Vol. 470 No. 2
150 Mr. L. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he has studied the contents of correspondence (details supplied) from the Irish League of Credit Unions; whether the league has made repeated representations to his Department, as have individual credit unions, to bring forward the necessary and urgent legislation; when it is proposed to introduce this legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18775/96]
Proposals by the Minister of State with special responsibility for commerce, science and technology for the updating and consolidation of the body of legislation dealing with credit unions, which dates in some cases from 1893, are well advanced. The scope of the Bill has necessarily required detailed attention on the part of both my Department and the Attorney General's Office. However, I am pleased to be able to say that a first draft of the Bill, which involves up to 200 sections, has been received from the Parliamentary Draftsman, and it is presently being examined in detail by my Department and the Registrar of Friendly Societies, who has overall responsibility for the regulation and supervision of credit unions. The text of the Bill will be finalised in consultation with the Parliamentary Draftsman in the coming weeks, after which Government approval will be sought.
The Irish League of Credit Unions have been part of the consultative process which led to the preparation of the Credit Union Bill. They have made representations to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and to my Department on a number of occasions about matters of concern to the credit union movement.
The Credit Union Bill is this Department's priority for legislative action, and while I am not able to give a precise date for publication at present, I can assure Deputies that every effort is being made to have the Bill published as quickly as possible in order that it can be considered during the current Dáil session.
