Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister said he agrees with me but really he does not. I am arguing a different point. The Minister has stated he agrees with me and that is why he has asked the Central Bank to phase in the increase. All that is happening is that it is being done at a slower rate. The levy will go to 50% and then there will be a consultation with, as the Minister just outlined, no guarantee that it will not go up to 100% just like the levy for the main street banks.

Outside all of that, if this is a sector which stands on its own and is regulated like the rest of the other industries by the Central Bank, why are we raising the levy to 50% in the first place? From the figures we have been given, the impact on a large credit union would mean that in a four-year period, the levy would be an extra €115,000. We have already placed many additional responsibilities and burdens on credit union boards through legislation on skills bases, qualifications and so forth. If we really value the work done by these credit unions, their not-for-profit nature where they lend money, as opposed to banks which are trying to suck the blood out of people, and their response to community needs, why would we even put them in the same category as the other banks? Why can we not adopt the same principle that we did with charities? Charities do good work for society but they need to be regulated. However, we do not ask them to pay for their regulation.