Written answer
Departmental Policies
ISIF investments undergo multi-stage due diligence, external review where appropriate, and approval by its Investment Committee or NTMA Board, with ongoing oversight. NTMA employees are subject to confidentiality, garden leave, cooling-off, non-solicitation and other post-employment restrictions, which remain under review.
407. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance given the increasing role of ISIF in making investments on behalf of the State, the policies and safeguards to ensure the State extracts maximum value from these transactions; the conflict-of-interest and post-employment policies which apply where an ISIF/NTMA employee involved in assessing, recommending or progressing an investment subsequently takes up a senior position as a fund manager on behalf of a company that has received that investment. [65017/26]
Comment on this
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has informed me that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has a statutory mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. Its investments are made in line with ISIF’s approved Investment Strategy.
I am advised by ISIF that its investments are subject to a multi-stage due diligence and approval process prior to ISIF entering into the investment, aimed at assessing and managing risk across a broad spectrum of categories. Where appropriate, external advisors are engaged as part of the investment diligence process.
Detailed investment proposals (including disposals of existing investments) from ISIF management are considered by the ISIF Investment Committee which is a statutory committee provided for by the National Treasury Management Agency Act, 1990 (as amended) that assists the Agency (the NTMA Board) in the control and management of ISIF. It is comprised of members of the NTMA Board and external persons i.e. persons who are not members of the NTMA Board, but who have acquired substantial relevant expertise and experience and who are appointed by the NTMA Board with the consent of the Minister for Finance. Decisions regarding ISIF’s Irish Portfolio investments of up to €150m have been delegated to the Committee by the NTMA Board and where the Committee supports an ISIF investment proposal of greater than €150m, it makes a recommendation on the matter to the NTMA Board. As such, all investment proposals in the Irish Portfolio must be supported by the Committee in order to proceed. ISIF continues to monitor and oversee its investments after they have been made.
NTMA employees are engaged under individually negotiated contracts of employment, which typically include notice period provisions and protections designed to protect the interests of the NTMA on termination of employment. Depending on the role and circumstances, these provisions may include garden leave arrangements during the notice period.
In addition, employees are subject to ongoing contractual and statutory obligations relating to the protection of confidential information, which continue after their employment has ended.
In 2014, the NTMA undertook a review of its standard employment contract templates, taking account of external legal advice. This review included enhancements to notice period provisions, garden leave arrangements and post-termination restrictions, including, where appropriate, cooling-off periods and non-solicitation provisions.
The NTMA continues to keep its contractual post-employment protections under review to ensure they remain appropriate and proportionate to the organisation's operational requirements.