Finance Committee, stakeholders to discuss Local Public Banking

The meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live here and on Android and Apple devices using the Houses of the Oireachtas app.

In July, the Department of Finance and the Department of Rural and Community Development jointly published Local Public Banking in Ireland. It analysed the current strengths and limitations of loan capital provided by retail banks and credit unions, and examined several possible options for promoting new sources of lending for farms, small businesses and other enterprises.

The first part of discussions will feature two senior Central Bank of Ireland officials:

• Ed Sibley, deputy governor of prudential regulation 
• Patrick Casey, registrar of credit unions 

The second session expected to begin after 3 p.m. features a wider panel including:

• Tim Molan, chairman of the Credit Union Managers’ Association 
• Kevin Johnson, chief executive of the Credit Union Development Association 
• Ed Farrell, chief executive of the Irish League of Credit Unions 
• Seamus Boland, chief executive of Irish Rural Link 
• Seamus Maye, chairman of the International Small Business Alliance
• Annmarie O'Connor, business manager of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).

“The analysis and core recommendations within the report on local banking bears careful consideration, and the range of witnesses attending indicates the seriousness with which Ireland is engaging on the topic,” said Committee Chairman John McGuinness TD.

“The report looked in detail at how other countries, from Germany to New Zealand, have developed successful local public banking models,” Deputy McGuinness said. “It will be interesting to discuss how Ireland might apply some of these lessons to our own circumstances and economic needs, particularly in sectors of our society struggling to secure credit on acceptable terms.”