Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2025
269. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance his views on the Credit Union Stabilisation Fund levy paid by credit unions; the amount that has been collected each year by the fund since its inception; his plans for the future of the levy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35781/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the Stabilisation Scheme is to have funds available, if needed, to assist credit unions whose reserves have temporarily fallen below the 10% minimum statutory reserve requirement but are otherwise considered by the Central Bank to be viable. To be eligible for consideration for stabilisation support, a credit union must have reserves of at least 7.5% of total assets but its reserves must be below 10% of total assets.
See below, in tabular format, the amount that has been collected each year by the Stabilisation Fund since its inception. Data has been extracted from the annual Credit Union Fund audited accounts.
|
Year |
Amount collected (millions) |
|
2015 |
€3.119 |
|
2016 |
€3.258 |
|
2017 |
€3.521 |
|
2018 |
€2.857 |
|
2019 |
€2.996 |
|
2020 |
€3.014 |
|
2021 |
€0.304 |
|
2022 |
€0.301 |
|
2023 |
€0.301 |
|
2024 |
- audited information is not yet available |
|
Total paid by Credit Unions to 2023 |
€19.671 |
In 2023, the then Minister of State and Minister for Finance requested the Department of Finance to complete a comprehensive review of the Stabilisation Fund. In July 2024, the consultation paper was published.
The Stakeholders consulted included: the Central Bank of Ireland, the Irish League of Credit Unions (“ILCU”), the Credit Union Development Association (“CUDA”), the Credit Union Managers Association (“CUMA”), the National Supervisors Forum (“NSF”) and a random selection of 20 credit unions operating in the Republic of Ireland as of 26 April 2024. The consultation paper was published on the Departmental website and any credit union not randomly selected was free to make a submission on the consultation.
The consultation closed on 27 September 2024. Since then, officials have been engaged with the European Commission on some technical queries arising from the consultation on the Stabilisation Fund. Officials are now approaching the end of that process and following that, will complete the Feedback Statements and draft recommendations for consideration by myself and the Minster for State. I hope to conclude this consultation process shortly.
