Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

A wide range of issues arises from this amendment. The effect of the amendment would be to put aside the proceeds of the levy in a fund which would be separate from the National Pensions Reserve Fund. In moving the amendment, however, Deputy Burton appeared to suggest that the fund would be more in the nature of an accounting device and the funds in it would be available to the Government for expenditure purposes in the current year. There is no intention at this stage, I take it, to invest the proceeds of the levy and use them to pre-fund public service pensions on an ongoing basis.

The National Pensions Reserve Fund was established in 2001 to meet as much as possible of the cost to the Exchequer of social welfare and public service pensions to be paid after 2025. We will have an opportunity next week to discuss this issue at greater length. I do not propose to set aside the proceeds of the levy in an investment fund. The NPRF represents a strong response to the likely increase in the cost of social welfare and public service pensions in the medium to long term, with an amount equivalent to 1% of GNP paid into the fund each year. In many years to date we were in the happy position of having a surplus from which such a sum could be paid.

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