Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on the work of the strategic investment fund established by him last year; the amount of funding currently in the fund; the investments that have been made by the fund to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17473/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The establishment of the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) was announced by the Government in September 2011. The SIF will channel commercial investment from the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) towards productive investment in the Irish economy. As well as money from the NPRF, the SIF will seek matching commercial investment from private investors and target investment in areas of strategic significance to the future of the Irish economy. It will comprise a series of sub-funds targeted at commercial investment in critical areas of the Irish economy, including infrastructure, venture capital and provision of long-term capital for SMEs. The NPRF will take a lead role in the development and implementation of each sub-fund.

I am informed by the National Treasury Management Agency, as Manager of the National Pensions Reserve Fund, that the NPRF announced in November 2011 a commitment of €250 million to a new Irish infrastructure investment fund which is seeking up to €1 billion from institutional investors in Ireland and overseas and which will invest in infrastructure assets in Ireland, including assets designated for disposal by the Government and commercial State enterprises and also new infrastructure projects. The NPRF has also committed €450 million to finance the national roll out of domestic water meters. In addition, the NPRF is actively supporting the development of the market for venture capital in Ireland through its continued participation in Innovation Fund Ireland in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland. On 15 March 2012, the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation announced the commencement of the second call for expressions of interest from appropriately qualified international venture capital managers. The further involvement of the NPRF in the SIF is expected to require the amendment of the investment policy of the NPRF, which is set out in the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000. Officials of my Department are liaising with the National Treasury Management Agency, which is the Manager of the NPRF, in identifying and drafting the necessary amendments to the legislation and I expect to bring forward proposals for amending legislation as soon as possible once that work is completed. In preparation for this, the NPRF is currently working on assembling a pipeline of commercial opportunities for the SIF. This exercise includes developing new initiatives in relation to long-term SME financing.