Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Finance the amounts he plans to pay into the National Pension Reserve Fund annually in 2009, 2010 and 2011; the location from which these funds will be sourced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16521/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Supplementary Budget for 2009 published on 7 April 2009 provides for a contribution of €3 billion from the Exchequer to the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) in 2009. It projects that no contribution will be required in 2010 and that the contribution in 2011 will be €1.449 billion.

The National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 requires the payment from the Exchequer to the Fund each year of an amount equivalent to 1% of GNP as estimated at the time of the Budget. The Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009 amended the 2000 Act to provide that the Minister for Finance may, in certain circumstances, direct the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission to invest in listed credit institutions and that the Minister may contribute to the Fund for the purpose of such a directed investment, with any such additional contribution to be offset in following years against the requirement to make an annual contribution. These amendments arose from the Government's decision, announced on 11 February 2009, to provide a total of €7 billion to recapitalise Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland, of which €4 billion would be provided by the NPRF from its own resources and the balance of €3 billion from the Exchequer, by means of a frontloading of the Exchequer contributions to the NPRF for 2010 and 2011.

The Budget for 2009 published on 14 October 2008 had provided for a payment of €1.584 billion from the Exchequer into the National Pensions Reserve Fund. The provision for a payment of €3 billion from the Exchequer to the Fund in 2009 contained in the 2009 Supplementary Budget involves the payment of an additional €1.416 billion to the NPRF this year. The projections for GNP for 2010 and 2011 contained in the Supplementary Budget would require annual contributions to the NPRF of €1.403 billion and €1.463 billion in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Based on these projections, the additional €1.416 billion contribution in 2009 means that no annual contribution would be needed in 2010 and would reduce the 2011 annual contribution to €1.449 billion, as published.

The contributions to the NPRF are funded from the Exchequer in the same way as any other expenditure commitment.