Central Fund (Ireland)


The Central Fund is the main accounting fund used by the government of Ireland. It is a bank account held at the Central Bank of Ireland, managed by the Minister for Finance as head of the Department of Finance. It is informally called the exchequer by analogy with the UK Exchequer.

Statutory basis

The current constitution states:
The previous constitution had a similar provision, and an ancillary statute named the fund "The Central Fund of Saorstát Eireann" and replaced "Consolidated Fund" accordingly in UK laws retained by Saorstát Eireann. The fund was renamed "the Central Fund" when the 1937 constitution renamed the state "Ireland". A new Central Fund Act was passed annually in March between 1923 and 1965, to authorise the Minister for Finance to issue money from the Central Fund in accordance with budget estimates until the Finance Act and Appropriations Act were finalised in July to handle the rest of the financial year. The Central Fund Act 1965 gave permanent authority to the minister, obviating the need for annual Central Fund Acts.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was separated from the Department of Finance in 2011, both to split the finance portfolio between a minister from each party in the Fine Gael–Labour coalition, and to facilitate implementation of austerity measures in response to the post-2008 downturn. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has no direct access to the Central Fund; rather, the minister formulates spending policy and directs the Minister for Finance to allocate monies from the Central Fund accordingly. In the 2016–2020 government, Paschal Donohoe held both portfolios, making the distinction practically irrelevant.

Other funds

Non-exchequer government funds include:
;Social Insurance Fund: Pay Related Social Insurance contributions for distribution by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The fund, comprising a transaction account and an investment account, was created in 1953, initially from four earlier funds.
;National Training Fund: established in 2000 for further education
;Ireland Strategic Investment Fund: a sovereign wealth fund established in 2014 and administered by the National Treasury Management Agency. It replaced the National Pensions Reserve Fund, a pension fund for state and public-sector pensions established in 2001.
;National Surplus Reserve Fund: a rainy day fund established in 2019.
Local government authorities also have funds.

Footnote