Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Special drawing rights represent a unit of currency drawn up by the International Monetary Fund for use whenever currency amounts need to be referred to internationally, including in international conventions. Nearly all countries are members of the International Monetary Fund, which has 184 member states. The SDR unit was drawn up so that it would not be necessary to refer to the value of gold or major currencies such as the US dollar or the euro. One SDR is worth €1.18 at the moment. The value of SDRs is based on a basket of currencies of all IMF member states, including the euro. Ireland has been a member of the International Monetary Fund since 1957. For any countries which ratify the Montreal Convention but are not members of the International Monetary Fund, provision is made in the convention at Article 23(2) for using a currency unit based on gold and that definition is included in the Bill.