Results 4,241-4,260 of 35,549 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I am going to move on to the broader wealth funds. We are all conscious of what is happening in regard to Palestine, the oppression and illegal occupation of its territories. Generally, and I do not propose to speak on behalf of people throughout the State, but I think there is a message here. Not in Our Name. Taxpayers' money should not be invested in companies that operate illegally in...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Professor Kinsella for his presentation and his opening remarks. I would like to tease out his thinking about this. When he talks about drawdown from the fund after a period of time, is he talking about drawdown from the interest or the return that is generated from the investment or is he talking about drawing down some of the capital that was invested?

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Professor Kinsella for that clarification. So the fund is earmarked for ageing. In his opening statement, Professor Kinsella said the cost of ageing can be identified as pensions but pensions constitute just a portion albeit the larger component but it is not the majority component. Health, long-term care and education are also factors and the cost of those three areas combined...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I am looking at the report of ageing from the Department of Finance, which refers to the period up to 2050. I mentioned a 30-year horizon. The report puts pensions at 7.5% of GNI*, healthcare at 5.1%, long-term care at 2.4% and education at 3.2%. Even if we project it out to 2070, pensions would be the largest component, but the other three components are actually greater than pensions.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Yes, cumulatively.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: They are the largest single one.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: But they-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: If we could follow the Norwegians, let us have it. The point I was going to make is that their interest is massive because their fund is huge.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: We would settle for living off the interest if we could have their fund. Obviously, there are two different things that can happen in terms of the surpluses. The surpluses are of such a scale that, of course, we need to establish a sovereign wealth fund. However, it needs to be not like the national reserve fund, which is invested in short-term notes but does not have any return...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I will move on to my next question. Earlier, Professor Kinsella gave five choices in terms of Government allocation. The reality is that the Government is likely to do maybe three of them, with some of it going into a sovereign wealth fund and some into additional capital spending. Possibly the worst decision would be to reduce the national debt. Given the interest rates on our national...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: I agree with everything Professor Kinsella has said. If I did not make myself clear, I am not suggesting a €90 billion fund would invest in the Irish economy. I believe the fund has to be diversified. The question is whether a portion of the fund can be invested in the Irish economy. Were ISIF to scale up to €20 billion or €22 billion, I do not think anybody would say...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The other argument concerns the revenue costs in terms of job opportunities created by opening up a region or through the investment in a hospital. Where a hospital is running at crisis point, it is inefficient, costly and is sending stuff out to the private sector. People get sicker and undergo more complicated and costly operations. If we are running efficiently, in theory it should be...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Professor Kinsella has given us a lot of food for thought. I ask him to discuss what he envisages to be the future for the national reserve fund. In case I did not convey my view, I believe that catch-up capital is required, which means it does not go into the fund and there is a role for investing in the domestic economy. How do we invest now to ensure we are secure in the next ten to 15...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: We had this conversation 20 years ago.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: So we know where the economy ended up.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: Anglo Irish Bank. I agree with Professor Kinsella that we are in a great place. It is a great solution to find out what we should do and how we invest it. I thank the professor for his valuable insight.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Sovereign Wealth Funds: Discussion (24 May 2023)

Pearse Doherty: The professor's insight is valuable to the committee and will be very informative.