Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 200: To ask the Minister for Finance the funds the State currently has on deposit at the Central Bank of Ireland including a precise breakdown of the value of funds deposited at the Central Bank of Ireland directly from the Exchequer and from other State entities; if there is any reason, legal or otherwise why the State could not invest these funds in higher yielding financial instruments such as bond; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27873/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The balances held by the NTMA at the Central Bank of Ireland as at 31 May 2012 are as follows:

The figures include cash held in the Exchequer Account in the Central Bank, cash available in the Dormant Accounts Fund and other Ministerial funds.

The security of the State's day-to-day operational running costs and debt-related payments is paramount and must be backed by access to adequate liquidity. In that sense the current level of balances held at the Central Bank of Ireland provides such security.

With respect to the question of investing the balances in higher–yielding financial instruments, this could only be done to the extent that it does not threaten the ability of the State to meet its outgoings and that an appropriate quantum of risk is accepted in the process. Given that Ireland is currently in a financial assistance programme and is subject to quarterly reviews by the troika, the question of investing any funds in financial assets must be assessed in this context along with continuing uncertainty from the Eurozone debt crisis.

The balances held by the National Assets Management Agency at the Central Bank of Ireland as at 31 May 2012 are as follows:

NAMA Agency Account €1,953m

NAMA Operating Account <€1mNAMA must ensure that it has available liquidity over the medium term to independently meet all of its contractual obligations as they fall due. Obligations include both its day-to-day operating costs (including coupons due on NAMA bonds and derivative contract payments) and advances approved under NAMA's Credit Policy. Working capital and project funding requests necessitate retaining a pool of available cash.NAMA will have varying amounts of liquidity available from time to time as there will be a time lag between cash receipts and NAMA Senior note redemptions. Cash also needs to be placed on deposit (with approved counterparties / Central Bank of Ireland) or invested in qualifying liquid assets (short-term Irish Government securities).I do not have the information sought in relation to other balances held at the Central Bank of Ireland, notably by the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission, but I will forward that information to the Deputy as soon as it is available.>