I thank Deputy Dolan for raising this important issue of supporting savings and investment. I fully agree with everything he has said. We need to look at areas where we can incentivise wider participation in retail investment and to activate the €170-odd billion that is sitting idly on demand deposits in this country. According to the Central Bank of Ireland’s retail investor participation report, published in December of last year, Ireland has one of the lowest levels of direct retail participation in capital markets in the EU. Encouraging retail investment is set out in the programme for Government and is consistent with the work at an EU level on the savings and investment union. Ireland will be taking a leadership role in this regard during our Presidency of the EU Council later this year. The deemed disposal rule is a part of the current taxation regime for investments in Irish-domiciled investment funds and life assurance products, as well as equivalent offshore funds and certain foreign life assurance products, and generally applies to ETFs, as Deputy Dolan has said. Under deemed disposal, tax is levied eight years after an investment is made and every subsequent eight years, regardless of whether a disposal has in fact occurred. The tax is levied on any gain in the value of the investment from the date of acquisition to the date of the deemed disposal. On the ultimate disposal of the investment, any tax paid is allowed as a credit against the final tax liability. Surprisingly, I must admit that as it stands now, we do not have a full, clear picture of exactly how much deemed disposal generates annually in tax. That is something we are going to have to ask Revenue to figure out and come back with the precise details. However, I do believe we need to start thinking about the cost of not doing something and the opportunity missed out on. More favourable tax drives economic activity. Prior to budget 2026, I advocated strongly to our then Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, that deemed disposal be removed in its entirety and that we reduce the associated tax rate to be in line with our capital gains tax rate. I accept it was easy for me to say, as I was not framing the budget, and a Minister for Finance has competing demands. To his credit, he did signal elements of the funds review recommendations to be actioned. Budget 2026, in addition to reducing the rate of tax that applies to these forms of investment, included a commitment to publish a roadmap for the taxation of retail investment as included in that funds review. The roadmap will set out an approach to simplify and adapt the tax framework to further support retail investment while applying necessary and important anti-avoidance protections in a proportionate manner. It is expected to be published shortly. There was also a commitment in budget 2026 to launch a forum looking specifically at a savings and investment account product. That forum will kick off later in March, convened by the Tánaiste and me. Later this week, I will convene a round table with senior industry leaders to discuss the Ireland for finance strategy. I have no doubt that a supplementary item on the agenda will be how we mobilise people to look at better returns on their savings. It is a concept that is easy to announce for headlines but the devil will be in the detail. Any product or package we introduce must be attractive, simple and something that the people want to participate in. It is vital that we get this right.

Sentiment score: 0.22

I thank the Deputy again for the opportunity to discuss this important topic. While the Deputy's question focuses on one aspect of the current tax regime, it is clear that the overall approach to taxation of retail investments needs to be considered. Stakeholders including individual investors and industry participants have made their position on the current approach, including deemed disposal, clear. Capital markets provide an opportunity for savings to be more productive for both the individual and the wider economy. Taxation plays an important part in what has to be considered when looking at how to encourage retail investment. As I alluded to in my opening remarks, the Department of Finance is closely examining the concept of a savings and investment account. It can provide framework, as the Deputy alluded to, for ordinary savers to benefit from the opportunities available through participation in the capital markets, but we must get the detail right. Those details are within the funds review recommendations. As a Government, we cannot be looking for reviews only not to implement their findings. The roadmap on taxation of retail investment will be published shortly and will set out the intended approach to encourage retail investment in Ireland, including consideration of savings and investment accounts. I expect further discussions will be had on savings and investments as the development of a new approach to taxation of retail investment proceeds. I look forward to continuing engagement with the Deputy on these issues.

Sentiment score: 0.34