John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In my opening remarks I was fair and balanced to reflect what is in the committee's report. As was said by previous speakers, the report is an all-party report provided by the members of all of the parties in the House, including that of the Minister of State, and it reflects what is needed for the credit union movement now and for the future. I have to say I am deeply disappointed by the scripted reply the Minister of State has provided to the House. In that reply he stated the functions of the Central Bank are to administer the system of regulation and supervision for credit unions and, as such, it exists to achieve objectives deemed by the Government to be in the public interest. At this time, what is more in the public interest than an active, well-funded and well-organised credit union movement servicing families and communities throughout the country and unhindered by the State itself? It is the State that now provides the obstacles in the way of the proper and efficient development of credit unions and their movement to best serve their customers.

I have heard every Member, including the Minister of State, praise the credit unions. In my opening remarks I asked that the Government would give leadership on the credit union movement. By leadership, I meant that it would tell the Central Bank that it is public policy led by the Government, because that is what the Minister of State said, to ensure, in the public interest, that we have a movement that is flexible, that is regulated but not over-regulated, and that can have issues of regulation or the issues of the day dealt with in an efficient and proactive manner in the interests of doing business through credit unions and allowing them to do business on behalf of their members. This is not what is contained in the Minister of State's response. What is in his response is the response that has already been given by the Central Bank and the regulator to credit unions. It is worse now than the Department of Health, staggering with the amount of reports we have on credit unions and the need for proper development in this area to support and sustain them. We have report after report with very little action, and the leadership I have asked for from the Minister of State and the Minister is for the action to happen immediately and, if necessary through public policy, for the Central Bank to be told to get on with it.

In the committee's deliberations when this was being discussed and when witnesses were being invited in, the one clear message coming from the Central Bank was the number of issues it has with the credit union movement. When we examined the issues it spoke about, they were simply differences in terms of how the business model of the credit union works against what the Central Bank envisaged for that business model. I have been in business all my life and I do not know how one can conduct a business with €8 billion in cash, €12.5 billion in assets and almost 3 million members while, at the same time, looking over one's shoulder to see what the Central Bank, which is supposed to be on the same side, is actually going to do. We have dated bureaucratic structures preventing the credit union movement from being what it could be. We have levies for one thing and another that should be removed. Supports that should be there are not there because of the Central Bank. What this report is essentially asking the Minister of State do is to take a leadership role so that the credit union movement can develop around him and his direction.

The Minister of State told the credit unions that €700,000 could be used, for example, towards the various housing bodies. Why did he put a figure on it? Why not allow this sensible movement, which sustained itself through the greatest financial crash in the history of the State, make the appropriate decisions for the model of business it has? Why not allow it to do what he said was being done to give the SME sector a chance and give a chance to the individual spoken about by Deputy Paul Murphy who wanted a loan of €50? It seems to me a role is being played by the Central Bank in its efforts to protect the pillar banks which are there for profit. One would imagine this role is protecting them and keeping the credit union movement, which could contribute so much to the economy, in a box in a corner.

Here we have trouble on the housing front and trouble on the banking front, and an organisation that has proven its track record and proven that it has the ability to deal with issues in its own organisation has not been given the tools necessary to put all of its assets to work in the interests of the citizens of the State. This is all the report is asking for. Some of the remarks made by the Minister of State, in terms of his commentary on credit unions, would give the impression they were a bad bunch that needed to be kept in line.

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