CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews

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CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
CUFocus
                                    Summer 2021

INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU
       PRESIDENT

     Cyber security | AGM Reviews
CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
Editorial                                                                                           11   04   Interview with new ILCU President,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Helene McManus
                                                                                                                 Welcome to the Summer edition of CU Focus!                                                                    An in-depth interview with newly elected ILCU
                                                                                                                 As we emerge from our longest lockdown to date, and hopefully our                                             President, Helene McManus
                                                                                                                 last, there is a great sense of positivity among people as they begin
                                                                                                                 to venture out from their protective bubbles to socialise with their
                                                                                                                 families and friends. Many are planning staycations, while those                                         08   AGM 2020 and 2021
                                                                                                                 fortunate to have been fully vaccinated, are thinking of heading to
                                                                                                                 foreign shores.                                                                                               A review of the ILCU AGMs for 2020 and 2021

                                                                                           13                    In this edition of CU Focus, we hear from newly elected ILCU
                                                                                                                 President Helene McManus on how she became involved with the                                             09   CU Learning and Development
                                                                                                                 credit union movement and what she hopes to achieve during her
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Overview of courses and the new Volunteer
                                                                                                                 term of office. Helene is only the second woman to hold the office
                                                                                                                 of President following in the footsteps of the late Anne O’Byrne, who                                         Recruitment and Retention Toolkit
                                                                                                                 served as President from 2005 to 2007. We wish Helene every
                                                                                                                 success for her Presidency.
                                                                                                                 We have a report on AGM 2021 which was addressed by Minister
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          11   Youth and Marketing Conference 2021
                                                                                                                 with Responsibility for Credit Unions, Sean Fleming. Minister                                                 We hear about this year’s Youth and Marketing
                                                                                                                 Fleming welcomed the many collaborative projects underway across                                              Conference
                                                                                                                 the movement at present and emphasised that the realisation of
                                                                                                                 these projects would go some way to deliver Community Banking,
                                                                                                                 a topic which has been discussed in many fora and in the media                                           13   CU Greener Homes Scheme
                                                                                                                 recently, particularly in light of the withdrawal from the market of                                17        All you need to know about the CU Greener
                                                                                                                 two banks and a major licenced moneylender in the past few                                                    Homes Scheme
                                                                                                                 months.
                                                                                                                 The 2021 Youth & Marketing Conference took place virtually on                                       21   17   RepTrak® 2021
                                                                                                                 22nd May with over 120 delegates in attendance. Using the theme
                                                                                                                 of ‘Resilience’ the delegates heard from a number of speakers on                                              A review of the results of this year’s Reptrak®
                                                                                                                 how young people and credit unions overcame the challenges                                                    study
                                                                                                                 posed by the pandemic.
                                                                                                                 The recent cyber-attack on the HSE has focused all our minds on
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          19   CUCC Virtual Coffee Mornings
                                                                                            28                   the importance of remaining vigilant to phishing emails and website
                                                                                                                 links which have the potential to access sensitive personal data such                                         We hear all about the Virtual Coffee Mornings
                                                                                                                 as members’ names and account balances. The ILCU ICT                                                          organised by the Credit Union Compliance
                                                                                                                 Department has provided us with some useful tips for our staff and                                            Centre
                                                                                                                 volunteers to safeguard against such attacks.
                                                                                                                 Finally, we want to take this opportunity to wish all our readers an
                                                                                                                 enjoyable and safe summer and we look forward to hopefully                                               21   ILCU Foundation
                                                                                                                 meeting many of you physically again in the months ahead. We                                                  An update from ILCU Foundation on all their
                                                                                                                 leave you with a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald from The Great Gatsby,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               recent activities
                                                                                                                 which aptly captures our feelings on our emergence from lockdown.
                                                                                                                 "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on
                                         Main Cover Image:
                                         Helene McManus,
                                                                                                                 the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar                                       26   Right to disconnect
                                         ILCU President                                                          conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               HR review of Code of Practice for Employers and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Employees on the Right to Disconnect which
Editorial Committee: Helene McManus, Paul Bailey
ILCU ISSN 1649-377X. ILCU Board: Helene McManus, President, Michael Byrne, Vice-President, Margaret Heffernan, Treasurer, Martin Busch, Christopher Collins, Martin Dolan, Vanessa Foran, Joe Mulvey,                          came into force on 1 April 2021
Charles Murphy, Eamonn Sharkey, Patrick Sheehan, Gerry Thompson, Jim Toner. Supervisory Committee: Michael Cogley, Patricia Doherty, Seamus Kilgannon.
Contributions may be submitted via email to ilcucommunications@creditunion.ie.
Design & Print: Outburst Design. Please mark submissions for the attention of the editor, CU Focus Communications Department. The views expressed in this issue of the CU Focus are not necessarily the views
of the Irish League of Credit Unions. Advertising: The placement of an advert does not imply endorsement of the product or service advertised, either by the magazine or its publisher. The CU Focus will not             28   CU Stories
knowingly carry false or misleading advertising. Articles The CU Focus would like to hear your news and views. Send in any newsworthy stories or photos. The CU Focus tries to publish all appropriate information
submitted, but may be precluded by space constraints.
Published By Irish League of Credit Unions 33 – 41 Lower Mount Street Dublin 2 Tel: 353 (0)1 614 6700 Fax: 353 (0)1 614 6701 Email: info@creditunion.ie Website: www.creditunion.ie                                  30        Stories from credit unions around the island of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Ireland
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CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
CU Focus Interview
                              Helene McManus
                              ILCU President

  Can you tell us a bit about
  yourself?
  Born into the Murray family in
  Snugboro, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, I
  am one of a family of nine, 6 boys and
                                              elected board member! Donal
                                              McCarthy (Founder member) was the
                                              Manager at the time and he assured
                                              me it would not take up too much of
                                              my time – he did say that with a smile
                                                                                         several roles at Chapter level,
                                                                                         including that of Secretary and Chair.
                                                                                         Inevitably, when attending the
                                                                                         educational seminars, I came into
                                                                                         contact with members of the League
                                                                                                                                     “
                                                                                                                                     I realised very quickly that I
                                                                                                                                     needed to get involved with
                                                                                                                                     other credit unions to learn
  3 girls. Sadly, three of my brothers        as I recall. I served in every position    Board and Staff; I would also have          from the collective.
  have passed. Family life was                starting off as Treasurer and I am still   attended the ILCU AGMs which are a
  interesting as we always had relations,     there serving on the Board as Vice         huge learning platform and my               Chapter 25 was an
  neighbours and friends calling and          Chair. Anne Tynan is now the Chair         interest in the Movement continued to
  while there was lots of playing, talking    and Mike Cosgrove is the CEO. I work       grow. I enjoyed that engagement and
                                                                                                                                     excellent learning
  and laughing, there was always work         with the Health Service Executive now      after several years of involvement and      ground
  to be done! It was like living in a small   and am also a member of the Health         with encouragement from a colleague
  motel at times! Philip (also from           Service Staffs Credit Union. Every         and friend, Margaret Ryan, RIP, from
  Ballyconnell!) and I got married in the     credit union board, as the governing       Kilnamanagh Credit Union, I decided
  early eighties and we happily have          body and in that capacity, has to be       over four years ago to run for election
  four adult children, Darran, Ciara,         acutely aware of its responsibilities      onto the ILCU Board. That was in
  Conor and Declan. The family has            with regard to legislation and             2017 and I was lucky enough to be
  grown to include our daughter in law,       regulation, needs to be very well          elected that year. The past four years
  Emily and son in law, Jason and our         informed and partake in continuous         of working with the ILCU Board,
  two treasured and wonderful                 professional development. While this       supervisors and staff to add value for
  grandchildren, Fionn and Méibh.             is a volunteer role, it necessitates       our member credit unions has been a
                                              skilled and competent people being in      challenge in that our credit unions are
  How did you get involved with the           situ                                       swamped with savings, are fighting an
  credit union movement?                                                                 uphill battle to get loans out, have very
  My first contact with credit unions was     Prior to becoming president, you           little return on investments and then
  when I started to work for the Housing      were a member of the ILCU Board            there is the imposition of negative
  Department in Dublin Corporation            for a number of years. What                interest rates on bank deposits. Much
  (now Dublin City Council) in the late       initially motivated you to get             to do.
  1970s. It could have been named the         involved?
  housing credit union as everybody           When I became a member of the
                                                                                         What was your motivation to run
  working there seemed to be involved,        Board of Kilcloon CU, I learned that       for President?
  it being volunteer run. I became a          our credit union was a member of           I served for two years as Treasurer and
  member and would help, as a                 Chapter 25 of the Irish League of          I was also appointed as a member of
  volunteer, counting cash lodged on          Credit Unions. The Manager and             the Management Committee that
  pay day. John Kelly was heavily             members of the Board attended the          served from 2019 to 2021. This gave
  involved then and I learned from him;       monthly Chapter meetings and also          me a voice at Central Bank,
  he later became the Manager of that         various training sessions. I realised      Department of Finance and other high
  credit union. Sadly, John passed away       very quickly that I needed to get          level meeting tables as well as giving
  some years ago. When Philip and I got       involved with other credit unions to       real insight as to their thinking with
  married we came to live in Kilcock in       learn from the collective. Chapter 25      regard to credit unions and their
  Co Kildare and after some years I got       was an excellent learning ground as its    operations. I manage and lead on
  involved in Kilcloon & District Credit      Education Committee arranged               work initiatives in my daily life and am
  Union which is based in The Square,         informative presentations and              a great believer in planning for the
  Kilcock. I remember attending an            weekend seminars – everything was          future and making sure
  AGM in the late nineties and left as an     always very well organised. I served in    implementation follows. During Gerry

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CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
“
   Thompson’s presidency, I was part of                                                   together & leading to Research,
   a group put in place to develop a                                                      Refine, Reposition. It is a priority to
   strategic plan for the ILCU. This                                                      maintain cooperation with ENCU
   group comprised of two each of                                                         members to both bring more credit
   board members, credit union chairs,        I believe in leading through                union awareness to the EU level but
   SMT members and credit union CEOs                                                      also to influence European financial
   and all worked well together; the Plan
                                              positive influence and                      regulations in such a way as to allow
   was adopted by the Board back in           building relationships as                   credit unions to continue to operate
   2019 and very shortly thereafter went                                                  and grow in Europe. And likewise to
   to the first phase of implementation.      I rely on the personal                      work together with WOCCU, who act
   This operational implementation                                                        as the leading voice for advocacy and
   continues and, while nothing is set in
                                              rather than positional                      governance on behalf of the
   stone and the focus can change, my         power to achieve results.                   worldwide credit union community.
   belief is that follow through is
   important. The five goals originally set                                               What do you see as the biggest
   continue in place and the principle                                                    challenges and biggest
                                              in the not too distant future.              opportunities for the credit union
   position of President lends
   governance weight to support this
                                                                                          movement in the years ahead?
                                              What style of leadership will you           Certainly, the things I mentioned             CEO, Mike Cosgrave (at back) and fellow staff members of Kilcloon Credit Union, outside their offices in Kilcock,
   work. Succession planning with                                                                                                       are delighted at the achievement of Board Member, Helene McManus, on her election as ILCU President at the
                                              bring to the role of ILCU                   earlier, (loan issuance, savings
   regard to principal officer positions,     President?                                                                                2021 ILCU AGM.
                                                                                          growth, exceedingly low investment
   while subject to the voting outcome,       Well, leadership always involves a two      interest rates and negative bank
   is nonetheless a consideration based       way process with other people and           deposit rates), all add up to being a
   on established working relationships       clearly, in the first instance, that will   massive challenge for all our credit
   and shared focus for the future. I am      be with the Board members on an                                                          development.                           approach to capital which still allows    programme rather we are a social
                                                                                          unions regardless of their size. We
   confident, working with all board          ongoing basis and similarly but on a                                                     We are all well used to hearing the    for strong capital and solvency ratios.   movement with a financial mission.
                                                                                          have to take stock and reposition by
   members, that I can lead on bringing       more frequent basis with the Vice                                                     politicians talking about the             In the Republic of Ireland, the           We are more than capable of
                                                                                          adding to its product and service
   about outcomes identified by the           President, Michael Byrne, the                                                         importance of our credit unions and       Registry of Credit Unions, which is       delivering on mortgages, SME
                                                                                          range so that credit unions can grow
   affiliated credit unions as necessary      Treasurer, Margaret Heffernan and Ed                                                  how trusted and valuable they are to      part of the Central Bank of Ireland, is   lending, investing in social housing
                                                                                          their income in a sustainable way.
   for them to remain viable and              Farrell, CEO. I believe in leading                                                    our communities. Now that they have       responsible for the registration,         and more. Working together, we can
                                                                                          This is where the ILCU can assist
   operating in their communities.            through positive influence and                                                        committed to specific actions, I look     regulation and supervision of credit      change the template for credit unions
                                                                                          through its research and
                                              building relationships as I rely on the                                               forward to them finally walking the       unions. The RCU reserve requirement       for the twenty first century. And that
   How important is this role for                                                         development service to benefit the
                                              personal rather than positional power                                                 walk. The adage “if it is not             for credit unions is 10% of total         is what we must do.
   you?                                                                                   collective. Individual credit unions do
                                              to achieve results. Being credible and                                                documented, it didn’t happen” no          assets. In 2012 and again in 2016,
   This role is of paramount importance                                                   not have inhouse R&D resources but
                                              empathetic are there on my                                                            longer applies and the reality is there   both the Commission on Credit             Any final thoughts that you would
   to me as it brings with it the fiduciary                                               do have a centralised service to assist                                                                                       like to share with CU Focus
                                              leadership style list along with being                                                is nowhere for Government to hide on      Unions and the Credit Union Advisory
   duty to ensure our affiliated credit                                                   them in much needed service                                                                                                   readers?
                                              passionate about credit unions and                                                    this; those commitments have to be        Committee respectively
   unions are assisted in their goals                                                     development.                                                                                                                  I would like to commend all our credit
                                              their value to society. Every board                                                   realised as soon as is possible.          recommended a tiered regulatory
   towards ensuring a sustainable future                                                    In the ROI, we now have a Minister                                                                                          unions for their remarkable work
                                              director has a particular leadership                                                                                            approach but nearly a decade on
   that will continue to enhance the lives                                                of State at the Department of                                                                                                 particularly since the onset of the
                                              approach but more importantly is the                                                  What are your views on the                nothing has changed. It is clear that
   of their members. It’s a great honour                                                  Finance, Minister Fleming, appointed      current regulatory environment in                                                   pandemic. They have ensured their
                                              outcome forthcoming from that                                                                                                   regulation remains disproportionate in
   to have been elected to this position as                                               with specific responsibility for credit   which credit unions operate in                                                      staff and members were kept safe
                                              leadership role. The key here is                                                                                                ROI which is disadvantageous as it
   President of the Irish League of Credit                                                unions. The League’s manifesto,           ROI and NI?                                                                         whilst they continued to provide a full
                                              supporting credit unions to remain in                                                                                           does not take into account the size or
   Unions that represents the majority of                                                 (developed in advance of the last         Credit Unions throughout the island                                                 service on site and all this was done
                                              our communities across the 32                                                                                                   scale of the individual credit union’s
   credit unions on the Island of Ireland.                                                General Election and entitled “Credit     have shown that they have no                                                        in a very professional manner and in
                                              counties for the long term.                                                                                                     operations. This is an issue that
                                                                                          Union Vision 2020”) identified eight      problem whatsoever with regulation; it                                              a welcoming and good humoured
                                                                                                                                                                              requires a shift in the sands and one
   What are you most looking                                                              strategic priorities and some specific    is absolutely necessary to protect                                                  way. The measure of your social
                                              What are your main areas of                                                                                                     that credit unions are focused on as
   forward to as the new president?                                                       commitments were included in the          members’ funds. The method of how                                                   impact on your communities is being
                                              priority for your term as                                                                                                       needing to be addressed. I agree with
   The opportunity to work with and                                                       Programme for Government:                 a regulatory regime is applied is seen                                              researched at the moment and
                                              President?                                                                                                                      those views.
   listen to all of our credit unions and                                                                                           as the problem. In Northern Ireland                                                 perhaps in the near future that can
                                              Working together shows a unity of
   to do the right things on their behalf.                                                1) Review the Policy Framework            credit unions are authorised by the       What message would you like to            be quantified and included in your
                                              purpose and that approach will make
   The League exists to benefit its                                                          within which Credit Unions operate     Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)     give credit unions?                       end of year reports. The credit union
                                              the difference. The affiliate Credit
   affiliated credit unions and its                                                       2) Enable and support the Credit          and regulated by both the Financial       Collectively we are well aware of the     difference is something to be proud
                                              Unions must be supported to be
   representational presence has to be                                                       Union movement to grow                 Conduct Authority and by the PRA.         need for a fundamental change in          of. I intend to focus on the issues that
                                              future ready and it is important to
   relevant and in step with the credit                                                   3) Support Credit Unions in the           The PRA have finalised a review of        how our credit unions are legislated      you identified as needing to be
                                              translate the credit union difference
   unions’ needs. I really am looking                                                        expansion of services, to              the capital regime for credit unions      for. We are not a financial institution   actioned and I will work to the best of
                                              into tangible benefits for the
   forward to meeting up with members                                                        encourage community                    which resulted in a graduated             with a corporate social responsibility    my ability on your behalf. Keep safe.
                                              (potential) members. Working

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CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
ILCU AGM

AGM 2020 AND 2021
ILCU AGM 2020                                      Minister Fleming said, “Shared service           number of very significant operational
Following the unavoidable postponement of          structures and cooperation between credit        challenges positively and, in most cases,
the 2020 AGM last year due to COVID-19, the        unions can reduce costs, provide scale and       effectively over the past year, but now is not
ILCU’s 2020 AGM was held by electronic             help deliver new services to members which       the time to step back. It's absolutely
means on 20 March 2021.
Resolutions passed at AGM 2020 included
                                                   may not be possible for individual credit
                                                   unions to provide on their own.”
                                                                                                    essential that credit unions continue to build
                                                                                                    and maintain good governance arrangements
                                                                                                    and that they regularly and critically review
                                                                                                                                                        Cyber Security risks and attacks
approval and adoption of the Treasurer’s           He continued “As such, I welcome and
                                                   support the many collaborative initiatives       their key financial metrics, particularly
report for 2019, approval and adoption of
                                                   underway at present. By realising these          around credit quality.”
the Rules of the Stabilisation Protection                                                                                                             The success of the credit union                reputational harm as a result of a     IT security risks are ever changing
Scheme and removal of the requirement for          projects and delivering these services to        During the AGM, credit unions also heard          movement is based on positive                  cyber-attack or breach within a        and now is opportune time to
credit unions to complete and return the           your members and communities, you will           from Brian Branch, President and CEO of           relationships and trust. In                    network. In truth, cyber security is   consider cyber security as a
                                                   deliver much of what we describe as              WOCCU (World Council of Credit Unions).           recognising that a credit union’s              everyone’s responsibility as an        mandatory subject for your training
Return of Officers form to the Irish League of
                                                   Community Banking.”                              AGM Elections                                     reputation is one of its most valuable         attack on a credit union has the       policies for both staff and
Credit Unions. A number of amendments to
                                                                                                                                                      assets we should remain aware of               potential for significant financial    volunteers. With this in mind we
the Standard Rules for Credit Unions in ROI        The Minister concluded his address by            At the AGM, Helene McManus of Kilcloon &
                                                                                                                                                      cyber risks that have the potential to         impacts.                               have a variety of training solutions
and NI were also carried.                          saying “While there are challenges facing        District Credit Union was elected as the new
                                                                                                                                                      critically interrupt operations and                                                   to meet your needs.
                                                   the Credit Union movement the strengths of       ILCU President. Helene is only the second
Full details are published in the affiliate area                                                                                                      undermine a positive member
                                                   the movement cannot be underestimated.           woman President in the sixty one year history     experience.
of the website on the ILCU news section.
                                                   Credit unions have the capacity to help          of the Irish League of Credit Unions, the first
ILCU AGM 2021                                      communities all over the country confront the    being Anne O’Byrne in 2005.                       The full fallout of the recent cyber-
                                                                                                    Michael Byrne from Core Credit Union was          attack on the HSE will not be known                                   computer        internet
 "Collaboration and co-operation are key           challenges that are facing them.”
                                                                                                    elected to the position of ILCU Vice-             for some time. The realisation is
 for credit unions to maximise future              Patrick Casey, Central Bank                                                                        that the attack was “extensive” and
 potential and deliver on Community                                                                 President. Margaret Heffernan was confirmed
                                                   Registrar of Credit Unions                       as Treasurer and Seamus Kilgannon was
                                                                                                                                                      has “real-world” consequences for
 Banking” - Minister Seán Fleming tells            Also addressing the meeting was Patrick                                                            patients as described by Minister
                                                                                                    elected to serve on the Supervisory               for Health Stephen Donnelly,
 Irish League of Credit Unions AGM 2021            Casey, Central Bank Registrar of Credit
                                                                                                    Committee (term 2021-2024).                       meaning some 2,000 IT patient-                              systems                                 email
                                                   Unions, who referred to the current
                                                                                                    Following her election, President Helene          facing systems are being cleared
Over 190 credit unions attended the Annual         challenges faced by credit unions. Mr Casey
                                                                                                    McManus said “I am both honoured and              with approximately 80,000
General Meeting of the Irish League of Credit      said, “Your real challenges are commercial
                                                                                                    humbled to be elected President of the Irish      computers cleaned and reinstalled
Unions which was held virtually on Saturday,       in nature, and they're about finding ways to                                                       with software.
                                                                                                    League of Credit Unions. This is a critical
                                                   lend to your more economically active                                                                                                                                     training
24th April.                                                                                         time for our movement particularly with the                                                                                             protection
                                                   members.”                                                                                          Cyber security risk is the probability
Address by Seán Fleming, Minister                                                                   withdrawal of the pillar banks from our           of exposure, loss of critical assets
of State Department of Finance                     Mr Casey continued, “Lending to more             communities. Credit unions, which are             and sensitive information, or
Addressing the meeting, the Minister said          economically active members offers a path        founded in communities, are here to stay,
                                                   to sustainability. It puts member savings to a   and will continue to provide financial
that the Government recognises the important
                                                   productive use, aligned to the objects of        services to people in towns and villages
role played in society by the Credit Union
                                                   credit unions. It will ensure an ongoing         across the island in the absence of the
movement as volunteer no-for-profit co-
                                                   funding need for growth in savings, and it       banks.”
operative financial institutions.
The Minister also acknowledged the impact
                                                   will help to mitigate the imbalance between
                                                   savings and loans.”
                                                                                                    Continuing, Ms McManus said, “The Irish
                                                                                                    League of Credit Unions is the ultimate
                                                                                                                                                                            Cyber Security Courses
of the Covid-19 pandemic has had;
                                                   Delegates also heard from Chris Donald from      collaborative model and we will continue to
“Credit unions have been affected by the                                                                                                              Cyber Security & Data Protection for Credit Union
                                                   the Prudential Regulation Authority, the UK      work on behalf of our member credit unions
pandemic in terms of muted demand for                                                                                                                 Officers aimed at all those in the credit union from the
                                                   based Regulator of Northern Ireland credit       to assist them in reaching their full potential
lending and rising savings, but you have                                                                                                              front line to the board. This course provides credit
                                                   unions, who outlined how crucial the credit      on behalf of their members. I look forward to     union staff with an overview of both their individual and
played an important role for your members as       union sector is to local communities in          working with the regulatory authorities in        the credit union’s obligations in relation to managing
an “essential service”.                            Northern Ireland. Commenting on the positive     Northern Ireland and in the Republic of           cyber security and the protection of member data.
The Minister told delegates that                   aspects of credit unions, including financial    Ireland, on behalf of ILCU members, to
collaboration and co-operation are key for         reserves in terms of regulatory capital, and     ensure that a pragmatic, yet robust               Cyber Risk & Data Protection - Oversight & Management
credit unions to maximise their future             reserves of members goodwill and loyalty,        regulatory regime, appropriate to credit          course for those managing or overseeing cyber risk in
potential.                                         Mr Donald said, “Credit unions have met a        unions, is maintained.”                           their credit unions, including all those on management
                                                                                                                                                      teams, including compliance and risk officers, the
                                                                                                                                                      Board and BOC

    Motions passed at AGM 2021                                                                                                                        eLearning Cyber Security for Credit Unions develops
                                                                                                                                                      awareness of the risk of cyber-attacks and the
    Resolutions passed at AGM 2021 included those to set the affiliation fees to the ILCU and the funding contribution                                appropriate cyber security measures and explores
    to the National Advertising Campaign for a period of two years.                                                                                   responsibilities to manage cyber risk relevant to the
    There were a number of amendments to the Standard Rules for Credit Unions including notice of general meetings.                                   Board, the Manager/CEO and the Risk Management
    Full details are published in the affiliate area of the website on the ILCU news section.                                                         Officer.

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CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Toolkit Launched
                   The all new Volunteer                  management of the on boarding       and retention processes but all
                                                                                                                                        YOUTH AND MARKETING
                   Recruitment and Retention
                   Toolkit was launched at the
                   ILCU Chairs’ Forum in June. It
                   is now available for download
                                                          process of new volunteers and
                                                          introduces the concept of
                                                          Volunteer Experience
                                                          measurement to support
                                                                                              interconnected with common
                                                                                              themes.

                                                                                              Volunteer Recruitment and
                                                                                                                                        CONFERENCE 2021
                   from the Learning and                  retention.                          Retention Chapters
                   Development webpage in the                                                 1.   Research & Demographics              For the very first time, the ILCU Youth and
                   affiliate area of                      Realising the time constraints      2.   Identifying Potential
                                                          we all face at the moment, we
                                                                                                                                        Marketing Conference was held online on
                   www.creditunion.ie                                                              Volunteers
                                                          have included useful icons          3.   Recruitment Stages – Early           the 22nd May. Over 120 delegates attended
                   Together with its large catalogue      throughout which identify:
                   of supporting documents the            Checklists, Top Tips and Key
                                                                                                   - Medium – Late                      the online conference on the day. After a
                                                                                              4.   First 60 Days
                   toolkit was developed as part of       Actions and allow you to easily     5.   Volunteer Experience –               year of incredible challenges, the key theme
                   the ILCU Strategic Plan 2020-          find and read key points. As an          Recognition and Retention            of this year’s Youth and Marketing
                   2025. As a resource it is packed       overview the toolkit has 8          6.   Marketing and Promotion
                   with useful data and new ideas         chapters, each addressing a         7.   Case Studies                         Conference was Resilience.
                   for volunteer marketing the            separate area of the recruitment    8.   Support Documents

                                                                                                                                        The conference looked at how Irish                                                at Gen Z and the key takeaways to
                                                                                                                                        young people between 16-24 and 25-                                                developing a TikTok campaign
 Employing Storytelling for Marketing                                                                                                   34 (Gen Z and Millennials) and Credit                                                Kids These Days – Taking the
                                                                            Extension of MCC Qualifications in
 and Volunteer Recruitment                                                                                                              Unions, have overcome changes and                                                 temperature of Gen Z was the title of
                                                                            the Credit Union Sector                                     challenges in the past year – while                                               Shane O’Leary’s presentation. Shane
                                                                                                                                        giving ideas on how to better connect                                             is a Media and Performance lead at
                                                                            The Central Bank recently sent a Minimum                    with a younger audience. The                                                      Rothco Accenture Interactive and he
                                                                            Competency Code (MCC) Questionnaire to credit               conference strives to provide insights                                            examined in detail the mindset,
                                                                            unions in relation to recognised qualifications             into how credit unions can connect                                                media landscape, marketing
                                                                            undertaken by credit union officers. This was a             with young people, both as members                                                examples and meaning for Gen Z
                                                                            clear indication of the Central Bank’s intention to         and volunteers. Attendees had the                                                 today. Shane gave some very
                                                                            extend the MCC requirements, which currently                opportunity to hear about the some                                                informative statistics and figures and
                                                                            apply to Insurances and Mortgages in credit unions.         very practical and interesting                                                    also gave tips of how to use these
                                                                            It is likely that MCC product categories extend to the      marketing trends and initiatives, and                                             insights and what organisations
                                                                            “core” credit union activity of Lending.                    received some practical advice and                                                should be doing in terms of media
                                                                               For any MCC activity where “advice” is provided          tips on putting them into practice.                                               and goal planning.
                                                                            to your member, where a loan is “arranged” or
                                                                            where a complaint in relation to a loan is                  Key Presentations                                                                 Examples of resilience – case
                                                                            “adjudicated” upon, the expectation will be that            The conference first heard from            and how the COVID-19 has affected      studies
 Storytelling is a unique part of Irish culture and heritage and            those engaged in such activity are competent and            Trisha Lewis who is a chef,                their mental health. Ian spoke about   The second half of the conference
 is a valuable way to demonstrate the values and impact of                  capable to do so. It is likely that these activities will   Instagram star and motivational            the mission and values of Spunout.ie   dealt with examples of case studies
 your credit unions. This course builds on basic marketing                  become “controlled functions” under the Fitness &           speaker Trisha spoke about her             and the important role research and    and how credit unions have
 awareness to employ a framework enabling credit unions to                  Probity regime and those engaged in these activities        inspiring life story while giving advice   social media platforms play in         overcome the challenges they’ve
 use their communication strengths for marketing and                        will be required to hold and maintain a recognised          on how to stay positive and healthy.       accessing their services.              faced over the past year to reach out
 volunteer recruitment suitable for in-person events and social             MCC qualification.                                                                                       Cormac McCann from Pluto
                                                                                                                                           Trisha spoke about her                                                         and engage with young people in a
 media. Designed alongside the Volunteer Recruitment and                       It is likely that the current, widely held MCC                                                      Agency provided an overview of the
                                                                                                                                        determination to show people that no                                              meaningful way.
 Retention Toolkit the course will demonstrate how to use tools             qualifications in the sector, such as ILCU’s                                                           agency’s #100Consent TikTok
 to segment demographics and market your credit union.                                                                                  matter how bad things get, you can                                                   James Liston, Business
                                                                            Pathways Diploma (CU Ops.), CUA and QFA will all            turn them around, reset and start          campaign with the Dublin Rape          Development Manager with Capitol
 The course is suited to all credit union officers involved in              be recognised as meeting this new lending MCC               again. Trisha set up an Instagram          Crisis Centre. Cormac spoke about      Credit Union presented their case
 volunteer recruitment and marketing. It will introduce the new             requirement. For those without recognised                   account to document her weight loss        how the campaign used TikTok           study on how they managed to
 Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Toolkit as a resource for              qualifications who will remain engaged in MCC               journey and has almost 200,000             creators to publicise their campaign   engage with colleges and third level
 credit union marketing and volunteer recruitment. It enables               activities it is timely to enrol on a relevant course.      followers. She spoke about how she         the important role research played     to increase their membership and
 the linking of the Credit Union Volunteer Strategic Marketing                 Learning & Development, in partnership with                                                         when they were developing the
                                                                                                                                        engages with her audience through                                                 strengthen their ties with these
 Cycle with Strategic Objectives of your credit union while                 National College of Ireland, is providing the                                                          campaign and the results and
                                                                                                                                        her fun online personality and how                                                members. James spoke how
 identifying different demographic groups for potential                     opportunity for officers to complete an MCC                                                            outcomes. The #100Consent
 volunteers.                                                                                                                            she focuses on discipline and                                                     important it was to make the credit
                                                                            recognised, Level 7 lending designation this                consistency to reach her goals.            campaign gained phenomenal             union relevant, the background and
 The UPRI³SE storytelling framework, which we have developed                Autumn. This course will provide the designation AP            Ian Power CEO of Spunout.ie gave        results and Cormac spoke about the     results of their projects and key tips
 for the credit union movement, aligns with the strong positive             (Loans).                                                    an insight into the increasing             factors that should be considered      and learning that other credit unions
 story credit unions have to tell to inspire potential volunteers                                                                       challenges facing Irish youth today        when creating a campaign targeted      can use.
 to get involved and the central tool used on the course.

10 :: CU FOCUS SUMMER 21                                                                                                                                                                                                                  CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 11
CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
Jane Daly from the ILCU Communications Department
    outlined how crafting the credit union story has been effectively
    used to raise its profile on social media. Jane gave different
                                                                          CU GREENER HOMES SCHEME
    examples of social media campaigns that have used its most
    valuable assets – its members, volunteers and staff.                  A one stop shop for home energy efficiency upgrades
       Carolann Doherty from Derry Credit Union spoke about how
    they have used the staff at Derry Credit Union as ambassadors         Motivated by comfort and warmth as well as energy savings, homeowners across Ireland are
    to great effect. She outlined the key actions and learnings they      looking to invest in home improvements in 2021. In order to help people to upgrade their
    have taken from the initiative and how effective it has been to
                                                                          homes, the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has collaborated with Energia and
    get their own stories across on their social media channels.
       A unique biodiversity community project was the subject was        House2Home to launch the CU Greener Homes scheme (CUGH) which delivers a one-stop
    the subject of St. Michael's Credit Union Marketing Manager,          shop solution for all home energy efficiency upgrades, enabling credit unions to focus on
    Luke Casey. Their Biodiversity Initiative, brought together both      providing finance solutions to their members.
    members of the credit union and community groups to address
    a community concern. Luke explained how they implemented
    the rewilding project by enlisting the help of a local biodiversity   CU Greener Homes provides access to         up to €5,000 on home improvements          considering future home improvements
    expert, identified areas that needed to be rewilded and               all of the information and supports         with 26% planning to spend in excess       to be more climate friendly. In addition,
    approached other community groups in the area to get involved         needed to carry out home energy             of €10,000. This indicates a wide          77% think a better BER or energy
    and the key benefits of getting the project implemented.              efficiency upgrades, including the          range of improvements are being            rating for their own home would
       A key takeaway from these campaigns has been that using            initial assessment, the grant application   considered and a significant proportion    positively impact the environment.
    the people you have to get the people you want.                       process, the finance required and the       of Irish households who are prepared
       The National Youth Committee and the ILCU Communications           project management.                         to make a large investment in long-        - Barriers to improvement
    Department would like to thank all the presenters and attendees                                                   term upgrades.                             While there is clearly a desire among
    who contributed to a successful online conference. A recording        Research                                                                               Irish households to undertake
    fo the conference can be accessed on the ILCU affiliate area of       As part of the nationwide launch of CU      - Access to finance                        improvements to maximise the energy
    creditunion.ie                                                        Greener Homes in April, insights            Of those who have recently carried out     efficiency of their homes, the research
                                                                          research was carried out examining          home improvement upgrades, 60%             highlights a lack of knowledge
                                                                          previous home improvements, future          primarily used their savings to pay for    regarding suitable green home energy
                                                                          home improvements, and the                  the work, with 21% borrowing money         solutions and how to get started on this
                                                                          importance of green energy.                 to get work complete. Of this borrowing    type of project. Many (58%) simply do
                                                                             The research found that comfort and      cohort, 68% turned to their local credit   not know where to start with a home
                                                                          warmth (68%) and saving money on            union with just 23% using a bank.          energy efficiency upgrade while almost
                                                                          energy (63%) are the two main drivers          One third (33%) of respondents who      two thirds (60%) of respondents were
                                                                          of future Irish home improvements.          are planning future home                   unsure of what supports and grants are
                                                                          Meanwhile the kitchen (56%) is the          improvements said they will borrow         available. 59% said they would carry
                                                                          room most people would like to              from a credit union, compared to only      out more green home improvements if
                                                                          improve, with the exterior of the house     10% who plan to take a bank loan.          the process appeared to be more
                                                                          (44%) and living room (41%) also                                                       straight forward, indicating a desire to
                                                                          popular.                                    - Carbon Footprint and Sustainable         upgrade but uncertainty on how to
                                                                             When it comes to preferred home            Homes                                    realise this ambition.
                                                                          improvements, insulation is the first       57% of respondents feel Ireland isn’t
                                                                          choice for many - 34% would like to fit     doing enough to reduce our carbon
                                                                          exterior wall insulation, 33% would opt     footprint. The research also shows that
                                                                          for attic insulation while 29% would        issues around energy efficiency and
                                                                          favour extra window glazing. The            climate change are prevalent in
                                                                          research found that 64% would spend         people’s thoughts, with 43%

12 :: CU FOCUS SUMMER 21                                                                                                                                                       CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 13
CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
About CU Greener Homes
Grants and supports of up to 40%
are available for eligible work as part
of this scheme. The Sustainable
Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)
provide grants of up to 35%
depending on the age of the home
and the type of energy efficiency
improvements carried out. In
addition, as part of this initiative,
Energia will provide additional
support of up to 5%, subject to
terms, conditions and eligibility
criteria. Homeowners can apply to a
participating Credit Union for a loan
should they need assistance with the
remaining balance of the energy
                                                                                                                        THE FUTURE OF
upgrade.
   A key feature of the CU Greener
                                                                                                                        ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS
Homes website is the Energy
efficiency calculator. The calculator
enables people to find out the cost of
proposed home energy upgrades, the
grant support which may be
available, the cost of credit union                                                                                     Over 150 credit unions logged into CUSOP’s Credit
finance and the impact of the work
on the energy efficiency of your                                                                                        Union User group webinar on 12 May.
home.
   The application process is easy
and straightforward and can be done
through the cugreeenerhome.ie                                                                                           CUSOP (Payments) DAC is the              in ROI and NI are already benefiting    payments to be made instantly to
website. Participating credit unions                                                                                    largest payment service provider to      from the increase of transaction        existing IBAN accounts. Instantly, in
offer the lowest interest rates on work                                                                                 over 180 credit unions on the island     volumes with price reductions           this context means from account to
which has the biggest overall impact                                                                                    of Ireland.                              introduced in ROI and NI from 1         account within 10 seconds – 24
on the home’s energy rating.                                                                                                                                     March 2021. Dermot also                 hours a day and 365 days a year.
Approved retrofit work which results                                                                                    Participants logged into the first       highlighted the introduction of the     The European Commission is keen
in the home achieving a Building                                                                                        virtual User Group event, bringing       Direct Debit service in Northern        to have widespread adoption and is
Energy Rating (BER) of A3 or better                                                                                     updates and insights to partnering       Ireland as one of the significant       currently consulting with countries
will attract a loan interest rate of                                                                                    credit unions.                           milestones achieved in 2020.            about the likely timescale for its
4.9% APR* Terms, conditions and                                                                                                                                                                          implementation of SCT Inst.
eligibility criteria apply.                                                                                             Noel Minogue, Chair of the CUSOP         Dermot provided an update on the
                                                                                                                        Trustees, updated on the role of the     development and roll out of the new     Diarmuid also discussed the likely
                                                                                                                        trustees pointing out that they are      MYCU Debit Mastercard ® and             timeframes and the implications of
                                                                                                                        the legal owners of the shares on        Current Account service. The            SCT Inst for credit unions in Ireland,
    Further information on the CU Greener Home Scheme is available at https://cugreenerhomes.ie/.                                                                exclusive MYCU financial model          indicating that CUSOP will have SCT
                                                                                                                        behalf of the beneficiary Credit
    * A €30,000 home improvement loan over 10 years at a 4.79% interest rate (4.9% APR) has 120 monthly repayments of                                            enables credit unions to develop        Inst available but the timing of the
    €315.13. The total amount repayable is €37,815.
                                                                                                                        Unions. Noel highlighted their role in
                                                                                                                        commencing recruitment of a new          their business case with variable       roll-out will be subject to credit
    Credit Unions are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.                                                                                                  pricing parameters tailored to their    union priorities and the Irish banks
                                                                                                                        director for the Board to replace
                                                                                                                        retiring director Noel Madden.           credit union. The service offers        decision on an implementation date.
                                                                                                                                                                 credit union members a new option       Barry Manning, Head of
                                                                                                                        CUSOP CEO, Dermot Griffin                and alternative to traditional banks.   Transactional Banking at Danske
                                                                                                                        welcomed delegates and gave an                                                   Bank joined the webinar and spoke
                                                                                                                        overview on CUSOPs progress and          Lead Consultant for Product             of Danske Bank’s experience with
                                                                                                                        future outlook for 2021 and beyond.      Enhancements and Project Delivery,      SCT Inst to date and the payments
                                                                                                                        CUSOP celebrated a key milestone         Diarmuid Hanrahan gave his              transformation in the Nordics.
                                                                                                                        of achieving a record level of annual    perspective on the topic of SEPA
                                                                                                                        member transactions of over 20           Instant Credit Transfers (SCT Inst.)    A financials update on CUSOP was
                                                                                                                        million in 2020, with values             SCT Inst is a relatively new            presented by Simon Ahern, Chief
                                                                                                                        exceeding €5 billion processed on        development across the euro zone        Financial Officer, who drew attention
                                                                                                                        their platform. CUSOP credit unions      which enables credit transfer           to the continued strong upward

14 :: CU FOCUS SUMMER 21                                                                                                                                                                                                  CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 15
CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
momentum in transaction numbers
                                                                                                                     RepTrak® 2021 Study Finds Credit
      and value in 2020 reflecting the
      positive impact of a higher number
      of credit unions, combined with
                                                                                                                     Unions are Ireland’s Most Respected
      strong growth in payments activity
      levels generally, due in part to the
      Covid pandemic. He also highlighted
                                                                                                                     Provider of Financial Services
      CUSOPs strong capital position as                                                                              Credit unions have once again been
      an important factor in providing                                                                               recognised as the most highly regarded
      certainty to Credit Unions in an                                                                               financial services organisation, according
      environment of continuous technical                                                                            the Ireland RepTrak® study. The Ireland
      advancement.                                                                                                   RepTrak® 2021 study is based on a
                                                                                                                     survey of over 6,500 members of the
      Concluding the session, Dermot                                                                                 public which gathered data on the levels
      Hudson – Head of Risk and                                                                                      of trust, respect, admiration and esteem
      Compliance at CUSOP, provided an                                                                               they have for organisations in Ireland.
      overview of recent Irish and                                                                                      Credit Unions were placed first in
      European legal and regulatory          Credit unions who would like to find     Relationship Management        Governance and in Citizenship – two
      developments with regards to           out more about the topics discussed      jchapman@cusop.ie              important drivers of reputation. Overall,
      money laundering as well as an         on the webinar or more about the         087 142 5899.                  credit unions took second place in the study
      update on the latest fraud             services offered by CUSOP are                                           with a score of 84.9. Bord Bia took the top
      techniques and how to protect          encouraged to visit www.cusop.ie or      Follow our LinkedIn page for   spot while An Post ranked in third place.
      against them.                          contact John Chapman,                    updates and insights.          Credit unions, as the cornerstone of local
                                                                                                                     communities, were recognised as being
                                                                                                                     friendly, genuine, down to earth, sincere
                                                                                                                     and straightforward, in the analysis of brand
                                                                                                                     personality traits that most closely correlated
       How SCT Inst Works                                                                                            with reputation, amongst the 100
                                                                                                                     organisations that were studied.
                                                                                                                        Speaking about the achievement, ILCU
                      SCT Institution        SCT Institution        SCT Institution           Make Funds             President, Helene McManus said: “We are
                       Instruction            Instruction            Instruction           Instantly Available       delighted to celebrate this good news and
                                                                                                                     congratulate Irish credit unions for their
                                                                                                                     consistently high performance in the
                                                                                                                     RepTrak survey. It really is a fantastic
                                                                                                                     achievement to consistently remain in the
                                                                                                                     top two for the past three years. It has been
                                                                                                                     an incredibly difficult year for all
                                                                                                                     organisations and businesses. Credit unions
                              1                       2                      3                    5                  all around the country have remained a
                                                                                                                     cornerstone of their local communities and
                                                                                                                     continue to go above and beyond for their
                                                              EBA                                                    members.”
           Member                                           Clearing                                  Beneficiary

                              7                       6                      4

                                                Confirmation             Confirmation
                            SCT Inst          message if SCT            message if SCT
                        transaction was       Inst transaction          Inst tansaction
                         not successful        successful or             successful or
                                                     not                       not

16 :: CU FOCUS SUMMER 21                                                                                                                                               CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 17
CUFocusSummer 2021 INTERVIEW WITH NEW ILCU PRESIDENT - Cyber security | AGM Reviews
CUCC Host AML Virtual
   #RespectThePressure                                                                                                                 Coffee Mornings
                                                                                                                                       As the COVID-19 restrictions                                                              The Virtual Coffee Mornings have been
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 greeted with great positivity and
                                                                                                                                       have meant that CUCC                                                                      enthusiasm by our attendees. For 2021 we
                                                                                                                                       subscribers can no longer meet                                                            changed the format so that rather than
                                                                                                                                       up in our usual Working Groups                                                            focussing on geographic areas, we issued a
   All Vehicle Drivers are urged to regularly                                                                                          – the CUCC team had to put our                                                            series of dates and invited those who
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 wished to attend to let us know. We
   check tyre pressures to ensure safety.                                                                                              thinking caps on to fill the void!                                                        increased the numbers invited to each
   • Under or over-inflated tyres contribute to                                                                                        One of the big benefits of our                                                            coffee morning, with a maximum number
     fatalities                                                                                                                        regular Working Groups is the                                                             of places available.
   • Poorly inflated tyres lead to poor performance                                                                                    opportunity to meet up with                                                               We also conducted a survey amongst our
     and compromise safety                                                                                                             other compliance and risk                                                                 subscribers to assess whether there was an
   • Incorrect tyre pressure is subject to penalty                                                                                                                                                                               interest in expanding the virtual coffee
     points
                                                                                                                                       management officers and                                                                   morning concept to include discussions on
   • Visit ITIA member dealers for a FREE tyre                                                                                         discuss matters of mutual                                                                 additional topics. The responses indicate a
     check: www.itia.ie                                                                                                                interest. We were keen to                                                                 definite appetite to expand the discussions
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 to areas such as:
                                                                                                                                       continue to facilitate such
                                                                                                                                       networking if we could.                                                                   • General Compliance Discussion (94%)
   Several credit unions recently took         McKenna, Business Development               commission of the offence, or four                                                                                                    • Online Onboarding (81%)
   part in the The Irish Tyre Industry         Manager, Monaghan Credit Union              penalty points following conviction in      Following feedback from subscribers we                                                    • General Risk Discussion (63%)
   Association (ITIA)                          Limited said “we are delighted to be        court”.                                     came up with the idea of Virtual Coffee
   #RespectThePressure campaign to             involved in driving the message of            In a survey carried out by ITIA           Mornings. What are they you might ask?                                                    Based on this feedback, we intend to
                                               tyre pressure safety home, glad to          member, Continental Tyres, it was           Essentially they are online, somewhat                                                     expand the topics being discussed at our
   increase awareness of the
                                                                                                                                       informal meetings scheduled for 45                                                        virtual coffee mornings. As much as we are
   importance of regularly checking the        take part in this campaign, as poorly       found that only one in ten female
                                                                                                                                       minutes – with no agenda or slides deck -                                                 looking forward to meeting in person again
   pressure in tyres for drivers of all        inflated tyres can have fatal               motorists regularly check their tyres,
                                                                                                                                       enabling attendees to chat about matters of                                               at future events when it is safe, the virtual
   vehicles. The campaign’s aim was to         consequences. We are supporting             this is particularly worrying as a lot of
                                                                                                                                       shared interest. The forum is open and                                                    coffee mornings have proved to be their
   inform motorists on how to identify         this initiative to ensure that we are       female drivers do the school run and
                                                                                                                                       confidential and is conducted in the spirit                                               own little success story arising from COVID-
   the correct tyre pressure for each          playing our part in ensuring the            have their children in the back of the                                                                                                19! They have been so popular and
                                                                                                                                       of co-operation They are intended to
   vehicle, to correctly inflate their tyres   safety of all our members on Irish          car. The figure for male drivers was                                                                                                  beneficial that they are likely to continue
                                                                                                                                       replace the coffee break at a Working
   and how to look out for potential           roads.                                      a slightly more ‘respectable, 23                                                                                                      well into the future.
                                                                                                                                       Group or conference, but in a remote way
   problems.                                      ITIA CEO, Sue O’Neill said:              percent - however both figures show
                                                                                                                                       and with a theme. Of course, participants
      Tyres are the most important part        “Unfortunately, people don’t often          the vast majority of motorists pay
                                                                                                                                       have to bring their own coffee… and some
   of any vehicle when it comes to             think about checking their tyre             scant regard to their tyres.
                                                                                                                                       even bring along a sticky bun!
   safety as they are the only point of        pressure and motorists need to                 “The mismanagement of tyres
   contact between the driver and the          realise that incorrect inflation of their   also reduces the performance of a           We piloted the idea with a small number of
   road itself. Based on an analysis of        tyres does not only have important          vehicle and increases running costs         credit unions. We selected Anti-Money
   road collision reports it is estimated      safety implications – It is also an         so it is important for drivers to know      Laundering (AML) and Countering the
   that defective tyres are the most           offence to drive a vehicle with             where to find their tyre pressure and       Financing of Terrorism (CFT) as our focus     subscribers about the format. Some of the
   significant contributor (66%) to a          defective or worn tyres, and this           check the condition of your tyres           for the discussions. The pilot was a great    main benefits of them have been:
                                                                                                                                       success and, delighted with the positive
                                                                                                                                                                                     3 An opportunity to share lessons learned
   collision and the cause of up to as         attracts a fixed charge (or fine) of        regularly as an essential part of
   many as 14 deaths each year*.               €80, plus two penalty points                looking after both their vehicle and        feedback, we started to roll them out
                                                                                                                                       further with the topic for discussion of        and best practices
                                                                                                                                                                                     3 A networking opportunity with other
      Speaking at the launch Ann               endorsed on the driver’s license on         safety”.
                                                                                                                                       AML.
                                                                                                                                                                                       Credit Unions
                                                                                                                                       Typically, they have been attended by         3 Raising awareness of new AML/CFT
             Tyre-related penalty point offences:                                                                                      compliance officers, MLROs and                  threats
                                                                                                                                       Manager/CEOs. Discussions have been           3 Enabling CUCC to have an aggregate
              *   Bald / not maintained / damaged tyre                                                                                 wide-ranging including how COVID-19             view of AML/CFT landscape to share
              *   Tyre with a cut                                                                                                      affected member behaviour, volumes of           onwards
              *   Tyre with tread depth less than 1.6mm                                                                                STRs, money mules, supervisory                3 Issues and questions raised contribute
              *   Tyre with lump / bulge / tear / partial failure                                                                      engagement, ongoing due diligence, high         to CUCC’s guidance documents
              *   Unsuitable tyre                                                                                                      risk members and so much more. We have        3 All done from the comfort of our own
                                                                                                                                       received very positive feedback from our        desks – saving on time and travel

18 :: CU FOCUS SUMMER 21                                                                                                                                                                                                                          CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 19
C
                                                                                                                                U

     Inspiring Credit Unions for
  Financial Inclusion and Resilience
The National Cooperative Credit Union
Association (NaCCUA) hosted their first Credit
Union Conference in Freetown in April. The
conference was attended by representatives
from government departments, the Bank of
Sierra Leone, the Embassy of Ireland and
credit unions throughout the country. The
focus of the conference was to raise
awareness of the credit union movement as
reliable and sustainable institutions for worth
creation and poverty reduction. It was also an
opportunity for NaCCUA to recognise
individual credit unions in the movement who
have achieved increased growth in both
membership and assets.
   Speaking at the conference, the Minister
of Trade and Industry (MTI) Dr. Edward            Participating in the training session for credit union leaders
Hinga Sandy, stated the government
“believe that cooperative credit union model      training sessions to the following groups:           development of procedures and
can foster and promote economic                   NaCCUA board members, credit union                   membership education and training, [credit
empowerment among our people, especially          board members and committee members,                 unions] are able to build consistency and
as it creates the platform for livelihood         Foundation staff and Department of                   continuity.” Darko noted that people are not
support; business expansion and savings for       Cooperative staff. The training sessions             taught to save but “poverty can reduce if
the future and improve social services”. He       focussed on topics specific to the groups            people can learn how to manage their
further noted that the growth in the credit       and included governance and leadership,              limited financial resources”. The credit
union movement “is a clear testament that         central finance facility and risk based              union can support this “its objective is to
with the right structures in place, foresight     supervision. The various trainings were well         help the people save among themselves,
and shared vision, members can take               received by all the participants with positive       and build a formidable institution which is
responsibility to change their lives and those    feedback provided. Darko has a wealth of             sustainable and which can help people.”
of their families.”                               credit union experience, and has worked                 You can learn more about NaCCUA and
   The conference coincided with a training       with a number credit union movements                 the credit union movement in Sierra Leone
programme for the key stakeholders in the         across Africa. He believes that credit unions        by visiting their new website:
credit union movement. Over the course of         have a role to play in economic development          www.naccuasl.org
10 days Emmanuel Darko provided tailored          on the continent, “through policies and

New furniture for the Amhara SACCO Federation office                                    Launching NaCCUA website and new logo

                                                                                                                      CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 21
C
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              U

 Amhara SACCO Federation
 establish office with
 Electric Aid funding
 In the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia,
 there are 3,500 SACCOs with close to
 900,000 members. With support from the
 Foundation a regional apex body was
 registered and licenced in the city of Bahir
 Dar, the capital of the Amhara region in
 December 2020. Amhara Federation will
 provide services such as capacity building,
 training, technical support,
 advocacy/representation as well as a
 Central Financing Facility. Electric Aid have
 generously provided almost €10,000 in
 funding towards establishing an office for
 the Ahmara SACCO Federation.
    The funding provided has allowed for
 the purchase of electronics and furniture
 including: training equipment – projector,
 screen and flipchart holder, office desks       Leuelseged Adimasu, Board Secretary, Shitahun Yirsawu, Regional Cooperative Promotion
 and chairs, filing cabinets, shelving and       Bureau, Board Chair and Yalemwork Lijalem, Board member
 office safe, a desktop computer, three                                                                                                  Emmanu Darko providing training to Foundation staff and DoC staff
 laptops, a printer/ copier/ scanner and
 office stationary. This funding from Electric
 Aid means the Amhara Federation can
 begin providing services immediately to its
 members.                                                                                                                                Irish Aid award                                    The Foundation are delighted to be a
                                                                                                                                                                                            recipient of Irish Aid’s Civil Society
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       progress depth of outreach and advance
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       towards effective credit union
    The Amhara SACCO Federation is the
 first of three envisaged regional federations                                                                                             funding to the                                   Funding. Irish Aid awarded the
                                                                                                                                                                                            Foundation €960,000 in funding in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       supervision. The project will be co-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       funded by the Foundation (40%) and
 for Ethiopia established with the
 Foundation’s support. It will serve as a                                                                                                     Foundation                                    support of our work in Sierra Leone for
                                                                                                                                                                                            the next three years. The new Step-Up
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Irish Aid (60%). The awarding of this
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       funding is testament to our work and to
 model and a template for the other
                                                                                                                                                                                            project will build upon the current        the credit union as a model for socio-
 federations. The establishment of these
                                                                                                                                                                                            project and will enable the credit union   economic and human development.
 federations involve an extensive
                                                                                                                                                                                            movement to develop their services and     Thank you to the credit unions who
 preparatory phase involving a feasibility
                                                                                                                                                                                            operations, to grow membership,            generously support our work.
 study, a business plan, mobilising
 membership and raising capital and
 working closing with the Central
 Government Regulator to develop
 appropriate regulation and supervision for      Lilian Songo, NaCCUA Chair, Hon. Minister Dr. Edward Hinga Sandy, Esther Johnson, Dep
 SACCOs                                          Director Bank of Sierra Leone and Daire Courtney, Embassy

                                                          Yalemwork Lijalem,
                                                                                                                                            Credit Union
                                                          Board Member,
                                                          Leuelseged Adimasu,
                                                                                                                                            Donations
                                                          Board Secretary and
                                                          Nega Gismie, Board
                                                          Chairperson
                                                                                                                                            To date 29 credit unions have
                                                                                                                                            donated to the Foundation’s work in
                                                                                                                                            2021, thank you for your support. If
                                                                                                                                            your credit union would like to
                                                                                                                                            donate to support the Foundation’s
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     $
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Keep up to date with our work on
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
                                                                                                                                            work as we continue to build
                                                                                                                                            financial inclusion for all, please                                                          For more information on the Foundation
                                                                                                                                            contact us.                                                                                      contact Sinéad on 01 614 6945
                                                        Moyamba Teachers
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | email slynam@creditunion.ie
                                                        Coop Credit Union
                                                        receive award for CU
                                                        with highest total assets

22 :: CU FOCUS SUMMER 21                                                                                                                                                                                                                            CU FOCUS SUMMER 21 :: 23
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