Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is always a difficulty in giving information on financial institutions under pressure. Everyone in the community in south Kildare knows that there was a significant movement of deposits out of Newbridge Credit Union during the summer and extra information would have fuelled it further. I want to reassure people that there is no risk to anyone's money in Newbridge Credit Union. The Central Bank, through the use of the special fund, will protect the savings of all depositors in Naas, not just depositors below the sum of €100,000. It gave these guarantees coming out of August and stopped the movement of deposits. While it is regrettable that Deputies were not given full information, the provision of full information for the public would have made matters worse in midsummer. There is a real difficulty in Naas and Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl will revise his opinion when he gets the full information and the confidentiality clause imposed by the High Court is removed. I will co-operate with Deputies and give them as much information as I can. I am delighted to be in a position to meet the local committee tomorrow in the Department and will be as frank as I can with information. I assure everyone that there is a real difficulty that has been taken in hand. It will cost the taxpayers an awful lot of money. It is the first big credit union to be in difficulty. We have all had reports on the credit union movement and, by and large, it is sound. There are over 400 individual credit unions, of which about 30 are in difficulty. The credit unions, the Central Bank and the regulator of credit unions are moving systematically to ensure one of the finest institutions we have is secured nationally and in all of its branches by one intervention or another.

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