Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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213. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report to Dáil Éireann on the proposed quantitative easing operation by the European Central Bank, including the inflation rate targets and the method or risk-sharing between the European Central Bank and the Irish Central Bank; and the reason risks in the European Central Bank operation are not shared equally shared by the Irish Central Bank and other eurozone Central Banks. [5561/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Inflation in the euro area has been below levels consistent with price stability for some time and, in fact, moved into negative territory in December and continued this downward trend in January. The fall in inflation combined with the fact that inflationary expectations have begun to drift downwards poses a risk to price stability.

As a result, and with policy rates effectively at zero per cent, the ECB announced an expanded asset purchase programme on January 22nd to include bonds issued by euro area central governments, agencies and European institutions. Under this expanded programme, the combined monthly purchases of public and private sector debt securities will amount to €60 billion. 

These monthly purchases are intended to be carried out from March 2015 until end-September 2016 and will, in any case, be conducted until inflation moves onto a path consistent with price stability. Price stability in the euro area, in turn, has been defined as annual inflation of close to but below 2 per cent (inflation being measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices). 

Decisions on and the implementation of monetary policy in the euro area are entirely a matter for the Governing Council of the ECB, which is independent in these matters. I note, however, that there is  some mutualisation: the Governing Council decided that 20 per cent of the additional asset purchases under the programme will be subject to risk sharing. Moreover, the scale of the asset purchase programme is rightly seen as being the more important issue, as well as the  fact that it is potentially open-ended.