Mr. Kevin Johnson:

I will address that question. It is an interesting one, as there is a danger one will create a contradiction. According to an interesting survey recently conducted by Customer Experience Insights, CEXi, to review all 157 brands in Ireland across all industries, credit unions were the most trusted. It is incredible that a financial organisation would be regarded in this way. As the Deputy rightly stated, one of the great strengths of credit unions is their local presence. While there has been some consolidation which has strengthened credit unions, they have managed to maintain their presence in local communities. That is important.

Given the initiatives that would involve greater lending in support of the likes of social housing, the legislation and regulations need to be examined. A credit union would run into a commercial problem with the latter straightaway. It might have the necessary expertise, but only 10% of its loan book could extend beyond ten years. There are also legislative constraints on the market credit unions can serve.