Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Loans. – Dáil Éireann (21st Dáil) – Thursday, 9 Apr 1981

Mr. L'Estrange

asked the Minister for Finance the amount of loans from all sources negotiated by the Government from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 1980; the terms for the repayment of capital and interest in all cases; and how the money was spent.

Mr. G. Fitzgerald

As the reply is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.

The following is the statement:

DOMESTIC LOANS ISSUED DURING 1980

	£m	£m	£m
(i) New Government Securities
11½% Funding Loan 1983	75
11¾% Finance Stock 1984	80
12% Exchequer Stock 1985	80	235
(ii) Tranches of pre-1980 Government Securities
8½% Funding Loan 1981	25
10% Exchequer Stock 1981	35
11½% Finance Stock 1981	30
11½% Exchequer Loan 1982	70
10½% Finance Stock 1982	55
9% Conversion Stock 1980/82	45
11¾% Funding Loan 1983	100
Variable rate Finance Stock 1983	10
12% Finance Loan 1984	90
7½% National Loan 1981/86	5
8½% Conversion Stock 1986/88	20
9¾% National Loan 1984/89	20
14% Exchequer Loan 1990/92	30
7% National Loan 1987/92	10
7½% Development Stock 1988/93	10
12% Conversion Stock 1995	35
9¼% Exchequer Loan 1991/96	10
11½% Development Loan 1997/99	40
14½% Finance Loan 1998/2000	10
14¾% Development Stock 2002/04	10	660
(iii) New Exchequer Bills issued during 1980		30	925

All the securities listed above were issued at the prevailing market price. The yield to redemption date varied between 12.4 per cent and 17.5 per cent depending on the time of issue.

FOREIGN LOANS ISSUED DURING 1980

	£m	£m	£m
(i) EIB Loans		156
(ii) Variable interest rate Loans		433
(iii) Bonds and Notes
8½% DM Bonds 1980/88	41
8½% Japanese Yen Bonds 1992	36
6% Swiss Franc Notes 1985	15	92	681
TOTAL OF DOMESTIC & FOREIGN LOANS ISSUED DURING 1980:			1,606

The EIB loans have various maturity dates up to 20 years and interest rates ranging from 7.8 per cent to 11.1 per cent depending on the currency and the date of borrowing.

The variable interest rate loans have maturity dates of up to ten years.

The domestic loans are shown at their nominal value and the foreign loans are valued using the exchange rate current at the date of borrowing.

All the borrowing was used to finance the Capital Budget and to repay maturing debt.

Mr. L'Estrange

Does the Minister agree that if one takes the Government's foreign indebtedness plus the foreign indebtedness of the State companies and the net foreign liabilities of the banking system against our foreign external holdings, we are no longer a creditor nation internationally? Does the Minister not agree that in the few years the Government have been in office they have moved us from the position of being a strong international creditor nation into being an International debtor with a fear that the International Monetary Fund bank will interfere with us at any time? Does the Minister agree with the statement reported in the newspapers last night by a Fianna Fáil Deputy that the Government are going to the country before the House burns down around them?

Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Apr 1981