Vol. 554 No. 5
451 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Finance the total contributions to date in 2002 paid to the State in the National Pensions Reserve Fund; the projected contributions over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17326/02]
Under section 18(2) of the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act, 2000, the Minister for Finance is required to make an annual payment of 1% of GNP to the National Pensions Reserve Fund. The payment made in each year is based on the GNP figure published with the budget for that year.
The payment for 2002 is €1,034.5 million. Three quarters of the payment has already been made, that is, €775.8 million. The payments for each of the next five years will be based on the GNP figure published with the relevant budget. The projected payment for 2003, published with Budget 2002, is €1,113.5 million. This figure will be updated in December's budget.
