Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The information we are receiving indicates that there is a lack of flexibility with regard to restructuring and the provision of additional credit. The figures provided by the Minister paint a clear picture but one in respect of the credit union movement as a whole rather than individual credit unions.

The Commission of Credit Unions was of the view that a three-tier approach would work best, yet the Central Bank has proposed a two-tier approach. Why has the commission's view in this regard been discarded? There is suspicion that some credit unions will be forced to merge to ease the regulatory burden. The impact of the prudent lending circular is also raising concerns in that credit unions are being forced to interpret it in a conservative fashion, thus limiting their lending further. This, I believe, does not empower the credit unions to become mechanisms of lending into the economy. Will the Minister outline what he proposes to do to address these concerns?

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