Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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19. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to give effect to the commitment to bring forward a plan for the growth and development of the credit union sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10518/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Credit unions have a key role to play in providing access to credit and other important services in local communities throughout the country. As Minister for Finance I recognise this and have put in place a number of measures to ensure that credit unions can continue to provide these vital services to their members and to ensure the stability of the sector into the future. These measures include:

- the establishment of the Commission on Credit Unions;- the publication of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012;- the establishment of the Credit Union Restructuring Board ReBo;- the establishment of a stabilisation levy to support credit unions that are undercapitalised but are otherwise viable;- the availability of €250 million for voluntary restructuring of credit unions facilitated by ReBo; and- the availability of €250 million for resolution purposes.

These measures stemmed from recommendations made by the Commission on Credit Unions in its final Report and have been implemented over the last five years to acknowledge the increasing role for a strengthened and revitalised credit union sector, thus putting credit unions in a position to play an increasing role in the retail financial landscape of the future in this country.

Following on from this, in December 2015 I invited the Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) to carry out a review of the Implementation of the Recommendations set out in the Report of the Commission on Credit Unions. 

Work on the review has commenced. I have been informed that as part of the review the CUAC has had discussions with all credit union stakeholders to date. Those discussions will inform the final report, the findings of which, including any recommendations is expected to be presented to me as Minister for Finance by 30 June 2016 for publication thereafter.

The Government recognises the important role of credit unions as a volunteer co-operative movement in this country. The Government's priorities remain the protection of members' savings, the financial stability of credit unions and the sector overall and it is determined to support a strengthened and growing credit union movement.