Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am throwing out that comment because the credit unions were keen to emphasise that they want to offer an alternative to the for-profit banking model and that their inability to offer shared front-office services in a number of areas is inhibiting them from developing, expanding and promoting that alternative model. The Minister said a settlement system between different credit unions was needed, that an underwriting service was required and that there were issues relating to loans being taken out and who was responsible for them. Those are all reasonable concerns. The infrastructure and safeguards for credit union members will need to be in place. However, the important point is that this Bill indicates that the Minister is in favour of facilitating the expansion of these services. He could easily insert wording into the Bill to indicate that - namely, that we want to move in that direction and to remove any impediment to doing so but that all of those safeguards would have to be put in place first. The relevant legislation that would govern the provision of such sharing of services in the for-profit banking sector would have to apply where appropriate and so on. It seems the credit unions are right to want to move in this direction and are disappointed the Bill has failed to do that. Perhaps it is difficult and complex to put that infrastructure in place. I do not know that and perhaps the Minister could enlighten me on whether it is very difficult to do so. I will be keen to hear what the credit unions have to say, but they have expressed disappointment in that regard. What they are asking for makes sense from the point of view of credit union members and with the aim of providing members of the public with a choice in terms of a different type of financial services.

On the issue of credit unions' ability to invest in socially beneficial projects that could help create employment and so on, the Minister said he was open to such suggestions. I am sure that is welcome, but he also seemed to sound a note of caution by saying that credit unions could not put funds in a place where the members would not be able to call their money back on demand. That is a reasonable point, but what the credit unions have said to me - and I have certainly heard this suggested - is that they would lend the money to the Government at a reasonably low interest rate and the State would guarantee a return on the money. They would rather lend money to the Government for projects that would stimulate employment and help the domestic economy than have to invest it outside the country, as is currently the case. I would be interested in the Minister's response to this. Sallynoggin Credit Union has written to me to say it is now restricted to having 25% of the total value of its investment portfolio deposited with any single institution. With fewer banks here now, that means it has to put its money in Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks, and when it has reached the limit of the amount it is allowed put into any one institution, it is left with the rest of the money. There is nowhere to put it and it must invest it outside the country. It does not want to do that; it wants to invest the money here. The credit unions might be able to lend money to the Government at a reasonable interest rate with a guaranteed return, which means such an investment would pose no danger for their members in that they would know their money was safe.