James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

One of the main features of the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 was to ensure the National Pensions Reserve Fund could not be used by the then Government or future governments for any other purpose besides the meeting of pension costs, with a built in statutory prohibition on drawdowns prior to 2025. A measure barring governments from using the pretext of "exceptional circumstance" to raid the piggy bank of the NPRF was welcome. However, the ease with which the Government was able to utilise such funding for the recapitalisation of the State's two largest banks and overturn this provision of the Act was staggering. That it is now seeking retrospective authorisation through this Bill is equally hard to equate with the aforementioned provision. In addition, the legislation gives the Minister the power to invest unspecified amounts in any further bank or banks as he sees fit, which is an outrageous and disgraceful carry on by a corrupt Fianna Fáil Government.

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