness said that the free movement of capital is not working at all and is still an aspiration not a reality.
"We do need to complete Banking Union and Capital Markets Union," she told the Financial Services Ireland annual lunch in Dublin.
"I know one or two of you will be frightened by that. But this is the harsh message in this reality because to date, and quite frankly, we've had a lot of lip service paid to Capital Markets Union and Banking Union and that has to change."
Citing the example of insolvency, she said it is disappointing to see how low the level of ambition is among EU member states when it comes to negotiating pieces of legislation around Capital Markets Union.
Referring to comments by Mario Draghi, she said €500bn a year in investment would be needed for Europe to achieve its green and digital transitions
Private investment will have to cover most of these investments, she added, because public money is simply not going to be enough.
Ms McGuinness also said that while the EU has a lot of exciting start-ups it lags behind when it comes to supporting the scale-up and growth of these companies.
She said a major barrier is the difficult financing conditions these companies face in Europe as they need equity capital, but the EU lags behind on venture capital.
As a result, she added, promising start-ups end up being owned or co-owned by funds outside the EU, making it more likely that these EU companies will list on non-EU stock markets or be bought by a non-EU entity.
The EU therefore needs to provide better financing conditions for its companies, she explained.
Earlier, Financial Services Ireland launched a new series of policy proposals that will underpin its engagements with political representatives ahead of the next general election.
They include the abolition of the banking levy as it discourages potential new entrants to the retail banking market.
FSI is also seeking a sustainable finance talent pipeline and wants improvements in Ireland's infrastructure, education and childcare environments through a national infrastructure strategy.
"The financial services industry contributes approximately €18.2bn to Irish GDP every year, along with €2.7bn of corporation tax," said Patricia Callan, director of FSI.
"It employs over 103,500 people, across all of Ireland, with an additional 20,000 employed in auxiliary services that support the sector. The sector is continuing to grow but its success cannot be taken for granted."
"We have set out a series of measures that will help to increase the talent pipeline, enhance our competitiveness, and support firms of all sizes to boost innovation."
