Budget 2027: Financial services providers on track to deliver new Irish Investment Accounts by 1 July 2027
Financial Services Ireland (FSI), the Ibec group representing the cross-sectoral financial services industry, welcomes the official announcement in Budget 2027 of the launch of Irish Investment Accounts.
FSI has championed the introduction of a retail investment account for Irish investors, which fits naturally with Ireland’s status as a major international financial services hub.
FSI Director Patricia Callan said: “The announcement today by Tánaiste Simon Harris on Irish Investment Accounts is a crucial step towards creating a new culture of retail investment in Ireland. That won’t happen overnight of course but providing Irish people with an option to invest in markets that has clear tax advantages can have a meaningful role in changing public attitudes towards investing.”
“We have been working directly with Department of Finance officials and Revenue Commissioners on the operational aspects of the account over the past month, since the design principles were announced, and our members are confident that we can have products ready to launch on 1 July 2027.”
Earlier this year, FSI brought leading firms across financial services together to form a Savings & Investment Account Taskforce.
“Many of our taskforce’s recommendations, including the tax-free element, are reflected in today’s announcement. Another important consideration was convenience for the investor, so these accounts won’t require a tax return by individuals holding an account — that will be managed by the account providers.”
“We do note that the annual contribution limit of €12,000 is lower than other retail investment accounts such as the UK ISA. For the Irish Investment Accounts to be an effective means of building long-term financial resilience or saving for a home, we believe that higher contribution limits are warranted. As the introduction of Irish Investment Accounts represents Phase 1 of a long-term project, we will campaign to see the relatively low contribution limit increased in subsequent budgets to fully meet the needs of Irish investors.”
In addition to the launch of the Irish Investment Account, FSI has campaigned through its Pre-Budget 2027 Submission for changes to the tax treatment of existing investments.
We welcome the announcement of a further 3% reduction in the taxes applied to investment funds, life assurance products and ETFs from 38 to 35%, but this still means there’s an unlevel playing field across different asset classes, with CGT now reduced to 31% and DIRT at 33%. We will continue to campaign for equalisation in our Budget 2028 campaign, along with the full removal of the 8-year deemed disposal rule and the 1% levy on insurance premiums, which act as a major disincentive to investing, and which have already been committed to in the Government’s Retail Investment Roadmap.”
Another important consideration regards funding for workplace training and development. It is crucial that we maintain a talent pool that is equipped for how artificial intelligence is changing how we work and do business. That’s especially the case in financial services and a failure to stay at the cutting edge of AI threatens our position as a global financial centre.
We appreciate Budget 2027’s strong emphasis on workforce transition and the decision to unlock €150 million from the National Training Fund (NTF). Given the scale of workplace change driven by AI, the employer-funded NTF is an essential resource to ensure workers and workplaces are adequately supported to meet both the challenges and opportunities of AI. More broadly on innovation, extending the qualifying criteria for the R&D tax credit is an important step in ensuring more businesses carrying out high level research across new areas qualify for the 35% credit announced in last year's Budget, with changes to the R&D outsourcing rules also a major positive for business.
