Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know Mr. Deering does not want a very large influx of complaints. I have great respect for his office, and we may not always agree in terms of the adjudications that are made and so on, but it is a great asset for people to be able to take claims to an independent authority and have them properly scrutinised and adjudicated upon. It is something I will be encouraging where there is a genuine issue, not that someone's premium has increased but where they believe they are being discriminated against. I would advise the witnesses to brace themselves because if the people who are talking to me follow through on that, they are likely to see an influx of them.

I want to touch on a separate issue. I have written to the Central Bank about this but I have not got a response as of yet. I am sure I will shortly. It relates to death benefit insurance operated by credit unions.

The first credit union has withdrawn death benefit insurance from its members, despite the fact that 4,500 members who have been paying into the scheme have asked for it to continue. It is being blamed on Central Bank regulations. Gurranabraher credit union in Cork was the first to offer death benefit of €4,000. It said the Central Bank now has regulations that require 50% of the membership to want it for it to continue. I have a question for Mr. Deering on this auto-renew financial product. I have not seen the forms for this credit union but I have seen the forms for other credit unions that currently operate the scheme and they have not taken a decision to withdraw it at this point, but it may be just a timing issue. It is a very simple form in some cases where it is €1 or €2 or whatever it is per week or per month, and it is on the basis of auto-renew. There was no suggestion at any time that the credit union could withdraw this. My colleagues in Cork have told me people have been paying into the scheme for 40 or 50 years. They are now at a later stage in their life and they are relying on the €4,000 to bury them but the service has been withdrawn from them overnight and everything they put into the scheme, which they could have done with over the 40 or 50 years, has been for naught. Has the FSPO looked at such cases or is it within his jurisdiction to examine them?