Sir, Lately, along with the huge profits published by one of the banks, there has been some media discussion about credit union legislation being enacted by Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Commerce, Science and Technology. This legislation would appear to impose severe unwarranted restrictions on the credit unions in carrying out the business of members.
This would be bad news for us, as small business people who have suffered at the hands of the banking cartel. Needless to say, it's the topical conversation throughout the country, the imperialist action which the banks take in refusing credit, charging high interest and fees and generally being cavalier in their attitude to their customers.
With that in mind, I would urge the Minister to legislate only to protect credit union members from fraud and misappropriation, which is probably already enacted. Let the Minister facilitate the credit unions by not restricting their loan or deposit amounts, and make available to their members current a/c facilities and other services that they may wish to introduce.
Twenty thousand pounds is not a lot, especially for a small business person in need of credit facilities from somewhere outside the banking cartel. Access to credit is far more important to a small business person than the wasteful profferring of a myriad of grant agencies.
I hope the Minister and the Government won't be blinded, pressurised or compromised by the manipulativeness of banks or the worries of an oncoming election. The banks are there to make profit. By the slickest of PR, they trumpet modest donations to sporting, cultural and enterprise projects. With donations to all the political parties, they hope to receive political favour without rebuke. They advertise heavily in all the media.
These modern day overlords ought to be brought to heel. The Minister and Government have some power to do this by helping and fostering the credit union movement. Let the banks build their empires on far flung shares but not on the backs of their customers. If the Minister and Government are keen for the weaker sections of our community to be able to help themselves with the pooling of their resources, they have got to legislate positively in favour of the credit unions. Yours, etc., Derrymore, Roscrea, Co Tipperary.