Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The problem with the one-size-fits-all approach of the Minister and the Government is that they are treating credit unions like financial institutions, such as banks, when they are no such thing. They are a mass movement with nearly 3 million members, democratically run, rooted in communities, based on volunteers and run not for profit but in the interests of their members.

It is worth looking back to the foundation of the credit union movement in the 1950s by working class people seeing the devastating impact of poverty and the parasitic nature of money lenders taking advantage of that poverty. That has the same relevance today with the economic crisis we are facing. The reality is that credit unions are a major force and have huge potential, with €11 billion in savings and €13 billion in assets. The movement represents a threat to the private, for-profit model of banking that has caused such misery for ordinary people right across the country. We need a publicly-owned and democratically controlled financial sector working in the interests of society and not for the profit of the few and credit unions have a vital role to play. The Anti-Austerity Alliance supports the demands of the credit union movement against the CP88 regulations which will impact negatively on the ability of credit unions to deliver for their members and for society as a whole.

The Government has pointed to a review of the €100,000 limit and a certain transition period but this is not enough as it is, at best, a stay of execution. The whole approach will hamstring credit unions and will not allow them to develop. At today's meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and in the House yesterday, we heard praise from Government Deputies about the credit union movement. If they were serious, they would back up their verbal support with real support by supporting the call for the postponing of CP88. If it is not postponed, this should become a major election issue with all political parties forced to give their position and the credit union movement not recommending a vote for those who do not support repeal.

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