Written answers
Thursday, 5 February 2015
Department of Finance
Ireland Strategic Investment Fund Investments
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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127. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of projects in which the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund has currently invested; the number of new jobs created as a result of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5371/15]
Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) was established on a legislative basis on 22 December 2014 taking over the assets of the National Pensions Reserve Fund under new National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) governance arrangements.
The mandate for the ISIF is to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. This means the ISIF has the dual objectives of investment return and economic impact. There is little precedent for sovereign funds investing with such a mandate, although a number of such funds are beginning to emerge.
The ISIF Investment Strategy will be approved in due course by the NTMA, following consultation as specified in legislation with the Minister for Finance and with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
In recent months the NTMA, following consultation with the Department of Finance and a number of other Government Departments and Agencies in 2014, has been developing a new Economic Impact Framework which will be a key element of the ISIF Investment Strategy. 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 following the financial crisis.
The ISIF has committed to a number of investments in Ireland including infrastructure, water, long-term financing for SMEs (both credit and equity) and venture capital.A detailed table of the commitments to Irish investments at 31 December 2014 is set out as follows:
| 31/12/14 | ISIF Commitment Capital (€m) | 3rd Party Capital (€m) | Total Project size in Ireland (€m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SME Equity Fund- Carlyle Cardinal | 125 | 167 | 292 |
| SME Credit FundBlueBay | 200 | 250 | 450 |
| West Summit "China Ireland" Funds | 72 | 36 | 72 |
| Innovation Fund Ireland | 125 | 125 | 250 |
| Local Venture Capital Funds | 116 | 460 | 576 |
| Silicon Valley Bank | 36 | 72 | 72 |
| Irish Water | 300 | - | 300 |
| Irish Infrastructure Fund | 250 | 67 | 317 |
| Forestry | 30 | 187 | 217 |
| PPP Schools Bundle 3 | 14 | 121 | 121 |
| PPP N11 | 18 | 165 | 165 |
| Covanta project | 44 | 456 | 500 |
| WLR Cardinal CRE Mezz | 75 | 195 | 270 |
| Committed to Date | 1,406 | 2,301 | 3,602 |
In the interim, the NTMA is developing its capabilities for collating and analysing data to measure and report on economic impact of ISIF investments 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 ISIF has invested directly. While it is standard practice that companies report financial information to their investors, the 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 by the ISIF during the second quarter of this year.
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