Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

The APR is set down in regulation and it is always a matter of debate as to whether a particular interest rate is too high, but it is regulated. As Deputy McGrath pointed out, the issue of most concern is not the licensed moneylenders who, by and large, comply with the law, but the unlicensed moneylenders. The best approach to this is to ensure credit unions continue to be a strong part of the landscape for lending small amounts in communities throughout the country. We are committed to that in the reorganisation of the credit unions which is proceeding at present.

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