Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have pretty much the exact same question - Question No. 14 - which is why I wanted to take the opportunity to comment. I do not really understand why the Department of Finance is dragging its feet so much. I know that under the programme for Government, it has been transferred from the Department of Finance to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. The Sparkasse Institute for International Cooperation and Development has a long record in this respect and Germany in particular, as the Minister referenced, has a large volume of SME development that is very much aided by this kind of local banking. The credit unions have already been referenced. We also have a number of regional development agencies as well as the post offices. In the context of providing a banking service in rural areas where the banks are no longer as visible or plentiful as they once were, I suggest a pilot in an area like the midlands where this could be tested. I know it has been discussed in the meetings I have had with the Minister from time to time. Oversight of the pilot could be carried out by the Minister's officials but, as with the credit unions, there seems to be an extreme reluctance to be involved in banking services in rural or disadvantaged urban areas.

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