Ireland plans US$106bil sovereign wealth fund

With the surplus forecast to remain high, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said he would introduce laws to mandate the government of the day to invest 0.8% of nominal gross domestic product, equivalent to €4.3bil, into the new fund from 2024 to 2035. — Reuters

DUBLIN: Ireland lays out plans in its budget to turn some of the healthiest public finances in Europe into a €100bil (US$106bil) sovereign wealth fund, while also announcing a raft of measures to ease current cost of living stresses.

Budget surpluses are a rarity in Europe following a jump in spending during Covid-19 but a surge in Irish corporate taxes paid by a small number of foreign firms snapped Dublin quickly back into a surplus of 2.9% of gross national income last year.