Mr. Murray McCarter:

This was all agreed by the commission which comprised representatives bodies of the credit unions. It was agreed in the commission's report that where funds were available from within the credit union sector, they would be the first draw. Where funds were not available, there would be additional funds in place that could be used. Against the backdrop of the commission report, we had a situation where credit unions had arrears of €1 billion and more than 50 credit unions had reserve ratios of less than 10%. The credit union sector has proven itself to be a lot more resilient and stronger than anticipated at the time. Also, the Central Bank stress tests indicated that there could be a capital hole of up to €1 billion. Funds were set aside for the provision of restructuring of €250 million. What has happened over the past two or three years is that capital within the sector has been available to assist in the restructuring process and so there has not been recourse to the funds provided for by the Exchequer.