asked the Minister for Finance if he will state whether the total sum of £152,360,000, which was given by him in reply to a question in the Dáil on the 17th May last as being the total capital liability of the State as at the 31st March, 1950, in fact includes (a) a sum of nearly £22,000,000, forming part of the American Loan in respect of which the Counterpart Fund in sterling is available; and (b) a sum of nearly £9,000,000, included in the Ways and Means Advances which was transferred from the American Loan Counterpart Fund; and, if so, whether it is correct to represent the capital indebtedness of the State on the 31st March last as being £152,360,000.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - State Capital Liability.
The figures shown in my reply to the question of 17th May as the total capital liabilities of the State at 31st March in each of the years 1939, 1946, 1948 and 1949 were drawn from the finance accounts for those years. The comparable figure at 31st March, 1950, is £152,360,000, of which £21,750,245—the equivalent of the proceeds of dollar borrowings under the United States Loan Agreements—is an external liability of the State. The figure of total capital liabilities also includes Ways and Means Advances amounting to £15,278,000, which is an internal State liability. The latter figure is made up of £8,500,000 from the American Loan Counterpart Fund as well as advances from other funds under Government control. As it is necessary in computing the gross amount of State indebtedness to take into account the external liabilities to the United States Government on the one hand as well as internal liabilities to the American Loan Counterpart Fund on the other, the figure of £152,360,000 is correct. This figure is exclusive of interest liability amounting to £4,958,000 on foot of savings certificates bringing the gross State debt to £157,000,000, which is the figure mentioned in my Budget statement.
In appraising the total, however, regard should be had to the countervailing assets held by the State. The sterling equivalent of the dollar borrowings from the United States is held in securities or on deposit in the Central Bank and the full amount of the proceeds is shown as an asset in Table VI of the "Tables in connection with the Financial Statement, 1950." Accordingly, the net increase in State indebtedness at 31st March, 1950, as a result of such borrowings, was £8,500,000, which corresponds with the total of Ways and Means Advances from the American Loan Counterpart Fund outstanding on that date.