asked the Minister for Finance whether he will indicate the nature and extent of the claim of the Republic of Ireland on the gold reserves held by Great Britain to satisfy the legitimate claims of the sterling countries, and the extent by which our assets in Great Britain have diminished since 1940.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Assets in Britain.
Our claim on the gold, etc. reserve held by Great Britain arises from our position as an earner of sterling and a holder of sterling investments and from our membership of the sterling area, for the needs of which the reserves form a common pool. The right to convertibility into other currencies of our sterling resources is of a general character and is not limited to any specific amount. It will be recalled that the official communiqué issued at the close of the trade negotiations with the British Government in June, 1948, contained the following statement:
"The Government of Ireland will use its utmost endeavours to obtain the maximum amount of aid available under the European Recovery Programme with the object of ensuring, as far as practicable, that their recourse to the sterling area pool for hard currencies will not involve any ultimate drain on the pool."
As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the Deputy to the balance of payments statements published annually in the Irish Trade Journal.