Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2023
251. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance to provide, in tabular form, Ireland’s contribution to the IMF each year in nominal terms and as a percentage of GNP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54882/23]
View answerThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) promotes international monetary cooperation and provides policy advice, technical assistance and loans to help countries build and maintain strong economies. Ireland is a strong supporter of the work of the IMF and we value their role at the centre of the global financial safety net. The IMF has been in existence since 1944 and Ireland has been a member country since 1957.
The IMF is a quota-based institution with much of its funding resources coming from the capital subscription (or quota) which member countries pay when joining or as part of quota increases. The last quota increase occurred in 2016 when Ireland’s quota increased from circa €1.5 billion to circa €4.3 billion. A further quota increase is in the process of being agreed.
Ireland’s quota in the IMF is funded by the Central Bank of Ireland and does not require an exchequer contribution. At the end of 2022 circa 27% of Ireland’s quota had been paid to the IMF with the remaining 73% maintained with the Central Bank of Ireland. The IMF quota is reported on in the Central Bank of Ireland’s Annual Report.
The table below sets out non-quota contributions to the IMF over recent years. This includes contributions to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
|
Year |
Purpose |
Amount |
|
2017 |
PRGT |
€16m |
|
2020/21 |
HIPC |
€8.3m |
|
2023 |
PRGT |
€23m |
The levels set out in the table above are all very low fractions of a percent of GNP.
It should be noted that the 2017 contribution of €16 million represents Ireland’s share of the windfall proceeds of gold sales by the IMF in 2009-2010.
It should be noted that the 2020/21 contribution to the HIPC relates to a transfer within the IMF of Ireland’s share of resources in IMF managed accounts to the IMF’s Administered Accounts for Somalia and Sudan in 2020 and 2021. In April 2022, the European Central Bank determined that a portion of this funding was attributable to the Central Bank of Ireland and so, in line with the EU prohibition on monetary financing, €6.55 million was refunded from the exchequer to the Central Bank of Ireland in 2022.
It should also be noted that the IMF provided a loan of circa €22.5bn as part of the EU-IMF Financial Assistance Programme to Ireland, which was repaid over the period 2014 to 2017.
