asked the Minister for Finance his views on the suggestion that the European Commission will bring forward a proposal before the end of this year for the introduction of a withholding tax on interest payments; and if such a withholding tax would apply to the interest paid on Government gilts in Ireland.

Article 6 of Council Directive 88/361 on the liberalisation of capital movements obliges the EC Commission to submit proposals to deal with the tax aspects of liberalisation to the Council of Ministers by 31 December 1988. No such proposals have as yet been submitted and it is not clear at this stage what they may contain.