Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 21: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has instructed the National Treasury Management Authority to make a contingency plan for the liquidation at short notice of the National Pension Reserve Fund; if his attention has been drawn to such contingency planning or exit strategy at the NTMA in respect of the NPRF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12302/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Pensions Reserve Fund was established on 2 April 2001 under the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 with the objective of meeting as much as possible of the cost to the Exchequer of social welfare pensions and public service pensions to be paid from the year 2025 until at least 2055.

I have no plans to liquidate the Fund. The Government announced on 11 February 2009 that it had agreed the recapitalisation terms to be offered to Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland, under which the Government would provide €3.5 billion in Core Tier 1 capital for each bank through the purchase of preference shares. The announcement stated that the recapitalisation is to be funded from the National Pensions Reserve Fund, with €4 billion being provided from the Fund's current resources and €3 billion by frontloading the Exchequer contributions to the Fund for 2009 and 2010. These investments will remain part of the Fund and the return earned on them will accrue to the Fund. As the Deputy will be aware, the recently-enacted Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009 provides for the necessary amendments to the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 to enable this proposal to be implemented.