Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 13, after line 43, to insert the following:

14.—(1) The Bank shall establish and maintain a consultative panel to be called the Credit Unions Consultative Panel (in this section referred to as "the Panel").

(2) As soon as practicable after establishing the Panel, the Bank shall publish in Iris Oifigiúil a notice to the effect that the Panel has been established and the date on which the establishment took effect.

(3) The Panel is to consist of not fewer than 5, and not more than 20, members.

(4) The members of the Panel are to be appointed by the Minister for Finance after consulting those organisations that, in the opinion of the Minister for Finance,represent the interests of—

(a) credit unions, and

(b) credit union members.

(5) In appointing persons as members to the Panel, the Minister shall ensure as far as possible that those persons have knowledge or experience of or as consumers of services provided by credit unions.

(6) A person is not eligible to be appointed as a member of the Panel if the person—

(a) is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or is, with the person's consent, nominated as a candidate for election as such a member, or

(b) is a member of the European Parliament or is, with the person's consent, nominated as a candidate for election as such a member or to fill a vacancy in the membership of that Parliament, or

(c) is a member of a local authority or is, with the person's consent, nominated as a candidate for election as such a member.

(7) A member of the Panel holds office for such period, not exceeding 5 years, as is specified in the member's document of appointment, unless the member ceases to hold office.

(8) A member is eligible for reappointment at the end of a period of office.

(9) The Minister shall appoint one of the members of the Panel to be chairperson of the Panel.

(10) The functions of the Panel are as follows:

(a) to monitor the performance by the Bank of its functions and responsibilities in relation to credit unions;

(b) to provide the Bank with comments with respect to the performance of its functions and responsibilities in relation to credit unions;

(c) to provide the Bank with comments and suggestions with respect to the performance of credit unions;

(d) to provide the Bank with suggestions for initiatives that, in the Panel's opinion, the Bank should take with respect to the performance of its functions and responsibilities in relation to credit unions;

(e) to provide the Bank with comments on the impact that the conditions and restrictions imposed by the Bank on credit unions have on the competitiveness of credit unions;

(f) to provide the Bank with comments with respect to changing trends within credit unions that have implications for the functions and responsibilities of the Bank;

(g) when the Bank so requests, to comment on a policy document or regulatory document, or a proposed policy document or proposed regulatory document, prepared by the Bank in relation to credit unions.

(11) The Bank shall provide the Panel with such administrative services (including technical and legal advice), and such funds, as the Bank believes are necessary to enable the Panel to perform its functions.

(12) The Bank shall arrange for an officer or employee of the Bank nominated by it to attend a meeting of the Panel whenever the chairperson of the Panel asks the Bank to do so.

(13) Within 3 months after the end of each financial year, or within such extended period as the Bank allows, the Panel shall prepare an annual report that provides details of its activities during that year.

(14) The Bank shall arrange for publication of the annual report of the Panel.

(15) The Bank shall also arrange for publication of—

(a) comments made by the Panel to the Bank in accordance this section, and

(b) any statement of reasons given by the Bank in response to any such comments, and

(c) reports of meetings of the Panel, and

(d) any other report produced or commissioned by the Panel, and

(e) the rules of procedure of the Panel.

(16) Before making or issuing a policy document or a regulatory document in relation to or affecting credit unions, the Bank shall consult the Panel, unless the Bank believes that the document must be made or issued without delay. In that case, the Bank shall consult the Panel as soon as possible after the document is made or issued.

(17) In making or issuing a policy document or regulatory document in relation to or affecting credit unions, the Bank shall take into account the advice (if any) provided by the Panel on any aspect of the document. If the Bank declines to give effect to any particular advice provided by the Panel, it shall provide the Panel with a written statement setting out its reasons for declining to give effect to the advice and shall, if the Panel so requires, publish the statement.

(18) If the Bank makes or issues a policy document or regulatory document, a failure to comply with subsection (15) or (16) in relation to the document does not of itself invalidate the document.

(19) The chairperson of the Panel shall attend a meeting of the relevant Joint Committee of the Oireachtas whenever that Committee requires the chairperson to do so.

(20) When attending a meeting of the relevant Joint Committee of the Oireachtas, the chairperson of the Panel shall provide that Committee with such information as it reasonably requires about matters with which the Panel is or has been concerned.

(21) In this section, "relevant Joint Committee of the Oireachtas" means a Joint Committee of the Oireachtas to which the Oireachtas has assigned the role of examining matters relating to the operation of the Bank.".

These amendments deal directly with credit unions in Ireland and, in an important and significant way, with the future of the credit union movement in this country in terms of how it is to be regulated, assisted and enhanced in its important role in Irish society in respect of industrial credit unions for people at work in various occupations and, in particular, local credit unions which provide a service not alone to people who consciously choose to bank with credit unions but, more important, people and communities that no longer have access to banking services because they do not offer enough profit to the commercial banks.

The purpose of amendment No. 10, which I urge the Government to accept, is to put on a statutory footing in this important legislation, which seeks to regulate the financial services sector and to avoid the mistakes made in the past, the credit union movement, not as an add-on in the Schedules to the Bill to be regulated at the behest of the Central Bank, but by way of recognised position within the legal framework of the legislation. This would allow for the establishment of a credit union panel. Amendment No. 10 is detailed and sets out what the Labour Party has in mind.

The panel will have the power to consult organisations which in the view of the Minister for Finance represent credit unions and, more important, credit union members who at this time have between €11 billion and €13 billion in savings. People are currently saving more because they are terrified to spend. The credit union movement is strong in terms of savings. The Labour Party supports strong regulation of the credit union movement, as does the movement. It is important that people's savings are fully protected. We want to see introduced a code of regulation which includes the credit union movement.

On the night of the guarantee scheme the bankers were called in.

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