Amendments Nos. 21 and 22 are related.
SECTION 21.
I move amendment No. 21:
In page 24, subsection (1), line 43, to delete "and" and substitute "to".
Section 21 permits credit union members to nominate a person or persons to become entitled to their property in the credit union, whether it is shares, deposits or insurance on his death. This provision has its origins in section 25 of the Industrial Improvident Societies Act, 1893, and offers both credit unions and members a cost effective means of distributing their property. It has been represented to my Department by both the Irish League of Credit Unions and others that, as a result of the planned increases in the shares limits in particular, the value of a member's property in the credit union could amount to a substantial sum if the member, on his death, had a large number of shares and deposits, together with any insurance on his life and any outstanding loans. Following reconsideration, I consider the financial limit of £10,000 should be inserted to minimise the potential for legal disputes vis-�-vis those who might otherwise feel entitled to the member’s estate under the Succession Acts. This represents a reasonable increase on the present limit of £6,000 set in the Industrial and Provident Societies Financial Limits Regulations, 1985, Statutory Instrument No. 392 of 1985. The figure of £10,000 in my amendment was acceptable to the league when it discussed this matter with my Department some weeks ago.
I am pleased to hear this amendment is acceptable to the League. That was not my understanding when I considered the Bill with people successfully promoting credit union activity in my area. Putting a cap in so many places is strangling the credit union movement and I see no sense or rationale to it. I do not see why a person, at his death, is not entitled to leave all of his property in a credit union and so to leave it to whoever inherits after that.
What is that person to do under the Succession Acts?
Can this law be brought into line with the Succession Acts? In what way does it conflict with those Acts? I do not know how much any of us will have left on our departure but £10,000 is not a great deal of money, when one considers the cost of a funeral. People of my upbringing would make provision for a decent funeral and would not leave that unprovided for. Is there any way this ceiling can be further raised or is there any way we can avoid a limit on the figure?
Did the Minister of State have to work within the guidelines of the Succession Act? If not, there would be an anomaly.
This Bill works within those parameters. We should not drag the debate on limits into the discussion of this amendment as it is a different matter. The league brought it to my attention with regard to the ceiling for shares being substantially raised. Up to now the ceiling was £6,000 and under the aggregate of £50,000 being proposed, one could arguably have a share ceiling of up to £49,000. Therefore, it is prudent to have a measure here to avoid legal dispute about the estate subsequent to the person's death, that Deputy Quill referred to. The league found the figure of £10,000 acceptable, which is not to make that figure acceptable to Deputy Quill or the committee.
I welcome this section and it is good to see the recognition of the Succession Act, which was a farseeing Act introduced by former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. He was the first to recognise the needs of female persons who had been neglected up until then. I would not agree with other capping of amounts in the Bill but I agree here with the Minister of State, for the first time today.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 22:
In page 25, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following subsection:
"(3) For the purpose of the disposal of any property which is the subject of a nomination under subsection (1), if at the date of the nominator’s death the amount of his property in the credit union comprised in the nomination exceeds £10,000, the nomination shall be valid to the extent of £10,000 but not further or otherwise.”.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 21, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 22 and 23 agreed to.