I move amendment No 25: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(e) the gender and equality impact of the automatic enrolment retirement savings system;”.

I move amendment No. 26: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(e) the ability of the Authority to ensure that investments are made on an ethical basis in line with domestic and international law;”.

I move amendment No. 27: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(e) the ability of the Authority to ensure that investments are made on an ethical basis in line with best practice and domestic and international law;”.

This amendment addresses the same issue that I seek to amend in a number of my amendments as well. Senator Sherlock was highlighting the issue of the age threshold of 23 for starting payments and the income threshold of €20,000 in terms of the making of payments. This will see low-income workers and those who are without a university education, in effect, excluded from the scheme. If we look to the problem of the incentives such as tax reliefs that I have spoken about before, they have been skewed towards higher ea…

I was speaking to the issues raised in amendment No. 34 from Senator Sherlock. The issues are similar to those addressed in amendments Nos. 37 and 38 but they are not grouped. I checked to see if they were grouped but apparently they are not.

I move amendment No. 37: In page 44, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “(c) the gender and equality implications of the prescribed age and prescribed amount;”. Amendment No. 37 seeks to amend section 56(2) by inserting a new paragraph providing that when making decisions on the prescribed age and earning limits under the scheme the Minister would have regard to the gender and equality implications thereof. I am not going to elaborate too much because I have spoken about these issues when discussing …

I move amendment No. 38: In page 45, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “(3) In making determinations under subsection (1), the Minister shall have due regard, to the need to ensure that persons availing of carers allowance, the one-parent family payment, disability allowance or the working family payment have equitable access to secure pensions.”.

When I met Mary Robinson first it was in relation to climate justice, which is the next step from all the issues of social justice that Senator Flynn just spoke about. If we are talking about action on climate change, we need to talk about climate justice and the commitments that are in the Paris Agreement, namely, the common but differentiated responsibilities. Those are around the wealthier countries and Ireland is a wealthier country. It does not matter if there are other countries too. We have responsibilities …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(3) In developing the investment strategy for the FI Fund, the Agency shall act in a manner consistent with obligations under— (a) the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, and (b) the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018.”

Amendment No. 1 seeks to amend section 7 of the Bill by inserting a new subsection which would require that, in developing the investment strategy for the future Ireland fund, the agency would act in a way consistent with obligations under the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008 and the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018. Amendment No. 7 would insert a new section in the Bill which would provide that the Minister - whom I welcome to the House - lays a report, within 12 months of the passing of the Bill…

I regret that the Minister is not able to accept any of the amendments. Under the existing mechanisms, greater scrutiny and application is required. Especially on amendment No. 7, it was not that there should not be investment but the question is how this is being done. How is compliance being secured? The Minister did not address the issue I highlighted in some detail of the ammunitions support investment. Technically it is not through the agency, but it is nonetheless €17 million of public money and sadly when we…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 12, line 30, to delete “commercial” and substitute “commercially, socially and environmentally sustainable”.

Amendment No. 2 concerns an issue that has arisen in another context. My suggestion is to delete “commercial” and substitute “commercially, socially and environmentally sustainable”. I will give the context. Currently, the agency invests the assets on a commercial basis and seeks the optimal financial return. However, there can be a narrowness sometimes with regard to how "commercial" is interpreted. One place we have seen it is with regard to, for example, the mandate of Coillte. I have read the mandate for nature…

Sadly, as I said, the current structures have not been adequate to ensure responsible investment. We have seen State investment in undertakings operating in illegally occupied territories. The choice then had to be made to divest from those investments. The initial choice to invest was made under the ESG structure we currently have. It was clearly inadequate. If we are investing in a fund in order to generate moneys to tackle key issues, we must ensure that fund is not compounding the problem we hope to generate mo…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 15, line 40, after “State” to insert “as part of the global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

I thank the Minister for his engagement on the issue. This amendment furthers the questions on the climate area. It is quite small but it tries to ensure we do not have an inadvertent narrowing of scope due to the way the Bill happens to be worded. It seeks to provide that designated environmental projects will be for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the State as part of the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I withdrew my amendment on Committee Stage because I felt it was worded in a way…

On the point on the tools, the amendments do not add more but outline what all the areas that the Minister referred to, including river health, should be checked against. The Paris Agreement is not another agreement that the fund might have to comply with; rather, delivering on it is an important check concerning how we invest the fund. Similarly, the sustainable development goals are not an add-on. Rather, they are meant to underpin everything in our whole-of-government approach. The areas I listed are not just tr…

I thank the Minister for his engagement.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 16, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(g) the achievement and implementation of policies which— (i) facilitate a just transition, (ii) further the principles of climate justice, (iii) further the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, (iv) further the achievement of the targets set out in the Agreement done at Paris on 12 December 2015, and (v) further the protection and enhancement of biodiversity in accordance with obligations under the…

I move amendment No. 7: In page 21, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “Report on external investment managers 29. (1) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining how the use of external investment managers for the FI Fund, the ICN Fund and any other funds controlled by the Agency impacts on the State’s national divestment obligations under the Act of 2008 and the Act of 2018, any future divestment policies the State may…