Written answers

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Department of Finance

National Treasury Management Agency

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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260. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of investments made by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund in each county since its inception; the total value of each investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12874/15]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) was established on 22 December 2014 with a mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. The assets of the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) were transferred into the ISIF on its establishment. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) is responsible for management of the ISIF and the Investment Committee of the NTMA is responsible for making decisions about the acquisition and disposal of assets of the ISIF.

The NTMA is required to report each year on a number of matters including an assessment on a regional basis of the distribution of investments made by the Fund. 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.  Reporting on economic impact therefore requires a completely new data set to be obtained from funds and projects in which ISIF has invested and from underlying companies in which such funds have invested and a data gathering exercise is currently ongoing. The first ISIF economic impact report, which will include an analysis of the regional distribution of investments, is expected to be published in Quarter 2 2015.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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261. To ask the Minister for Finance if the National Treasury Management Agency are considering issuing 50-year bonds to take advantage of current record low interest rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12875/15]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As part of its regular, ongoing funding strategy, the NTMA considers issuance of various maturities subject to market developments and investor appetite. The NTMA announced last December that it plans to issue €12 to €15 billion of long-term bonds over the course of 2015 and has, so far this year, raised €9.5 billion.  

Ireland currently has thirteen benchmark bonds with maturities across the yield curve to 2045. This includes a new 30-year benchmark bond, launched in February, at which time the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) raised €4 billion. This is the first 30-year benchmark bond issued by Ireland and it is considered by the debt markets to have opened up a new opportunity for Ireland. In addition to the €4 billion raised in February, the NTMA raised a further €1 billion in this long maturity bond at its most recent bond auction on 12 March. This further lengthens the average maturity of the National Debt.   

The NTMA has advised that its funding strategy will continue to take account of the quantum of the funding requirement, market conditions, debt servicing implications, and feedback from Ireland's Primary Dealers and investors in Government bonds.

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