Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2015
125. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Finance the amount of investment undertaken by the National Pensions Reserve Fund turnaround fund to date; the number of projects involved; the number of jobs supported; the percentage of applications approved; the way the operation of the fund compares to the initial targets set for it; the future plans for the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29830/15]
View answerFollowing the commencement of the relevant section of the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014 on 22 December 2014 the assets of the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) became the assets of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
The ISIF has advised that the Turnaround Fund was focused on turnaround investing in troubled companies as the Irish economy dealt with the financial crisis. A defined short investment period of two years was set due to the expectation that distressed turnaround investment opportunities would only be available for a limited period. In the context of improving market conditions, financial institutions and business owners experienced a much reduced need for restructuring capital investment into distressed businesses as compared with initial expectations. This meant that the Turnaround Fund did not complete any transactions. The investment period expired at the end of December 2014 and, by mutual agreement between the NTMA and Better Capital, was not extended.
