Bertie Ahern
Question:5 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the regional rank of Ireland in terms of EU per capita income in 1994 and per capita income in comparison to the United Kingdom. [12038/97]
Ceisteanna—Questions. - Per Capita Income.
For the purposes of regional accounts and under the last EU Structural Fund regulations, GDP is used as the income measure. GDP per capita is converted to purchasing power standards to take account of different price levels in the EU member states. In 1994 Ireland's GDP per capita was 88 per cent of the Union average. while the United Kingdom's GDP per capita was 99 per cent. Ireland was ranked in twelfth place in terms of the GDP per capita in 1994 while the United Kingdom was ranked ninth.
Will the Minister of State agree that the recent sharp depreciation in the value of the punt from 102p to 93p in the space of a few months will slow down or even reverse last year's increase in average per capita income? Will he also agree that whereas some months ago we were set, on paper, to exceed the average British income we are well below this today?
I hope the recent currency fluctuation is but a temporary aberration and that the matter will rectify itself promptly. The latest figures give cause for optimism. For example, the latest EU estimate for the country as a whole indicates that Ireland's GDP per capita in 1996 was 97.5 per cent of the EU average. This puts Ireland in tenth place with the UK in twelfth position. We have gone up the league while the UK has gone down the league in relative terms.