Mr. Ed Farrell:

There are some people in the grassroots of credit unions who believe that because investments are so restricted, any surplus moneys they have will end up in a bank. As I said earlier, investments are either bank deposits or Government or bank bonds. The banks are closing down local branches and credit unions are trying to stay open. The introduction of the €100,000 restriction means that when more mature members come in and their balances go above that, the credit unions will have to send them back out to the branch of the bank. If it is closed, they will have to go to the next town to wherever a bank is open. Directly and indirectly, credit union members' money is ending up in the banks. There are people who think it is a result of policy rather than accident.