Semi-state companies paid €200m to the Exchequer last year

Much focus will be on the ESB dividend payout on the energy firm's 2022 profits after it reported soaring operating profits of €357m. File picture: Larry Cummins

Commercial semi-state companies last year paid out aggregate dividends of €199.4m to the Exchequer.

The €199m paid out in 2022 is a 31.4% increase on the €151.7m dividends paid out by the semi-state companies to the Exchequer for 2021.

However, in a written Dáil reply to co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy TD, the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath confirmed that the €199m payout for 2022 falls short of the pre-Covid-19 commercial semi-state dividend payout of €262.15m paid out in 2019.

The bulk of the dividend last year came from the ESB at €121.6m and compares to €77.67m paid out by the power firm in 2021 and €47.6m paid out in 2020.

Much focus will be on the ESB dividend payout on the energy firm's 2022 profits after it reported soaring operating profits of €357m before exceptional items reported for the first six months of last year.

The utility company usually publishes its annual report in March of most years when it reveals its dividend and last year when asked to comment on the forthcoming 2023 dividend by ESB, then Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said the Government “can look forward to a much higher dividend” from the ESB.

A spokesman for the ESB said on Friday: “ESB generally announces its dividend to the shareholder on publication of its annual report, and its 2022 annual report will be published in due course. Our dividend policy agreed with the shareholder reflects the level of ESB profit in a given year, and over the past decade ESB has paid over €1bn of dividends to the Exchequer.” 

The information provided by Minister McGrath shows that the other main contributors of dividends last year are the operator of Bord Gáis and Irish Water, Ervia, Bord na Mona and Coillte.

Minister McGrath has confirmed that Ervia’s 2022 dividend to the Exchequer was €30.1m and was down on dividends of previous years - in 2021, Ervia paid out a dividend of €38.43m and this followed dividend pay-outs of €70.95m in 2020, €139.4m in 2019 and €139m in 2018.

The figures show that Bord na Mona’s 2022 dividend of €21.6m was a multiple of dividends paid out in previous years. The dividend pay-out by Bord na Mona was made as the semi-state recorded more than a tripling of pre-tax profits from €27.75m to €85.1m in the 12 months to the end of March last year.

The €21.6m paid out by Bord na Mona compares to €6.39m paid out in 2021 and the semi-state paid out no dividends in 2020, 2019, 2018 and paid out €2.3m in 2017.

Coillte’s dividend pay-out last year totalled €25m and this compares to €25m for 2021, €2.3m for 2020 and €13m for 2019.

Semi-state port companies last year paid out dividends and they include Shannon Foynes Port which has paid out €400,000, the Port of Waterford which has paid out €266,135 and the Port of Cork which has paid €250,000 to the State.

Eirgrid or the Irish Aviation Authority are not listed to have paid any dividend last year. Any dividends from Semi-State bodies received by the Exchequer form part of the overall revenue collected by the State.

The policies relating to the payment of such dividends are detailed in the Instrument or Legislation which covers the formation of each body.