Vol. 535 No. 2
135 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in view of the fact that in accordance with section 27(1)(b) of the Credit Union Act, 1997, a credit union member must have at least £1,000 in shares before opening a deposit account, she will as a matter of urgency amend this section of the Act to facilitate the operation of the special saving accounts by credit unions. [12575/01]
This issue was raised initially with the Department of Finance by the Irish League of Credit Unions in the context of discussions between them on the introduction of special savings incentive accounts, SSIAs. The league has recently written to me about it, given my responsibility for the Credit Union Act, 1997.
The current position is that our officials, together with the Registrar of Friendly Societies and officials from the Department of Finance, are considering different aspects of the matter and are in discussion with representatives of the league. If it becomes clear that the particular financial limit referred to is a significant obstacle to participation by the credit union movement, in the Government's SSIA initiative I will give consideration to amending it, having satisfied myself that to do so would not cause other difficulties regarding the preservation of the special character of credit unions.
