Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the work done by credit unions over the years. When I was younger and buying my house, we got our bridging finance from the credit union. Credit unions are hugely helpful to people, in particular when they are buying homes or making any significant purchase. My question is slightly different from some of the questions that have been asked. One of the difficulties I find is that many of the people who are in trouble with their mortgages are with companies whom I would call vulture lenders, in other words, they charge way above market norms. People are with such companies because the traditional lenders would not lend to them because they are considered high risk and they are paying a higher premium as a result. Many people are still trying to hold on to their homes and as their economic position improves they could sustain a lower rate mortgage, but they cannot sustain the rate they are being charged. Does the ILCU think there is a role for credit unions in the context of the social service they provide to people who would be a higher risk for lending but are in real trouble? They want to hold on to their homes but they cannot find any sustainable way to do so. Has the ILCU thought about that as an option, in other words, that people who are with those companies, whom we all know, could approach a credit union with a view to getting a standard rate mortgage at a sustainable rate, which they did not get previously?