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Minister Richard Bruton Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

Bruton defends spending the last of the nation's savings

The final €6 billion left in National Pensions Reserve Fund is to be used to boost employment, says Richard Bruton TD.

MINISTER FOR JOBS, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has said that transferring the remaining €6.4 billion from the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) to a new strategic investment fund is “absolutely the right thing to do”.

Speaking on RTE’s The Business radio programme, he said the idea was that this investment fund would help generate jobs and stimulate the economy. He said:

…Using our investment for the future to make our environment for jobs better, that is absolutely the right thing to do.

The money will be ploughed into infrastructure projects such as road building, water infrastructure and school-building programmes. When questioned whether this was just a political stunt, he said it was not. “The pension fund is an investment fund and the money in it is invested for productive purposes,” he said.

He added that business and key infrastructure development were far better things to invest in than stocks and shares, which he said “have taken a hiding” in recent years.

He said that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), where the money is to be injected, will be overseen by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). However, he did warn that the investment would not be immediately apparent and that it could take a “long view”. He added:

The key is developing strong projects, strong bankable investment projects and that’s what the new era is about.

Bruton said the National Pension Reserve Funds has already created €2.5 billion worth of funds for SME’s.

Funds from the NPRF have been used to bail out Irish-owned banks since 2008.

Read: Final €5 billion left in National Pensions Reserve Fund to be used to boost employment>

Read: New €6 billion investment fund could boost economy>

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    Mute Marcus Massey
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    Mar 13th 2022, 9:10 AM

    I’m currently in Shanghai. Schools are closed and online learning begins tomorrow. Hearing rumours that sitting in in restaurants is being suspended. There’s a minimal upsurge in apartment buildings being closed and residents being quarantined. All issues are protective. All in all, it’s grand.

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    Mute Hear me now
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    Mar 13th 2022, 8:44 AM

    Well let’s just hope this isn’t a strong variant & if it dies steady that we have learned and will protect the old and the vulnerable. If you feel any symptoms take a test and if you have covid you isolate.
    With so many vaccinated it will bearly even affect people that much hopefully.
    So yea hopefully we’ve learned over the last 2 years, no need for restrictions, lockdowns, masks!!!!
    Think peoples appetite for all that again won’t be great!

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    Mute Twitruser2022
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    Mar 13th 2022, 8:22 AM

    Fecking covid and rus-putin+ GREAT DECADE SO FAR!

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    Mute Joe_X
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    Mar 13th 2022, 1:04 PM

    I’m hoping our own current surge, is just the side effect of the lastest lifting of restrictions, and not the new varient that I’ve been reading abiut the last couple of days. (Funny how the Journal has not reported on it when Cork Beo was reporting on what Luke O’Neill said about it yesterday) Regardless, If people can maybe keep their wits about them, keeping in mind the likes of hand hygeine and watch what direction they are coughing in when the could not be arsed covering they’re mouths, or maybe voluntarily put on the mask, we can nip this surge in the bud. None of us want to go back where we were the last couple years.

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    Mute Ger O'Reilly
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    Mar 13th 2022, 3:54 PM

    The bats have come home to roost.

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