Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Question 492: To ask the Minister for Finance the measurement of the money supply, M3 and M4, in the economy here since 1997; if the Central Bank, Financial Regulator and his Department lacked key information when and as the money supply balanced upwards; if he will outline the changes he is making to ensure a more accurate future measurement of the broad money supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33375/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland are responsible for the compilation and publication of statistics on the money supply. The official measures of the monetary aggregates (M1, M2 and M3) are calculated monthly based on the statistical returns each monetary financial institution are statutorily obliged to submit to the Central Bank with regard to their offices resident in the State. M1 includes overnight deposits and currency in circulation. M2 is M1 plus longer term deposits up to 2 years maturity or redeemable at notice up to 3 months and Post Office Savings accounts. M3 is M2 plus repurchase agreements and certain marketable instruments issued by monetary financial institutions (MFIs).

Since 1999, the money supply definition has changed to be the Irish contribution to euro area money supply. The instruments listed above are those deposits placed by or instruments held by Irish and other euro area resident non-monetary financial institutions with MFIs resident in the State. These data are collected on a harmonised basis across the euro area, and in Ireland are collected from the full population of MFIs. M4 is not an official measure of money supply in the euro area. The Central Bank publish the Irish contribution to euro area money supply on their website, where figures for the period since 2003 can be found.

The Central Bank have provided the following information for the period 1997 to 2002: