Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 23:

In page 83, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:

"This Part shall not come into effect until an order for its commencement is approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Minister shall, at the same time making such an Order, publish a report on the impact of this Part on Credit Unions in Ireland generally.".

There has been discussion among many Members of the impact of the Bill on the credit union movement. The Minister made a helpful speech on Second Stage in which he clarified that some changes had been made in response to representations received from credit unions. That said, there is still concern about the effect the Bill will have on credit unions. Their great work has been acknowledged by many, as have the standards they have reached. While the amendment accepts completely the need for regulation across all financial services, including the credit union sector, it simply proposes that a report be prepared to enable us to understand the effect the Bill will have on the credit union sector and to obtain some facts in order that we will be better able to understand how it will work and determine whether it will have unnecessary and negative consequences.