Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Commission on Credit Unions, on which all the credit union representative bodies were represented, recommended this measure and all members of the commission signed off on it. It is a good idea to include in the legislation a requirement for the rotation of the principal. This proposal provides an opportunity for renewal. We are not speaking of organisations that were perfect but organisations that still have serious difficulty. The State is intervening to assist them by providing a new legal framework and significant sums of money to put themselves back in order. Having established a commission to advise us on this matter, on which the credit union movement was heavily represented, I intend to take its advice. However, I am also prepared to take the advice of Deputies by adopting a flexible approach to the implementation of the principles. Notwithstanding this, I am not prepared to move on the principle.