Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Credit Union Bill. I agree with much of what has been said thus far and will reiterate, briefly, some of those points during my Second Stage contribution. First, I wish to deal with a specific issue, a fundamental part of the Bill, namely, the issue of the credit institutions resolution fund levy regulation 2012. Already a Central Bank and Credit Institutions Resolution Act 2011 has been enacted by the Oireachtas, whereupon statutory instruments issued in regard to the resolution fund. These apply to cases of credit unions in financial difficulty. Another fund is also referred to in the legislation, a fund of the order of €250 million, similar to the resolution fund levy. These funds are to be provided separately and are to be repaid to the Department of Finance if an advance is acquired by the institutions concerned.

I refer to a principal issue, of which many people may not be aware. I was genuinely shocked to see the statutory instrument the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has produced. The Minister does not know the difference between €1 million and €1 billion. The Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, is rightly surprised. I will tell him what happened.

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