Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What about the appropriate balance to be struck in terms of long-term savings? Since we are coming out of the recession, credit unions have a lot of money on deposit. As the economy picks up, people might consider changing their car, going on holiday or extending their home. As that level of activity picks up, the credit union business of short-term lending will pick up and that money on which credit unions are searching for an optimum return on now, which might be in longer-term lending, may no longer be a problem in two or three years time. The credit unions are looking for an immediate, long-term solution for what might be a short-term problem. If the money on deposit was put into long-term loans, it might not be available then for the core business.