The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has told the European Parliament that he is part-owner of an office building in Naas, Co Kildare and owns shares worth less than €1,000, which he is in the process of selling. Mr McCreevy has a pension from a former partnership in Tynan Dillon & Co, chartered accountants, and owns his family home in Sallins, Co Kildare.

Mr McCreevy's declaration of interests came as MEPs began questioning the 24 nominees in Mr José Manuel Barroso's European Commission, which is due to take office on November 1st. Parliamentary committees will question each nominee for three hours before making an evaluation of each incoming commissioner's suitability for office.

The European Parliament will vote late next month on whether to approve the entire Commission. MEPs may not reject one commissioner without rejecting Mr Barroso's entire team.

Mr McCreevy said that he had engaged in no remunerative activities outside Government during the past 10 years and explained that he did not purchase shares in Aviva (worth approximately €568) and in Friends Provident (worth approximately €394) but acquired them as a holder of insurance policies.

MEPs will today question the most controversial nominee to the incoming Commission, Ms Neelie Kroes, a former businesswoman and Dutch transport minister, who has been chosen as the next Competition Commissioner. Ms Kroes, who served on the board of a number of major European companies, has promised not to take part during her first year in any decisions concerning companies for which she worked.

After that, she will not participate in decisions concerning action taken by those companies while she worked for them. Ms Kroes has sold all her shares.