Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Fianna Fáil for tabling this motion because it is overdue. Deputy Liam Twomey suggested sending the issue back to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform for a prolonged engagement. I was on the committee the last time the credit unions came before it and Deputy Michael McGrath and I played an active role during the engagement.

The credit union movement has always been at the heart of the community. My first car was financed through a credit union loan, as was my first election campaign in 1999. I do not know how one would do this now with SIPO. These examples show the credit union has always been ready to help in many different ways. I went through a period of illness and the manager of Sandymount Credit Union at the time was extremely helpful to my wife. I will never forget this assistance, which the credit union movement gives to members of the community who find themselves in difficulty. Credit unions are far more flexible than any financial institution, that is, the banks, we have ever dealt with in this State. As Deputy Nolan said, they know their customers' creditworthiness. They may be going through a particular period of financial difficulty but there is a level of flexibility. I will be a great friend to the credit union movement.

Sandymount, Pearse Street and Ringsend credit unions are at the heart of sustainable financial support for the people of the area. Children and young adults learn how to save through the credit union. On a Friday evening in my area one sees cars pulling up and families walking up to do their business in the credit union. This social network and interaction used to be found at the post office. The role of the credit unions in financing borrowings for cars, college or for the small businessman looking to get a small loan to get started is one of the key elements and major strengths of the credit union.

I do not want to misrepresent Fianna Fáil's motion because I do not believe Fianna Fáil is advocating we go back to easy lending. Society and families have learned lessons in a very tough way about unsustainable borrowings. This was mainly through the banks and not credit unions. I accept Deputy Nolan's point there were one or two rogue credit unions, but they were very much in the minority and developed more into banks than credit unions instead of being at the heart of the community.

I listened to the Minister's contribution on the Registry of Credit Unions and its independence in regulating credit unions. Appealing decisions should be examined. This option is there and was outlined by the Minister. People on this side of the House are not by any means the font of all wisdom which is why Deputy Twomey's suggestion to go back to the committee and have a long discussion has strength. In the last campaign credit unions spoke about microcredit for low and middle income families. I hope we will be able to run a pilot of this scheme in the autumn. The credit union movement has provided assistance and suggestions in this regard as have the Citizens Information Board, Social Finance Foundation, MABS and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The credit union could have a key role and be at the very forefront of microcredit. It is something for which it has campaigned. I hope in the autumn the Department of Social Protection, in partnership with the credit union movement, will be able to put in place microfinance for families who are extremely stressed and often forced to go to moneylenders rather than credit unions with a good reputation which are at the heart of many urban and rural communities.

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to have this discussion by tabling the motion. The discussion needs to be taken much further and examined in detail by the committee. I look forward to the outcome, if the Deputy is willing to push it there. One group or party in the House is not the font of all wisdom so we need to examine what is the best model. The credit union movement is vital for the Irish economy and local communities. I certainly will be very supportive of it.

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