Jurisdiction in Wards of Court matters is vested in the High Court. The Courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and, therefore, it is not open to me as Minister to comment in any way. Section 4(3) of the Courts Service Act 1998 Act provides that the Courts Service is independent in the performance of its functions, which are specified in section 5 and includes the management of the Courts. Court funds which are held for the benefit of Wards of Court are private funds under the control of the Courts Service which, through its offices in the High, Circuit and District Courts, has responsibility for the management and investment of funds in court.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that these funds, which amount to approximately €1.178 billion at 30th September 2011 per the latest audited financial statements, are managed in a fiduciary capacity by the Courts Service on behalf of more than 18,000 beneficiaries. Approximately 2,650 of these are wards of court. Also included are Minors and various categories of litigant. Table 1 sets out the value of funds under management for each of the financial years 2006 to 2011 inclusive.
Table 1: Value of Court Funds (2006-2011)
Financial Year Ending
|
Funds Held for Beneficiaries €
|
30/9/2011
|
1,178,520,036
|
30/9/2010
|
1,136,988,373
|
30/9/2009
|
1,053,509,223
|
30/9/2008
|
1,033,023,232
|
30/9/2007
|
1,021,752,700
|
30/9/2006
|
946,758,622
|
Funds under the control of the Courts are required by law to be invested in accordance with the Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act 1958 and the orders made thereunder. A major modernisation programme for the governance and management and investment of court funds commenced in 2003 and has resulted in:
improved governance through the establishment of an Investment Committee, chaired by the President of the High Court. Its membership includes external independent experts. Annual financial statements are audited by independent external auditors and published on the Courts Service website at www.courts.ie;
access to independent investment and risk management advice through the engagement of independent investment advisors to ensure investment policies are in compliance with the relevant legislation and best practice;
investment strategies have been implemented to ensure a consistent approach to the investment of all court funds. The unitised funds used have been approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority;
following a competitive EU procurement independent external fund managers were appointed in 2003 to manage these funds. The performance of the fund managers is monitored by both the investment advisors and the Investment Committee on a regular basis.
I am informed that the Courts Service operates a very conservative and prudent investment policy and seeks to invest all funds in the best interests of each beneficiary. A strong investment performance has been exhibited by court funds since the current investment strategies were established. Table 2 shows the investment performance, net of fees, for the last seven financial years to 30th September 2011 and the cumulative investment performance to date.