The acting secretary to the interim Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority wrote to the league on 14 November 2002, before its conference in Galway, and the new chief executive designate of the regulatory authority also wrote to the league on 3 December 2002. The letter stated, among other things, that the members of the interim authority should recognise and understand the important role the credit union movement plays in this country, the size and reach of the movement, its 'not for profit' but voluntary nature and that it has broad support among the communities it serves. They should also recognise that the credit unions have different functions and objectives from commercial financial institutions such as banks and building societies, the regulation of the credit union movement must be appropriate to those functions and objectives, highlight that for this reason the Government, in making clear its acceptance of all these principles, is proposing a separate statutory post of registrar of credit unions who will work under the requirements and protection of the Credit Union Act 1997 and want to work with the Irish League of Credit Unions. They have stated they are open to discussing the valuable role the field officers play in assisting the league members and that their only concern with the legislation as currently drafted is the accountability of the registrar of credit unions. The Minister for Finance and I agree with the members of the interim authority on these matters.