Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I agree with the Tánaiste that the NTMA has been a successful public body. Its operations have enabled us to obtain good value in managing the national debt and have brought the cost of servicing and managing the national debt down considerably. I notice that in recent times the National Pensions Reserve Fund, which is one of the agencies under the umbrella of the NTMA, has taken a position on the matter of investing in equity funds, including some Irish funds. What is the risk profile of the NTMA?

I have no problem with extending the agency's powers to give it more general banking powers for specific State agencies, particularly when it concerns investment in infrastructure such as rail. Is there a policy or are there guidelines from the Central Bank or, more probably, the Department of Finance, the parent Department, which deal with risk, particularly in the area of new financial products such as derivatives? What is the position of the NTMA and of funds such as the NPRF from this point of view? In general, I welcome the addition of section 14 and the extension of the powers of the agency, particularly in the matters of investment capacity and the ability to invest in key infrastructural areas such as the Railway Procurement Agency.

See this speech in context