Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the progress being made to find a satisfactory system for deposit protection in credit unions. [31484/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that on 20 September 2008 the Government increased the statutory limit for the deposit guarantee scheme for banks and building societies from €20,000 to €100,000 per depositor and extended the scheme to include credit union savers. It is intended that in the case of credit union savers the deposit protection scheme will act as a backstop to an approved savings protection scheme.

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has since 1989, operated a savings protection scheme (SPS) for credit unions which has, to date, operated by providing financial support to credit unions that get into difficulty. It has never been necessary to make savings protection payments to individual credit union members. Under the SPS regime no credit union has become insolvent and no member of a credit union has experienced any loss of shares or deposits. The Registrar of Credit Unions in the Financial Regulator is working closely with ILCU to approve a reform to SPS. It is expected that these discussions will conclude shortly.

The Government is committed to the stability of our whole financial system and the enhanced deposit protection scheme will provide additional reassurance to savers that their savings are safe.