Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will speak on the section, if that is okay. This is a core part of the legislation, which allows for a credit union to refer a member to another credit union that is offering a service it does not provide.

This is a welcome section that means credit unions are working in collaboration. It does not mean a straight refusal but means that where one branch cannot provide a service, another down the road can do so. People can be referred and deemed a member of that second credit union for as long as the service is provided and only for the purpose of the service for which they are referred.

There are two issues that I want us to look at in respect of this section. Will there be any fees incurred by the member when transferring from one credit union to another? How will that be dealt with, if it will be, and how will it be regulated? I am interested in that issue around fees. It would happen in main street lending when a person moves mortgages, accounts and so on and so forth. In this scenario, I understand the people concerned would be members of both institutions at the same time. It is not completely similar. Will fees apply and how will they be regulated, if at all?

I am trying to think through a case where somebody goes to a credit union that cannot provide the service required and the customer is referred to another credit union for the service. The customer then becomes a member of that credit union for that service. Sometimes when you are with a credit union and are applying for something, you find that you have to do this and that. Would the definition in the Bill require somebody to go back and be re-referred for another add-on service? I am thinking of a case where the service an individual is looking for cannot be provided in credit union A. The individual is referred to credit union B but only for that service. What if, during the provision of that service, the individual needs something else? That is the issue.