Mr. Jimmy Johnson:

If there is no provision for electronically enabled accounts or shared services, it will make it more difficult for the credit union movement to develop the services. If they are enabled in legislation, we will need only go through the details with the Central Bank, but the provisions are in place in principle to allow the credit union movement to develop. These matters should have been addressed by the commission, but it was under time pressures. The main focus was on the legislative and regulatory environment. Deputy Peter Mathews mentioned that this was its main focus. The commission discussed these points, but it did not make concrete recommendations in terms of shared services and co-operation between credit unions and credit union service organisations which are prevalent in other credit union jurisdictions. There is a facility to enable their development in order that credit unions can provide particular services for members.

Deputy Peter Mathews raised a point about the future of the league which is the trade and representative organisation for 398 credit unions in the Republic and approximately 100 in Northern Ireland. That is our role. In respect of governance changes and the changes to training and education requirements, the league provides a range of services for member credit unions. Our role as a training and representative organisation will be critical. We had a major impact on the recommendations of the commission. We are fully supportive of the process of change and must support credit unions which look to us for support and will do so again in the very near future. It is a big ask for our staff and volunteer board to step up to meet the task and ensure we support the credit union movement in these difficult times. We must carry forward our ethos and co-operative principles in order that we leave behind a credit union movement that will continue after I finish with the league. We must all add to it and develop and strengthen it to provide better services for members. The role of the league remains critical and will continue to be so.