asked the Minister for External Affairs if any arrangement exists for settling debts between this country and Spain; if he is aware that sums of money are lying to the credit of Irish nationals in the Banco Exterior de Espana for years past, but which cannot be drawn on without the authorisation of the Spanish Institute of Foreign Money, and if anything can be done to remedy this state of affairs.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Money in Spain.
The debts to which the Deputy no doubt refers are those due to some half-dozen Irish concerns arising out of transactions that took place shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The peseta equivalent of the amounts involved is, I understand, lying to the credit of the Irish concerns in various banks in Spain, but these bank accounts were frozen under the terms of a general decree of the Spanish Government that came into power following the termination of the Spanish Civil War. We have been in negotiation with the Spanish Government for a considerable time past with a view to having these debts liquidated and, at the moment, we are awaiting their reply to our latest representations in the matter. In so far as current exports to Spain are concerned, I understand that there is no exchange-control difficulty in securing payments.