Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis on which the relevant currency exchange rate is calculated by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to receipt of pensions or other income from the UK on which Irish income tax may be chargeable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11769/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, in general, the exchange rate which is used by them for converting Sterling income into Euro amounts is the fiscal year average market mid-closing exchange rate as supplied by the Central Bank and based on daily reference rates as published by the European Central Bank. For 2009, the average rate so supplied for converting Sterling to Euro was 0.8909. As an alternative to using this average rate, a taxpayer may, when declaring UK income on his or her tax return, use the actual rate of exchange obtained by him or her.

In the case of Lloyds accounts, the rate of exchange used is that which applies at mid-market on the closing of the account at 31 December each year. This rate is also supplied by the Central Bank and was 0.88810 at 31 December 2009. This results in £1 Sterling being equivalent to €1.1260. The average exchange rates to be used in relation to Sterling and a number of other currencies for 2009 were issued by the Revenue Commissioners on 9 February 2010 in Revenue e-Brief No. 06/10 which is available on the Revenue website www.revenue.ie.