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

The exclusions and term limits provided for in the Bill have excited a considerable amount of concern among credit union members, particularly as they strike at the heart of the credit union movement.

They are based on volunteerism and on a principle of democracy. While it is entirely reasonable that the Government and the regulatory authorities would want to ensure that no conflicts of interest arise - some of the inclusions are reasonable in this regard - but the inclusion of voluntary assistants, employees and those who might have fallen into arrears, are problematic and should be removed. I refer in particular to the voluntary assistant because such individuals are at the heart of the credit union movement. One might well argue it is precisely someone like a voluntary assistant who is willing to give his or her time to the credit union that would be wanted on the board of a credit union. It does not make sense to include that exclusion. On the matter of the term limits, the Minister's defence on Committee Stage for these limits was the need to uphold a principle of rotation, as he called it. The credit unions have indicated a willingness to look at something at local level in the credit unions that would try to vindicate that principle of renewing boards and officer positions. However, the idea of Big Brother imposing these term limits in a way that could adversely affect the functioning of the credit unions and the right of the members of credit unions to democratically decide who should be a board member or an officer of the union, strikes at the heart of the democratic basis of the credit unions. The opposition and concern expressed by the credit unions and their members on this issue is entirely understandable. I suggest the Government should consider acceding to these concerns.

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