Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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103. To ask the Minister for Finance when the public banking investigation report will be published; the engagement his Department has in respect of this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13625/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government commits the Government to "thoroughly investigate the German Sparkassen model for the development of local public banks that operate within well-defined regions". My Department along with the Department of Rural and Community Development are jointly tasked with the responsibility of fulfilling this commitment. Officials in both departments have been working closely together.

Local public banking is a system of state ownership of particular banks or other financial institutions. The local public banks in Germany are called “Sparkassen”. The operation of these Sparkassen is confined to particular geographic regions local in which they operate. Their aim is to promote economic development and financial inclusion in this area, not just profit maximisation. Working closely with local regional SMEs and building close relationships is an important part of their business model as well.

The investigation of local public banking included a number of aspects. There was engagement with stakeholders and interested parties through a public consultation process conducted last year. Additionally, there has been substantial analysis carried out of a proposal put forward by Irish Rural Link and the Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC), the international development wing of the Sparkassen group. This proposal set out a potential model of local public banking, based on the German Sparkassen model, in Ireland. There have been a number of meetings between officials and representatives from Irish Rural Link and SBFIC.

My colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring T.D. and I anticipate that we will be in a position to jointly submit this report for Government approval in the near future. As well as this ongoing work, my Department is working with other Government departments to develop tailored and innovative policy initiatives and continue to support the needs of Irish SMEs and rural economic development, which I assure the Deputy remains a key Government priority.