Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 30:

In page 39, line 33, after “State” to insert the following:“or to provide for an important public need, to improve public services essential to the operation of the economy or to carry out an essential social or environmental action”.

Amendment No. 30 widens the areas in which the agency can invest assets of the fund. The original stipulation is to support economic activity and employment in the State and I wish to widen its scope to also "provide for an important public need, to improve public services essential to the operation of the economy or to carry out an essential social or environmental action". This goes back to the debate that flowed earlier on being able to invest in social housing without having it completely privatised and profitable. As for the type of structure one must create to so do, I acknowledge it must be kept off the balance sheet anyway but it need not necessarily be as rigid as what is provided for at present. Moreover, the amendment specifies that the public need is an important area that should be identified, as should social services and environmental action.
As for amendment No. 32, section 39 deals with securing interest rates, the level of risks and so on to which the agency must have regard in respect of its investment. Sinn Féin argues in this amendment that the broader economic, social and environmental impacts also should be taken into consideration. A question has arisen down through the years as to where the resources have been invested and in the context of the NTMA, it would have arisen in respect of the National Pensions Reserve Fund. One could have, for example, investments being made that are commercially sound but which ethically do not keep in line with the majority wishes of the public or indeed the Government or the Oireachtas. I do not refer to cases in which decisions to invest were based on personal friendships but about the idea of investing in nuclear energy, the arms industry and so on. There were cases in the past, when the fund was dealing with such commercial stuff, in which those areas would have applied. Consequently, the purpose of this amendment is to widen the scope in order that it is not simply about securing rates or the risks of the assets, which I acknowledge are crucially important. However, it also should be about the broader social and environmental impact, which would widen its scope.