Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This is an important amendment. A convincing case was made to me by the credit unions and the Irish League of Credit Unions to the effect that this threatened the democratic ethos of the credit unions.

Whereas the credit unions recognise that certain functions are executive functions, the treasurer is elected directly by the members and is then responsible for preparing accounts and making sure everything is above board with regard to what the members want and what their priorities are and has oversight of the accounts of the credit union. Removing that role from someone who is directly elected by the members is problematic and undermines a key plank of what a credit union is. The credit unions accept that there is a division of labour between officers elected by members and the executive functions of full-time staff but they fear this measure is going too far towards putting all that power, or responsibility, into the hands of people who are not directly accountable to the members. That seems like a reasonable case.

This is about maintaining the fundamentally democratic ethos and character of what a credit union is and not turning it into something that begins to look more like a bank, I suppose.