Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Finance the holding of the National Pension Reserve Fund; if they are held directly or through funds, in banks quoted on the Irish Stock Exchange and banks quoted on international stock exchanges; if he will set out a table of these holdings on 30 September 2007, 31 December 2007, and 30 September 2008; the acquisition cost of each investment; the market value of each investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45376/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Pensions Reserve Fund, as a large diversified global investor, has invested in over 2,500 stocks globally. As required by the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000, the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission publishes a detailed list of the assets of the Fund at end-year, including its holdings in banking stocks. The Report, which is available on the Fund's website www.nprf.ie, also includes the market valuation of each investment at end-year. Holdings of equities and debt securities of banks represented some 11.4% of the Fund at 31 December 2007. The Commission does not publish details of its investments at end-quarters.

Shares in individual companies are acquired at a variety of prices as and when the Fund invests the Exchequer contributions received on a quarterly basis each year. More generally, it is worth making the point that the return on an investment portfolio should be assessed on the basis of the overall return, not by reference to an individual investment or class of investments.