The CEO of the Irish League of Credit Union has said it will be detrimental to credit unions if certain changes were not made to the draft general scheme of the Credit Union Bill 2012.
Kieron Brennan told an Oireachtas Committee on Finance that if some changes were not made, credit unions would be left out on a limb.
Mr Brennan said proposals to limit serving terms for board members, and prohibitions to serve on boards, run contrary to the volunteer principle of the credit union.
It will particularly affect the smaller credit unions, which depend considerably on their volunteer ethos, he cautioned.
''We have seen how other financial institutions have ravaged our economy, and yet they are not subjected to such restrictions'', he added.
He also told the Committee that it was inequitable and unnecessary to impose legal restrictions on the number of years a person can service on a credit union board. He said that if this was brought into law, the Republic of Ireland movement would be the only one worldwide where such restrictions exist.
Kieron Brennan said it would be preferable if credit unions establish their own rules and regulations, allowing members to run their voluntary, community organisation as they see fit.
