Madam, – Ireland’s new-found piggy bank, the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), has attracted much political attention in the past week. The main parties have advanced competing suggestions regarding how this fatted calf should be slaughtered, ranging from Labour’s enlightened proposal for another State-owned bank to Sinn Féin’s vague job creation scheme.
While well-implemented job creation initiatives should be welcomed, one must question if the source of funds for these investments should be the country’s pension holdings. Little more than €5 billion will remain in the “discretionary” portion of the fund once investments in the banking system and the NPRF’s contribution to the EU-IMF bailout are taken into account. These remaining funds should be used for their stated purpose of meeting the costs of Ireland’s social welfare and public service pensions from 2025 onwards, and not be used to satisfy the immediate political ambitions of any party.
In a period when loss of sovereignty has been cause for such debate, the voting public should refuse to allow the country’s sovereign wealth fund to be expropriated by politicians. – Yours, etc,