This Government established the Commission on Credit Unions in May 2011 to make recommendations in relation to the most effective regulatory structure for credit unions, taking into account their not-for-profit mandate, their volunteer ethos and community focus, while paying due regard to the need to fully protect members' savings and financial stability.
The Commission published its final landmark Report in March 2012 with far reaching recommendations to restructure the Irish credit union sector and strengthen its legislative and regulatory framework. Over sixty of its recommendations have been implemented in the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012.
Section 15 of the 2012 Act substitutes a new provision for Section 53 of the Credit Union Act 1997. Section 53(10) provides for exclusions from the Board of Directors. These exclusions from membership of the Board are required to avoid conflicts of interest and to ensure division of responsibilities between the executive and the Board. The clear distinction of roles is fundamental to the governance requirements and is essential to ensure that a workable governance structure is created in all credit unions, regardless of nature, scale or complexity, and to ensure the safeguarding of members' savings.
The Commission's Report was agreed by all members of the Commission including credit union representative bodies as well as independent individuals, and sought direct engagement from credit unions to ensure that its recommendations took account of a broad range of perspectives.
