Financial Instruments
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Shay Brennan (FF), Dublin Rathdown

I too thank the Tánaiste for his clear answer. The core issue here is one of fairness within our own tax system. An investor in individual shares pays capital gains tax at 33% and then only when they eventually sell those shares. However, an investor who chooses a diversified ETF, which is arguably the more prudent investment choice for an ordinary saver, pays a higher rate on the gains they have not yet realised. As was mentioned, they also cannot offset their losses in these, and they face a tax settlement every eight years, regardless of their intentions regarding the underlying ETF. This creates a disparity that is very hard to justify. I appreciate that the Minister gave a detailed explanation as to how this came about by way of trying to justify it. I agree that there are complexities but does the Minister in turn agree there is a very strong case for removing the rule in the near term, not just because it is part of the programme for Government but also because it is the fair thing to do for Irish savers?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21