Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

There is a profound argument that one should ensure we develop a system in which it is possible to invest in Ireland when certainty and calm have returned. All other European countries are considering this approach. In Holland, the amount in pension funds is approximately €800 billion. Therefore, there must be a way of offering investment opportunities. It may be partly through simple savings-type products with a low, but guaranteed, rate of interest. Pension funds are required to carry some such investments. We could try to design, perhaps with the support of the NTMA, investment capacity for infrastructure which carries a rate of return or rent that gives the investing pension fund the kind of return and security it requires. The €74 billion is, by and large, invested around the world. Relatively little is invested in Ireland.