Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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167. To ask the Minister for Finance if he supports recent proposals by the European Central Bank to publish the minutes of the Governing Council meetings that are held on a monthly basis, as opposed to the 30-year embargo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37240/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the ECB is independent and this independence is set out in Article 282(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which states that the European Central Bank "shall be independent in the exercise of its powers and in the management of its finances".

It should further be noted that Article 7 of the European System of Central Banks Statute provides that 'neither the ECB, nor a national central bank, nor any member of their decision-making bodies shall seek or take instructions from Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, from any government of a Member State or from any other body.'

It is therefore inappropriate that any statement should be made by me on the matter of publishing the ECB Governing Council minutes which is a matter for the ECB itself to decide.