Ireland now saves billions of euro each year in two State funds. Here is how much is in them, where the money comes from, when it can be spent, and what it is meant to pay for.
The Future Ireland Fund could hold around €100 billion by 2040, according to the Department of Finance. None of it is meant to support State spending until 2041.
It is one of two State savings funds set up in 2024. The other is the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, a smaller pot that can be used sooner. Together they held €16.8 billion at the end of 2025.
Why the State set up the funds
The funds put money aside now for costs the State knows are coming. They also give it a buffer to draw on if the economy turns down.
The law that set up both funds is the Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Act 2024. It was enacted on 18 June 2024, and the Minister for Finance signed the order starting it on 30 July 2024.
“It is essential that we take action now to secure the public finances over the long term”Jack Chambers, then Minister for Finance, press release, 1 August 2024
Both funds are managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
The two funds side by side
| Future Ireland Fund | Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Long-term savings for ageing, climate and digital costs | Buffer for downturns, plus climate and nature projects |
| Money in | 0.8% of GDP a year, 2024 to 2035 | €2 billion a year, 2024 to 2030 |
| Value, end-2025 | €12.7 billion | €4.1 billion |
| Expected, end-2026 | About €17 billion | About €6 billion |
| Earliest use | 2041 | From 2026 for climate and nature |
| Invested in | Mostly shares, long term | Mostly low-risk government bonds and cash |
The Future Ireland Fund: saving for 2041 and beyond
The Future Ireland Fund is a long-term savings fund. It is meant to help pay for costs that will grow in the decades ahead, such as an older population, climate action and the move to digital services.
Each year from 2024 to 2035, the State pays in 0.8% of GDP. That came to €4.1 billion in 2024 and again in 2025. In 2024 the fund also received €4.3 billion from the old National Reserve Fund, which was closed.
The Minister for Finance can cut the yearly payment to 0.4% or 0% of GDP if the economy or public finances get much worse. That needs a vote of the Dáil. Any payments after 2035 also need a Dáil resolution.
Because the money is not needed for many years, the NTMA plans to invest most of it in company shares. Its long-term target is 70% public shares, with the rest spread across bonds, property and other assets.
The Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund: a rainy day pot
This second fund gets €2 billion a year from 2024 to 2030, or €14 billion in all. The first €2 billion came from the National Reserve Fund. After 2030, the payments will be reviewed.
The fund does not build anything itself. Instead, the Government can take money out in two cases.
- Downturn: in a serious downturn, once payments into both funds stop, up to 25% can be drawn in a year
- This is meant to keep public capital projects going in a slump
- Climate and nature: from 2026 to 2030, up to 22.5% of the fund a year can go to listed environmental projects
- The climate and nature drawdowns are capped at €3.15 billion in total
- The Government decides how any money taken out is spent
from the Infrastructure Fund included in the climate and energy department's capital plan for 2026 to 2030
Source: assets.gov.ieHow the money is doing
So far both funds have been kept mainly in safe euro government bonds and cash. Each earned about 2.2% after costs in 2025, slightly ahead of the benchmark the NTMA measures them against.
The NTMA's long-term investment plans were approved in December 2025. The move to those plans began in early 2026, so returns on the Future Ireland Fund are likely to move up and down more in future, as shares do.
Who runs the funds and who decides
The NTMA board, called the Agency, manages both funds and sets how they are invested. It has appointed a Future Ireland Funds Investment Committee of six members, two of them board members, to oversee the work.
Before setting an investment plan, the NTMA must consult the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure. The NTMA decides what to invest in, but it does not decide how the money is spent.
- The Oireachtas set the rules for both funds in the 2024 Act
- The Exchequer pays in each year: 0.8% of GDP and €2 billion
- The NTMA invests the money and reports on it every year
- When the rules allow, the Government draws money out and decides what it pays for
Any money taken from the Infrastructure Fund goes to the Exchequer, the State's main account. The Government then decides how it is spent.
The Future Ireland Fund can be used to pay for housing or hospitals now.
The law says the fund is to support State spending from 2041 onwards. Money for today's projects comes through the normal Budget and the National Development Plan.
What this means for you
- These funds do not affect your tax bill or welfare payments directly.
- They are savings to help pay for an ageing population, climate action and digital change.
- In a sharp downturn, the Infrastructure Fund is designed to keep building projects going.
- You can see each year's results in the NTMA annual report on ntma.ie.
NTMA annual report with end-2026 values for both funds
Last year of the planned €2 billion a year payments into the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, and of the climate and nature drawdown window, after which payments will be reviewed
Last year of the 0.8% of GDP yearly payments into the Future Ireland Fund; any later payments need a Dáil resolution
