Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for bringing forward this legislation. I have absolutely no doubt that the creation of these funds, at some stage in the future, will be viewed as one of his finest legacies. Indeed, it will have a profound impact on this country.

I have no doubt - and I say this with respect to my colleague, Senator Warfield - that at some stage in the future, Sinn Féin will sing the praises of the creation of these funds. Much as the party changes its position on corporation tax, it will welcome these as long-term investments in our country.

It is welcome that our economy is so robust that we have the resources to create these sovereign funds. To establish these funds and to invest in the future is critical. Colleagues have referenced this but I would comment on the three big challenges we will face as a society, how we respond to them and the roles these funds will play, namely, the question of climate challenge, the biodiversity challenge and sustainability. We know that we are facing those as a country at present and that we will face even greater challenges in those spaces. I think about issues such as coastal erosion in my own, and the Minister's, part of the world and how we, as communities, respond to that and how the State can be prepared in a big way in this regard.

As for the technological revolution that is happening, we do not even know, technologically, some of the challenges we will face in the coming years but the Minister will be aware of the impact of generative AI; he was speaking about it this week. The convergence of so many other new technologies is going to have profound negative and positive impacts on employment and society more generally. We have to be prepared for those changes.

While they are not frequently debated within these Houses, the demographic changes we are going to see, which these funds will need to underpin, are crucial. As colleagues will be aware, more than 60,000 students will sit the leaving certificate shortly. For those who are sitting the leaving certificate, they will be working into the 2070s. Most of them will live into the 2090s and on current projections, one in five of them will live to see the 22nd century. I am not sure how many in this House right now will see some of those changes, but this legislation and the provision in this fund have to be in a position to be able to meet those and have to be thinking in that kind of long-term way. We are living longer. Some of us are living healthier lives but not in every case. Again, this fund has to look at facing those big, future challenges.

I hope, within this legislation, particularly in respect of the role of IFAC, that there will be regard to the sustainable development goals to which the Government and the State are very committed.

There needs to be a question around the role of the Oireachtas, not necessarily in overseeing the spending but in considering some of those bigger-picture issues. For too long, in many ways, Oireachtas committees have been reactionary to things that have happened. In Finland, as the Minister will probably be aware, there is a standing parliamentary committee for the future, which examines the big-picture issues that impact on Finland, including those that I have mentioned. It examines how state policies, both fiscal and indeed more widely, are adapted to be able to respond to that. It is critical there is parliamentary scrutiny of the general direction in which these funds go. In many cases, it should not happen after the fact, in the same way that committees call people to discuss where money has been spent, but rather look at how we shape it.

In time, this legislation will be seen to be hugely significant. The creation of these sovereign wealth funds is critical for Ireland’s long-term development. I welcome the Minister’s personal championing of this but he can be assured that it deserves the full support of the House.