Dáil debates

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Microenterprise Loan Fund Bill 2012: Report Stage

 

9:00 pm

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

There is no need to worry, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, as I will get through the amendments as quickly as possible. I will speak to all of the amendments if necessary because all the surviving amendments deal with the same issue, the governance of the micro finance fund.

Section 12 deals with the governance. During the debate with the Minister on Committee Stage I asked him what would be the cost benefit analysis of the Minister providing a vehicle, of which he would have direct control, for this micro finance fund. The worry we communicated very strongly on Committee Stage was that the governance of this vehicle was at arm's length from the Minister and we asked for a cost benefit analysis of that. The Minister said he would deliver a cost benefit analysis, that is, a compare and contrast exercise for a different type of vehicle to be used from the one proposed in the Bill. Microfinance Ireland is accountable to Social Finance Foundation, SFF, including for the appointment of the board. While the Minister has some oversight, due to company law he will not have tight control over the organisation.

We also asked what would the difference be for SFF to move from a wholesaler within a sector to a retailer within a sector and how that would change the sector itself. I am not sure if the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would prefer me to speak to the amendments individually or to all of them together.

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