Flynn praises reforms by credit unions

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has been praised by Mr Phil Flynn for the way in which it has implemented its plan for…

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has been praised by Mr Phil Flynn for the way in which it has implemented its plan for reform so far.

A generally positive report on progress was delivered by Mr Flynn, chairman of the ILCU Review Commission, to the league's first biennial delegate meeting in Waterford at the weekend.

Delegates at the meeting voted overwhelmingly in favour of putting an end to the ongoing fallout from the ISIS debacle, where the organisation lost approximately €34 million on an information technology project.

A report by the league board and ILCUTECH, the company set up to develop the project, recommended that no legal action be taken to try to recover any of the funds lost in the fiasco. Delegates supported the recommendation, voting in favour of a motion from the An Post Employees Credit Union that no further money be spent on trying to recoup any of the losses.

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The report suggested that while there might be possible grounds for litigation, the process would be "complex, expensive and unpredictable" and could expose the league to further and substantial financial risk.

Mr Flynn, who chairs the reform commission established upon the recommendation of a report he drafted, told the delegates that the league board and staff had "embraced the process of change with earnestness and diligence".

Mr Flynn's report, which was published last year and which described the board as "dysfunctional", contained a list of recommendations for the reform of the movement.

Mr Flynn told delegates that "nothing had been too much" for the league board and staff.

"I have been impressed by their attitude and the determination to adopt change. Much has been done but there is more to do," he said, in remarks conveyed to the press by a league spokesman.

Mr Flynn said that all of the reform commitments made had been honoured by the league and its implementation committee.

Delegates voted in favour of a new funding system for the league, one of the key recommendations contained in the 2002 Review Commission report.

The new system will mean the league's 534 affiliated credit unions will no longer pay a single lump sum annually but rather make separate payments for affiliation fees, life insurance premia on loans, and contributions to the savings protection scheme. The meeting was told the new system would inject much greater transparency into the process.

Commenting after the weekend meeting Mr Liam O'Dwyer, the league's chief executive officer, said he was very pleased with how the meeting went. He said the movement was "moving ahead" after the Flynn report.

"It is a very good objective sign that the movement towards change is taking place. The report has been implemented wholeheartedly. It is so important that the movement put together the Flynn report, accepted the Flynn report, and now has implemented the Flynn report."

He said the reforms were putting in place a more transparent structure and a structure that reached out to member credit unions.

"That is what we are particularly pleased with. Now we must listen to the movement to ensure that we are giving them what they want."

Most of the weekend meeting at the Waterford Institute of Technology was closed to journalists and many of those attending were reluctant to talk to the press outside the meeting.