National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014

(2D) The Minister shall not issue a direction to the Agency under subsection (1) to transfer assets to the Exchequer or the Future Ireland Fund other than—

(a) with the approval of the Government, and

(b) where DáilÉireann has, on a proposal by the Minister, passed a resolution authorising the Minister to pay the amount specified in the direction.

(2E) Where the Agency—

(a) receives a direction from the Minister undersubsection (1)to transfer assets of a specified value (in this section referred to as the "relevant value") to the Exchequer or the Future Ireland Fund on or before a specified date (in this section referred to as the "relevant date"), and

(b) is of the opinion that—

(i) an orderly liquidation of assets of the Fund of the relevant value may not be possible in advance of the relevant date, or

(ii) the liquidation of assets of the relevant value may only be possible on terms that are not commercially acceptable,

the Agency shall so notify the Minister in writing of that opinion as soon as is practicable.

(2F) Where the Minister receives a notification undersubsection (2E), the Minister may, with the approval of the Government, specify a date later than the relevant date, on or before which assets of the relevant value shall be transferred from the Fund to the Exchequer or the Future Ireland Fund, as the case may be, and the Agency shall comply with the direction undersubsection (1)on or before the date so specified.]

(3) The payment, or the aggregate of payments, that the Minister directs to be made in any year (except under subsection (4) ) shall not exceed 4 per cent of the value of the assets of the Fund at the end of the immediately preceding year.

(4) Where the Minister directs the Agency to dispose of a directed investment, whether in whole or in part, the Minister may direct the Agency—

(a) to make a payment or payments to the Exchequer not exceeding the amount of the proceeds of the disposal,

(b) to invest, on terms and conditions specified in the direction, part or all of the proceeds in securities issued under section 54(1) of the Finance Act 1970 or securities guaranteed by the Minister, or

(c) to hold the proceeds pending a payment to the Exchequer under paragraph (a) or their investment under paragraph (b).

47A. F15[Transfer of assets (including money) from Fund to meet exceptional contingencies

47A.F16[…]]

48. Expenses of Agency in relation to Fund

48. Notwithstanding section 11 of the Act of 1990, the expenses of the Agency in the performance of its functions under this Part shall be defrayed from the Fund.

49. Report and information to Minister relating to operation of Fund

49.The Agency shall in each report under section 13(1) of the Act of 1990, subject to preserving confidentiality in regard to commercially sensitive information, include the following information in relation to the Fund for the year to which the report relates:

(a) the investment strategy pursued;

(b) the investment return achieved by the Fund;

(c) a valuation of the net assets of the Fund;

(d) a detailed list of the assets of the Fund at the end of the year concerned;

(e) the investment management and custodianship arrangements;

(f) an assessment on a regional basis of the impact of the Fund’s investments on economic activity and employment, F17[…]

(g) an assessment on a regional basis of the distribution of the investments made by the F18[Fund, and]

F19[(h) measures taken in accordance withsection 49A, as inserted by the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018.]

49A. F20[Investment in Fossil Fuel Undertakings

49A. (1) In this section—

"fellow subsidiary undertakings", "higher holding undertaking", "holding undertaking", "subsidiary undertaking" and "undertaking" have the respective meanings given to them by theCompanies Act 2014;

"fossil fuel" means coal, oil, natural gas, peat or any derivative thereof intended for use in the production of energy by combustion;

"fossil fuel undertaking" means an undertaking which is—

(a) engaged, for the time being, in the exploration for or extraction or refinement of a fossil fuel where such activity accounts for 20 per cent or more of the turnover of that undertaking, as derived from its most recently published audited financial statements,

(b) a holding undertaking or, as the case may be, a higher holding undertaking of an undertaking of the kind referred to insubparagraph (a), or

(c) a holding undertaking or, as the case may be, a higher holding undertaking of undertakings engaged, for the time being, in the exploration for or extraction or refinement of a fossil fuel, where the aggregate turnover of such undertakings accounts for 20 per cent or more of the turnover of the group on a consolidated basis, as derived from its most recently published audited financial statements;

"group" means an undertaking together with any holding undertaking, higher holding undertaking, subsidiary undertaking and fellow subsidiary undertakings that such undertaking may have;

"indirect investment" means an investment of the assets of the Fund in an investment product or in a collective investment undertaking but does not include financial derivative instruments, exchange traded funds or hedge funds;

"F21[national climate objective]" has the meaning given by theClimate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015;

"State’s climate change obligations" means the existing or future obligations of the State referred to inparagraphs (a)and(b)(insofar as the obligations of the State referred to inparagraph (b)relate to climate change) ofsection 2of theClimate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015;

"turnover" in relation to an undertaking or a group of undertakings means the amount of revenue derived from the provision of goods and services falling within the ordinary activities of the undertaking or group of undertakings, after deduction of—

(a) trade discounts,

(b) value-added tax, and

(c) any other taxes based on the amounts so derived.

(2) (a) The Agency shall endeavour to ensure that the assets of the Fund are not directly invested in a fossil fuel undertaking.

(b) Where the Agency becomes aware that an undertaking in which the assets of the Fund are directly invested is or becomes a fossil fuel undertaking, the Agency shall divest the assets of the Fund from such investment as soon as practicable.

(3) The Agency shall endeavour to ensure that the assets of the Fund are not invested in an indirect investment at any time after the commencement of this section, unless it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that such indirect investment is unlikely to have in excess of 15 per cent of its assets, or such lower percentage as the Minister may prescribe by order made under this section, invested in a fossil fuel undertaking.

(4) Notwithstandingsubsections (2)and(3), the Agency may invest the assets of the Fund in a fossil fuel undertaking or in a collective investment undertaking the assets of which are invested or will be invested in a fossil fuel undertaking, where the Agency has satisfied itself on reasonable grounds that the investment is intended to be consistent with—

(a) the achievement of theF21[national climate objective],

(b) the implementation of the State’s climate change obligations, and

(c) the policy of the Government, as may be communicated to the Agency from time to time by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, in relation to climate change and climate change objectives.

(5) Where the Agency makes an investment which, but forsubsection (4), it would be prohibited from making, it shall when publishing the fact of the investment and the name of the fossil fuel undertaking or collective investment undertaking concerned, publish the fact that the investment is made undersubsection (4).]

PART 7 Other Provisions

Chapter 1

50. Dissolution of National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission

50. The National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission is dissolved.

Chapter 2

51. Dissolution of National Development Finance Agency

51. The National Development Finance Agency is dissolved.

Chapter 3

52. Dissolution of Advisory Committee

52. The National Treasury Management Agency Advisory Committee is dissolved.

53. Dissolution of State Claims Policy Committee

53. The committee established under section 12 of the Act of 2000 is dissolved.

Chapter 4

54. Transitional provision

54. Schedule 4 contains transitional provisions.

PART 8 Miscellaneous

55. Amendment of section 6 (directions) of State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Act 2002

55. The State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Act 2002 is amended in section 3 by inserting the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(6) An appropriate Minister may provide, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, a guarantee or indemnity, in such form and manner and on such terms and conditions as the appropriate Minister thinks fit, in respect of the obligations of a State authority (other than where the State authority is a Minister of the Government) under or in connection with a public private partnership arrangement.”

56. Amendment of Schedule 5 (specified bodies) to Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

56. Schedule 5 to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 is amended in paragraph 1(4) by inserting “the National Treasury Management Agency,” after “the National Council for Special Education,”.