Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join others in congratulating the Minister of State. I have always admired her contributions in the Dáil Chamber, especially those on violence against women. She has done incredible work in that regard. I congratulate her on her elevation and look forward to working with her, particularly in the area of insurance and the difficulty communities and charity organisations have in obtaining it. I will not get into that today because we are talking about credit unions.

I welcome the Bill, especially because it will lead to an expansion of services and the encouragement of further investment and development within communities.

It will lead to a situation where we encourage further investment in the community and further development within communities. That absolutely has to be welcomed. Since 2020 when this Dáil was elected, this has been a recurring theme in terms of looking for a greater role for credit unions in banking and investment within the community.

As Deputy Canney mentioned, they play such an important role in terms of that personal and physical interaction on which they still place so much ethos and importance. It is one of the few premises, certainly where I live in west Cork, where one can still walk through the doors and talk to someone face to face. Obviously, we welcome and embrace technology, but there is something important about seeing that familiar face. It gives a feeling of comfort. That is something on which credit unions have placed so much importance over the years.

In terms of their functionality in society and what they provide, they are still the go-to assistance if someone is looking for a loan for a small extension, which many people in Ireland do. The credit union is the first port of call for that small to medium sized loan. Credit unions play an important role in farming communities and that is something to which I can attest. Their approach and strategy to farm loans is to encourage investment in farms and upgrading, be it from an environmental improvement point of view or by improving housing facilities for cattle or sheep. The credit union is that first port of call. The staff have so much knowledge on the ground. They are familiar with farms and how they work. That is something the bigger pillar banks sometimes miss. It is, therefore, important that we keep and protect that. Then, of course, there are community groups who will often knock on the door of credit unions looking for funding to support their initiatives. Much of that is contained within the Bill, which is encouraging. The Bill will assist that. We still need to have that conversation about the role credit unions play, however.

I would love to see them play a greater role in the mortgage market. We do not want them to lose that community base and community touch. However, what we are seeing in the mortgage market, and this has been expressed quite widely in this House, is that there is a monopoly in terms of the mortgage lending market. There are only a few banks here that provide those types of services. I would love to see credit uniions involved in the mortgage lending market. It is my understanding that credit unions are not as tied to the European Central Bank, ECB, interest rate hikes so their involvement could provide a much more competitive market for people applying for a mortgage. I came here today to speak up on behalf of credit unions and about the important role they play. I commend the Bill and the difference it will make in terms of delivering for the community.

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