Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 20 September 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform

Credit Union Bill 2012: Discussion (Resumed)

12:10 pm

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett's passion for the credit union movement is clear to us and Mr. Owens. There is merit in the band element. Maynooth Credit Union has been in touch. While it only has assets of €17 million, it is being lumped with those which have assets between €10 million and €100 million. Therefore, there would be merit in looking at the bands.

I disagree with Mr. Owens with regard to the manager's responsibility. His or her responsibility is to make a report to the board and no matter the size of the credit union, I would not like to see the manager also being a director. This should apply, even for smaller operations outside the credit union movement.

The credit union movement must be regulated, as credit unions control a sizeable portion of the market. The credit union managed by Mr. Owens is at a figure of €47 million, while those of his colleagues are approaching the figure of €100 million. The State has a responsibility to regulate this sector. A small number of quite large community credit unions have run into difficulty owing to the lack of regulation. As colleagues have said, we need a clean sweep. There is a role for regulation. We have a responsibility to citizens to ensure the sizeable financial institutions a number of credit unions have become are regulated. There is merit in considering bands, but I disagree that managers should be directors.