Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2006
248 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will examine the proposals in the A Call For Action report by an association (details supplied) that is concerned with re-inventing credit unions for the 21st Century; and if he will generate a serious discussion of the need for change among credit unions. [37807/06]
View answerI am aware of the report referred to by the Deputy and welcome all contributions to the debate regarding the future development of the credit union movement. The Deputy should note, however, that many of the recommendations contained in the report are addressed to the credit union movement itself. My specific role as Minister for Finance is to ensure that the legal framework for credit unions continues to be appropriate for the effective operation and supervision of credit unions.
As the Deputy may be aware the case for modernising the regulatory framework for credit unions has been raised by both the Registrar of Credit Unions and the representative bodies for credit unions, including the body referred to by the Deputy. It is important that there is a clear shared understanding on how a new regulatory framework would operate, before moving to develop particular proposals. In this context, I wrote to the Chair of the Financial Regulator earlier this year recommending that the Financial Regulator engages with the credit union movement, in the first instance, to identify common ground in relation to a set of principles that could guide the development of an updated regulatory framework for credit unions. The Chair of the Financial Regulator has indicated the Authority's willingness to move forward on this basis. The proposals in the report referred to by the Deputy represent an important input into the process, insofar as they relate to the modernisation of the regulation of credit unions.
