Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 62 together.

A Programme for a Partnership Government envisages that An Post, the League of Credit Unions and other interested stakeholders will be asked to investigate and propose a new model of community banking, such as the Kiwibank model in New Zealand, which could be delivered through the post office network. The programme for Government also includes a commitment to investigate the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well defined regions. The role of my Department in this matter will be to work with other Departments and stakeholders to examine the feasibility of these and potentially other models.

Senior officials from my Department have met their counterparts in the Department of Finance and are developing a work programme to examine the potential of the Sparkassen model and other models of local public banking, as referenced in A Programme for a Partnership Government. It is anticipated that this work will be concluded by the middle of the year. It is envisaged that a consultation exercise with relevant stakeholders will be undertaken as part of the work programme. These stakeholders will include, for example, the Irish League of Credit Unions and other parties with a particular interest in the community banking model.

My Department has already received a submission from Irish Rural Link on the Sparkassen banking model and this is being considered by my Department as part of the work programme with the Department of Finance. Other parties interested in making a submission can write to my Department at any stage. While my Department is facilitating the process of progressing the commitment in the programme for Government on this particular matter, wider policy responsibility for public banking falls under the remit of the Department of Finance.

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