Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the lending restrictions imposed on credit unions in the Credit Union Act 1997, which restrict lending to 20% of the unions' loan book over five years and 10% over ten years; the consequent stifling of the credit unions' ongoing growth and development, whereby their limited lending capacity may force many families with minimal equity to resort to moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest rates; and a call on the Minister for Finance to level the playing field for credit unions by issuing a ministerial order revising the lending restrictions upwards from 20% to 40% over five years and from 10% to 20% over ten years.

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