Government to dip into pension reserve for strategic investment plan
Cork Fianna Fail TD Billy Kelleher: yesterday he said Taoiseach Enda Kenny had all but confirmed a 'government u-turn' on the bank. Photo: Tom Burke
THE Government is to announce details of a new fund today that will use the National Pension Reserve Fund to spur investment.
The Strategic Investment Fund is being seen as a forerunner to a strategic investment bank.
This was a key policy of the Labour Party included in the Programme for Government.
It will allow resources to be channelled from the fund towards what is described as “productive investment in the Irish economy”.
In addition to the money transferred from the pension reserve fund into the new strategic fund, the Government will also look for matching commercial funding from private industry.
A strategic bank is expected to follow, but not immediately.
Yesterday Cork Fianna Fail TD Billy Kelleher said Taoiseach Enda Kenny had all but confirmed a “government u-turn” on the bank.
In a letter to the Deputy, Mr Kenny had stated: “The concept of a Strategic Investment Bank would be difficult to implement in current market conditions.”
But a Government source accepted that it was not possible to set up such a bank at this moment in time but insisted the Strategic Investment Fund would be its forerunner.
