TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS this week hosted a group of influencers to a round table discussion on the new saving and investment scheme.
Harris has previously said he wants to see the government’s new State-backed personal investment scheme up and running next year and details are expected to be ironed out as part of Budget 2027.
Harris and Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Robert Troy, convened the round table on Monday.
A Department of Finance spokesperson said the event “brought together organisations and stakeholders with a consumer interest and will inform the ongoing development of the Investment Account proposal”.
The stakeholders included popular social media influencers who specialise in personal finance and tax.
The Department spokesperson said participants “shared a wide range of perspectives on the opportunities and challenges associated with investing, including the importance of simplicity, trust, clear communication and financial literacy”.
Those invited to attend included ‘The Tax Nerd’, who has 36,000 followers on Instagram, and Aine Murphy, who runs the ‘Young Irish Budgeter’ account and has over 263,000 followers.
Caz Mooney, the person behind ‘Irish Budgeting’, was also invited – she has over 265,000 followers on Instagram.
Kel Galavan, who goes by ‘Mrs Smart Money’ and has close to 35,000 Instagram followers, was also invited, alongside the Irish FIRE podcast.
Speaking after the meeting, Galavan remarked that there are “so many interesting things happening behind the scenes”.
She added that the scheme is “shaping up to be a seriously positive move” that will “change how we grow our wealth and our economy”.
Galavan added that it will follow closely to the Swedish model, known as Investeringssparkonto (ISK).
Under this scheme, zero tax is applied to income or gains arising from investments up to €28,000.
She also said that “simplicity is king” and that the “overarching goal is to keep it simple, easy to understand and accessible to everyone”.
Anne-Marie Gaynor, known as ‘Irish Budgeting Mammy’ and with over 72,000 followers, was also there and remarked that “for the first time in a long time, I felt like the government was actually listening to what ordinary people are saying about money”.
She added that she wanted to be the “voice” for “ordinary people” who are “trying to stretch wages, pay bills, save a few quid and make better decisions with the money they actually have”.
Alongside these personal finance influencers, organisations such as Brokers Ireland, the CCPC, Prosperous, DNG Financial, Fenero Financial Planners, Financial Planners of Ireland, and Fairstone Ireland were also invited.
Speaking after the event, Harris remarked that the discussion was a “valuable opportunity to hear directly from consumer representatives and stakeholders”.
“The insights shared were practical, constructive and will help shape the next phase of the proposal,” he added.
He added that for the Investment Account to succeed, people must have “confidence” in it.
“That means clear information, strong consumer protections and greater financial awareness,” said Harris. “This engagement was an important step in helping us achieve that.”
Meanwhile, Troy said that “making investing easier to understand and easier to access is at the heart of this initiative” and that the discussion “reinforced the importance of simplicity and transparency”.
“These principles will be central to the design of the Investment Account,” he added.
Harris also reiterated after the meeting that he intends to bring forward legislation for the Investment Account as part of the Finance Bill 2026.
A Department spokesperson said further engagement with consumers, industry representatives and other stakeholders will continue as the proposal is developed.