David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and acknowledge the work he has been doing on this. I hope he will manage to finish his work on the area because the targets are very laudable.

The credit unions tell me they see themselves as being punished for taking on members' savings by having to put aside at least 10% of all savings in reserves. They maintain that this can only be funded by making a surplus and putting it into reserves. They say that this is money that should be given back to members through dividends and rebates. They also maintain that no other financial institutions in Ireland, including the banks, have to do this. They have the most restrictive capital requirements of almost any financial institution globally. I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about the unprecedented growth in savings in recent years. That is why most credit unions have to limit the amount of savings that members can save with them. I tend to agree with the Minister of State that this is not good given the declining number of options to bank in our towns and villages. Has the Minister of State any plans to change this?

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