It is intended that all balances within the fund will be managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). Any private sector donations, which are awaiting allocation, will be kept in a separate investment account and may be invested in Irish Government securities. The rate and nature of the return on this account, which will accrue to the fund, will depend on the investment decisions taken by the NTMA in the course of exercising this function. As such, the funds will be used to the maximum benefit possible for the objectives of the fund and of the donors.
Any balances arising from moneys provided by the Exchequer to the fund will be managed by the NTMA via the cash management system which operates for the Exchequer generally. Under this system, any balances held in departmental or other accounts are effectively pooled together and the aggregate balance is managed by the NTMA in such a fashion as to achieve the maximum overall return.
The tax status of contributions to the fund has not been determined. I would remind the Deputy, however, that the terms of the Finance Act, 1997 already provide tax relief incentives for individuals and corporations to invest in third level institutions. Under section 16 of that Act tax relief is available on donations made towards the cost of approved projects and section 25 provides for tax based reliefs for financing packages involving sale and leaseback arrangements.
