While I appreciate the gender balance issue, gender equality expertise is the piece that is explicitly being sought. When we talk about these representative bodies, the member would, of course, be a member of a board and would have to operate for the good of the board. The question is about that expertise, however. We know there is an expertise that comes from having engagement with a huge, broad swathe of a constituency on an issue. Unions have that expertise. Indeed, the National Women's Council of Ireland has th…

We are really into an extremely serious issue then because it is State money. It is public money that is being given to individuals, and if it is being given to those individuals to invest in schemes that invest in arms, the Minister is out of line with regard to our national legislation on cluster munitions. She is out of line in that regard because it prohibits direct or indirect investment. Frankly, giving funds to an individual who is then going to invest in one of a number of consolidated schemes, which we wil…

My concern was whether we had effective mechanisms to ensure compliance, but the message is it is not State money so we are not bound by anything. Can it be invested in fossil fuels?

Okay, but I would like clarification. The Minister said it is not State money and not to do with us. I would like clarity on whether there are going to be safeguards. They are very basic. I have a wide range of environmental, social and governance issues I think the State should be tracking, but we actually have legislation in respect of cluster munitions and fossil fuel investment.

Can I ask for confirmation that the provisions of the cluster munitions legislation and the provisions of Fossil Fuel Divestment Act will be among those measures that are reflected in the safeguards? I have read the section. If we are talking about the Paris Agreement and these international obligations, I assumed that our national legislation would also be reflected. That is what I am asking. Are these covered? Is there any risk of us learning about these funds being inappropriately invested in respect of cluster …

I move amendment No. 11: In page 15, line 1, after “management,” to insert “economic and intergenerational equality,”.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 15, to delete lines 4 and 5, and substitute the following: “(a) one shall be appointed by the Minister upon nomination by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and”.

I move amendment No. 14: In page 15, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “(b) one shall be appointed by the Minister who is a representative of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, and”.

I move amendment No. 15: In page 20, line 13, after “experience” to insert the following: “, including expertise and experience in compliance with relevant domestic and international legal obligations,”.

I move amendment No. 16: In page 28, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(4) The Authority shall on an annual basis lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a record of consultants or advisors engaged under subsection (1) in the preceding financial year and the purposes of such engagement.”. Amendment No. 16 would insert a new subsection into section 31 whereby, when the authority engages consultants or advisers under subsection (1), it would be required to relay annually before both Houses of the Oi…

I move amendment No. 18: In page 28, after line 36, to insert the following: “(4) For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority may not engage persons to provide services where such services are related to decision making in respect of individual entitlements of contributing participants or employees.”.

I move amendment No. 19: In page 29, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(c) the investment strategy or investment decisions carried out under this Act,”. Amendment No. 19 seeks to amend section 33 to provide that within the obligations of the chief executive to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts, he or she would be required to give evidence in regard to the investment strategy or investment decisions carried out under this Act. Amendment No. 26 seeks to amend section 43(3) to provide tha…

I am looking at the two pages to which the Minister referred. There are approximately four lines that relate to any of the ethical issues I have outlined. There is a section in which we can choose to set out clear investment criteria and rules, which supposedly will apply. We are hearing a contradictory argument from the Minister. On the one hand, she is saying this is none of our business because it involves private money and that money does what it likes. On the other hand, she is saying there are loads of contro…

Senator Burke has made a constructive proposal. I put in an amendment explicitly requiring that when board members come before the Committee of Public Accounts, investment policies and strategies should be part of the committee's remit and should form part of the discussion. That amendment was not accepted. Sadly, the Committee of Public Accounts will not be able to track these issues.

I will finish by saying I do not think it is uneconomical to simply have compliance with basic ethical standards. I do not think it is a niche product or a niche thing to say there would be investments that do not invest in areas such as arms or in occupied territories.

That is not niche. It should be standard. Amendment No. 19 is the one that suggests the chief executive, when he or she appears before the public accounts committee, would be required to give evidence on the investment strategy. As pointed out, that was the expectation that members of the public accounts committee probably had, and it was reflected in the Senator on the other side when he spoke about that expectation. This is my amendment to ensure that would be able to happen and I will press that amendment.

I move amendment No. 20: In page 32, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “(d) specify the manner in which the objectives, intended outputs and related strategies of the Authority have been subject to gender and equality proofing,”. Amendment No. 20 seeks to amend section 37(4) to provide that the board's statement of strategy would specify the manner in which the objectives, intended outputs and related strategies of the authority have been subject to gender and equality proofing. I appreciate that th…

I move amendment No. 22: In page 35, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(b) statistical data in relation to participation in and financial benefit from the automatic enrolment retirement savings system disaggregated on the basis of— (i) gender; (ii) class; (iii) disability; (iv) ethnicity; (v) marital status; (vi) family status and; (vii) history of engagement in the labour market,”.

I move amendment No. 23: In page 35, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(b) statistical data in relation to participation in and financial benefit from the automatic enrolment retirement savings system disaggregated on the basis of— (i) gender; (ii) disability; (iii) ethnicity; (iv) marital status; (v) family status and; (vi) history of engagement in the labour market,”.

I move amendment No. 24: In page 35, line 7, before “statistical” to insert “disaggregated”.