Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I hear what the Minister of State is saying and the position he has outlined is reasonable. There is, however, an issue with regard to human nature. We see this in different organisations. In most organisations, it is difficult to get someone to stand forward and take on a role, such as the role of director. There are other rare occasions on which someone is trying to get somebody elected for whatever reason. In an extended family there may be seven, eight or nine individuals who have votes at an AGM but no interest in it. There could be brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers who have never attended an AGM in their lives and who have no involvement in a credit union, bar having an account, savings or the odd loan with it. They may not have been involved in the workings of the credit union. This Bill allows credit unions to change their rules in a way which would allow somebody to gather up those votes. In this way, somebody who regularly attends the AGMs may have a weighted power when voting at AGMs. This, in itself, may have a destabilising effect on other members who decide not to do this.

I am conscious of what the Minister of State has said about leaving it up to credit unions to decide themselves but he has not accepted that position on other issues. There are serious restrictions placed on credit unions with regard to other matters, restrictions we would like to be resolved. They are not allowed to design their own models or to decide how they lend or the limits to apply. In this legislation, we move from a position in which proxies are illegal to one in which there is no limit in law on the number of votes a proxy attending an AGM may gather and cast. That is challenging and it is regrettable that the Minister has decided not to accept the amendment, which is very balanced and measured given the concerns of the movement in respect of proxies. For that reason, I will press the amendment.

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