A provision of £150,000 was included in the 1996 Estimate for my office in respect of the study Economic implications for Ireland of European Monetary Union which I commissioned from the Economic and Social Research Institute.
I have not sanctioned expenditure by any other Government Department to seek advice on the effects of Economic and Monetary Union on the Irish economy. However, it is possible that Departments may have incurred such expenditure under delegated authority. I am not aware of any specific studies other than the ESRI study on the effects of European Monetary Union on the economy.