46. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department will examine the need to abolish the outbound payment rules on dividend payments to ILPs to ensure that Ireland remains an attractive location for international managers. [35515/26]

The Outbound Payments Defensive Measures (OPDM) were introduced in Finance (No.2) Act 2023. The purpose of the measures is to tackle aggressive tax planning and prevent double non-taxation. The measures operate by applying withholding taxes on outbound payments of interest, royalties and distributions (such as dividends) made by Irish resident companies, or by Irish branches of non-resident companies, to associated entities who are resident, or situated, in specified territories.

Specified territories include territories listed on Annex 1 of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, and / or 'zero-tax' territories. A 'zero tax' territory is a territory which does not generally subject an entity to a tax on income, profits and gains.

The measures form a critical part of the legal commitments Ireland provided to secure funding under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Ireland secured c. €1.1 billion through this facility which allowed us to develop our own National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to support post-pandemic recovery,  and green and digital transformation, projects right across the country. Much of this funding has already been drawn down, with the remaining funds due to be drawn down by the end of 2026.

The drawdown of funding under this performance-based plan is contingent on the completion of specific milestones (such as the introduction of these measures) that are subject to ongoing monitoring. The measures also directly addressed related recommendations contained in Ireland's 2019 and 2020 Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) – tailored guidance issued by the European Commission to Ireland, as part of the European Semester Process, regarding economic, employment and fiscal policies to be addressed.

In respect of how the measures interact with the Dividend Withholding Tax (DWT) exemption introduced for Investment Limited Partnerships (ILPs) last year, my officials will keep the operation of the OPDM under review, and may revisit the need for amendments at a future date.