Martin to protest ownership of tobacco shares

Political Reporter

However, Mr Martin will avoid direct conflict with Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy on the issue.

The State pension funds investment of 17 million in cigarette firms is also set to be investigated by the Dáil finance watchdog.

Despite the Government's strong anti-tobacco policies, including the forthcoming ban on smoking in the workplace, the fund owns shares in tobacco companies, Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco.

The body responsible for managing the fund, the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF), is funded and answerable to Mr McCreevy, and directed by him to invest in shares that will deliver the best financial return.

Responding to reports in the Irish Examiner on the Government's controversial shares portfolio, Mr Martin said he will write directly to NPRF to express his dissatisfaction at the purchase of tobacco company shares with taxpayers' money, rather than going to Mr McCreevy to voice his concerns. "I obviously am not happy about it. That said, the NPRF was established at one remove to the Government. I'll make my views known formally to the fund itself." Accepting that it was important to have a separation between the Government and the fund managers, Mr Martin said you could not have a minister telling the fund what shares to buy, but the Government did have a particular anti-tobacco policy.

The National Pension Reserve Fund said it would consider Mr Martin's concerns, but the fund's mandate was set out in legislation and it was not required to take account of ethical considerations.

Mr McCreevy's spokesman said the Minister for Finance's position remains the same as in the legislation, which says the NPRF must only take commercial decisions Meanwhile, Labour Party finance spokesperson Joan Burton has written to the Oireachtas finance and public services committee chairman Seán Fleming asking that he invite the directors of the NPRF to attend the committee to discuss the fund's portfolio of investments.

According to Deputy Burton, pension funds without inappropriate shares have actually outperformed regular funds and yet Mr McCreevy was proud that he gave the NPRF no direction whatsoever when he set it up.