Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Brabazon and congratulate him on his election and his maiden contribution to the Dáil. I wish him well in the years ahead and assure him that any support or help we can give him in his endeavours to represent the people of Dublin Bay North will be forthcoming.

In January 2020, revised Central Bank lending regulations were put into effect on credit union house and business lending only. There is no regulatory limit on personal, unsecured lending which comprises approximately 87% of the credit union loan book.

At that time, the feedback statement set out the Central Bank's intention to perform and publish an analysis of credit union sector lending three years post the commencement of the amendments to the lending regulations in order to assess and analyse the actual impact which the changes to the lending regulations have had and to inform any decisions on the need for future change. The Central Bank commenced that analysis in quarter 4 of 2023 and consulted with credit union stakeholders on this matter. The former Minister of State and my officials had multiple constructive and open engagements with the Central Bank as part of that review.

On 11 December 2024, the Central Bank published consultation paper 159 - Consultation on Proposed Changes to the Credit Union Lending Regulations alongside a report on credit union lending on the Central Bank website. In the consultation paper, the Central Bank is proposing a number of targeted material changes to the credit union lending regulations in concentration limits for house and business lending and lending practices for specific categories of lending.

The Central Bank is now consulting on the following proposals for change: decoupling the limits to prescribe new separate concentration limits for house lending and business lending; removing tiering whereby all credit unions regardless of asset size may avail of the same concentration limits; and adjusting the lending capacity available to all credit unions for house and business lending, within the new concentration limits with house lending to be 30% of total assets and business lending to be 10%.

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