Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to Senator Bannon for his assurance of the quality of the people in the Department of Finance and his acceptance of their ability to do the job. The clarification is simple. The management team which meets weekly in the Department of Finance would nominate a person to the Minister for Finance, who would make his usual inquiries into the suitability of the person in question. He would then circulate a document to Ministers and take the matter before the Cabinet for a decision on his recommendation. The person appointed would then represent the country.

To address the matter raised by Senator Mooney, while there are no plans to use the Council of Europe Development Bank, it is not impossible that the Government or a local authority or financial institution would use the bank in future. Any of these bodies could borrow from the bank. If, after we have appointed our representative to the bank, an innovative opportunity were to arise which would help to stimulate the economy, we would avail of it.

With regard to the Senator's reference to Germany, following the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany used the bank's resources to help with its reconstruction operation in eastern Germany. The bank has been of tremendous assistance to the German Government in that area and we wish it continued success. We will not miss an opportunity for any part of the island if one presents itself in the future.