What is the proposed Irish Personal Investment Account (PIA)?

While details around the scheme are scant and details are still to be worked out, Tánaiste Simon Harris stated that the government’s aim is to legislate for the framework this year and announce something concrete in the October Budget.

The government has transitioned from high-level discussion to the formal execution of a Retail Investment Roadmap, and when Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 July 2026, the Savings and Investment Account will be its main strategic priority.

The tax-incentivised Personal Investment Account is part of the broader EU Savings and Investment Union (SIU), which aims to create better financial opportunities for EU citizens. The PIA could offer a range of funds invested in the stock market and tax-free returns up to a certain point.

Legislation for the PIA framework is expected to be enacted in late 2026, with the first accounts live in 2027.

Research from the Central Bank of Ireland found that Irish households missed out on €800m in deposit interest during 2024 by leaving cash in near-zero interest accounts. The research shows that inertia keeps a lot of people from moving their money, even when better rates exist.

Taxation has historically been a barrier; however, the government took a first step in reform by reducing the Exit Tax from 41% to 38% on 1 January 2026. The upcoming PIA is the next major phase of the Retail Investment Roadmap, designed to harmonise investment taxes with the 33% Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) rates while removing the administrative burden of Deemed Disposal.

The Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a tax-efficient way for UK residents to save and invest their money. These accounts allow Brits to save or invest up to £20,000 each tax year without paying tax on returns. There are different types of ISA, including the Cash ISA, Lifetime ISA and Stocks and Shares ISA.

Someone depositing £10,000 into a Cash ISA paying 4% AER would get £400 in tax-free interest a year later. Compared with €10,000 in an overnight account, the most common Irish savings account with an average interest rate of 0.14%, this returns under €10 after DIRT. This example illustrates why the government is looking to introduce a tax-incentivised scheme that encourages people to save and invest. 

The Irish PIA could essentially look like an "Irish ISA" and fundamentally change how Irish people view their wealth. There may also be similarities with Canada’s Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), which lets people invest $7,000 in products linked to the stock market without paying tax, or Sweden’s ISK (Investeringssparkonto), where savers pay a standard tax rate on their accounts, usually equivalent to just under 1% of the fund value.

As of 2026, the Swedish model exempts the first SEK 300,000 (approx. €28,000) from this levy — a feature Irish officials are actively studying for the PIA framework.

No, the Personal Investment Account will differ from the SSIA accounts which ran until 2002, when deposits were topped up with a 25% giveaway from the State. It’s expected that the new scheme will offer savers a range of funds invested in the stock market, with a low flat-rate tax on the total value of assets, potentially avoiding Deemed Disposal and other standard investment taxes.

The proposed Personal Investment Account could represent a significant modernisation of the Irish financial landscape, and make long-term investing more accessible and tax-efficient for savers. For the average saver, this scheme may offer a transparent "wrapper" to grow wealth without the heavy administrative and tax-reporting burdens that have historically made private investing in Ireland less attractive than traditional bank deposits.