Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution on Fifth Stage. Sinn Féin will support this legislation. The Bill will wind down the Credit Union Restructuring Board, also known as ReBo. When the board was established many feared that the credit unions would be the next to collapse on foot of the banking crisis. While many difficult years followed for the credit union movement, credit unions got through that difficult period less damaged than many people expected at the time. By utilising their own resources and harnessing the voluntary commitment and social ethos of their members, they came out the other end.

I am proud to be a member of a credit union since I was a child. The first voluntary work I did was in the credit union movement. It is a fantastic organisation across the State. As Members are well aware, it allowed ordinary people to access funding to pay for Holy Communions, holidays, school books and so on.

While at the time the Government put the banks first, the credit union movement had to rely on its own members. Credit unions showed their resilience with only €20 million of the ReBo fund being utilised.

The restructuring board enabled nearly 100 restructuring projects in more than 150 credit unions, all on a voluntary basis. This is testament to the efforts of the credit union movement, which has secured its sustainability into the future. This is only a good thing for the many communities who rely and can depend on their credit unions.

While ReBo is no longer required and has been dissolved it is essential that the future sustainability of the credit union movement is supported by the Central Bank. Sinn Féin has for a long time called for reform of the lending limit rules that are applied to credit unions. Therefore, recent changes made by the Central Bank are welcome. We encourage further changes to allow credit unions to become bigger players in many sectors, including the housing market. Given the current housing crisis and difficulties of so many mortgage holders with the banks, the credit union movement is in a unique place to offer sustainable solutions for mortgage holders and those looking for a home. Sinn Féin also understands the challenges the credit union movement will face in competing with retail banks as they seek to attract younger members. It is crucial that credit unions are supported as the financial landscape continues to change. As I said earlier, credit unions have served communities well for decades. They are not like other financial institutions. Their social ethos and voluntary ethic provide services to communities and families that can be trusted. As the Bill winds down the restructuring board, I commend the credit union movement on its perseverance.

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