The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: Conradh na hÉireann de Chomhair Chreidmheasa) is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

for

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provisi ...

s in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It operates in both the

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and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

body governed by a board of directors elected by member credit unions.

History

The Credit Union movement in Ireland arose out of the Dublin Central Cooperative Society, which was formed in 1952 with the following office holders: Chairman: Thomas Hogan; Secretary: Seamus McEoin, a civil servant; and Treasurer: Eugene O'Riordan, an engineer and native of Macroom, County Cork. The aims and objects were to promote industry to create jobs. In 1954 the chairman, Thomas Hogan, died and in the ensuing officer shuffle Seamus McEoin became chairman. Eugene O'Riordan remained as treasurer and

Nora Herlihy Nora Herlihy (1910–1988) was an Irish schoolteacher and one of the key founders of the credit union movement in Ireland. Early life and work as teacher Nora Herlihy was born on 27 February 1910 in Ballydesmond, on the Cork-Kerry Border. She at ...

, a National School teacher from

Ballydesmond Ballydesmond (), formerly Kingwilliamstown, is a rural village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the Blackwater River (near its source in Menganine) on the Cork-Kerry border. The Ballydesmond quarry is an area of geological interest, containi ...

, who had recently joined the society, was elected Secretary. Eugene O'Riordan set up the Dublin Central Co op investment bank to provide capital for industrial development. A surge of support for the investment bank from America, Britain and the Continent resulted in the secretary becoming fearful of the capacity of the society to handle an investment bank and she proposed that it be discontinued. This was a bitter disappointment for Eugene O'Riordan in particular as it was obvious to him that a chord was struck with the Irish diaspora who wanted to help. He felt that the prospects were enormous, especially after a letter in the Catholic Universe brought astonishing results with strong support internationally. Nora Herlihy then obtained literature on the credit union movement from an acquaintance in America and proposed the adoption of the credit union model instead of the investment bank model for the purpose of getting capital for industrial development. With the exception of Eugene O'Riordan, the society decided to establish a Credit Union. The credit union movement thus started, and that was the end for the Dublin central co-operative society and the emergent investment bank. The credit union movement became a great success in its own right although it was felt that there was still a gap in terms of supporting industry, as the credit unions could not be a means of obtaining and dispersing venture capital. At that stage Seán Forde, an employee at a Dublin bakery, played an important role in the movement. The economy of the Republic was depressed, urban poverty and

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

were increasing, and the credit union movement was envisaged as a way to help working-class people manage their finances. The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) was established in 1960.

Functions

The ILCU represents credit unions in

social partnership Social partnership ( ga, Pairtíocht sóisialta) is the term used for the tripartite, triennial national pay agreements reached in Ireland. The process was initiated in 1987, following a period of high inflation and weak economic growth which le ...

negotiations and

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national governments and

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bodies. It does

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

and research and development. It provides services for members, including legal advice, secretarial service, human resources, information technology, training, and business services. It also takes responsibility for savings protection and monitoring and supervision of member unions.

Regulation

Each credit union is an autonomous organisation and manages its own affairs. In the Republic of Ireland, the Central Bank of Ireland has overall responsibility for credit unions, in order to protect members’ funds and maintain the financial stability and well-being of credit unions in general. The League, in response to the consolidation of the sector, has accused the Central Bank of acting beyond its statutory powers and has warned the Central Bank against trying “to scare the public or exaggerate risk for the sake of achieving unarticulated policy objectives." The cost to the State of the proposed rationalisation was expected to be in the region of €250 million. A separate Registrar of Credit Unions for Northern Ireland regulates ILCU members in that jurisdiction.Lewis, Paul
Northern Ireland savers at risk.
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

.'' 4 Feb. 2009.

References

External links

Irish League of Credit Unions official site
{{Credit Unions in the United Kingdom Cooperative federations Credit union leagues Credit unions of Ireland Credit unions of the United Kingdom