Over recent months, I have been vocal in this House and elsewhere in supporting the Government's proposals for personal investment accounts and calling for further tax reforms to ensure that existing investors will not be not left behind. I have pushed the need to abolish the deemed disposal rule. As long deemed disposal exists in Ireland, it will discourage international funds, including many domiciled in Ireland, from being offered to Irish retail investors. This is because funds would have to create a complicated additional layer of accounting to make their offerings available to Irish investors. I want to talk about the industry we have in Ireland and the one that we could have. It is nearly 40 years since the International Financial Services Centre, IFSC, which has been a phenomenal success, was established. It was not just about the small geographical area off the docklands that we call the IFSC; the whole country benefited from the spirit of the centre. The Irish funds and asset management sector currently employs 20,000 people in every region of Ireland. Forty years on, we should not be complacent and take Ireland's historic attractiveness to international finance and investment for granted. One of the main things that made Ireland attractive was its dynamic, legislative and regulatory framework that promoted innovation and fostered competitiveness and growth. As the EU is pushing for greater market integration, Ireland must work even harder to stay ahead of the curve in order to remain attractive and have offering which is compelling. It is only by doing this that we can protect and grow Irish jobs. There is a need for urgency in this regard. The updated Ireland for Finance offers a timely opportunity to deliver on the urgency needed on two fronts in particular. First, greater proportionality in how the State integrates regulation and supervision, with a focus on competitiveness and innovation. Ireland's financial rule book must be at the cutting edge of supporting the development and issuing of innovative new products. The principle of proportionality is embedded within EU financial services legislation. We must ensure that Ireland, therefore, does not fall behind other EU states that are subject to the same rules but that manage to move faster, avoid gold plating and overlapping regulation and, quite simply, offer a more compelling ecosystem within which to operate and innovate. Second, there is a need to update legislation and regulation to keep pace with the digital transformation which is occurring in international funds management. Digitalisation is a key Government priority, yet I fear that Ireland could fall behind other countries when it comes to the establishment of digital fund structures, also referred to as tokenisation. There is an urgent need for clarity and certainty on the legal basis under which tokenised funds and other digital fund structures can be established and operate in Ireland. If changes are needed, they should be expedited. Why is this important? It is important because it will ensure that Ireland's funds offering and ability to deliver solutions digitally, which is the direction of travel across the economy more generally, keeps us in the game.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response, including the reference to growing exchange-traded funds, which is something I want to see. I welcome the reduction in the exit tax, but the issue that remains is the deemed disposal rule and taxing unrealised gains, which interrupts compounding and undermines long-term savings behaviour. That is something the Tánaiste is looking at. The Minister of State spoke about it earlier. I also note that new polling by Amárach highlights the resounding public support for Ireland's investment industry, with 90% saying it is important that Ireland remain competitive within the EU investment industry. The people of Ireland understand the value of attracting high-quality, regionally dispersed international jobs and investment. The funds sector has been one of Ireland's real success stories in terms of exports. I ask the Government to commit to action to support and protect this important sector. Further to recent parliamentary questions I tabled, will the Minister of State provide an update on the transposition of the EU alternative investment fund managers directive in Ireland? This is particularly important in enabling the funds sector to continue to evolve and to develop new retail investment products for Irish savers. If he does not have an update on that now, perhaps he could seek one. In practical terms, Ireland's regulatory system has meant we have the products and solutions investors need and the environment for companies providing these to operate to high standards with commercial success and agility. This has helped transform Ireland into a leading funds management centre in Europe, supporting the export of Irish domiciled funds around the world. This was hard won and is the envy of many other countries.

Sentiment score: 0.34