Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. It is with great pleasure that I thank my predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for his work in developing this legislation and introducing it in the Seanad. I thank the officials for their extraordinary work over some time, particularly Catherine, who has been engaged in every single consultation with the credit union sector for some years. I see Kevin Johnson is here to support the passage of the Bill. A credit union from Kildare was here earlier to celebrate the passage of the Bill with Deputy Berry, as was David Malone from the ILCU, because the movement is so excited about this opportunity.

It is excited about making sure the credit union movement is sustainable and being able to provide mortgages at more competitive and sustainable rates than has been the case. This is a commitment towards the realisation of the retail banking review and developing a genuine community-focused, not-for-profit financial institution with a physical presence across Ireland that is totally focused on the needs of its members and provides a good service to them in a community-focused way. It is with pride that I have had the privilege of taking this legislation through the House, working with the Central Bank and particularly the credit union representative organisations, the National Supervisors Forum and the Credit Union Managers Association. I hope the Bill will be implemented swiftly. I could not commend it more to the House.

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