Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 116:

In page 92, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following:“Capital Services Redemption Account
80. (1) In this section—
“capital services” has the same meaning as it has in the principal section; “Capital Services Redemption Account” has the same meaning as it has in the principal section;
“sixty-first additional annuity” means the sum charged to the Central Fund under subsection (2);
“principal section” means section 22 of the Finance Act 1950.
(2) A sum of €85,282,431 to redeem borrowings in respect of capital services and interest on such borrowings shall be charged annually on the Central Fund or the growing produce of that Fund in the 30 successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on 31 December 2014.
(3) The sixty-first additional annuity shall be paid into the Capital Services Redemption Account in such manner and at such times in the relevant financial year as the Minister for Finance may determine.
(4) Any amount of the sixty-first additional annuity, not exceeding €65,550,000 in any financial year, may be applied toward defraying the interest on the public debt.
(5) The balance of the sixty-first additional annuity shall be applied in any one or more of the ways specified in subsection (6) of the principal section.”.

The section inserted by this amendment is a standard section. We have considered repealing the need for these sections but legal complexities have defeated us for the time being so it must be inserted as an amendment.

The capital services redemption account, CSRA, was established under section 22 of the Finance Act 1950. At the time, fiscal policy was guided by the economic thinking that a country should not borrow for current spending but should be allowed to borrow to invest in capital projects which would enhance the productive capacity of the economy. To avoid a permanent addition to national debt, a series of annuities were set up to repay the cost of funds borrowed for voted capital expenditure over a 30-year period.