Thomas Gould
Question:126. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Finance the situations under which it would be considered appropriate to withdraw funds from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. [30087/23]
View answerThursday, 22 June 2023
Questions (126)
Written answers
The NTMA controls and manages the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) in accordance with the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014 (the “Act”) and has a statutory mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in the State.
Section 47 of that Act provides the basis for payments from ISIF to the Exchequer. It provides that the Agency shall make payments to the Exchequer for such amounts and at such dates as the Minister may direct following consultation with the Agency.
The payments or aggregate of such payments made by the Agency, with the exception of the specific disposal of a directed investment, shall not exceed 4 per cent of the value of the assets of the Fund at the end of the immediately preceding year.
In any event the Act provides that the Minister may not direct the Agency to make any payment to the Exchequer before 2025, with the exception of payments from directed investments.
As regards directed investments, where the Minister directs the Agency to dispose of a directed investment in whole or in part, the Minister may direct the Agency to make a payment or payments to the Exchequer, to invest, on terms and conditions specified in the direction, part or all of the proceeds in securities issued under section 54(1) of the Finance Act 1970 or securities guaranteed by the Minister or hold the payments pending a payment to the Exchequer or their investment.
As the Act provides for a 2025 date as the earliest when the Minister can dispose of the assets of the Fund (other than for directed investments) the situations where a withdrawal from the fund is appropriate does not arise yet.