asked the Minister for Finance the amount of Government financial guarantees outstanding at the end of 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980.

I assume that the Deputy has in mind borrowings guaranteed by the Government under various statutory powers.

For the years 1976-80 the amounts are as follows: 1976, £652.365 million; 1977, £805.723 million; 1978, £988.888 million; 1979, £1,213.734 million; 1980, £1,564.478 million.

Is the Minister satisfied with the rapidity of this rate of growth in Government contingent commitments, a rate that has doubled since Fianna Fáil were returned to office?

The Deputy will be aware that these guaranteed amounts represent borrowings by semi-State bodies, contingent liabilities under certain Acts—the Trade Loans Guarantees Act, the Insurance Act of 1953, the Tourist Traffic Act of 1952 and the Land Bond Acts.

Would the Minister agree that in the period since his Government assumed office, the rate of increase in foreign borrowing by semi-State bodies or others guaranteed by the State, has been far faster even than the rate of increase in foreign borrowing by the Government themselves and that this reflects the fact that direct Government borrowing is crowding out the semi-State sector from the domestic market and forcing them to borrow abroad at greater risk in terms of exchange losses?

That is not so. As I said in my budget speech, we would never allow that to happen. The Deputy must agree that the activities of those bodies to which he refers has grown substantially in the period mentioned.

Could we have an assurance that public investment which up to now was financed directly by the State — for example, hospital construction — will not now be financed, on the instructions of the Government, by way of direct borrowing to be guaranteed by the State?

Does the Deputy mean financed under the guarantee situation that exists now? He need have no worry in that respect. I have explained to him what is covered. I presume he is referring to financial guarantees given by the Government by way of legislation and I have told him of the areas that are covered. These are semi-State bodies and contingent liabilities under certain Acts of this House such as those to which I have referred. There is nothing else covered.

Is the Minister in a position to deny allegations that hospitals have been told to find their own money where no money is forthcoming from the State but that the State will look after them by way of some form of guarantee?

I have no knowledge of what the Deputy is referring to and I deny any such allegation. I am talking about foreign borrowing.

Not foreign borrowing; we are talking about financial guarantees.

Sorry. I am saying there is nothing covered other than what I have indicated to the Deputy.

We must move on to Question No. 6.

If hospitals were told to borrow in that way, it would not in fact be guaranteed by the State.