Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the rate of interest payable to the European Investment Bank by the Department of Finance Northern Ireland in respect of the £15 million loan recently received for road improvement works; and what would have been the rate payable on the London money market.
§ Mr. Pendry, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 March 1979; Vol. 964, c. 502], gave the following information:
The rate of interest payable by the Department of Finance to the European Investment Bank in respect of the £15 million loan is 9.6 per cent. per annum.
The loan is for a period of 20 years and borrowing over such a period would not have been available on the London money market. A comparable loan from 753W the National Loans Fund would have attracted interest at 14⅝ per cent. per annum.