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

As my time is limited, I have one question each for the league and for CUMA. In the dark days of October 2011, the Minister for Finance told the Seanad that the cost of rescuing credit unions could be between €500 million and €1 billion, but thankfully this was far wide of the mark. However, Mr. Farrell probably is best placed to tell members today what is the underlying health of the credit union sector. There have been problems in individual credit unions and some high-profile cases, but at present, in November 2015, what is the state of the credit union movement and of the credit unions represented by the Irish League of Credit Unions? While obviously there will be consolidation, are bailouts in prospect? I ask Mr. Farrell to give members a sense of the underlying health of the sector.