asked the Minster for Finance if he will state whether, following the decision taken by the British Government on the 20th September, 1931, to abandon the Gold Standard, any interchange of views, whether by way of consultation, discussion, negotiation, or otherwise, took place between the Executive Council and/or Departments of the Government and the Currency Commission, and the body commonly known as the Standing Committee of the Irish Banks, whether jointly or separately; if so, to state the time and the nature of such discussion and the decisions resulting therefrom. In particular, to state:—(a) whether the decision to continue the existing association of the currency with the currency of Great Britain was the outcome of such discussions; and, if so, to state in detail the grounds for that decisions; and (b) whether the decision of the Standing Committee of the Irish Banks to maintain the Bank Rate uncharged at 5½ per cent. was a further outcome of the discussions; and, if so, to state the grounds upon which it was so maintained, and the reasons why it was thought practicable to make no change.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gold Standard—Saorstát Position.
A continuous interchange of views among the parties interests has take place on the currency situation prior to and since the suspension of gold payments by the Bank of England. The decision to continue the existing relationship between the Saorstát pound and the pound sterling was the outcome of such interchange of views; the reasons in fluencing the decision can obviously not be set out within the compass of a reply to parliamentary Question. The decision of the Standing Committee of the Irish Banks to maintain the Bank Rate unchanged at 5½ per cent. for the time being was, I understand, reached after hearing the views of the Currency Commission, but I was not informed of the reasons for this decision.