Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Republic of Ireland is on schedule to repay its loan from the UK by March 2021.

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010 and which covers the period 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018. The report was laid in Parliament on 15 October 2018 and is available in the Printed Paper Office.

This report shows, in Table 2.A, that the remaining principal repayments are due in tranches from 15 April 2019 until 26 March 2021. The UK has received interest payments since the disbursement of the loan, listed in Table 2.B. The timetable for repayment set out in the report remains unchanged and the UK Government expect the repayment of the bilateral loan to Ireland on time and in full.