The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), has today committed an additional €1bn to climate investments and €500m to Ireland’s 5 regional cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny.
The announcement comes after new figures published by ISIF show it has exceeded its previous €1bn target for investments in climate and its previous €500m target for investing in regional cities, up to 2 years ahead of schedule.
The new commitments will double ISIF’s commitments to both categories – bringing total climate commitments to €2bn and regional city commitments to €1bn over the next 4 years.
The new commitments coincide with the publication of ISIF’s 10-years of Impact Report which sets out its progress since inception in late 2014.
This report shows ISIF has:
- ISIF made investments totalling €1.6bn in 2024, bringing total ISIF commitments to over €8.8bn to benefit businesses and projects in Ireland since inception;
- Unlocked total investment in these businesses and projects of over €21bn alongside its co-investment partners. ISIF catalyses €1.4m in third party co-investment for every €1m it invests, exceeding its original target of €1m co-investment for every €1m invested by ISIF;
- Generated €5.3bn to make available for recycling in fresh investments as a result of a combination of successful exits from previous investments, distributions from investments which it continues to hold, and realisations from current and previous investments;
- Generated over €2.3bn in investment returns across its portfolio (to end-December 2023, with audited 2024 figures to be published shortly) - exceeding the five-year rolling cost of Irish Government debt;
- Committed over €1.5bn to Irish homebuilding projects which are on course to deliver over 16,000 new homes by end-2025 that have been funded directly by ISIF;
- Helped to support Ireland’s transition to a Net Zero economy through its climate investment programme;
- Supported significant regeneration and economic development of Ireland’s 5 regional cities by funding new places to work, new places to live, enabling investments such as infrastructure enhancements, and targeted investments in emerging and scaling businesses based in regional locations; and
- Supported over 34,000 jobs throughout the Irish economy.
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, said:
“I very much welcome today’s announcement of ISIF’s new commitment of an additional €1bn to climate investments and €500m to Ireland’s 5 regional cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny.
ISIF has a strong track record of deploying capital in a targeted and commercial manner to address critical economic challenges and these commitments are further evidence of that.
These new commitments which coincide with the publication of ISIF’s 10-years of Impact Report demonstrate how ISIF has and will continue to play a key role in addressing their four key investment themes of climate, housing and enabling investments, scaling indigenous businesses, and food and agriculture.
ISIF’s proven ability to deploy targeted capital across the Irish economy in a strategic way, while also leveraging domestic and international co-investment, will continue to be important to supporting the challenges faced by the economy; particularly around climate change and housing.”
The NTMA Chief Executive, Frank O’Connor, said:
“Over its first 10 years, ISIF’s real impact is embedded in its unique ‘double bottom line’ mandate of investing for a commercial return and to invest in support of economic impact and employment in Ireland.
A great example of the ingenuity and forward thinking of our policymakers, ISIF has developed into an innovative investment vehicle that addresses key impact themes, leveraging the State’s capital to target sectors that are of particular importance to our economy and our society – climate, scaling indigenous business, housing and food and agriculture.
By partnering with co-investors, it has been successful in creating a valuable network of global investors and domestic investees, bringing together so many exciting businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and capital providers.”
The Director of ISIF, Nick Ashmore, said:
“ISIF has evolved significantly over the 10 years since inception from an immediate and necessary stimulus to economic activity following the financial crisis to become a key, long-term support of sustainable economic growth in Ireland.
We have made a big difference and we intend to continue making a big difference - ISIF has demonstrated its commitment to playing a leading role in investing to address the climate challenge and in unlocking the economic potential of Ireland’s regions.
We’ve matched our ambitions by deploying over €1.5bn in these two sectors alone and today we’re adding to our existing commitment by doubling this investment over the coming years.”