Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19 ============================================================ Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow This is an area I really want to get right. We have a very strong culture of saving in Ireland but not a strong culture of investment. That is not a criticism of anyone; that is just a reflection of the reality. We have €169 billion or €170 billion on deposit today in Ireland. Lots of people, despite the challenges families face, are trying to put a few bob away for their future, for a rainy day, for their kids or for whatever they are trying to do in their own lives. At the moment, not only are they not making money on this but sometimes they are losing money on it. We therefore need to look at how we can set up savings and investment accounts. I am absolutely committed to this. It is a priority for me in the two budgets I will deliver as finance Minister. As part of that, there are tax rates, tax sequencing and financial literacy. The issue of deemed disposal is valid and important. We just need to consider all of these in the round and how to move forward. The next step is to bring a roadmap to the Government before Easter and to set up a savings and investment forum to engage directly with stakeholders with a view to being able to move forward later this year. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-19