Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2015
327. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance in respect of the Credit Union Restructuring Board, and the credit union fund available to the board, the total number of credit unions assisted, to date; the estimated total number of credit unions that are expected to be assisted; the amount that will be used to support credit unions before the board is scheduled to be wound up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21949/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 provides the statutory basis for the restructuring of credit unions and placed the Credit Union Restructuring Board - ReBo - on a statutory footing from 1 January 2013. ReBo is currently in the process of overseeing and facilitating restructuring on a voluntary, incentivised and time-bound basis and is working towards the timetable set out in the Commission on Credit Unions report, with a view to completing the process by the end of 2015.
The Government has made available €250 million to the Credit Union Fund for the voluntary restructuring of credit unions.
ReBo undertook a high level assessment of all credit unions based on financial data from Central Bank and engagement with each credit union. To date, 48 credit unions have been assisted in ReBo approved mergers. A further 121 are currently being assisted in ongoing merger projects. Based on these figures, ReBo estimates that it will assist approximately 169 credit unions in achieving a voluntary restructuring solution. To date, drawdown from the Credit Union Fund has totalled €5.9 million. ReBo is continuing to engage with credit unions to provide an opportunity for those credit unions to merge on a voluntary basis. The remaining expenditure will depend on the number of credit unions that will engage in a restructure with ReBo in the coming months.
