Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The correspondence to which the Deputy referred, which was sent from the Taoiseach's office, was regarding EUROSTAT definitions around what is off-balance sheet and what is on-balance sheet, which is confusing. It is very difficult to get certainty about what is on and what is off-balance sheet. In the UK, much of the social housing build programme which the UK Government thought was off-balance sheet was subsequently reclassified by EUROSTAT as on-balance sheet. The UK had put a vehicle in place which it was convinced had solved a funding problem. This is not a satisfactory situation. We cannot get clarification from EUROSTAT or the Central Statistics Office, CSO, before a new funding vehicle is signed off on as to whether it is on or off-balance sheet. We can get an indication, but not certainty, and it is a frustration for the Government. We are trying to work within it.

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