Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to start using terms such as the rich man and the poor man. There are products available to individuals - this is one of the benefits of funds - that allow people to invest in an area in which they might not have the necessary expertise but the person managing the fund does. There are ways in which a person can invest in a product that they might not previously have been able to. The money is all clubbed together through a collective investment, which means they can now invest in something that they would not have been able to afford previously and they might get a better yield as a result.

This is not, as people might think, just about someone who is incredibly wealthy taking great advantage of a mismatch in tax laws for an individual and for a fund or trading entity. Different mechanisms have been specifically built in order that an investor who might not be as qualified can make those types of investments. There are also entities such as the qualifying investor alternative investment fund, QIAIF, which is for a qualified investor. Those funds have different sets of regulations in terms of the protection of the investor because the investor is seen to have a level of expertise.

If an individual invests in a property, there are different reliefs that they can avail of in terms of their investment in the property depending on, for instance, the purpose of the property. If they are investing in a property as a business, which they might be individually, there are even further ones available.