Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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In anticipation of the establishment of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) has committed to a number of investments in Ireland including infrastructure, water, long-term financing for SMEs (both credit and equity) and venture capital.  The NTMA has provided a detailed table of the NPRF commitments to Irish investments as at 30 September 2014 which is set out below:

NPRF and 3rd Party Irish Commitments 30/09/2014	NPRF Commitment Capital (€m)	3rd Party Capital (€m)	Total Project Size (€m)	Multiple of NPRF Commitment
SME Equity Fund - Better Capital	50	50	100	2.0x
SME Equity Fund - Cardinal Carlyle	125	167	292	2.3x
SME Credit Fund - BlueBay	200	250	450	2.3x
China Ireland Technology Fund (Note 1)	72	36	72	1.0x
Innovation Fund Ireland	125	125	250	2.0x
Local Venture Capital Funds	96	392	488	5.1x
Silicon Valley Bank (Note 1)	36	72	72	2.0x
Irish Water	250	-	250	1.0x
Irish Infrastructure Fund	250	66	316	1.3x
Forestry	30	187	217	7.2x
PPP Schools Bundle 3	14	121	121	8.6x
PPP N11	18	165	165	9.1x
Covanta Project	44	456	500	11.4x
Committed to Date	1,311	2,087	3,293	2.5x

Note 1: €36m committed to each of the CITF and SVB Global funds as part of a wider third party relationship.

The following committments amounting to €79 million were made in 2014 prior to 30 September, which are included in the table above:

- Venture Capital investments not yet announced of €20 million as part of the Innovation Fund Ireland initiative and of €15 million to an Irish venture fund

- Covanta waste to energy project €44 million

In addition to the table above, four additional transactions totalling €185 million have been completed to date in quarter 4 2014 - comprising an additional €50 million in respect of the Irish Water facility (bringing this facility to €300 million) and €135 million in three transactions that have not yet been announced.

The NTMA, in consultation with the Department of Finance and a number of other Government Departments and Agencies, has been developing a new Economic Impact Framework, which will be a key element of the ISIF Business Plan. The ISIF Business Plan will be approved in due course by the new NTMA Board in consultation with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Economic Impact Framework will seek to identify target areas for investment which have higher potential economic and employment impact, and will also facilitate the identification of categories of investment that would be expected to assist and accelerate normalisation of capital markets in Ireland post the financial crisis.

Because of uncertainty regarding investment opportunities that emerge or can be developed, the nature and shape of the ISIF's ultimate investment portfolio and the quantum of co-investment that can be achieved is not clear at this stage. There will also be a time lag between the NPRF/ISIF commitment and when the economic impact takes place. Therefore it is not feasible at this stage to estimate in advance what the economic activity and employment impacts of the ISIF may be. The ISIF Business Plan and the new NTMA Board are expected to address this issue.

In the interim, the NTMA is developing its capabilities for collating and analysing data to measure and report on economic impact on an ex-post basis (i.e. after the investment has been made). This will require a completely new data set to be sought and reported on by funds and the underlying companies in which funds have invested and by companies or project sponsors in which the NPRF has invested directly. While it is standard practice that companies report financial information to their investors, the new ISIF mandate will also require metrics that can be used to help assess economic impact to be reported. The NTMA expects to be able to publish a preliminary assessment of the economic impact of the investments made to date in Ireland after the Business Plan has been approved by the new NTMA Board.

The most recently reported balance for cash and cash equivalents in the NPRF Discretionary Portfolio was €2,470 million as at 30 September 2014.