New figures show that the value of the National Pensions Reserve Fund dropped by 12% in the first half of this year as falls in stock markets continued.
The fund, in which the Government invests 1% of total economic output each year, was set up to help meet social welfare and pensions costs from 2025 onwards.
Speaking today, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan pledged that the Government would not be raiding the fund to boost the public finances.
The fund's value at the end of June was just under €19.5 billion. It recorded a 1.7% fall in the second quarter of the year as stock markets' performance improved in April and May.
The NPRF described the 2008 performance as 'disappointing' but said it was still showing an average annual return of 3.8% a year from April 2001, when it began operating.
