Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have dealt with credit unions on a professional level for many years and have great time for them. They kept small businesses operating in instances where the banks would not give them funding. They have cost the State €20 million to date, while the gross cost to it of bailing out the banks to date has been €64 billion.

Anglo Irish Bank will cost us €30 billion, yet we debating - in the twilight zone - about a group which is trying to survive. I put it to Ms McKiernan that the reason the loan-to-asset ratios of many of the credit unions in the State have fallen by a half is that they cannot lend money due to the restrictions put in place by the regulator. Will Ms McKiernan address a point that has been made to us by many people, namely, that the credit union movement, because of the restrictions being put in place, is driving people to resort to moneylenders? I see where the registry is coming from. It is seeking to create a structure that is viable but the credit union movement is far bigger than that. I put it to Ms McKiernan, as the regulator, that we have to find a means by which we can support the credit union movement. A loan-to-asset ratio of 28% is too low and will force many of the credit unions to amalgamate and others to disappear. I have a problem with that prospect. Will Ms McKiernan address those two issues, namely, that the imposition of the restrictions has, by stealth, driven the ratio down and that the restrictions are sending people to moneylenders.