Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 42 together.

On Thursday, 29 September, following a decision by the Government, I and my colleagues, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, and the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with responsibility for the NewERA project, Deputy O'Dowd, announced the establishment of NewERA and the strategic investment fund under the National Treasury Management Agency.

Dr. Eileen Fitzpatrick, who is currently the director of NTMA with responsibility for alternative asset investments within the National Pensions Reserve Fund, has been reassigned by the NTMA as director of NewERA. NewERA is a commitment in the programme for Government and is central to the Government's plans for job creation and investment and for reforming how the Government manages its semi-State companies. The press release issued on 29 September gives details of the functions of NewERA along with a biographical note on Ms Fitzpatrick.

The policy objective behind NewERA is to modernise the manner in which Government manages its shareholdings in the semi-State companies and oversee the corporate governance of commercial semi-States from a shareholder perspective. In this regard, it will report to the relevant Ministers with responsibility for the ESB, Bord Gáis, EirGrid, Bord na Móna and Coillte. Its operations will be overseen by the Cabinet committee on economic infrastructure. In this capacity, NewERA will have responsibility for reviewing the capital investment plans of these commercial semi-State companies from a shareholder perspective and will identify possible synergies between the investment programmes of the different companies. Where requested by the Government, it will also advise on and, if appropriate, oversee any restructuring or disposal of State companies. It will work with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on the disposal of State assets.

Following appropriate legislative changes to the investment policy of the NPRF, the strategic investment fund, which will be the forerunner of the strategic investment bank, will channel commercial investment from the NPRF towards productive investment in the Irish economy. As well as money from the NPRF, the fund will seek matching commercial investment from private investors and target investment in areas of strategic significance to the future of the Irish economy. It will comprise a series of sub-funds targeted at commercial investment in critical areas of the Irish economy, including infrastructure, venture capital and provision of long-term capital for SMEs. The NPRF will take a lead role in the development and implementation of each sub-fund.

These decisions are an important element in the Government's strategy to create jobs and promote economic growth. Through NewERA and the strategic investment fund we will maximise our resources to enhance growth in the Irish economy and improve key infrastructure to maintain Ireland's attractiveness as a place to do business and to create jobs. In these times of scarce resources, NewERA will seek to offer a new means of facilitating investment in our economy.

NewERA has been established on a non-statutory basis as a shareholder executive within the NTMA. I expect NewERA and the NPRF to come back to me shortly with proposals for establishing the strategic investment fund. NewERA will bring forward proposals by mid-2012 for consideration by the Government of options for moving towards a full holding company status which could own the shares in commercial semi-States.

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