Governance
Reporting and Governance Structure
The NTMA is a statutory body established under the National Treasury Management Agency Act 1990.
The NTMA does not have a board and it is the Chief Executive’s statutory responsibility to carry on and manage and control generally the administration and business of the Agency. The Chief Executive is appointed by the Minister for Finance. The Chief Executive reports directly to the Minister on the NTMA’s funding and debt management, State Claims Agency and NewERA functions. The NTMA’s governing legislation provides for an Advisory Committee and for a State Claims Agency Policy Committee.
The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) – all of which were established under their own governing legislation – each have their own board. The NTMA acts as the executive in respect of the NPRF and the NDFA. It assigns staff to NAMA and also provides NAMA with business and support services and systems. Information specific to the NAMA Board, the NDFA Board and the NPRF Commission is contained in the annual reports of each of those bodies. The NTMA Chief Executive is an ex officio member of the NPRF Commission and the board of NAMA and is ex officio Chairperson of the NDFA.
The National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill, published in May 2014, will, when enacted, streamline and simplify the NTMA’s governance structures to enable a more integrated approach to the performance of its functions. The Agency will be reconstituted as a body with a Chairperson and eight other members who will have over-arching responsibility for all of the NTMA’s functions (excluding NAMA which will continue to have its own separate board). The Advisory Committee, NPRF Commission, NDFA Board and State Claims Agency Policy Committee will be dissolved. The Bill also provides for:
- the putting of the NTMA’s NewERA functions on a statutory basis;
- the conversion of the NPRF into the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund with a mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in Ireland;
- the putting of the State Claims Agency’s legal costs function on a statutory basis; and
- the transfer of the NDFA’s functions to the NTMA.
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee assists and advises the NTMA in relation to such matters as are referred to it for that purpose by the NTMA. It also advises the Minister for Finance on the Chief Executive’s terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration).
To enhance the corporate governance of the NTMA, the Advisory Committee has agreed to formally advise the Chief Executive on a specified list of issues on an ongoing basis. This list is based on those matters that would normally be reserved for decision by a board and is as follows:
- Funding and Debt Management Policy;
- Business Function Goals and Objectives;
- Delegated Authority Levels;
- Remuneration;
- Senior Management Performance Appraisal and Succession Planning;
- Significant Amendments to the Pension Benefits of Staff;
- Corporate Policies and Plans;
- Risk Management Policy;
- System of Internal Financial Control;
- NTMA Annual Report and Accounts;
- Appointment of Internal Audit Firm;
- Oversight of Audit Committee (including annual review of Committee terms of reference);
- Operating Budget; and
- Compliance by the NTMA with Statutory and Regulatory Requirements.
The Advisory Committee consists of up to seven members appointed by the Minister for Finance. Members over the period 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2014 are as follows:
Willie Walsh – Chairperson (Appointed from 11 November 2013)
Brendan McDonagh (Appointed from 1 September 2010)
John Moran (Appointed from 6 March 2012)
Tytti Noras (Reappointed from 1 August 2010)
Donald C Roth (Reappointed from 1 January 2014)
The Advisory Committee met on 5 occasions in 2013. Members of the Committee also provided advice to the NTMA on an ongoing basis through the year.
| NTMA Advisory Committee – Meeting Attendance 2013 | |
|---|---|
|
Committee Member |
Meetings Attended |
|
Willie Walsh |
1/1(p) |
|
Brendan McDonagh |
5/5 |
|
John Moran |
5/5 |
|
Tytti Noras |
5/5 |
|
Donald C Roth |
5/5 |
(p) refers to the number of meetings it was possible to attend relative to the dates of appointment.
Source: NTMA
State Claims Agency Policy Committee
The State Claims Policy Committee advises the NTMA on policy and procedures relating to the performance of its State Claims Agency functions. The Committee consists of 7 members appointed by the Minister for Finance. Members over the period 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2014 are as follows:
Noel Whelan – Chairperson (re-appointed 1 July 2012)
Vice President and Dean Emeritus, University of Limerick
Tony Delany (Appointed from 22 February 2010)
Former Director of Claims at Norwich Union/Hibernian Insurance
Charlie Hardy (Appointed from 1 July 2012 to 15 November 2013)
Principal Officer, Department of Health
Mary Jackson (Appointed from 1 December 2013)
Principal Officer, Department of Health
Christopher Moore (Appointed from 22 February 2010)
Brigadier General (Retired)
Niamh Moran (Appointed from 10 March 2010)
Solicitor, Carmody Moran, Solicitors
Fachtna Murphy (Appointed from 1 July 2012)
Former Garda Commissioner
Wendy Thompson (Appointed from 1 July 2012)
Insurance & Litigation Manager, Railway Procurement Authority
The Committee met on 4 occasions in 2013.
| State Claims Agency Policy Committee – Meeting Attendance 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Committee Member |
Meetings Attended |
|||
|
Noel Whelan |
4/4 |
|||
|
Tony Delany |
4/4 |
|||
|
Charlie Hardy |
1/3(p) |
|||
|
Mary Jackson |
1/1(p) |
|||
|
Christopher Moore |
4/4 |
|||
|
Niamh Moran |
4/4 |
|||
|
Fachtna Murphy |
4/4 |
|||
|
Wendy Thompson |
4/4 |
|||
(p) refers to the number of meetings it was possible to attend relative to the dates of appointment/retirement.
Source: NTMA
Other Committees
The Advisory Committee has established two committees, each of which has formal terms of reference.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has oversight of the NTMA’s internal audit and control systems, risk management framework, financial reporting process and annual financial statements. The internal and external auditors, the Head of Control and the Head of Compliance have full and unrestricted access to the Committee. The Committee also acts as the NDFA Audit Committee. The NPRF Commission and NAMA have separate audit committees.
Members over the period 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2014 are as follows:
Brendan McDonagh – Chairperson
Gerry Murray
Member of the NDFA Board
Michael O’Grady
External Member
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee makes recommendations to the Advisory Committee on the remuneration of the Chief Executive and senior management of the NTMA and on general remuneration policy in the NTMA. Members over the period 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2014 are as follows:
Don Roth – Chairperson
(Member over full period and Chairperson from 25 March 2014)
Paul Carty
Chairperson of the NPRF Commission
Frank Daly
Chairperson of the NAMA Board
Brendan McDonagh
Willie Walsh (from 11 November 2013)
Corporate Governance Codes
The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies is modelled on a typical corporate structure consisting of a board of directors, which has legal responsibility for the body, and an executive management team and staff, who carry out the functions delegated to them by the board. The NTMA is implementing the Code adapted to its specific governance structures. This includes the Chief Executive formally seeking advice from the Advisory Committee on an ongoing basis on matters that would normally be reserved for decision by a board.
Codes of business conduct are in place for Advisory Committee and State Claims Agency Policy Committee members and NTMA employees. Committee members and employees are expected to ensure that all their activities are governed by the ethical standards reflected in the relevant code. A separate code has been prepared for employees assigned to NAMA reflecting specific requirements of the NAMA Act.
The NTMA is a prescribed public body for the purposes of the Ethics in Public Office Acts, 1995 and 2001. In addition there are specific disclosure of interest requirements under the NPRF, NDFA and NAMA Acts.
Auditors
In accordance with statutory requirements the NTMA is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The NTMA has in place an internal audit function. This work is supplemented by an external firm of auditors, currently PricewaterhouseCoopers, which performs internal audit work.
Staffing & Remuneration
Staff numbers in the NTMA have risen markedly since end-2009 as a result of additional activities which Government has asked the NTMA to carry out over the period; NAMA, banking system functions of the Minister for Finance and NewERA. Numbers have risen from 169 at end-2009 to 657 at end-2013.
The bulk of the increase in staff numbers over the period is due to NAMA. All NAMA staff are employees of the NTMA and are assigned to NAMA under section 42 of the National Asset Management Agency Act 2009.
Other than a small number of staff reassigned from other functions within the NTMA, staff assigned to NAMA are employed on the basis of specified purpose contracts – their employment lasts for as long as NAMA requires their particular function. NAMA reimburses the NTMA for the costs incurred by the NTMA in assigning staff and providing business and support services to NAMA.
Following the revocation of the delegation of banking system functions to the NTMA from 5 August 2011, the NTMA banking team was seconded to the Department of Finance.
| NTMA Staffing at End 2013 | |
|---|---|
|
Funding and Debt Management |
15 |
|
State Claims Agency |
77 |
|
NewERA |
13 |
|
National Pensions Reserve Fund |
15 |
|
National Development Finance Agency |
52 |
|
National Asset Management Agency |
331 |
|
Banking Unit (on secondment to Department of Finance) |
14 |
|
Finance, Technology and Risk |
98 |
|
HR and Corporate Services |
10 |
|
Legal, Control and Compliance |
18 |
|
Other |
14 |
|
Total |
657 |
Source: NTMA
The NTMA’s business model is designed to support it in acting commercially to achieve its business objectives. Under the NTMA business model there are no general pay grades and staff are employed on the basis of confidential individually negotiated contracts. This business model is designed to enable the NTMA to compete with the private sector to attract and retain staff with specialist and highly marketable skills – often in mid-career. It has been essential in enabling the NTMA to staff itself with the professional expertise necessary to carry out the new functions which successive Governments have assigned to it.
Reflecting remuneration structures in sectors the NTMA recruits from, a performance-related pay provision is built into the contract terms of most employees. However, the NTMA made performance-related payments to only 11 staff in respect of 2013. These payments, in aggregate, totalled €76,500. No performance-related payments were made to any employee earning a salary of over €200,000.
Remuneration details of the NTMA Chief Executive are set out in the Financial Statements (see page 77). Remuneration details of the Chief Executives of NAMA and the NDFA are set out in the Financial Statements of those bodies.
| NTMA Salaries by Salary Band at End 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
NTMA (ex NAMA) |
NAMA |
Total |
|
|
Up to €50,000 |
100 |
39 |
139 |
|
€50,001 to €75,000 |
112 |
99 |
211 |
|
€75,001 to €100,000 |
50 |
83 |
133 |
|
€100,001 to €125,000 |
26 |
54 |
80 |
|
€125,001 to €150,000 |
13 |
36 |
49 |
|
€150,001 to €175,000 |
11 |
11 |
22 |
|
€175,001 to €200,000 |
5 |
5 |
10 |
|
€200,001 to €225,000 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
€225,001 to €250,000 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
€250,001 to €275,000 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
|
€275,001 to €300,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
€300,001 to €325,000 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
€325,001 to €350,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
€350,001 to €375,000 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
€375,001 to €400,000 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
€400,001 to €425,000 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
326 |
331 |
657 |
Notes:
- The public service pension deduction is applied to NTMA employees.
- The pay reductions provided for in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013, which took effect from 1 July 2013, apply to NTMA staff and are reflected in the above table.
Source: NTMA
Energy Usage
The NTMA operates from Treasury Building on Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2 where it leases space on four floors. In 2013 the NTMA consumed 1,578,651 kWh of electricity representing an average consumption of 2,631 kWh per employee. This compares with an average consumption of 2,921 kWh per employee in 2012 – a reduction of 10 per cent per employee.
Air conditioning in the building is provided by the landlord and is powered by natural gas.
Actions Undertaken in 2013
In 2013 the NTMA undertook a range of initiatives to improve its energy performance:
- Completion of the programme of removal of existing light fittings and the installation of new energy saving light fittings;
- Completion of the installation of sensors on all water supplies; and
- Removal of the existing chiller unit on the air conditioning system and replacement with a more energy efficient unit which offers a 27 per cent reduction in energy consumed.
Actions Planned for 2014
In 2014 the NTMA intends to further improve energy performance by upgrading the air handling units for all the floors in Treasury Building occupied by the NTMA and carrying out an energy survey of the IT communication rooms with a view to introducing energy efficiency measures where possible.