Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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64. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if his attention has been drawn to recent publicity regarding an organisation's (details supplied) work here in relation to the establishment of a public banking network; if the organisation invited officials from the Department of Finance and his Department to participate in a field trip to Germany to examine the public banking network there; the technical assistance the organisation offered the Government in respect of the establishment of a public banking network here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54711/17]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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76. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the engagement his Department has had with organisations (details supplied) in respect of the establishment of a public banking system here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54716/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 76 together.

The Programme for a Partnership Government envisaged that An Post, the Irish League of Credit Unions and other interested stakeholders would be asked to investigate and propose a new model of community banking for Ireland, based, for example, on the Kiwibank model in New Zealand. The Programme for Government also includes a commitment to investigate the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks.

A project team comprising officials from my Department and the Department of Finance was established last year to progress this commitment. The project team carried out detailed research into the concept of a public banking model, with a particular focus on the Sparkassen model. In addition, a public consultation process, seeking views on the concept of a community banking model, ran for four weeks. A total of 16 replies from a range of stakeholders was received.

As part of their research, officials from both Government Departments met with representatives of the organisations referred to in the Deputy's question. The organisations in question put forward a proposal as to how a local public bank, based on the Sparkassen model, could work in Ireland. An invitation was extended to Irish officials to visit Germany to examine the public banking network there. However, the level of information provided by the organisations in their meetings with officials was sufficiently comprehensive to explain the model.

The Departmental officials have now finalised their report and have submitted their findings to the Minister for Finance and myself. The report will be brought to Government shortly for consideration.