Semi-state commercial firms pay out €1bn in dividends over past 10 years

New figures show that semi-state commercial firms have paid the State over €1 billion in dividends over the past 10 years.

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin, has confirmed that between 2003 and 2012, state-owned firms paid the Government a total of €1.061bn in dividends.

The figures show that the dividend pay-out by the semi-states has increased dramatically since the economy went into recession.