asked the Minister for Finance if he will have circulated to Deputies and Senators the annualaccounts of the Loan Counterpart Fund for each year since its establishment to date.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Loan Counterpart Fund.
The audited accounts of the American Loan Counterpart Fund are presented to each House of the Oireachtas pursuant to Section 4 (6) of the Central Fund Act, 1949, and are published by the Stationary Office.
The account for the period from the date of establishment of the fund (17th December, 1949) to 31st March, 1950, was presented on 17th July, 1950 (Pr. 80), that for the year 1950-51 was presented on 16th August, 1951 (Pr. 607), for the year 1951-52 on 21st November, 1952 (Pr. 1407), and for the year 1952-53 on 27th October, 1953 (Pr. 2058).
asked the Minister for Finance where the item of £40,500,000 Ways and Means Advances to the Exchequer from the Marshall Aid Loan Counterpart Fund appears in the receipts into and issues out of the Exchequer account as published in Irish Oifigiúil.
The Exchequer borrowings shown in the statements of receipts and issues published in Iris Oifigiúilrelate only to the periods covered by those statements. The £40,500,000 of Ways and Means Advances to the Exchequer from the American Loan Counterpart Fund appeared as receipts in the statements published inIrish Oifigiúilat the times when such borrowings occurred, namely, during the years 1949-50, 1950-51 and 1951-52. They are, of course, included in the total of £62,722,400 of Ways and Means Advances shown in Account No. XXIV of the Finance Accounts to have been outstanding on 31st March last.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will state how the Marshall Aid Loan Counterpart Fund was able to advance £40,500,000 to the Exchequer and £630,000 to the Agricultural Credit Corporation, and still have £267,268 to its credit in the Central Bank, in view of the fact referred to by him in answer to a parliamentary question on 22nd October that its total receipts amounted to £40,606,000.
I would refer the Deputy to the reply given by me to his question of 22nd October in which I indicated that interest received on investments has contributed to the assets of the fund and that the sum of £40,606,000 represented payments from the account of the Minister for Finance in the Central Bank into the fund.
All this information is provided in the published accounts of the fund.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will state what annual receipt the Exchequer will receive from the American Loan Counterpart Fund in future years and what net liability or asset will the fund represent when wound up under existing arrangements.
In accordance with Section 4 (4) of the Central Fund Act, 1949, any sums from time to time paid out of the Central Fund for the payment of principal and interest on money borrowed by the Minister for Finance from the Government of the United States of America or any agency thereof shall be repaid out of the American Loan Counterpart Fund to the Central Fund. The income of the Exchequer from the American Loan Counterpart Fund in future years will consist of these repayments, the ultimate source of which will be the principal and interest derived by the fund from its investments in Ways and Means Advances to the Exchequer and stock of the Agricultural Credit Corporation.
According as principal repayments fall due from 1956 onwards in respect of the dollar borrowings it will be necessary to redeem Ways and Means Advances so as to enable the fund to make the repayments to the Central Fund provided for in the Act of 1949. The principal liability at the present rate of exchange is £45.8 million whereas the total investments of the fund at 31st March last were £41.13 million. A net deficiency is, therefore, in prospect on a winding up of the fund.
Lest there should be any confusion,I think it right to emphasise that the net effect of the transactions regarding Ways and Means Advances is that the interest charge on £40.5 million of the dollar debt has to be borne by the Irish taxpayer and also that principal repayments, not only to this amount but to cover the prospective deficiency as well, will be a burden on future revenue.