Mr. Kieron Brennan:

I am not sure what is meant by losses. Perhaps it is a question of capital equalisation in a merger, which could arise. As far as we are aware, in both the report and the legislation, decisions in that respect are currently reserved for the Minister for Finance. The operation of the restructuring fund, which is what we are discussing, is itself the subject of a state aid application to Brussels. We and the Department of Finance eagerly await a response on that. The types of operation that a restructuring fund can engage in will to some extent be determined by what our European colleagues tell us we can do.

The number of mergers, etc., is unknown and it must remain so as the restructuring process is voluntary. The Deputy spoke about credit unions that are in difficulty, and some may merge because they are under financial or other stress, as we have mentioned today. There is a bigger class of credit unions which will come to this positively and look to an opportunity to come together because they can provide all of the additional services we spoke about before. It is impossible to predict, given that the process is voluntary, how many will be involved in the end.

There are significant changes afoot in this legislation, with the core alteration being the restructuring process. We are backing that and we expect our member credit unions to step up to the plate in that regard. These are the big-ticket items and what we are talking about in terms of governance is really a narrow range of small items.