Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government will, of course, continue to support the credit union sector, which is an essential and important sector for the entire economy, particularly for communities throughout the country. It is very much the people's bank in that respect. The Government will continue to engage with the movement to ensure there is a stable credit union sector into the future.

I will bring to the Minister's attention the Deputy's remarks in regard to the section 35 restrictions on the rescheduling of loans. I will ask him to report back to the Deputy directly.

The new regulations from the Central Bank arising out of the recommendations from the commission on the credit unions allow certain business lending to take place to SMEs, so that is a movement in the direction the Deputy has been seeking. However, the Government is also looking very closely at the whole financing landscape for SMEs and has indicated that it would be seeking reorientation in regard to the National Pensions Reserve Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund in order to support economic activity and employment, in addition to the traditional banking sector. It is an area that is of very much concern at present.

I welcome the Deputy's remarks in regard to how we might maximise and optimise the €7 billion that is available within the credit union sector in order to promote small and medium businesses.

See this speech in context