47. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will ensure the new Irish for Finance Strategy includes new measures and structures to prioritise the competitiveness of the Irish funds industry. [35516/26]

Government recognises the importance of the sector to the international financial services sector in Ireland. In October 2024 ‘Funds Sector 2030: A Framework for Open, Resilient & Developing Markets’, also known as the Funds Review, was published. It was a wide-ranging review which included 42 recommendations across a wide range of areas to support growth in the funds and asset management sector.

An Implementation Plan was published in October 2025, as committed to in the Programme for Government. At the time of publication, thirty of the recommendations were either complete, on a path to completion or progressing including completion of substantive recommendations on Exchange-Traded Funds ETFs and the AIF Rulebook, both by the Central Bank. An amendment was also made in Finance Act 2025 to support the growth of private assets through Investment Limited Partnerships.

In line with a further recommendation, the first annual savings and investment forum was held on 31 March 2026.

Eleven recommendations remain under consideration, including four related to retail investment tax which will take account of developments at EU level.

These four recommendations are being considered as part of the work underway to prepare a roadmap for the taxation of retail investment. This roadmap, which is a Budget 2026 commitment, will set out a proposed approach to simplify and adapt the tax framework to encourage retail investment, and is expected to be published in the coming months. Ahead of the roadmap, Finance Act 2025 reduced the rate of taxation that applies to Irish and equivalent offshore funds and Irish and foreign life assurance products from 41 per cent to 38 per cent from 1 January 2026. This change also applies to investments in ETFs that are taxed under these regimes.

A key aspect of the roadmap is the development of a new Irish investment account that aims to reduce the complexities related to retail investment taxation and allows Irish people to grow their savings more efficiently. The aim is to legislate for the framework in 2026 and to allow market participants to offer accounts from 2027. The funds and asset management sector will be a key partner in growing retail investment.

Ireland for Finance is a whole-of-Government strategy for the development of the international financial services sector in Ireland. While the new Ireland for Finance strategy is still under development, ambitions of the strategy will be for Ireland to:

• Remain a competitive and trusted global international financial services centre;

• Have capacity to scale and attract expertise to enable economic growth in EU;

• Leverage technological capability to support digital transformation; and

• Develop and deepen links with domestic businesses and citizens.

These ambitions will be delivered through enhanced competitiveness in the form of predictable and pro-enterprise policy; simplification and modernisation of the legislative regime; through sectoral and thematic focus on high-impact areas; as well as by focusing on innovation. Development of skills and ensuring a strong talent pipeline remain key enablers of our ambitions.