Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 226: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he will take or the legislation he will introduce to protect those in ward of court who have lost on investments made by the Courts Service. [8316/11]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 227: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the controls or due diligence audits being carried out on investments made by the Courts Service; the persons that monitor these investments and if he will confirm if the Courts Service still invests in the shares and stocks market. [8317/11]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 228: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his proposal for those who were granted ward of court status and substantial awards which are now nearly worthless some of whom are denied allowances, medical cards, free fuel and so on and on whom the universal social charge applies. [8318/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 226 to 228, inclusive, together.

Jurisdiction in Wards of Court matters is vested in the High Court. The Courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and, therefore, it is not open to me as Minister to comment in any way. Section 4(3) of the Courts Service Act 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which are specified in section 5 and includes the management of the Courts.

Court funds which are held for the benefit of Wards of Court are private funds under the control of the Courts Service which, through its offices in the High, Circuit and District Courts, has responsibility for the management and investment of funds in court. These funds, which currently amount to approximately €1.137 billion at 30th September 2010, are managed in a fiduciary capacity by the Courts Service on behalf of more than 18,000 beneficiaries. Approximately 2,300 of these are wards of court. Also included are minors and various categories of litigant. Funds under the control of the Courts are required by law to be invested in accordance with the Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act 1958 and the orders made thereunder.

The Courts Service operates a conservative investment policy. Over 98% of court funds are held in cash based assets, with 1% invested in bonds and only 1% exposure to equities. All investments carry some degree of risk. In line with international experience, court funds were impacted by the turbulence on world financial markets, particularly in 2008. Despite the impact of the credit crisis, very few actual losses were incurred in individual cases. All funds have fully recovered to pre-financial crisis levels.

A major modernisation programme for the governance and management and investment of court funds commenced in 2003 and has resulted in:

improved governance through the establishment of an Investment Committee, chaired by the President of the High Court. Its membership includes external independent experts. Annual financial statements are audited by independent external auditors and published on the Courts Service website at www.courts.ie;

access to independent investment and risk management advice through the engagement of independent investment advisors to ensure its investment policies are in compliance with the relevant legislation and best practice;

investment strategies have been implemented to ensure a consistent approach to the investment of all court funds. The unitised funds used have been approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority;

following a competitive EU procurement independent external fund managers were appointed in 2003 to manage these funds. The performance of the fund managers is monitored by both the investment advisors and the Investment Committee on a regular basis.

While there will always be fluctuations in the value of investments from time to time, over the seven year period of the new investment strategies being in operation, there has been good investment performance. In the most recent financial year, ended 30th September 2010, all court funds experienced positive investment performance. The cumulative investment growth since the new funds were established in 2003 has ranged from 18.5% to over 40%. This represents strong growth despite the impact of the credit crisis on financial markets. Finally, the Deputy may be interested in the Report and Financial Statements of the Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice for the year ended 30 September, 2010 which are published on www.courts.ie.