Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To refer back to the issue of directors and voluntary assistants, there must be a clear line between the board of directors and the people who work in the credit union. It is most important to make that separation. Sometimes it can be difficult in small credit unions. Could some mechanism be included which, in exceptional circumstances, would facilitate a volunteer who was serving on the board of directors in also working voluntarily in the credit union? A special case would have to be made for that. We are talking about a small number of credit unions where there are only volunteers and no paid staff. Perhaps a mechanism could be devised to accommodate that.

Deputy Pearse Doherty spoke about the obligation for a director to step down if he or she is in arrears for 90 consecutive days. I agree the provision is very prescriptive. Is there some way of re-examining that to provide for a little leeway? Somebody could easily get into financial difficulty despite having been a dedicated member of the board. It is an important issue.