Mr. Nick Ashmore:

We have a presentation. We will be able to get it on screen. It is a short presentation to give some context on the NTMA's role and activities around the management of funds such as the future investment fund and the infrastructure, climate and nature fund.

The NTMA is a broad-based organisation. It manages a number of commercial assets and liabilities on behalf of the State. It is divided into a number of divisions supported by our central shared services but also with a common agency board. The key divisions are the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, the National Development Finance Agency, funding and debt management, NewERA, which involves shareholder executive and advisory services, and the State Claims Agency. We have a number of committees and elements of governance, including an investment committee that governs the activities of the ISIF, a standard audit and risk committee, a remuneration committee and, more recently, the State claims advisory committee. We share functions such as HR, ICT and so on. Some of those functions are also shared with affiliates, NAMA, SBCI and HBFI, which each have their own boards as well.

In the context of the new funds, we are looking at two quite different approaches in terms of investment strategy, one being a long-term fund, the future Ireland fund, with its aim of supporting future expenditures from 2040 onwards, and with contributions running through to about 2035, potentially reaching anything up to €70 billion in contributions. The investments will scale up from there with returns on investment. Then there is the infrastructure, climate and nature fund, which is more short term and will be there to help step in where there is an economic shock to ensure that capital spending is maintained, providing future funding for projects that will contribute to the achievement of climate and nature goals, with that starting at €2 billion to be added from 2024 to 2030, scaling up to about €14 billion, with a sleeve of up to €3.15 billion for the climate and nature projects, should they come through, from 2026 onwards.

The NTMA's role in this so far has been to support the Department of Finance's work in establishing the new funds and providing input in terms of drafting the heads of Bill and starting to think about the logistics and the operations we will need to have in place to manage these funds once they come into existence. Through ISIF and its predecessor, the National Pensions Reserve Fund, the NTMA has a long experience as a long-term commercial investor of assets on behalf of the State. Over the years, it has grown from a single function as a sovereign borrower to a manager of the wide range of portfolio State assets and liabilities which we saw in the organisation's structure. However, the addition of mandates over time to the agency by the Government has demonstrated the agency's ability to flex and scale its operational platform in order to meet new challenges and new mandates from the State. We will continue to work closely with the Department as the necessary legislation is put in place to optimise arrangements for the establishment and management of the new funds.

The NTMA has been involved in managing and looking after a number of funds on behalf of the State. The original one was the National Pensions Reserve Fund, established back in 2001 to meet as much as possible the cost of social welfare pensions and public service pensions at that point planned to be paid from 2025 until 2055. That fund was used largely in the crisis to help support the banking system and was converted into the ISIF in the beginning of 2015. The NTMA also managed the Social Insurance Fund when it was somewhat larger than it is now, in the period from 2001 to 2010. That fund is the net pool of the income and expenditure around social insurance in any one year and waxes and wanes with the economy and the level of contributions.

The ISIF, which is active at the moment, established in legislation in 2014, commenced in the beginning of 2015. It is a strategic investment fund with a mandate to invest on a commercial basis where it can support economic activity and employment in Ireland. That fund is the one I work on and lead the team on, and it is active out in the market making investment at the moment. We also have the national reserve fund, established back in 2019, there to be drawn in the event of certain exceptional contingencies in the economy. It was established initially with €1.5 billion. That was used very quickly in 2020 and 2021 with the Covid crisis but it was re-established the year before last and is currently sitting with about €6 billion in assets largely invested in short-term investments ready to form some of the initial contributions to new planned funds.

Lastly, we have the Ireland Apple escrow fund, established in 2018. The NTMA is responsible for the oversight and management of the fund, in accordance with the escrow framework deed and through its own specialised investment committee.

The NTMA, through ISIF and the NPRF before it, has a long-standing commitment to be a responsible investor and actively looks to integrate ESG factors into its decision-making process, with a view to enhancing the overall outcomes for the funds and, ultimately, the State as beneficial owner.

We have a sustainable responsible investment strategy, which we publish on the website, that informs how we achieve the mandate and how we behave as an investor and a steward of public assets. As part of the investment strategy for the future Ireland fund and the infrastructure, climate and nature fund, the NTMA will consult with the Minister for Finance on how it incorporates responsible investment and exclusions going forward. That platform will extend to ISIF. We are looking to try to create an ESG platform and set of capabilities that will feed into all the funds that the NTMA manages. ISIF, formerly the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NPRF, was a founding signatory of the UN principles of responsible investment in 2006.

I note a few comparable international funds. As a team, we have strong relationships with a number of these funds and we look to them to help us to compare and benchmark what we do and to develop additional capabilities. The Australia future fund started in a similar timeframe to the NPRF. It was similar in that it took the proceeds from the sale of a telecoms company. That fund has grown significantly, up to €125 billion. It expects to pay out withdrawals from 2026 onwards. It is a good example of best practice and an established fund that we can draw lessons from.

We also talk often to the New Zealand super fund, which is focused on universal pension payments. It started in 2001. It is probably a similar size. The NPRF might be a little larger by now. It is one of the leading advocates of sustainable investing and also a strong performer as an investor. It is a good proof point that one can do both effectively.

AP4 in Sweden is a long-established fund. It is the sort of size that we would expect the future Ireland fund to get to after a number of years. It is part of a network of state funds that manage the state's pension liabilities across different aspects. We think it is an exemplar of sustainable investment and also efficient investment operations.

The Alaska permanent fund is similar in that it pays out every year to support the economy of the state. It is not quite the same as what the future Ireland fund would do, but it is an interesting analogue in that respect.

That is a brief presentation from the NTMA side. I am happy to hand over to Mr. Gilvarry.