Donohoe warns insurers could reduce investment if taxed over state supports

The government intends to pass legislation to gather data on how much money has been retained by insurers but not to recoup it

Paschal Donohoe said he wanted insurers to return the value of state supports they had deducted from payouts to customers rather than seeing the funds used to offset the companies’ own costs. Picture: RollingNews.ie

Taxing insurance companies to recoup public money provided to businesses throughout the pandemic could risk insurers reducing their investment in Ireland, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned.

Donohoe said he wanted insurers to return the value of state supports they had deducted from payouts to customers rather than seeing the funds used to offset the companies’ own costs.

Responding to a suggestion from Pearse Doherty, the Sinn Féin spokesman, to apply a surcharge to recoup ...