Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me address a question to Mr. Ó Muilleaneoir. I am a great advocate of the credit unions. The credit union is in every town and village. Prior to the crisis, I was in practice, as I am a chartered accountant by training and if the credit union movement had not looked after the SME sector in the previous ten to 12 years, many small businesses would not have survived, particularly in small towns and villages in rural areas. That must be acknowledged. The small businesses would go to their credit union on a Monday morning and get a bank draft for €4,000 or €5,000 and lodge it to their current account because the bank would not provide the money. How many of those are thriving businesses today?

What is the reason the credit union movement could not fill the void for the small SME sector?