Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report all communications he or his Department has had with the National Treasury Management Agency regarding the provision of additional Government borrowing-national debt since the start of the second quarter in 2008; if he will make a statement on the projected additional increases to the national debt for quarter three and quarter four. [20572/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The primary role of the National Treasury Management Agency is to ensure that sufficient funding is available at all times to meet the day-to-day requirements of the Exchequer. It is a matter for the Agency to decide when and how much to borrow in the light of those needs, commercial considerations surrounding the raising of debt on the markets and the need to maintain an appropriate level of liquidity.

As the Deputy will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment in detail on communications with the Agency on this issue, given the commercial sensitivity of the Agency's remit.

I might add that Budget 2008 provided for an Exchequer Borrowing Requirement of €4.9 billion in 2008. Details of the movement in the debt and the Exchequer balances are published as part of the Exchequer Statement at the end of each month.