The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) held a special meeting with Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway, and Cabinet Minister, Denis Naughten, in Athlone on Thursday, October 5th.
ILCU President, Charles Murphy, and Vice-President, Gerry Thompson, joined local credit union delegates to highlight to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the potential for credit unions to play an enhanced role in the local community.
Delegates also outlined the scale of the credit union movement in the Roscommon-Galway constituency. Local credit unions have €342 million in assets. Membership in the area has hit 78,800. Members are saving €288 million with their credit unions and are benefitting from €106 million in fair and affordable loans.
A key point of discussion was the credit union proposal to provide funding for social housing. These comprehensive proposals were put together in response to a Government request in November 2014, and outlined in detail how credit union funds could be used for social housing. Credit unions stand ready to deliver on this, but there has been not been the necessary action from Government to date.
Speaking following the meeting, Minister Naughten said: “This has been a very informative and constructive meeting, and it’s clear from what has been outlined that there is an even greater role that credit unions can play in this community. I will continue to play my part in ensuring that credit unions are enabled and supported in the further development and expansion of services, so that they can continue to serve their members and communities as very best they can.”
