£27m computer debacle to head credit union meeting

Board members of the Irish League of Credit Unions will not have to resign if a motion of no confidence is passed at this weekend's special general meeting in Limerick. The unprecedented move, orchestrated by Tullamore Credit Union, is not provided for in the league's rules but even if board members bow to the vote, members believe the fiasco over a botched computer system, costing £27 million (€38 million), is the least of the movement's problems. However, sources acknowledge there is deep anger over the issue.

The two-day private meeting is seen as a watershed, setting the agenda on how the movement adapts to the changing financial sector environment. Many delegates, following meetings in their own branches, will want to move on. They are anxious to put credit union branches, which operate in virtual isolation from one another, on an equal footing with other financial institutions. Presentations from financial software companies, Perot Systems and Electronic Data Systems, offering what the ISIS system failed to deliver at a £27 million cost, will be viewed keenly tomorrow by about 1,000 delegates, representing most of the 530 branches. Despite an apparently healthy membership of almost two million, alarm bells are ringing about the failure to attract new members in the 18 to 25 age group. One manager said yesterday that arrangements between credit union branches were on an ad-hoc basis which made it difficult for members living elsewhere to access funds. "To a certain extent much of this weekend will be cursing the darkness. At some stage along the way somebody has to find a candle and put a match to it," he said.