Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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177. To ask the Minister for Finance the progress his Department has made in the establishment of the Credit Union Advisory Committee; when the first meeting of the implementation group will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38053/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) in its Review of Implementation of the Recommendations in the Commission on Credit Unions Report (CUAC Report) recommended the establishment of an Implementation Group for a specified period of time . As previously referred to in Parliamentary Question No. 196 on 4 April 2017 and Parliamentary Question No. 74 on 18 May 2017, the Implementation Group has been established to oversee and monitor implementation of CUAC's recommendations in a methodical manner and to advise the Minister for Finance on progress.  To date, the Implementation Group has met seven times. 

Publication of CUAC's Report in July 2016 was just the beginning of the process. From September 2016 onwards, CUAC continued working on enabling a coherent implementation plan be devised with the Department working closely with CUAC on this.

In line with CUAC's recommendations, the Department invited one nominee from each of the stakeholder groups to sit on the Implementation Group. The Implementation Group consists of a representative from each of: Irish League of Credit Unions; Credit Union Development Association; Credit Union Managers' Association; National Supervisors Forum; and the Central Bank. The Implementation Group also has a CUAC representative and is chaired by the Department of Finance. This broad membership ensures participation and encourages contribution from all credit union perspectives.

The Implementation Group held seven meetings from February to September 2017. These meetings were also attended by CUAC members. It is intended that each CUAC recommendation will be addressed separately with a view to implementation at the appropriate time.  Meetings will continue to take place on a monthly basis with the next meeting scheduled for early October 2017. A number of discussion papers have been developed by the Implementation Group with the focus very much on implementing the recommendations at the appropriate time and in the most effective manner. The term of the Implementation Group is for one year which may be extended at the discretion of the Minister.

I look forward to receiving regular progress reports on implementation of these very important recommendations.