asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether the increase in estimated profits on investments of foreign capital in Saorstát Eireann from £3,700,000 in 1925-26 to £5,700,000 in 1926-27 is accounted for by an increase in the amount invested, or by an increase in the rate of profit; and what is the estimated amount of new foreign capital invested in the Saorstát since January, 1922.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN SAORSTAT.
The figures quoted are estimates, and no reliable analysis of them could be made until comparative statistics are available over a greater period of years. The figure for 1926-27 is estimated from returns more dependable than those of 1925-26, but it is not at present possible to say how much of the difference between the figures for the two years mentioned is due to greater accuracy, and how much to increased business activity in the later year.
Sufficient information is not available for the estimate asked for in the last part of the question.