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It has been a busy week of commentary on savings and investments. An Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, spoke about how he wants to help people get the most out of their money. On a Leaders interview with RTÉ, he outlined that he will bring a strategy to government setting out its plan for a Savings and Investment Scheme to bring Ireland in line with many of our European colleagues.   He outlined that he plans to: Make saving and investing more rewarding and accessible for ordinary families, not just the wealthy. Bring Ireland closer in line with European peers who have structures that help people make their money work harder and better for them. Reduce barriers like outdated rules that currently act as a drag on long-term personal investment.  The Tánaiste also commented outside the meeting of Finance Ministers in Brussels that “There is a €170 billion on deposit today, we need to make that money work – not just for our country, not just for the economy, but for our SMEs…I’m thinking of the next generation of people in Ireland and how this could help with their own personal economic resilience…At the moment they are locked out of any meaningful participation in the investment scenario in Ireland.”  Last week we updated you on our advocacy in this area and we wrote to Minister Harris, with recommendations to implement changes to Ireland’s savings and investments ecosystem including: Abolish the deemed disposal rule Reduce the tax rate on investment funds  Introduce loss relief on disposals of units in a fund at a loss Introduce a Savings and Investment Account  Prioritise financial literacy   In our letter, we outlined that increasing retail investment is not only beneficial to households and workers but also to the wider economy.  Whether it is improving the funding environment for growing innovative companies or increasing investment opportunities in infrastructure, the possibilities are considerable if Ireland gets this right.    On Budget day, it was announced that a road map would be published in the first quarter of 2026 outlining how the government plans to implement the recommendations in the Funds 2030 report. We will hopefully see the details of the Minister’s plans for savings and investments outlined in the roadmap and for it to be published in the coming weeks. We look forward to engaging with Government in this area – whether via a forum or consultation process. We will represent members views and keep members updated in this area of important work.  

Last Monday, Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Ulster Society were pleased to meet with representatives from the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of British Industry Northern Ireland to discuss potential ways forward in the ongoing campaign to reduce the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland. The meeting was very informative and productive and each of the organisations agreed that Northern Ireland needs a coherent, long term industrial policy that attracts investment, creates secure, well paid jobs and fosters innovation. There was also agreement on the end goal of reducing the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland. The key issues and Institute stance One of the main issues discussed was the need for an economic assessment of the impact of reducing the corporate tax rate on employment, earnings and investment. The 2021 ESRI research 'Enhancing Attractiveness of the Island of Ireland to High-Value Foreign Direct Investment' shows that a reduction in the rate of corporate tax to 15% would yield an annual increase of 7.5% in high-value Foreign Direct Investment in Northern Ireland. One of the main issues that remains is the potential impact on the block grant that Northern Ireland receives every year. The Institute outlined various measures that can be availed of to overcome this issue, most notably the use of a low interest loan from Westminster to manage the initial drop in corporate tax revenue that would arise immediately after the rate reduction.  Our progress to date and next steps  This meeting was an important step in achieving a united approach across the business community in Northern Ireland. Work will continue to garner cross-party consensus on reducing the corporate tax rate in Northern Ireland which will be critical when the campaign is taken to Westminster. This point was highlighted during the Institute's recent appearance before the joint Economy and Finance Committee’s in Stormont earlier this month. As outlined previously, in November 2025, the Institute wrote specifically to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on this issue. In this letter, we highlighted that the ultimate aim of a lower rate is for it to become self-funding in the longer term, but that it would necessitate a replacement loan at a low interest rate from HM Treasury to fund the necessary block grant reduction. Last year the Institute published its position paper ‘Enhancing Our Competitiveness: The case for a reduced rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland’.   

This week Chartered Accountants Ireland represented members in attending the Cost of Business Advisory Forum run by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The meeting follows the Institute’s submission recently where the focus was on reporting and compliance burdens that have been placed on businesses. The meeting forms part of the Institute’s ongoing campaign to remove the real time reporting obligation under Revenue’s Enhanced Reporting Requirements. From the outset and in response to our engagement with members on this matter, the Institute has been very clear that this obligation has placed a significant burden on businesses and employers and should be removed. The Institute once again argued that to date no reason has been offered as to why non-taxable items needed to be reported in real time. There has never been an adequate analysis on the benefits in terms of receiving this information in real time versus the compliance burden placed on businesses. The Institute will continue to campaign for the removal of the real time reporting element of the Enhanced Reporting Requirements. On the wider issue of simplification, the Institute argued that there was a need for a cross-Government approach in Ireland to reduce complexity and the regulatory burden on businesses and that this requires political will.  The Enhanced SME test is designed to sense check every proposal coming from Government to see if it is placing an undue and disproportionate burden on SMEs. Yet there is concern that this test is not being applied and the Institute outlined some key examples where this has been the case. From a European perspective, the Institute urged the Government to get behind the European Commission’s simplification agenda and to use its Presidency of the Council of the European Union to advance important files like the Digital Omnibus, the Tax Omnibus, the Savings and Investment Union and the 28th Regime. Following this meeting, the Institute will continue to contribute to the Forum with the aim of completing a comprehensive report on business costs with important and achievable recommendations for Government. Previous representations on this matter include: A 2023 CCAB-I submission on the proposed approach to ERR for employers A 2023 letter to the then Minister for Finance on the matter CCAB-I's Pre-Budget Submission 2025 included proposals relating to ERR CCAB-I's Pre-Budget Submission 2026 reiterated proposals 2026 Annual Dinner Invitation letter to Minister for Finance 

At the informal EU summit in Limburg yesterday, the proposed EU Savings and Investments Union (SIU) moved firmly to the centre of the competitiveness debate. Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that Ireland is “ready to progress” the initiative, describing the Government’s position as “more positive now”, while recognising sensitivities around supervisory integration and Ireland’s financial services sector.  A reported €11 trillion EU household savings remain on deposit rather than invested in productive enterprise. In Ireland, an estimated €170 billion sits in domestic deposits rather than invested in business to support innovation, SMEs and long-term growth.  We have written to the Minister for Finance to discuss the considerable opportunities that the activation of these household deposits represents for the Irish economy.  Chartered Accountants Ireland has consistently engaged in this space on members’ behalf: In our response to the Ireland for Finance 2026–2030 strategy consultation, we called for full implementation of the Funds Sector 2030 Review recommendations to strengthen Ireland’s investment ecosystem and enhance retail participation in capital markets. We emphasised the need for a competitive, modernised tax framework that supports long‑term saving and investment. Specifically, we advocated for the introduction of a personal investment savings scheme for Ireland. Such a scheme would deepen domestic capital markets, encourage greater retail participation, and create a more sustainable investor base for Irish SMEs and listed companies. On Budget Day, we were disappointed at the absence of progress on ETF deemed disposal reform, noting that meaningful capital‑market development requires coherent and aligned tax policy. In our recent submission on Ireland’s priorities for its upcoming EU Presidency, we further emphasised the importance of progressing the EU Savings and Investments Union agenda – positioning Ireland to lead constructively on capital markets reform while ensuring domestic measures support that ambition. Last week we launched our 2026 Investment Tax Guide in partnership with Goodbody. At the webinar launch the panel discussed the landscape of investment taxation in Ireland including the Government’s renewed focus on encouraging retail investment – the commitments arising from the Funds Sector Review and the anticipated roadmap for simplifying Ireland’s complex retail investment tax framework. The panel also outlined how proposals such as removing the 8‑year deemed disposal rule on funds could support long‑term savers. For any members who missed the webinar, you can watch it back here.   Savings and investments reform will form a core pillar of our pre‑Budget 2027 campaign and we look forward to updating members on this in the coming weeks and months.

Over a year ago Mario Draghi presented his competitiveness report to the European Commission and the European Parliament. Since then, along with defence and security, we have heard of little else from the EU, which is welcome. We have to improve EU competitiveness; we are losing ground to our competitors and businesses are too laden with regulation to innovate and grow. These are all arguments we have heard repeatedly from commentators and politicians alike over the past year. This was turbo charged in April when US president Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs on what he termed ‘liberation day’. Despite subsequent agreement between the EU and the United States, the stakes now could not be higher for Europe and all member states. The Draghi Report showed in clear terms that regulations, while well intentioned, have significant costs which are ultimately borne by businesses. This holds businesses back, prevents them from growing and scaling and hinders investment. It is one of the many reasons why companies go to other countries like the United States to grow and scale. If an Irish start-up wishes to expand into European markets, they need to learn, not only European rules but also the individual rules and regulations that are unique to each member state. In many cases this is an impossible task. The issue is not confined to small companies. Large companies also have to deal with complexity. Take tax, for example. Companies across Europe, including in Ireland, are implementing the EU Minimum Tax Directive which arose out of the OECD two pillar process. While that directive is locked in, many other countries, most notably the US, have yet to implement what were supposed to be global rules. Companies are spending thousands of hours and a lot of cash implementing an agreement that our main competitor jurisdictions are not. These are just some of the examples of the regulatory complexity facing companies in Europe, there are many more. One piece of regulation, in itself, may not add to the administrative burden, but it is the cumulative impact that can bury a business in red tape. Chartered Accountants Ireland fully endorses the Draghi Report and in particular the rallying call for regulatory simplification. As we move into 2026, what do we have to show for all the commentary on competitiveness? Well, progress has been made, but, as ever, tangible progress is slow. At a European level, throughout 2025, the Commission has proposed numerous omnibus proposals and other simplification initiatives in areas from digitalisation to small mid-caps to even the simplification of chemical legislation. From a tax perspective we have seen the Omnibus on Taxation which aims to simplify the increasingly complex tax environment across Europe. A 28th Regime, proposing a consistent company rulebook throughout the EU for small and medium-sized companies, has also been launched and is being led by Ireland’s EU Commissioner Michael McGrath. The Capital Markets Union which aimed to simplify the regulatory environment for capital and equity markets has been revived in the newly labelled Savings and Investment Union. The problem is that it is easy to talk about simplification, it is much harder to do it in practice. Each of these policy areas are monumental in their own right. Does the Commission have the capacity to really advance these well-meaning proposals through the Council and the Parliament? We know how long it can take to get proposals through the system, and some can lose momentum and get completely bogged down. The previously mentioned Capital Markets Union trundled along for many years with little to show for it at the end. As we move into 2026, Ireland has a unique opportunity to drive the competitiveness and simplification agenda forward with its Presidency of the Council of the European Union which is set to commence in July. A Council Presidency is not simply about hosting high-profile meetings and putting on a good show. A member state holding the presidency can set the agenda and outline the priorities for the European Union for six months. Chartered Accountants Ireland believes that Ireland, as a small open economy, with trade links throughout the world, is uniquely placed to significantly move the dial on the competitiveness and simplification agenda. That is one of the key messages in our recent submission to the public consultation on Ireland’s upcoming presidency undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Simplification is no simple task. It takes patience and determination, and it is for that reason we need politicians and policymakers to fully embrace the principal and to advance the competitiveness and simplification agenda. Ireland can do just that as it takes up the presidency in July. Director of Members & Advocacy, Cróna Clohisey.

As Ireland prepares to take on the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU for the 8th time from July, we advocate a solutions-driven approach, advancing competitiveness, regulatory simplification, coherence, consistency and long-term economic resilience. By fostering open dialogue, communicating the benefits of EU membership, and involving our members and networks, on behalf of our 40,000 members, we will support a Presidency that advances policy but also builds ownership and delivers meaningful outcomes for people, businesses, and communities.   Read the Consultation response