Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
187. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the reason former Minister for Finance ignored pre-Budget 2026 advice from officials within the Department of Finance, to introduce profitability bands to the bank levy, that would result in a greater amount of money paid by AIB and Bank of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10052/26]
View answerSection 126AB of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 provides for a Stamp Duty, known as the “bank levy”, to be levied on certain financial institutions. The bank levy in its current form was introduced by Finance (No. 2) Act 2023, to apply for the year 2024, and extended in Finance Act 2024 to apply for 2025. It is payable by the banks that received financial support from the State during the Global Financial Crisis. The banks concerned are AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS and Permanent TSB.
As part of Budget 2026, and as was subsequently provided for in Finance Act 2025, my predecessor as Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, decided to extend the levy for another year. As with the levy for the previous two years, the target yield for 2026 is €200 million. To achieve this target, the levy will be charged at the rate of 0.1025 per cent of the total amount of deposits held by each bank on 31 December 2024, to the extent that those deposits were “eligible deposits” within the meaning of the European Union (Deposit Guarantee Schemes) Regulations 2015.
During his pre-Budget consideration of the extension of the Bank Levy, Minister Donohoe considered a number of options related to the levy, including the potential introduction of profitability bands. This would have had the effect of reducing the burden imposed on smaller institutions, with an element of the overall €200 million revenue target being redistributed to the larger institutions.
This matter was raised with the former Minister in a submission to him from officials, and while he initially indicated that it should be advanced, he subsequently determined that it should not be proceeded with.
As I have already stated, the decision subsequently taken by my predecessor Paschal Donohoe, was to extend the levy for another year.
