Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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276. To ask the Minister for Finance if there are plans to change the operating rules for credit unions, such as increasing the lending limits for credit unions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47602/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Central Bank of Ireland is mandated to set regulations for credit unions in a number of areas including lending limits. Regulations on lending limits are prescribed by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Credit Union Act 1997 (Regulatory Requirements) Regulations 2016.

In December 2024, the Central Bank of Ireland published Consultation Paper 159 on Proposed Changes to the Credit Union Lending Regulations (CP159) which sought views on proposals for targeted changes to house lending and business lending credit union lending regulations. I would like to note that there are no limits on personal lending which continues to comprise the vast majority of credit union lending (approximately 86% as at end June 2025).

The amending regulations will commence from 30 September 2025. The amendments will allow the sector to advance a maximum of €6.61 billion in house lending and €3.30 billion in business lending, based on sector total assets of €22.05 billion.

The main changes to the lending limits are summarised below:

• Increasing the lending limit for house lending to 30% of total assets,
• Increasing the lending limit for business lending to 15% of total assets,
• Decoupling of the concentration limits for house lending and business lending,
• Removing the various tiers based on asset sizes.