Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the credit union movement is to avoid unnecessary costs and fees. I imagine the framework would reflect our discussion here and the intention would be to minimise fees. The whole thrust of this Bill is to make it possible for members of a credit union that does not offer proper mortgages or SME lending to easily go down the road to the next one. There are issues around which neighbouring credit union customers are sent to. Naturally, all of that cannot be in the legislation. The thrust for anybody here is that we want legislation to make it easy and simple to move. I would assume the framework, which can be renewed after a period of time, would reflect that. I see no reason it would not. The credit union movement is fully behind all of these changes, from what I can understand. There is a positive vibe going on in the Department. The Minister of State and her team are effecting that through their engagements with the credit union movement and all the sectoral bodies. We naturally expect follow-on actions. Perhaps the answer to the Deputy's concerns is that there is a built-in review. I have no doubt the Minister of State will be watching this area regularly. We assume there will be no fees. Assuming everything stays the same, that is the thrust of it. There would be no harm in building in a review after six months or a year to see if this is working in the way we hope it will.