Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. Today is international credit union day and many of our colleagues were in the Davenport Hotel from 8 a.m. this morning for a presentation. The credit union movement in Ireland is a North-South one. Most of the credit unions in Northern Ireland are accredited to the Irish League of Credit Unions, which is a really important point. What do the credit unions want to do? What did they say to us this morning? They asked us to come back to the Chamber to talk to both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The credit unions say there is a commitment in the confidence and supply agreement between the two parties to develop a strategy for the growth and development of the credit union sector. Some might smile and ask what that is about when the State owns approximately 95% of AIB. Clearly, the State wants to see AIB boosted because the Government intends at some point to sell part of it. As such, some will ask why it would assist credit unions at this juncture.

It is timely for us to support credit unions. They have given everyone a pack setting out ten simple objectives and commitments, some of which appear in the programme for Government. In fact, some of them were to have been implemented within the first 100 days of the action plan for Government but none has been achieved thus far. We should all try to get the pack or go on the website to see what is in it and support Irish credit union movement.