Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill and I welcome the Minster of State to the House and wish him well.

There are three main parts to this Bill, whose purpose is to dissolve the Credit Union Restructuring Board, to transfer certain functions of the Credit Union Restructuring Board to the Minister for Finance, and to amend the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012. Those are the main parts of the Bill. The restructuring board was brought in when this country was in a much poorer state than it is at present. As we know, some credit unions ran into serious trouble but there were others that had very profitable businesses. The restructuring board was brought in to restructure the whole credit union system, so I think it is to be congratulated in the work it has done. As Senator Mullen has said, in doing that work, the number of credit unions has been reduced throughout the country from 406 to 246 and that in itself limits contact that many people in some areas can have with the credit union. It limits the scope for them to go in on a weekly basis to pay their bills etc., which is one of the downsides of the work that has been done. As Senator Mullen also said, there are 3 million members of credit unions and they have provided fantastic business and opportunities to ordinary rank and file people. In many cases these were people who could not get a loan anywhere else.Credit unions have helped people by giving them reconstructed grants for their loans for their houses, car loans and small loans to buy a washing machine, tumble dryer or whatever. Credit unions have provided loans that the banks did not want to know anything about so we owe a great debt of gratitude to the credit union movement. From what I see every day, the movement is growing and I know why. It is nearly impossible to open a bank account due to the level of paperwork that is required and the Minister of State should consider this matter. Why can a person go online and open a bank account in a couple of hours but cannot do it in person? I met a businessman who opened an account in a matter of hours with the German bank N26 so now he has his debit card and everything yet there are business people in this country who are at their wits' end trying to open accounts in banks. That is why I say that credit unions were nearly a bank of last resort for an awful lot of people who are in a lot of difficulty. The credit union bailed them out because it knew who they were and many of them had a history of paying back their loans, given time. The credit union movement has done a great service to this country. I welcome and wish the Minister of State well with the legislation. Today is a day for us to give due recognition to the people who volunteer to work in credit unions. Senator Buttimer was a member of a board. Credit unions have done an enormous amount of work and are owed a great debt of gratitude by the people of this country.