Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 229: To ask the Minister for Finance if the National Treasury Management Agency engages, through equity participations held under the National Pension Reserve Fund or other programmes, in the practice of lending or borrowing equities to or from short-sellers; if any of the investment managers responsible for administering NPRF equity holdings engage in this practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31987/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The NPRF's equity mandates do not allow for the taking of short positions in stocks. It has invested a total of $350 million in two highly specialised investment vehicles which may, as part of their investment strategy, take short positions in very restricted circumstances. The Fund operates a securities lending programme through its global custodian which generated income of €22.3 million in 2007. The NPRF Commission withdrew all Irish stocks from its securities lending programme early this year. More recently, it withdrew a number of international financial stocks from the programme.