Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

For the past 18 months or thereabouts, I have been a strong advocate of a public banking model along the lines of the German Sparkassen model which has been in place for approximately 200 years. Under this model, public banks would be municipally owned, rather than being nationalised entities. They would be not-for-profit and restricted to lending into the regional economy for the promotion of businesses. They would fill the gap left by the demise of building societies, including the ICS. Post offices and credit unions could earn additional income from providing public bank services across the counter at their branches. The introduction of a public banking model would deliver multiple benefits. I would be grateful if the Minister would outline the current position in this regard.

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