asked the Minister for Finance to state whether dollar loans under Marshall aid are to be repaid with sterling irrespective of international convertibility; and if in the event of sterling devaluation the repayment will be correspondingly dearer.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Repayment of Dollar Loans.
The Deputy's question is in general terms, but obviously I can reply only in relation to this country and to the initial loan agreement entered into by this country. The terms of any later loan agreements will not necessarily be the same.
As shown by the documents presented to the House. I, on behalf of the Government, have entered into an obligation to repay the line of credit of $60,000,000 (or so much of it as is actually drawn) in lawful money of the United States of America, unless both lender and borrower mutually agree otherwise. Article 4 of the Loan Agreement, which is in very wide terms, makes provision for a situation in which the borrower might find difficulty in meeting the loan obligations as they fall due.
The answer to the first part of the Deputy's question, as applied to this country's first loan, is, therefore, in the negative. As regards the second part of the question, having regard to the fact that the repayment period stretches from 1956 to 1983, and to the terms of Article 4, a reply could be given only on the basis of a variety of assumptions as to the course of future events, which I naturally hesitate to make.