Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of cash held by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund; his plans to deploy this cash; if he will use it to support the provision of social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10643/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The most recently published value of the ISIF's Discretionary Portfolio is €7.9 billion as at 31 December 2015. This includes cash and short term investments of €3.6 billion. To date, the Fund has committed €2.2 billion across a wide range of sectors in the Irish economy in line with ISIF's double bottom line mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a way that supports economic activity and employment in the Irish economy.

The Fund is engaging across a wide range of stakeholders, including private sector investors, with a view to identifying opportunities to invest in the area of social housing. Key factors which must be addressed to facilitate ISIF involvement in such projects include the commercial viability of proposals, Eurostat treatment of fund structures which receive the majority of their revenue from Government sources and the ability to create off-balance sheet vehicles, outside of PPPs, which is a requirement to make proposals work. While to date no investible projects or initiatives have emerged, the Fund is continuing to engage proactively with possible social housing investment structures and opportunities and will continue to do so in accordance with its statutory mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a way that supports wider economic additionally.