Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State who is dealing with his second Bill this evening, the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020, which like the previous Bill is somewhat technical in nature.

The Minister of State spoke about allowing for an additional term for members of the five-member Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, which makes perfect sense. Would he agree that five members is a low number and that there might be a need to increase that to seven or eight at a future date? It would make things somewhat easier in that regard because these things happen on boards from time to time and people are busy. I presume it is the same as an ordinary board that any Department might have. It is important to have both continuity and new blood, and increasing the membership would allow for that.

I understand that the SURE provision was enacted previously under Covid-19 regulations. The changes here are to ensure we can draw down loans directly from the European Union. We are lucky that as a member of the European Union that facility is available to us when needed at a favourable rate. I certainly welcome that.

The bulk of the Bill relates to the credit union movement. I will not repeat what has been said on that. The changes will allow them to carry out AGMs virtually and for votes to take place in those cases as well. It covers the period of the Covid-19 emergency. It is to be hoped that by September 2021, AGMs will be back to normal and can be held in person without masks and everything else. Who knows where we will be? That is certainly the wish and the aim. I welcome all the provisions the Minister of State mentioned there.

Lines 9 and 10 of Long Title of the Bill state, "for those and other purposes of amend the Credit Union Act 1997". It may make sense legally; it does not make sense to me. It might be missing a comma or perhaps the word "of" should not be there. I ask the Minister of State to check that out at some stage.