Vol. 497 No. 7
34 Mr. Gormley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the potential contribution that credit unions have to make to employment levels in the social economy and to the local economic development process generally through the operation of section 44 of the Credit Union Act, 1997; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23397/98]
Section 44 of the Credit Union Act, 1997, allows a credit union to establish special funds for social, cultural or charitable purposes — including community development. If all of the credit unions in the State were to establish the permitted funds at the maximum levels allowed in section 44(3) and 44(4) in 1998, I estimate that the value of these would be in the region of £11 million. Such an investment would have a positive employment impact in the social economy, although the resultant levels of employment would clearly be related to the nature of any such projects.
Under section 44(1), the establishment of such a special fund is entirely a matter for the decision by the majority of the members of each individual credit union attending and voting at its general meeting. I have consulted with the Registrar for Friendly Societies, and he is not aware of any uptake of these enabling provisions in 1998 among individual credit unions. As I indicated on 30 June 1998, in a reply to a PQ on this matter, the Irish League of Credit Unions has promised to encourage its member credit unions to avail of the facility allowed by section 44 of the 1997 Act to establish these special funds for community development purposes.
