Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegations and I thank Mr. Hosford for his remarks. On the issue of levies, the draft scheme provides for three separate levies. What will be the impact of that provision on Mr. Hosford's credit union in terms of its viability? There is a concern that levies are open-ended and that there is no indication of a likely liability. It could result in some credit unions becoming non-viable. This is separate to the restructuring and consolidation that will inevitably happen within the sector.

I am interested in the different perspectives contained in the submissions. We will deal with the submission from Mr. Owens, in respect of St. Mary's, presently. Mr. Hosford appears to be taking a positive view of the Bill and saying he does not see a major difficulty for the operation and governance of the Gurranabraher Credit Union whereas the representatives from St. Mary's Credit Union are saying the Bill will strangle the life out of credit unions and that there is no attempt to preserve that which is good about credit unions. These are different perspectives and perhaps that is related to the circumstances of individual credit unions. Perhaps that will emerge over the course of our discussions.

Regarding term limits, what practical difficulties will it cause if the credit unions must rotate board members along the lines proposed in the general scheme of the Bill? Will it cause direct difficulties for Mr. Hosford's credit union?