Vol. 474 No. 8
11 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on suggestions reported in a newspaper article (details supplied) of 7 February 1997, that Ireland might delay its entry into economic and monetary union. [3977/97]
I assume the Deputy is referring to a suggestion that Ireland might delay its entry into economic and monetary union until whenever the UK decides to join, in return for further EU funding. The article attributes this suggestion to unidentified sources, who in turn are described as reflecting the supposed views of unidentified "senior German officials and central bankers".
I assure the Deputy that the Irish Government has received no suggestion to this effect. The Maastricht Treaty sets out the criteria for taking the decision on which member states will qualify to join Economic and Monetary Union. Speculation which suggests that this decision will be taken on criteria other than those in the Treaty is groundless.
