Seán Ó Fearghaíl
Question:171. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance for an update on his Department’s commitment to establish a savings and investments forum. [9548/26]
View answerTuesday, 10 February 2026
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Ireland hosts a thriving international financial services industry; we are a global centre of excellence with a key role as a gateway to the EU for asset managers and a distribution centre for funds worldwide. The latest estimate from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland indicate that just over 60,000 are directly employed in the international financial services sector. Furthermore, in terms of those working in the financial services industry (domestically and internationally focused) in Ireland, there are over 120,000 people employed, and these jobs are regionally spread throughout the country, employing highly skilled workers in almost every county.
The Funds Review 2030 was published in October 2024. The review identified forty-two recommendations to continue to grow this important sector of our economy. Number twenty-one on the list of recommendations was that an annual savings and investment forum should be established.
The Savings and Investment Forum will be led by the Department of Finance with support from the Central Bank of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. It is anticipated that the attendees will be a mix of asset managers, wealth managers, financial planners, digital platforms, banks, insurance firms and pension firms, as well as Government and regulatory officials. The forum will provide the opportunity to discuss the current investment landscape in Ireland. My officials are currently finalising plans to host the first meeting of the forum, and I hope to announce a date for the event shortly with invites to be issued thereafter.
This Government is committed to ensuring the engagement with industry continues from the Funds Review. The new Savings and Investment Forum will meet annually and include engagement with all firms offering different forms of savings and investments. This will help us to formulate policy in the future to deepen our capital markets but more importantly to benefit Irish savers throughout their lifetimes.