asked the Minister for Finance the total amount of loans from all sources negotiated by the Government so far this year; the terms for repayment of capital and interest in all cases; and the conditions in relation to how the money may be used.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Borrowing.
29.
Ireland has negotiated two loans since the beginning of this year. These are:
(1) a DM 100 million 8¼ per cent bond issue repayable in January, 1981, and
(2) a Community loan, consisting of part of the proceeds of the loans raised by the EEC in March and April, 1976. The money issued was on-lent to Ireland as follows:
(i) $69.5 million, of a $300 million bond issue, at an interest rate of 8¼ per cent to be repaid in one instalment on 1st April, 1982.
(ii) $69.5 million, of a $300 million credit facility, at an interest rate 1 per cent above the London Interbank Offering Rate for dollar deposits reviewable every three or six months and repayable in April, 1981.
(iii) DM 115.5 million, out of DM 500 million bond issue, at an interest rate of 7¼ per cent and repayable in one instalment on 1st April, 1983.
(iv) $114.8 million, of a $500 million private placement, at an interest rate of 7½ per cent per annum and repayable in one instalment on 1st December, 1979.
There were no conditions in relation to how the money may be used by Ireland.
Will the Minister state if this borrowing will continue?
I think that question is too unspecific to give an answer to it. The Government will continue to borrow but whether the borrowing will take this form will depend on the circumstances ahead which are not predictable. The Community loan is a special loan of a kind that has not taken place previously. I would not be in a position to say if it would happen again; it might or it might not.
Is the Minister aware that in the report of the Central Bank referred to by my colleague in regard to this point the report states on page 118 "There is no assurance that this debt can be readily refinanced as it matures". Has the Minister any comment on that?
Will the Minister agree with the press reports that state the Government and the country are broke?
The Deputy is allowing the by-election atmosphere to affect him.
The Minister stated that there were no conditions attached to the loans as to how the money may be used. Will the Minister indicate whether any other conditions were attached?
The question put down relates to the conditions in relation to how the money may be used and that is the question I answered. The Deputy is aware of the three conditions that were mentioned at the time in relation to the loans.
That was for other loans.
I am not aware of conditions attached to the other loans.
The Minister mentioned more than one loan.
I mentioned one other loan—a DM 100 million bond issue.
Were there any conditions?
No.
Will the Minister repeat the last date he gave in his reply to Deputy MacSharry?
December, 1979. That is for the fourth element in the loan.
Will the Minister not agree that periods of four, five and six years are very short for repayment of loans?
Borrowing ranges over different periods; some borrowing is over a long period and some is over a short period. In this instance it is at the short end of the scale.
The Minister should take all he can get.
It is desirable that there should be a mixture of periods, long and short.
That is desirable, but has it happened?
They are periods applicable to desperate borrowing.