35 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the Government's decision to join the Council of Europe Development Bank. [12401/02]

The question of expanding the range of Ireland's membership of regional development banks has been under consideration by my Department for some time. Such banks are important channels for flows of international aid and finance, and membership of them gives Ireland a voice in decision making on international policies regarding these flows. In the case of the Council of Europe Development Bank, all of our EU partners, with the exception of Austria and the UK, are already members.