Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I support the call by Senator Coghlan and others for the Minister for Finance to review the restriction placed on credit unions. The credit union movement met many Members at the weekend and stressed that this restriction causes grave difficulty for several of its members who have loans but who lost their jobs recently and may need some flexibility in the repayment of their loans. Unfortunately, section 35 sets a tight limit on the number of people who can have a loan for over a five or ten-year period.

This can be changed by ministerial order. I have put the matter down for consideration on the Adjournment. In the interim I hope the Leader will speak to the Minister for Finance on this matter.