Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Minister of State's engagement with the credit union movement. We cannot just dismiss the role of the Central Bank by saying this is a matter for the Central Bank. There is no doubt that the Central Bank's attitude and its regulation act as a brake on credit unions playing a bigger role in communities, in particular, in banking. That is historical. We need to reflect on how we can get the credit union movement to grow to the strengths it has in 2022, as opposed to ten years ago. Perhaps we have to review the regulations to allow credit unions to grow.

On the figures cited by the Minister of State, there are many credit unions that would like to lend, but cannot do so because they are not getting sanctioned for products or they are getting a large kickback. Credit unions are ideally placed to deal with the current cost-of-living crisis. As interest rates on home loans begin to rise, they are ideally placed to assist in the area of community banking, if they are given the flexibility to do so, by offering a home loan product that will reflect the area in which they operate.

I welcome that the Minister of State plans to bring proposals to Cabinet in the coming weeks. Will there be legislative leads out of those proposals? What does the Minister of State envisage will be the timeline for implementing those proposals?

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