Chairperson’s Statement

December 2014 saw a significant change for the NTMA with the putting in place of a new over-arching board structure to govern the organisation. The rationale behind the new governance structure is to enable the NTMA to execute its mandates in a more integrated manner. Government has asked the NTMA to carry out a range of new functions over the last few years and there is a common theme across these mandates of investment and economic development in Ireland.

I was very pleased when asked by the Minister for Finance to become Chairperson of the NTMA Advisory Committee in late 2013 to work with NTMA management in the transition to the new governance structure. I have long been an admirer of the way the NTMA has gone about its work and its business model. It has been very successful in the past and I and my fellow board members will do our utmost to ensure that this continues to be the case in the future.

Undoubtedly, the headline event for the NTMA in 2014 was Ireland’s successful emergence from the EU/IMF programme and its return to normal participation in the sovereign bond markets. We have seen a remarkable improvement in our debt dynamics and our debt profile – themes the Chief Executive explores in more depth in his review – and our debt is now on a sustainable and declining trajectory.

A priority in early 2015 has been finalisation of the investment strategy for the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). With over €7 billion available to deploy, the ISIF differs from other pools of capital in a number of key respects. It has a long investment time horizon and therefore acts as permanent source of long-term capital. It has flexibility up and down the capital structure and can therefore meet changing needs and gaps in the marketplace. Its commercial investment mandate allows it to connect public and private capital enabling it to act as a cornerstone investor in funds and projects. This co-investment model will enable us to leverage the ISIF’s resources, attract international private sector capital and effectively put a multiple of the committed ISIF capital to work in the Irish economy.

During 2014 the Government established the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI). Like NAMA, the SBCI has its own independent board. The NTMA assigns staff to both these bodies and also provides them with business and support systems and services. This approach has enabled use of the NTMA’s proven business model to get these bodies up and running within a very short timescale and also to achieve economies through utilisation of the NTMA’s existing IT, HR, and other shared services to provide corporate support to them.

The last year has seen not only change in the NTMA’s governance but also in its management team. In January 2015 Conor O’Kelly joined us as Chief Executive on the retirement of John Corrigan. During his term as Chief Executive John did tremendous work in engaging with international investors to position Ireland for a return to the international debt markets. He played an invaluable and critical role throughout the crisis on behalf of the State. I and my fellow board members thank him and wish him well on his retirement.

Finally, I would like to thank my fellow members of the NTMA Advisory Committee as well as the members of the other boards and committees that were dissolved on the putting in place of the new governance structure. They have left us an organisation with a skilled and dedicated workforce and a strong record of achievement. Our job is to build on that reputation and to develop and position the organisation to deliver on the range of new and existing important mandates Government has entrusted to us.

Willie Walsh
Chairperson