asked the Minister for Finance the present total of this country's external assets; and if he will give details of them.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - External Reserves.
22.
I presume the Deputy is referring to the official external reserves. The latest statistics issued by the Central Bank show that these reserves at the end of May amounted to £404.3 million, made up as follows:
|
£ million |
|
|
Gold |
6.5 |
|
Special Drawing Rights in International Monetary Fund |
16.4 |
|
Reserve in International Monetary Fund |
14.7 |
|
Sterling |
231.7 |
|
Other foreign currencies |
135.0 |
|
Total |
404.3 |
Can the Minister state if the sums of £16.4 million and £14.7 million must be reserved in the International Monetary Fund?
The reserve is a deposit made by us some years ago as one of the conditions of membership of the fund. The special drawing rights were an issue made some years ago to different countries on a quota basis. I am not sure what the Deputy has in mind but if it is whether we should hold such reserves, in my opinion the answer is "yes".
Has the Minister considered alternative sources to sterling—he mentioned in his reply the sum of £231.7 million?
The Deputy may appreciate that the proportion of our reserves now held in sterling is considerably smaller than what it was some years ago. I think he can anticipate, in view of likely developments in the fairly near future in the international monetary field, that the proportion may become even smaller.
Can the Minister state the alternatives?
This depends on what develops in the international monetary field.