We do not have incentives or measures under Irish tax law which are specifically aimed at promoting ethical investment and it would be very difficult to design suitable provisions in this regard in the absence of internationally agreed guidelines or authoritative recommendations on the subject. Nor are there any plans to modify the tax treatment of pension fund investment in order to encourage ethical investment by the pensions funds. The existing treatment provides for tax free pension contributions by employers, employees and the self-employed, tax free roll up of investments by the pension funds and the taxation of pension payments in the hands of the recipient.
The Deputy will appreciate that at the very least there would need to be a clear and broadly accepted definition of what constitutes ethical investments before the appropriateness of introducing tax incentives or of modifying the tax treatment of pension fund investment could be properly examined. Such a definition is not available to my Department at present.
