Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Harkin and her group for laying this important business before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This Bill would allow a credit union to provide a greater range of financial services to its members. I thank the members of the Irish League of Credit Unions, ILCU, operating in County Kerry, be they in Killarney, Cahersiveen, Killorglin or north Kerry. The other day, I had the pleasure of spending an hour in a credit union in Ballyduff that was having an open day. If implemented, the Bill would allow a credit union to offer a regulated financial service to its members without the Central Bank having to be the sole approver of this enhanced service.

I will give an example of how credible and good an institution our credit unions are. During the financial crisis when the banks and many other lending institutions let us down, two organisations stuck out for me as being good, sound and solid financial institutions, namely, An Post and our credit unions. They were sound people delivering a sound and solid service.

I thank the credit unions on behalf of many of the people I direct to them when I am sending them to the North to have procedures undertaken. Credit unions very kindly lend them money, charging them only a small amount of interest on loans that might give them their sight back or allow them to have an ear or hip operation carried out. That is an important service to those families and individuals and I humbly thank the credit unions for providing it.

The Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of a credit union policy committee. The purpose of that committee would be to review the impact of Central Bank policy on credit unions. I thank the Bill's movers. It should be supported by the Government.

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