Alex White (Labour)

On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with what Senator MacSharry has proposed, but the difficulty is that the machinery to be extend to the credit union movement will have been brought into operation. I support the amendment because once the measures are extended in an extensive, if not a draconian, way to the operations of the credit union movement, it will be nigh on impossible to change them. It may well be that there is a justification for what the Minister has proposed. No one doubts the necessity to extend rigorous regulation to the credit union movement and the operation of credit unions, which is important. I agree with my colleagues that credit unions have not conducted themselves in anything like the same way as the banks and other financial institutions. They have been almost completely free of criticism in the past decade and a half. However, it is important in an environment in which we are extending rigorous regulation that we do not leave the credit union movement out of the system. I do not believe there is a case to be made for the exclusion of exclude the movement completely.

The value of the amendment is that it would allow for an assessment and an evaluation to be made of the likely impact of the measures to be introduced. It would delay the commencement of this part of the Bill. The proposals would not be commenced until an order was made for that purpose. The amendment would allows the assessment and evaluation proposed to be made in the interim. The only net difference between the amendment and what Senator MacSharry said is that the operation of the new machinery would be delayed until that assessment and evaluation were made. For that reason, the amendment is worthy of support.

As Senator O'Reilly and others said, we have all made the point that the credit union movement has made an extraordinary contribution and been available to the ordinary everyday borrower borrowing to tide them over or for something perhaps a little more ambitious. Credit unions have operated in an extremely prudent and reliable way and proved themselves during the years. If for that reason alone there should be a breather to allow this issue to be assessed and evaluated and a further study to be made of how the Bill will impact on the credit union movement.