Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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23. To ask the Minister for Finance if he plans to address the inequity between the treatment of ETFs for tax purposes and the taxation of other gains from the disposal of financial instruments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4771/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The term “Exchange Traded Fund” or “ETF” is a general investment industry term that refers to a wide range of investments. They are investment fund products that are traded on a regulated stock exchange, with a typical ETF comparable to a tracker fund in that it will seek to replicate a particular index. ETF investments can take many different legal and regulatory forms even where they are established within the same jurisdiction.

There is no separate taxation regime specifically for ETFs. As collective investment funds, they generally come within the regimes set out in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 for such funds. The domicile of the ETF will generally determine the applicable fund regime, specifically whether the ETF falls within the domestic fund regime or the offshore fund regime.

As the Deputy may be aware, last October, the then Minister for Finance published a review of the Funds sector entitled ‘Funds Sector 2030 – A Framework for Open, Resilient and Developing Markets’. The review was wide ranging, examined a range of issues relevant to the funds sector and contained a number of recommendations for the sector, including in relation to the tax treatment of Irish-domiciled and offshore funds.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to progress and publish an implementation plan taking into consideration the Funds Review recommendations to unlock retail investment and opportunities to grow this sector in Ireland, and I, working with my officials, will consider the next steps in this regard over the coming months.

As with all areas of tax policy, the taxation of Irish-domiciled and offshore funds will be kept under review throughout the annual budgetary and Finance Bill processes.