Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I would like to respond. I thank Senator Higgins. I will undertake to follow up with regard to the ammunition production support Act and look further into that. As she said, it is not through the agency, so it is not directly relevant. However, I understand the concern she has raised. I understand it is through the EU budget, but I will go over the transcript of the exchange at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. Its members will engage with my officials and we will revert to the Senator in that regard.

I want to give a broader assurance that all this will be kept under review. If there is need to strengthen this legislation further then we will do so. It is worth putting on record some of the oversight arrangements that will apply in respect of the investment managers, because the Senator raised that point specifically. First of all, there will be a well-established process within the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, for the appointment of such managers. It will be following a competitive tendering process as part of this investment, and operational due diligence is carried out on each investment manager. An investment manager agreement is entered into with all investment managers setting out any requirements and expectations in terms of performance benchmarks, compliance with NTMA prohibited and restricted securities, required reporting and risk management. Then, there is ongoing oversight. It is important that we all understand this. The NTMA meets with each investment manager every month to cover a range of items, including performance and compliance with the relevant investment mandate. The NTMA also completes periodic site visits covering both investment and operational due diligence. The performance of each investment manager is benchmarked to the agreed benchmark set out in the manager's investment management agreement, and, in the event that the performance of any investment manager is below expectations, the NTMA may exercise its right to terminate the agreement of that manager, if appropriate. Therefore, there are extensive oversight arrangements in place in respect of the performance of the investment managers. However, I will undertake to write to the Senator regarding the ammunition production support Act and the interaction with Irish public money, which I think is the net issue she raised.