Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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127. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount and purpose of public funding that has been required to date by the credit union sector; the amount collected from credit unions by way of the levy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53792/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Further to Parliamentary Question 152 on 13 July 2017, there are currently three funds in place which can be utilised under certain conditions to fund credit unions, two of which have been supported by public funding. 

1. The Credit Institutions Resolution Fund (CIRF)

The CIRF was established under Section 10(1) of the Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) Act 2011 (2011 Act). The Government contributed €250 million to the Fund in December 2011 to provide a source of funding for the resolution of financial instability in, or an imminent serious threat to the financial stability of an authorised credit institution, and in particular:-

- To reimburse the Minister for any provision of a financial incentive pursuant to section 46;

- To provide funds for any payment required pursuant to section 37(1), 42(5), 48 or 98;

- With written consent of the Minister, to provide capital for a bridge-bank; and

- To meet the Bank's expenses in discharging its functions under this Act.

The CIRF Levy commenced in October 2012 and levies collected from credit unions to date amount to €36.8 million. To date circa €31 million has been provided to support resolution actions in the credit union sector.

2. The Stabilisation Fund

In accordance with Part 4 of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 credit unions contribute annually to a statutory Stabilisation Fund.  The Stabilisation Fund, contained within the Credit Union Fund, is available to all credit unions with a reserve ratio equal to or greater than 7.5% of the credit union’s total assets and less than 10% and where the Central Bank assesses the credit union as viable. Stabilisation support will be provided to address short-term problems at credit unions that are viable but undercapitalised. Payment of an annual Stabilisation Levy commenced in 2015 (for a period commencing on 1 October 2014) and to date levies collected  amount to €9.9 million. There have been no drawdowns, to date, from the Stabilisation Fund. 

A review of the Stabilisation Levy was carried out in October 2017 and is due to be published shortly.

3. The Credit Union Fund

The Credit Union Fund was established under section 57 of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 (2012 Act) for a number of purposes including the provision of stabilisation support, but primarily to provide a source of financial support for the restructuring of credit unions under the Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo) and to meet the expenses of ReBo in discharging its functions.  The Government provided €250 million? to the Credit Union Fund specifically for restructuring under ReBo. The Restructuring Levy (ReBo Levy) is provided for under section 47 of the 2012 Act and commenced in 2014.  Levies collected up to and including 2017 from the credit union sector amount to €11 million, circa 50% of ReBo's total gross expenditure. Approximately €22.6 million has been drawn from the Credit Union Fund for restructuring purposes.  ReBo concluded its restructuring work on 31 March 2017 and is currently being wound down.