PENSION FUNDS COULD SAVE ABANDONED PROJECTS

10 Nov 2011

Congress has said that key capital projects like Metro North, the Grangegorman DIT campus and DART Underground could be saved by attracting investment from some of the €75 billion currently held in Irish private pension funds.

Speaking at a seminar on pension provision, Congress officer Fergus Whelan said that while the cut in capital spending was bad news for jobs and growth, pension funds could be persuaded to invest instead.

"All that is required is the creation of an appropriate risk-sharing investment vehicle that would attract a small portion of the €75 billion of Irish workers' pension money that is currently invested internationally and stimulating economic growth and job creation everywhere but here," Mr Whelan said.

"We could save major job creating, growth generating capital projects that have been abandoned by Government, such as the DIT campus, Metro North or DART Underground.

"And that special vehicle could be gradually expanded to cover many more hospitals, schools and other socially necessary infrastructure," Mr Whelan explained.

"Everyone accepts that growth is the key to getting out of the mess we are in. However when Congress put forward this constructive proposal it was greeted with a deafening silence from those who are bereft of any ideas except to impose even deeper austerity.

"We need smart, innovative and creative strategies to get ourselves out of this crisis. And this proposal could help tap a major new source of funding to get people back to work and kick start the recovery," Mr Whelan concluded.