Simon Harris promises 'proper' return on investments for savers
People are not getting enough returns on their savings and should be offered better returns, the Tánaiste has said.Simon Harris, the finance minister, said there are not enough opportunities for people to make their savings work, adding that there should be “proper” investment opportunities for everyone.At a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday, Mr Harris told TDs and senators that the Government will deliver a new strategy on investing to help savers get more out of funds they keep in the banks.The party leader referred to a letter from Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf that Mr Harris received when he took up his role as finance minister. It called on the Government to enable more participation in financial markets.Mr Harris told the meeting that individuals should be offered “better returns”.He highlighted how there is record level of €170bn worth of bank deposits across the country.The Government has previously floated the idea of introducing a State-led savings scheme to help finance home building, with housing minister James Browne suggesting it as a possibility last year.There have been repeated calls for the Government to act on the large level of deposits across the country, with the Social Democrats calling for such a scheme to fund housing.During the 2024 general election, Fine Gael called for the introduction of an SSIA-style scheme for parents, which would see the Government lodge €1,000 in an account when a child was born.This could then have been topped up regularly by their parents each year, with an annual interest rate of around 4%.
