Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

There is a registrar of credit unions under the IFSRA legislation and it is his function to maintain the invigilation which Deputy Bruton referred to. In a sense, this legislation deals with payments on foot of the requirement. There is the wider question of stabilisation and traditionally the league has supported a position where it manages the stabilisation fund. That is a very strong view entertained by the league, which it sees as part of the ethos of self-reliance implicit in the credit union movement.

On the other hand, a number of larger credit unions have disaffiliated from the league and are anxious to maintain a direct stabilisation deposit in the Central Bank because of the volume of their operations. They believe they would give more confidence to depositors by doing so. It is a delicate question because of the divergence of views between credit unions and I have left myself enough leeway in this legislation to work out a compromise between these views, which will at the same time ensure a minimum level of protection for depositors.

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