Mr. Des Gunning:

There is no record, as there is no requirement to report. As far as I understand it from my informal inquiries of credit union board members, who are cautious and discreet people, a mid-sized credit union with about 35 years in business, dating from the 1950s on would expect to have between 2,000 and 10,000 dormant accounts. A lot is down to the personalities of boards, management and their turnover. It would vary quite a bit. Anyone I have asked agrees with me that if it is there it is in the general reserve, as likely as not, and it would be better if it were documented.

The third question Deputy McGrath asked me is to what purpose funds might be put. There are two parameters in that regard. One is the discretion of the credit union and the other is legislation. Even as it stands, a section 44 fund where established can be used for social, cultural or charitable purposes, including community development. The establishment of such a fund at present is entirely a matter for decision by a majority of the members.

To return to the evidence given by Ms Motherway, it is for the members to decide, but Mr. Logue, who is a former regulator, said in his testimony to the committee on regulatory affairs in March 2010 that the democratic system of credit unions has broken down. It is a dramatic statement but from my observations I tend to agree with him for the reason that we just heard about, namely, that if I have a large amount of money on deposit in a credit union I have a huge incentive to be on the board of the credit union but if I am getting on with my life and I have a loan out for a few grand that I might clear off or get re-financed, I am probably less likely to be highly motivated and focused on being on the board of the credit union. Based on analysis, one will see from Ms Motherway's evidence that there tends to be a greater than average proportion of people representing the group identified. That affects decision making, so when it comes to a decision to establish a section 44 fund, one is asking perhaps the more conservative and older cohort of the credit union to make the decision on behalf of the credit union, which is a challenge.