Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 7, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:“(7) The SBCI shall apply for a banking licence.”.

I discussed this issue on Second Stage and that is the reason I tabled amendments on Committee Stage. In the programme for Government a commitment was made to establish a strategic investment bank. There is a dire need in society for a lender to the private and commercial sectors. There is an appetite to establish a real State-led investment drive. A bank has a banking licence. The Bill proposes a strategic banking corporation, which to some may sound like a bank but as all Members of the House know, it is not a bank. We believe there should be a State bank lending to the real economy. By applying for a banking licence, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, which is being established under the Bill, will be able to play a wider range of roles than the narrow remit it currently has. I know there have been vague commitments that this might happen in the future but there is no reason that the application process should not happen straight away.
I will press my amendment.