Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland was one of the first countries to divest public money from fossil fuel investments. The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 was signed into law by the President of Ireland in December of that year.  The Act imposes certain prohibitions and restrictions with respect to the investment by the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, of assets of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, in certain fossil fuel undertakings. It prohibits ISIF from directly investing in any undertaking that generates 20% or more of its turnover from the exploration for, or extraction or refinement of, a fossil fuel such as oil, natural gas, peat, coal or any derivative thereof intended for use in the production of energy by combustion.

Where the agency becomes aware that an undertaking in which such assets have been so invested by it is, or has become, a fossil fuel undertaking, the Act requires the agency to divest the assets of ISIF from such investment. The legislation also provides for a restriction on such investment when the investment is of an indirect nature, that is, investment of the assets of the fund in an investment product or in a collective investment undertaking. ISIF has developed a list of 246 fossil fuel companies in which it will not invest, as determined by criteria within the Act.  The list is updated on a semi-annual basis in line with methodology that is aligned to the legislation, as set out on ISIF's website.

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