Ms Selina Gilleece:

The issue of personal insolvency is important. The legislation on personal insolvency provides for debt relief certificates for people who are in severe financial difficulty. This will impact on credit unions. The legislation also provides for other facilities including agreements between debtors and creditors. I appreciate what the Chairman has said and as such will not go into detail now on the issue of debt arrangements. However, these will also impact on credit unions. We are currently trying to quantify that impact and are looking at innovative ways of preparing for it, in terms of setting aside reserves specifically to deal with the impact of personal insolvency when it hits. It was in that context I was referring to personal insolvency.

I will try to clarify the reason it appears we are poles apart from other organisations in regard to governance. The clarity of roles is a hugely important issue for the Credit Union Managers Association, CUMA. As I have already explained, the function of a credit union manager is to operate the credit union. The word "operate" is defined in the commission report. Our function on a day-to-day basis is dealing with members and staff and carrying out the policies of the board. The function of the board is governance. The treasurer of the credit union is defined under the Credit Union Act 1997 as managing director of the credit union. It is the treasurer's responsibility under that Act to ensure preparation of the credit union's accounts and so on and their presentation to the board. It is also the function of the treasurer to present those accounts to the members at an annual general meeting.

The impression was given earlier that the treasurer is elected by the members and is, therefore, as treasurer accountable to them. The treasurer is not elected by members - he or she is elected by the board of directors from within the board following an annual general meeting. It is important to clarify that matter. The treasurer is accountable to members through the board. Under this Bill, the manager is given specific functions, including the preparation of the accounts. In reality, the manager of a credit union prepares the accounts. That is what we are paid to do. The Bill is, therefore, reflecting the actual reality in credit unions. The Bill requires that the manager will present those accounts to the board of directors and that the board, or someone designated by it, can present the accounts to members. This is appropriate as it ensures a manager, who has a contract of employment with the board, who does not do his or her job or is not, for some reason, performing can be fired. The position of the treasurer is not so clearly defined because the members appoint the board. As such, members, if they wish to, would have to remove a member of the board. It is appropriate, if it is the case that the manager prepares the accounts for submission to the board on a monthly basis and has various other responsibilities in the credit union, that this, as opposed to something that is not happening, is what is defined.