I want to make a personal explanation about a question I replied to last week. Deputy Cluskey raised the question of the British Government allowing the British £ to float and asked whether we were consulted in advance. I quote from column 180 of the Official Report of 3rd November where Deputy Cluskey is reported as asking:
Perhaps it would be appropriate at this point to ask the Taoiseach whether the British Government consulted the Irish Government before announcing the decision to float the £.
The Taoiseach: No.
Mr. Cluskey: Our Government, then, were not informed of that decision?
The Taoiseach: We are never informed in matters of that nature.
As I indicated, the question was raised without notice and I checked afterwards to see if what I had answered was, in fact, the case. We are, I believe, informed of matters of that nature but a matter of hours before the announcement is made by the British authorities. We are never consulted. I want to make that point clear.
