Roscommon Galway Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice says the Central Bank must relax restrictions on Credit Unions to allow them be a viable alternative for banking services.
The Independent TD says it's inevitable that the larger banks will withdraw more services from rural Ireland as time goes on.
He says we need to allow our Credit Unions and Post Offices the room to develop their offerings to the public.
'We need to make sure that we have proper banking services in the rural areas.
The Central Bank needs to give the Credit Unions and the Post Offices the utilities and the opportunities, because there's a lot of restrictions on the likes of the Credit Unions at the moment.
They need to make sure that we have the opportunity to build our business , and to be able to work in our business , by having a financial facility that is workable for us.'
