The Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) has called on the Irish government to use Budget 2026 to introduce measures that would mobilise pension and insurance capital to fund high-growth Irish companies, claiming they could unlock between €1bn-€2bn of funding.

In its pre-budget submission, the IVCA, which marks its 40th anniversary this year, stated that Ireland must “scale domestic capital to create funds of scale and deepen fund capacity” if it is to retain innovative firms rooted in the country.

The association has proposed policy changes to attract €1bn-€2bn of private capital from Irish institutional investors, including pension schemes, into venture and growth funds.

These investments, it said, could help address Ireland’s reliance on foreign capital, retain ownership of domestic innovation, and ensure the next generation of companies can compete globally.

Central to its recommendations is the introduction of an 'opt-in' pension mechanism, which would require schemes to offer members the option of allocating 1-5 per cent of their savings to a dedicated fund backing Irish enterprises.

The model, the IVCA noted, mirrors France’s 'solidarity investment' rules introduced in 2008, which grew pension capital allocated to domestic funds from €200m to €6bn in under 15 years.

The submission also cited Denmark’s Vækstkapital initiative and the UK’s Mansion House reforms as evidence of how governments are working with pension funds to channel capital into private markets.

The Netherlands’ new defined contribution (DC) pension framework, expected to unlock an additional €100bn into private equity and venture investments, was highlighted as another benchmark.

IVCA chairperson, Gillian Buckley, warned that pension funds in Ireland remain significantly underallocated to the asset class compared to international peers.

“With the right policy framework, we can change that - giving pension savers the opportunity to benefit from the growth of Irish companies, while ensuring these firms have the capital to scale here at home,” she added.

The association emphasised that its proposals do not call for direct government funding, but rather for regulatory and structural changes that would give institutional investors, including pension funds, greater confidence to co-invest.

The push comes as European institutions move forward with the €3.85bn European Tech Champions Initiative, which aims to channel savings and pension capital into scale-up finance.

The IVCA warned that without action, Ireland risks falling behind its peers, such as Germany and the Netherlands, which are targeting more than €100bn each in innovation investments through state-backed risk-sharing instruments.

The pre-budget paper concludes: “Forty years ago, Ireland was a leader in policy design to support innovation. The 2026 Budget is the moment to renew that commitment and ensure pension savings play a role in building a resilient, innovation-led economy.”

The government is due to publish the Budget on 7 October 2025.

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