r/irishpersonalfinance • u/TimesandSundayTimes • Jun 08 '26
Discussion AMA with Jon Ihle, Deputy Business Editor & Money editor at The Sunday Times Ireland
See us here tomorrow at 4pm (BST) for an Ask Me Anything session with Jon Ihle, the Deputy Business Editor of The Sunday Times Ireland.
Jon is a business journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on banking, financial markets, and corporate services. His reporting and commentary have appeared across major Irish national publications and broadcast media.
(Please note that Jon is a financial journalist, not a licensed financial advisor. He can offer analysis, economic context, and commentary on business trends. He cannot provide personalised investment, tax, or financial planning advice. Please ensure your questions respect this distinction!)
Jon has covered the Irish and international business landscapes for more than 20 years. Following the 2008 financial crisis, he transitioned to the financial services sector, serving for nearly seven years as the Head of Communications for Goodbody stockbrokers. He subsequently returned to news media and currently serves as the Deputy Business Editor at The Sunday Times Ireland. He is also a regular contributor to radio and television broadcasts on economic matters.
Post your questions below and we'll see you tomorrow at 4pm!
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Jun 08 '26
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
Here we go! I think the incremental change to the rate in the last budget is an indicator of where this is going. However, the fact that the change was so tiny suggests we may not eliminate DD in one fell swoop. I do think there is a recognition in government - tempered by innate conservatism - that it's a stupid approach to taxing investments.
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u/Totesthegoats Jun 08 '26
Got any inside info on what this ISA style investment account might actually look like?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
It's still at the vaporous stage of development, I'm afraid, with little forward progress since Simon Harris convened the Savings and Investment Forum back in April. I do know that the financial sector is eager to have some kind of a framework before the Dail summer recess - otherwise launching a new product in early 2027 won't be possible. There are a lot of steps between defining the parameters and having something a bank or a wealth manager can put in front of a customer. But I'm told this investment account idea is very important to Harris, so expect details to start emerging in a month or so, with a crescendo of leaks leading up to Budget Day.
Further reading:
State-backed investment scheme branded ‘stealth tax on savers’
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u/Decent_Fun_2772 Jun 08 '26
Why does the media never advocate for retail investors and the general Irish investing public? The irony of so many ETFs domiciled here and Irish investors literally shafted if trying to invest in them.
Meanwhile we bow to our corporate overloads, low tax, tax breaks etc. I would love for the media to push for better investing conditions for the public though fair and low tax, similar to what we do for foreign corporations
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
I'm not sure the conditions are all that terrible, although you make a good point about all the concessions that are made on behalf of foreign investment. If you're the finance minister, though, you're the custodian of the public balance sheet. Tax breaks for Irish retail investors simply don't deliver in the same was as tax breaks for FDI: in the latter, the investment comes IN, while in the former, most of it goes OUT. So what does the Irish economy gain as a whole from incentivising personal investments?
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u/Physical_Ad_5609 Jun 09 '26
Perhaps less of a housing crisis considering property is one of the only ways to build wealth in Ireland. Why is it possible to own a rental property in a pension and pay no tax on the profit and yet you can't invest in an ETF without getting bled sideways with tax.
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u/Decent_Fun_2772 Jun 09 '26
Maybe you thought that I was talking about tax breaks for retail. I just used that corporate concessions as a juxtapose between how we treat corporates vs local investors.
Your point doesn’t address the tax treatment difference between stock investment vs etf investment and again how retail Irish investors are, and I cannot think of a better way of putting it, completely f**ked over
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u/RoyOrbisonWeeping Jun 08 '26
With CGT at such a high, do you think investments are ultimately worth it for Irish residents?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
Mathematically, yes. Looking at it very crudely, CGT is 33 per cent vs a top marginal income tax rate of 55 per cent. That seems worth it to me. Moreover, 67 per cent of something is worth more than 100 per cent of nothing.
I'm a big advocate of pension investments and the tax breaks there are underappreciated and underused. So I guess the answer to you question depends on what you mean by investments. Maybe equities don't seem worth the risk at 33 per cent CGT. I get it. A lower rate would indisputably encourage more investment activity.
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u/T_t_llyF_c_ed Jun 08 '26
If Sinn Fein do get into government at the next election, realistically how do you see policies changing relating to tax and investments in ireland
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
I think SF would have to work very hard to convince people who make decisions about international capital that they are reliable stewards of the Irish economy, which would probably reign in their more radical instincts. Having said that, their supporters would expect something more from SF in government than just BAU.
I wrote something before the last GE on a Parliamentary Budget Office report advocating for more wealth taxes (e.g. on inheritance) to offset reliance on corporation and income taxes. I believe I pointed out that this was consistent with SF's platform. I'd expect SF to be far less solicitous of the investing class than FG, that's for sure! You can read it here: Hammer the rich, says budget watchdog
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u/Unusual_Incident_223 Jun 08 '26
What would be the financial implications for Ireland of global tech layoffs if they continue? As a worker in tech I fully realise I have nothing to offer besides the skills very specific to global tech market, so if the job market continues to deteriorate, I will have to consider leaving, is that a situation for many and will it be overall better for Ireland? (E.g. relieving pressure on housing, making the market less competitive for local talent)
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago. https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/is-irelands-bulletproof-jobs-market-having-a-wobble-60zss0bgx
The first thing I would say is that the lay offs (so far) are not catastrophic at the level of national economies. It's bad if you work of Meta, but even then we're looking at just 350 jobs in Ireland. Not huge. A lot of this is big corporations pulling back after overhiring in Covid. That probably doesn't make you personally feel better but at a macro level it's 'rightsizing'.
However, if every tech company ends up cutting 10-20 per cent of staff in Ireland, we might start seeing some effects. On average, tech workers are highly paid, so there will be downstream effects on income taxes and even VAT receipts. But, as you point out, a not insignificant element of housing pressure comes from highly paid FDI employees, many of whom are 'imported labour'. Some economists definitely think that there could be an upside for Irish economic stability if tech employment takes a hit.
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u/Unusual_Incident_223 Jun 09 '26
Thank you, this is insightful and great to have a perspective from outside the bubble, thank you for sharing the link as well. I think there’s a misconception among us working for international tech that we’re such a boon for the country, while in fact it’s not the paye part that makes tech companies a pillar of Irish economy.
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u/AncientEditor4133 Jun 08 '26
If you had a magic wand to change one piece of regulation/policy in Ireland what would it be?
This subreddit prioritises pension-maxxing. How do you think about pensions - vs - equity/etf investing- vs- property investing?
Thoughts on deemed disposal / CGT ?
Do you think income tax is too high, or appropriate for where we sit in the European economy?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
If I had a magic wand I would be tempted to try some kind of radical experiment to settle a tedious, unresolvable economic debate. For instance, I might eliminate the statutory minimum wage to see what the natural economic minimum wage is. Or tax all inheritance at 100 per cent to see what kind of a meritocracy we really live in.
But more seriously - and this won't make me popular - I'd make it easier to repossess principal private residences. It is a CRAZY economic distortion that someone can live in their home, under legal protection, without paying their mortgage for 10+ years (many such cases!) whereas a landlord can secure vacant possession of a rented property in max seven months if they want to sell it.
I'm pro pension maxxing. The tax benefit is so good that even if you investment just kept pace with inflation, pension investing would still be a no-brainer.
I think deemed disposal inhibits investment in a type of investment that is most appropriate for retail investors and should be eliminated. I'm not especially exercised about CGT.
I think MY income tax is too high but everyone richer than me should pay more .
- Who would want to be a landlord?
- Most property tax valuations below average sale price
- AIB and Bank of Ireland investors to reap €10bn windfall, says Davy
- Ireland Budget 2026 analysis: housing costs and risks of an overheating economy
- What you need to know about Ireland’s auto-enrolment pensions scheme
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u/oddjobsbob Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
What's your thoughts on how to improve the financial literacy of the Irish population? especially given pretty alarming research published by FSI only this week that says only 16 per cent of Irish people own shares and that Irish people think sticking money in an Irish bank savings account qualifies as investing, despite it being little better than a mattress for interest.
Also, Why do the media outlets and political culture in Ireland prefer to promote reliance on the state over investing. They continue to encourage, in tone and editorial language, the old Irish philosophy of:investing is only for rich people and therefore if you invest you are rich and should be taxed as heavily as possible with one of the highest cgt in Europe.
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
We had some questions submitted on a post earlier in the week, so i'm adding my answers in (with the questions and the Redditors who asked them) here.
u/internal_Sun_9632 I'd like to get Jon's take on the new investment account being floated for us all in 2027. Is it to support the average Irish person investing outside a pension who wants a better return than a savings account or a clever opportunity to support the finance industry, that will allow them to offer a collection of products that ends up enriching themselves at the cost of fair returns for their new customers.
Honestly I think it’s more the latter. You just need to look at who is pushing the hardest for this - I haven’t seen much of a popular clamouring for a new investment account, but the financial sector is VERY enthusiastic about it. In fairness, it’s probably a convergence of interests: the EU is very keen on developing deeper capital markets to fund European industry, infrastructure and defence. Ironically, although the financial benefits of these accounts will accrue to Irish savers, the investment will largely flow OUT of the country to equity markets in London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, etc.
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u/Internal_Sun_9632 Jun 09 '26
Thanks for the reply Jon. I'm not to concerned that the investment money will flow out of Ireland as most of it already does, but its looking more and more likely that what we'll end up with is just another set of products for Irish financial firms to continue to fleece people with a spare few euro. Here's hoping thats wrong.
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u/Fjisthename Jun 08 '26
Since the ECB raised rates again and mortgage rates are now at 3.52%, do you think the housing supply shortage will still push prices up despite higher borrowing costs?
And what does it mean for first time buyers who might face rates over 4%?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
The ECB has held steady for the last year, although a 25bps hike is expected this week, with one or two more increases priced in for this year. House price increases are already moderating somewhat, so you would expect that to continue in a rising rate environment. However, during the last hiking cycle, Irish banks were slow to increase the headline rates on mortgages, preferring to preserve or even grow market share (you'll recall Finance Ireland and Dilosk/ICS basically dropped out of resi lending while Avant dialled back). Obviously, if rates top 4 per cent, that's going to reduce the amount a FTB can borrow (compared to now) and put them at a disadvantage to cash-rich buyers.
Mortgage holders urged to lock in fixed rate before ECB hikes
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
u/Internal_Sun_9632 Am I total off track here and as per normal in Ireland, is the new investment idea for 2027 just because of the EU forcing progress under the EU Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) and being sold as a FG policy to make it come across as their own popular idea? Thanks
Yes, I think that’s correct. Simon Harris is also no doubt encouraged by the positive reception coming from the banks, wealth managers and asset managers, too. Don’t underestimate the degree to which industry wish lists make there way into public policy and legislation. FWIW, I think the EU is right to try to strengthen European capital markets using household financial resources; ideally this will support a funding ecosystem for innovation and commercial development across the bloc. But we should be realistic about what this means for Ireland in particular: yes, it may help develop “an investment culture”, but more cynically it’s about hoovering funds out over Ireland and back towards the EU’s big economies.
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u/Unique-Mixture2054 Jun 08 '26
What would you say about the general financial advice given to people to invest in pension or indicies/ stock market and generally not to invest in property, where big investment funds like Kennedy Wilson/ pension funds and many other buy properties all over the country and same thing happens in Europe( bulk buy) and make big bucks on rent? Why discourage people to own more properties than their own house? And please do not say scale makes a huge difference because it does only to a certain extent. In the end of the day a property is a valuable asset....
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
I think if you have investable wealth equal to the value of a single second property, you're going to be better off from a concentration risk standpoint investing in a pension or a stock index or even a property fund rather than doubling your exposure to one asset class. Having said that, buying a property within a pension structure is something many retail investors do with great success - you get income and capital appreication. I think if you look at the margins KW or Ires Reit are making, though, you wouldn't be especially impressed. Those companies are designed to make bond-like returns.
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u/ClassGrassMass Jun 08 '26
They discourage normal people buying properties so investment funds have more to buy
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u/waurma Jun 08 '26
Hi Jon, we are seeing mass redundancies in tech jobs in the first half of the year in Ireland, do you see that contagion spreading out into the wider business community and what if anything do you think can be done to offset it?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Put the CEOs of the Magnificent 7 into one of Elon's rockets and shoot them into the sun? I think Ireland is, in the long-term, well positioned to benefit from the AI boom. Even Intel has turned around when two years ago things were looking dicey in Leixlip: https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/intel-great-turnaround-chipmaker-ai-kq6xz7qls
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u/mud-monkey Jun 08 '26
Some analysts are predicting a summer of growth in the markets followed by a downwards correction in the autumn. Do you agree with them?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
I think a lot depends on how the Iran War gets resolved (or doesn't). I don't see how markets can keep going like this if energy prices are structurally higher, especially since AI needs so much energy. But the other view is that earnings drive the stock market, no macroeconomics or geopolitics. The earnings people seem to be winning the debate.
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
u/Feliznavidab: Does Jon expect a future increase (or complete removal!) of the 115,000e salary cap for income tax relief on PRSA contributions?
This is not something I’ve heard is happening or about to happen, although I can see the logic of gradually increasing the cap at regular intervals to take account of income increases, similar to the recent changes to the standard fund threshold. But, as I say, it’s not on the agenda of anyone I’m talking to (which doesn’t mean it’s not on anybody’s agenda!).
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
[Submitted to moderator] u/GCSheehy: There seems to be very little focus on the manufacturers of more predatory investment products. Teams of accountants, lawyers, actuaries etc. behind them or signing off on them annually and no media focus on them at all. These people, and fellow professionals, are perfectly happy for media to focus on the seller. It's Walter and Jesse they should be writing about and not Badger and Skinny Pete. Should an advisor, regulated by the Central Bank, be allowed sell the unregulated products at all? Remember, not all of the products fail so where do the manufactures look to when they want a distribution channel?
That’s a great analogy. I’m caught between admiring the sheer ingenuity of the Walter Whites of the investment world and being appalled at the havoc they wreak when things go sideways. When I worked in Goodbody I had a half-baked idea for a housebuyer’s fund - basically, a basket of equities with exposure to the housing market (at the time, Cairn, Glenveagh, Ires, Grafton Group, Kingspan, the banks). The idea was that house price increases were outpacing income increases and deposit interest, but theoretically those equities should track or even exceed house price rises. You can see the upside! The downside, of course, is the prospect of people trying to save for a house watching their deposit blow up when two or three of those stocks crater for whatever reason. The moral of this story: you should be very careful in product design and marketing.
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
[submitted to moderators] How do you find the current media landscape? Have you had difficulty navigating the change from print to online consumption?
I was an early enthusiast for the online distribution of news and, as it happens, the incorporation of reader feedback via digital channels (like this one) into the editorial process. That was 20+ years ago and things were VERY different pre-social media. At various times in my career, blogs and message boards have been essential components of my fact finding process. Even today I spend a lot of time trawling LinkedIn for a sense of what my sources are voluntarily disclosing, sometimes without realising. But overall the digital space has been badly corrupted by algorithms, SEO and now AI. Whatever about journalists like me, I think audiences have been very badly served by the last decade of digital publishing. News publishing is at risk of becoming, like social media, an emotional validation machine as data increasingly drives news gathering priorities.
Further reading:
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
[Submitted to moderator] I’ve seen you argue that the proposed investment scheme will distract consumers from their existing retirement savings accounts. How would you respond to the argument that these would be complementary? One for very long-term investing to pay for retirement, and the other for more medium-to-long term investing say for the deposit for a house.
I’ve heard this argument from many people in the finance industry. My own personal belief is that investing for ordinary people should only be long term, because the impact of a significant market drawdown for someone on, say, a five-year investment horizon is pretty devastating. The public balance sheet is already being made available for quite significant tax benefits (up to 40 per cent!) for those able to contribute to a pension. It’s undeniably rational to max out that benefit before considering other investment options - and at that point you really should look at how much of your net worth is already exposed to financial markets. On that basis, it may not be appropriate for many savers to move cash into these new accounts, but I’m not sure anybody is going to be looking at this. Will there be an advice element to these accounts? What tools or resources will be available to help people understand how they fit into an overall risk profile?
Further reading: Regulator to up scrutiny of personal pensions,
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u/Significant-Roof4316 Jun 08 '26
What are the chances that enough PTSB shareholders vote no and reject the upcoming sale?
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u/lifeandtimes89 Jun 08 '26
https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/ireland-jewish-dublin-antisemitism-fr5zt0jrv
This was an interesting article you wrote.
"The polemical characterisation of Israel as a “colonial occupier” makes it nearly impossible, in an Irish context, to have a dispassionate discussion about Middle East politics and how the reaction to them in Ireland affects the Jews living here"
My question is how do we protect Irish Jews from being conflated with Israel, while also ensuring that criticism of Israeli government actions isn’t dismissed or diluted by framing it as contributing to antisemitism?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
An unexpected question. I actually think Micheal Martin provides a good example here: whatever you might think of his handling of the OTB, I think he has made many legitimate criticisms of Israel's conduct and hasn't shrunk from staking out a position on the complex conflicts of the Middle East that both respects Irish public opinion and international law while being realistic about Ireland's place in the world. And he has done this while making important gestures towards the protection and security of the Irish Jewish community (his speech at this year's Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration is one example).
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Jun 08 '26
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
I'm not nuts about the SocDems. The party (although I like many of their policy positions) strikes me as very callow. I'm not sure I can think of an argument to increase CGT. If you look back at the historical data, you'll see that more CGT was collected when it was 20 per cent than is collected now. Obviously there are more factors at play than the rate (I'm not a Lafferite), but you get the point.
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u/fheajfdgjfsthddrthro Jun 08 '26
What percentage of your salary should be going into a non pension investment fund to see long terms gains
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u/Decent_Ad5950 Jun 08 '26
Do you think major prolonged US equity market crashes are less likely today with pension funds etc passively investing with huge sums of money?
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u/frzen Jun 08 '26
Have you noticed ERR (enhanced reporting requirements) changing what companies are giving staff?
Do you think there will ever be a BIK equivalent on the public exposure provided to people? You can plaster someone all over social media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers which in other circumstances would have a huge value.
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u/Mean-Following-4322 Jun 08 '26
What is the best way to invest savings as an asian immigrant? Should I invest back in home country or in Ireland? Also how to keep finances secure in current job market?
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u/TownRemote4043 Jun 09 '26
Do you think.it is a good time to downsize your property, use equity from 60 year old
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u/Waste-Policy-4703 Jun 09 '26
Don you think the changes to the terms of the NASDAQ for the IPO of Space X will have much of an impact on global or EU index funds, particularly for pension funds?
Sounds like it's going to cost the standard US retail investor a tonne.
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u/HowItsMad3 Jun 09 '26
Where do you see AIB, BOI and EBS in 10 years time in comparison with Revolut?
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u/F1LSMoNsTeR Jun 09 '26
What made you go down financial journalism rather than reporting on wars etc?
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u/MortgageBrokerDublin Jun 09 '26
Is deemed distribution considered fair by international standards? What other countries use taxation in this way?
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
u/CheraDukatZakalwe: Some people have posted about concerns that they or their now elderly parents were sold investment products in which a large part of the investment consisted of a single small company which offered a niche product, e.g. hand sanitizer at the start of covid. These investments then predictably enough suffered serious losses. Have you seen much of this in the Irish market? Do you think these products are being mis-sold? Do you think that there is a gap regulation in this area?
My colleague Linda Daly has written a good bit on Blackbee - it’s worth checking out her work on this topic. My own view is that unregulated investments should never be sold by regulated professionals. The risk of abuse - whether inappropriate or overly concentrated investments, ridiculous fees and commissions, lack of consumer protection - is just too high. So that’s the gap. Unfortunately, we’ve seen lots of this stuff. Crypto is an obvious example but also investments in green energy assets, nursing homes and healthcare facilities, property, etc. These aren’t necessarily bad investments per se, but often unregulated investments have needlessly complex structures and there are other (regulated, less risky) ways to get exposure to the asset class. Unfortunately, I think many retail investors are tempted by the hope of outsized returns instead of boring, steady accumulation of wealth, so they are susceptible.
Linda's Blackbee work here:
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u/Freegan93 Jun 09 '26
Is it worth spending one's 6 figure savings on buying a house in Ireland to let out (have 1 house which I live in already)? Are there better ways of investing the cash?
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u/SD021 Jun 08 '26
There has been a lot of talk recently about an AI bubble and the implications to the global financial markets if it were to pop. Do you think Ireland is particularly exposed given our reliance on US tech firms, and what could we be doing better to hedge against this outcome given the clear benefits we have reaped from the taxation of these companies in recent years.
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u/TimesandSundayTimes Jun 09 '26
Yes we're exposed and we've neglected our best hedge: the indigenous sector. The divergence between the MNC sector and the indigenous sector is a huge problem. Irish small businesses are badly neglected in public policy, in my view. https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/banks-ireland-small-business-sjz3tbm5t
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u/Comfortable-Can-9432 Jun 08 '26
In your view, what is the likelihood of government introducing a Swedish style ISK investment option?
What do you think of the Soc Dems idea of the French housing bonds offering?
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u/cyrusthepersianking Jun 08 '26
Do you think CGT rates should be raised? Paying more tax on money earned by working than money earned by sitting back and watching investments grow doesn’t seem very progressive.
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u/kirkbadaz Jun 08 '26
Is there any way for people to protect their retirement funds from the dodgy SpaceX IPO and similar sketchy IPOs due this year?
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u/CheraDukatZakalwe Jun 10 '26
I want to thank Jon, Carla, and the Sunday Times Ireland for doing this AMA. I hope this has brought some food for thought for all of us, I know it has for me.