Ray Butler (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Mangan for coming in. She spoke of micro-loans. The problem in credit unions is that there are credit rating bureaus now coming in from the Central Bank and there are new rules and regulations. Those who got behind through no fault of their own with the Celtic tiger crash have renegotiated their loans but staff in a building society, credit union or bank can press a button and see that this person has renegotiated the loan, which remains a blip on their credit rating for a couple of years.

People are borrowing from moneylenders so we need to put in place a microfinance loan scheme in credit unions or post offices to allow them get small loans because they are paying their way. Ms Mangan is correct. When the washing machine or the television breaks down, these people do not have the money to replace them so they get a small loan, which they will pay back. They are paying back their loans as we speak, but in some cases they cannot get them.

It was sad to see the rules and regulations put on credit unions. I know serious mistakes were made. Credit unions were established by the people and provide people with smaller loans but, unfortunately, in certain areas they got too big for their boots and gave loans to people who should never have got them. That is very sad.

We need to begin to examine the credit rating bureau, which I believe is no longer fit for purpose. It was fine during the Celtic tiger period when we were awash with so-called money. That money has dried up and local economies are suffering because there is no cashflow. If these people get their small loan out of the credit union for back-to-school expenses or Christmas, they will spend that money in the local community. I am hearing every day of the week in retail that small shops are starved of cashflow. All retail runs on credit and when credit dries up the way it has happened here, it is very difficult for small, independent retail businesses to move on.

I am delighted Ms Mangan has brought up the issue but we have to examine microfinance loans and get the economy running with small loans. We must also examine the credit rating bureau to see how we can move forward on providing small loans. We must remember these people have renegotiated all their loans. They are paying them back but if the television, the fridge or whatever breaks down and they go to look for another small loan, it comes up that they have renegotiated their loans and they are listed for four or five years. That has to be changed, and the credit rating bureau has to be changed as well.