asked the Minister for Finance if he will express Ireland's interest payments and repayments of principal on foreign debt as a percentage of export earnings from 1973 to 1982, with an estimate for 1983.

Again a Cheann Comhairle, the reply is in the form of a tabular statement and, given your ruling, I will not make any further remarks about it.

Following is the statement:

Will what is contained in that tabular statement indicate — it probably will — that the debt service and repayments as a percentage of exports will be of the order of about 20 per cent to 25 per cent in 1983? Obviously that compares very favourably with places already mentioned here — over 50 per cent for countries such as Poland, Mexico and Brazil. I take it the Minister will acknowledge that?

The text that goes with the tabular statement states that it is difficult at this stage to make a definitive forecast for 1983 but the figure for this year will show a considerable decrease from the 1982 figure.

The Minister will recall that Deputy McCartin asked——

The Chair does not want to rule Deputy O'Kennedy out of order but the Chair is getting very little co-operation.

I do not want to make a big issue out of this. There is not much information contained in the tabular statement. Does it indicate that, as a percentage of our export earnings, our creditworthiness is much better than the Taoiseach and the chairman of the Allied Irish Banks suggested abroad? Does he agree that statements made abroad by the Taoiseach and members of the Government should not raise fears or apprehensions about our creditworthiness being in line with that of Poland, Mexico and Brazil?

I would not agree for a moment that the inference can be drawn from any statements made by the Taoiseach or any member of this Government——

He actually stated it. It is not an inference.

——which the Deputy is drawing. The question of creditworthiness or credit rating does not arise from the Deputy's question. The information asked for by him in the question is very specific and is not in any way a base on which to judge our creditworthiness. It is very clear that the kind of budgetary action we have taken has, if anything, improved our credit rating.

Ceist 16.

Interest payments on our foreign debt as a percentage of export earnings are one of the very important criteria in relation to credit rating. That is the reason I put down the question. I am trying to enhance Ireland's credit rating rather than do what the Minister's Government have been doing.

I share the Deputy's concern about Ireland's creditworthiness and credit rating. This has resulted directly from the budgetary strategy we have followed this year. The information the Deputy has requested is one of a number of factors which would be taken into account by foreign lenders when making a decision as to our creditworthiness.

16.