Mr. Brian McCrory:

We would challenge the thinking of the Central Bank, as should the committee.

If one considers the history of the matter - the announcement that there was a €1 billion hole in the credit union finances, the clamour around the troika, the crisis and all that ensued, and the subsequent waste of legislative time that caused the creation of two funds that were going to rescue the credit union movement, of which €28 million or €29 million may have been used - at all times, the credit union movement had the wherewithal to address its own financial needs and was precluded from doing so.

The analysis of what can and cannot happen regarding credit unions is best focused, and should be focused, on the credit union side. The regulator should be there to regulate - full stop. If one considers how the system is currently constituted, the regulator essentially dictates who is in the chair, who will manage, who might be on the board, to whom one can lend, the amount one can lend, the reasons for which one can lend, the duration of one's investment, the nature of one's investment and the amount one has on call by way of cash. We proudly espouse our status as a democratic movement. This has essentially been stolen from members because that democracy no longer exists. We do not even have the wherewithal or the freedom to call an AGM or a meeting of our members because the bank can decide not to allow us to do so.