NTMA publishes 2025 mid-year business update
14 July 2025 - The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has today published its 2025 mid-year business update alongside its 2024 Annual Report.
Comments by Frank O’Connor, NTMA Chief Executive:
“Ireland is well positioned against the backdrop of uncertain markets.
There is a strong market awareness of the buffers we have in place through our Funding and Debt Management strategy – the strength of our public finances, coupled with the long weighted average maturity of our debt, means we expect to have relatively low borrowing requirements in the short to medium term.
We are also benefiting from locking in the low interest rates in previous years, with the debt interest cost in 2024 of €3.2bn being almost 60% less than its peak over a decade ago. The interest bill is likely to remain relatively stable over the next few years.
Sentiment towards Ireland is positive, as demonstrated by robust ongoing demand for our debt and a positive trend of upgrades from rating agencies.
Investors are also reacting positively to the new Future Ireland Funds, which are on course to reach over €16bn this year after the final transfer of this year’s budget allocation.
The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) recently marked 10 years in business and continues to deliver on its “double bottom line” mandate of generating a commercial return and supporting economic activity and employment in Ireland.
In that time, it has delivered investment gains totalling €2.9bn. Committing €8.8bn to growing businesses and projects in Ireland and acting as a catalyst for a further €12.6bn in co-investment from a global network of investors and partners – ISIF has unlocked a total of €21.4bn.
During 2024, the number of commercial State bodies under NewERA’s remit increased to 24. NewERA advised on 185 assignments with a total value of €10.2bn, with a continued focus on financing energy and infrastructure assignments.
The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), meanwhile, made further progress last year in delivering important infrastructure for the State, with a particular emphasis on third level education, with six facilities across four counties in Higher Education Bundle 1 delivered on time. The contract for Bundle 2, delivering five additional facilities in five counties, was awarded in June.
The State Claims Agency (SCA) has been successful in increasing the use of mediation to resolve clinical and other claims against the State; 43% of clinical claims concluded in 2024, where a payment of damages was made, were resolved through mediation. The SCA attempts, wherever possible to do so, to resolve sensitive claims through mediation.
The number of State authorities within the SCA’s remit continues to grow, and, at end-2024, the SCA was managing close to 11,000 active claims, having resolved over 3,500 claims in the year.”
Comments by the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD:
“The 2024 NTMA Annual Report reflects the involvement of the Agency across the State through all its business units.
It continues to engage successfully with the sovereign debt markets and I believe that it should stay active in these markets. The level of favourable sentiment towards the State is reflected in ratings upgrades and strong demand for our debt is the result of the successful actions by the NTMA and the overall strength of the public finances and the economy.
I am also conscious of the strong contribution by all the business units of the NTMA.
The SCA is essential to managing claims on behalf of the State and continues to use mediation where possible and I welcome this.
The work of the NewERA has helped improve governance and advising on the finances of state companies and the NDFA has helped procure significant infrastructure and is intended to provide more assistance with the development of infrastructure projects.
ISIF recently celebrated its 10th birthday and continues to work in line with its unique double mandate of delivering a strong economic impact and ensuring a commercial return on its investments.
I would also reference the successful establishment of the Future Ireland Funds given their importance in the management of the State’s finances.
I wish the Agency on-going success in 2025.”
2025 mid-year business update and 2024 annual report – key points
Funding and Debt Management
- The NTMA’s funding strategy, coupled with the improved fiscal position has resulted in reduced issuance at higher yields. Benchmark bond issuance in 2024 was €6bn. Average annual bond issuance from 2022 to 2024 was less than €7bn. This compares with an annual average of almost €20bn for the period 2019 to 2021.
- The bond issuance in 2024 was at a weighted average yield of 2.70% and a weighted average maturity of 11.6 years.
- Despite higher marginal funding costs in recent years, Ireland’s debt interest bill has remained stable, standing at €3.2bn in 2024, almost 60% below its 2013 peak. Limited issuance in recent years, coupled with the fact that almost all of Ireland’s existing debt is at fixed interest rates, means the interest bill is likely to remain relatively stable in the near-term.
- Our funding strategy means that we have over €30bn in cash and liquid assets at the half year point, which reduces the requirement for borrowing in the coming years.
- Ireland’s public debt has one of the longest average maturities in Europe. At over 10 years currently, the long average life of the medium/long-term debt portfolio means debt maturities are relatively limited in the years ahead, reducing refinancing risk.
- So far in 2025, the NTMA has issued €5.25bn in benchmark bonds, including a new 30-year bond maturing in 2055. The weighted average yield of issuance was 3.07% with a weighted average maturity of 21.9 years.
Ireland Strategic Investment Fund
- ISIF recently marked 10 years since its establishment, having generated €2.9bn of accumulated returns since inception to end-2024, an annualised return of 3.4% per annum.
- ISIF made 35 investments totalling over €1.6bn in 2024, bringing total ISIF commitments to €8.8bn across 248 investments and €12.6bn of co-investment commitments since inception, a co-investment multiple of 1.4 times.
- So far in 2025, ISIF has closed a further c. €800m in investments across its key themes of climate, scaling indigenous businesses, housing and enabling investments and food and agriculture.
- €641m committed in 2024 as part of the €1bn 5-year climate investment programme announced in 2021, bringing the overall total of climate-related investments in support of the decarbonisation strategy to €1bn, meeting the target two years ahead of schedule. Commitment of an additional €1bn to climate investments over the next four years, was announced in April.
- Continued to target supporting the delivery of 25,000 homes by 2030, with an additional 5,303 homes delivered in 2024 through debt and equity investments, bringing ISIF’s total to 19,503 at end-2024.
- ISIF earned an investment return of 6.5% in 2024, driven by public market equities, realisations on direct equities in the Irish Portfolio as well as positive returns across fixed income and growth equity.
Future Ireland Funds
- The Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund were established in July 2024, and had combined assets of approximately €10.5bn at year-end, following initial contributions from the National Surplus (Exceptional Contingencies) Reserve Fund (National Reserve Fund).
- The NTMA has established a dedicated business unit, known as the Future Ireland Funds unit, to manage and invest the Funds.
- The Funds are required by mandate to invest on a commercial basis to seek optimal total financial return, having regard to the level of risk.
- Following the recent receipt of further Exchequer contributions, the combined assets of the Funds are now approximately €13.5bn, and are expected to be over €16bn by end-2025.
- Each fund is currently managed under an interim investment strategy approved by the NTMA Board in 2024.
- The long-term investment strategies, developed by the NTMA and subject to Ministerial consultation, are at an advanced stage.
National Development Finance Agency
- The NDFA continues to manage a €3.5bn pipeline of public infrastructure projects and provides financial advisory services across broad range of sectors with a capital value of c. €8.4bn, as well as providing contract management services across 55 locations within 13 operational PPP projects.
- 13 live construction sites during 2024-2025, which will provide c. 9,200 student places in primary, secondary and third level education sectors across seven counties
- Construction was completed on six of those sites in Bundle 1 of the Higher Education PPP Programme delivering facilities, with a focus on STEM, ICT and life sciences, in Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Munster Technological University’s Cork and Tralee campuses, Technological University Dublin’s Blanchardstown and Tallaght campuses and Technological University of the Shannon’s Midlands Campus.
- Construction on Project Nore, the first bundle of Exchequer funded schools programme, progressed during 2024 and 2025, and the first three schools in the bundle were completed in March, April and June 2025. This project will deliver seven schools across four counties (Kildare, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Westmeath) accommodating c. 4,000 pupils.
- Construction commenced on the Higher Education PPP Bundle 2 project in June. This project will deliver five STEM facilities in counties Carlow, Donegal, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
- Procurement process commenced on the Dublin Family Courts PPP in 2024. This project will deliver the country’s first purpose-built family court building with construction expected to commence in 2026.
NewERA
- The number of entities designated to NewERA continued to grow in 2024, with the addition of two commercial State bodies (the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency), bringing the total number of designated entities to 24.
- NewERA delivered 185 advisory assignments during 2024 with a value of €10.2bn.
- Capital investment across the designated entities under NewERA’s remit increased by 10% during 2024, with capital expenditure increasing to €5.0bn.
- There was a continued focus on climate and energy during 2024, with advice provided on investments in onshore and offshore renewables.
State Claims Agency
- Managing a portfolio of 10,968 active claims across its general and clinical claims portfolios at end-2024, the SCA resolved 3,632 claims in 2024.
- Fifty-six per cent of claims concluded were resolved without court proceedings.
- The SCA continued to pursue mediation as an alternative to the formal court process through 2024, particularly in complex clinical claims. Forty-three per cent of clinical claims concluded in 2024, where damages were paid, involved a mediation process.
- Legal Costs Unit settled 1,803 claims for legal costs incurred by third parties, achieving a 40% reduction on the amounts initially claimed.