Sir, - An article appeared in your edition of February 23rd headed: "Smurfit says State pension fund should focus on Irish stocks". It stated, interalia: "The Jefferson Smurfit Group had been lobbying the Minister for Finance to ensure that the new State pension fund invests heavily in Irish shares, The Irish Times has learned".
I write to inform you that the Department of Finance has not received any correspondence of that nature, and that the journalist concerned would have been apprised of the fact had she checked with the Department of Finance in advance of writing the aforementioned article.
We have made it abundantly clear on a number of occasions that the Minister for Finance has no role in the operation of the new State pension fund as it will be managed independently and therefore lobbying of this nature would be futile. - Yours, etc.,
Mandy Johnston, Press Officer, Department of Finance, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.