Mr. Sean Murray:

The issue of the bond is a short-term solution. The long-term strategic solution for sustainable credit unions is to be able to lend to people. Our job is to create sources of credit for the community. Whether that is by way of personal loan or a loan to an SME is not important.

I share the view that we do not need further regulation. However, I would urge the application of existing regulation and ask that it be ensured that it is clear, consistent and transparent in terms of what is required. There is significant new regulation in place already which will prevent a recurrence of what happened in the past. It is important existing regulation is applied going forward.

On the question regarding links with local enterprise boards and the sharing of central expertise, that is a development question for credit unions. A strategic issue for us is how we as credit unions develop given our local nature. Credit union members hold dear to them the localness of their credit union. However, as credit unions we need to consider the future in terms of how we best serve those members. The model that worked in the past may not work in the future. The sharing of resources and expertise is an issue with which we are currently trying to grapple.