Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is good to hear the Government acknowledging the powerful work that credit unions do in communities across the State. Were it not for credit unions, many more people would have suffered significant turmoil during the past decade.

In 2018, the Central Bank conducted a review of house loans in credit unions. This was the same year that the credit unions were voted the most highly regarded organisation in Ireland in the Ireland RepTrak report. That said, we can all acknowledge that engaging in lending for house loans represents a change in strategy for credit unions, one that requires a specific understanding of the risks associated with this type of lending. The credit union movement is well equipped to meet this challenge.

We should not forget that the findings of the Central Bank's residential mortgage arrears and repossessions statistics for quarter 2 of 2018 showed that accounts in arrears over 720 days constituted 42% of all accounts in arrears. That is a staggering figure. At €2.5 billion, this represents 91% of the arrears balances outstanding.

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