Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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162. To ask the Minister for Finance the timetable for enacting all sections of the Credit Union Act 2013; if he intends to enact the remaining sections of the Act in phases; the reason there has been a delay in commencing all sections of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19879/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 was signed into law by the President in December 2012. The Parts of the legislation in relation to Restructuring and Stabilisation have already been commenced. The commencement of the remaining Parts of the Act will be aligned with the introduction of the underpinning Central Bank regulations, with a view to implementation in a coherent and cohesive manner. The Central Bank is currently developing a prudential rulebook or handbook which will provide clarity to credit unions on how the new regime is to operate. A consultation protocol for credit unions was developed in 2012 in line with recommendations in the Report of the Commission on Credit Unions. This protocol sets out that prior to the introduction of new regulations the Central Bank will consult with credit union representative bodies and undertake a Regulatory Impact Analysis to ensure a clear, open and transparent engagement with stakeholders in implementing new regulations. This protocol will also facilitate a tiered approach to regulation which will have regard to the nature, scale and complexity or to the class or classes of credit union to whom the regulations will apply.

The Deputy may wish to note that the Registrar of credit unions, in her speech to the Irish League of Credit Unions at their AGM on Saturday last, gave details of a planned series of information seminars which will form part of this consultation phase. These seminars will serve to provide a forum for engagement between the Regulator and credit union stakeholders on matters such as the new Fitness and Probity regime and the new credit union handbook, prior to their introduction.