The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is planning a "political action" campaign in the run-up to the next general election if the Government does not implement a range of reforms to enable them to compete more easily with commercial banks.
The league, which is holding its consultative general meeting this weekend, has been putting in place a lobbying network in the event of it failing to secure regulatory changes, which will allow it to hand out more longer-term loans.
Late last month ILCU chief executive Liam O'Dwyer wrote to every credit union in the country, advising them that a co-ordinator would be appointed for each Dáil constituency to oversee a possible lobbying campaign. "The league board believe it is important to be prepared to take action if our reasonable requests for change are not met," he wrote.
The league has already been lobbying TDs and political parties since January in an attempt to see changes to the 1997 Credit Union Act, to raise the current limit on deposits in credit unions, and to increase the percentage of loans that can be for terms of more than five years.
It is also seeking a relaxation on the current restrictions on how credit unions are allowed to manage their investment portfolio. It has held a series of discussions with the Department of Finance and other regulatory and advisory bodies in an attempt to see the changes implemented.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen is due to address the general meeting this morning, at which he is expected to give some limited commitments on some of the demands, including raising the cap on deposits along with a promise to resolve the other issues in a short time frame.
In a letter last month to the heads of the regional organisations, or chapters, of the credit union league, Mr O'Dwyer warned that it needed to begin to put plans in place in case it did not achieve its demands.
"In order to prepare the movement to take political action if the legislative developments required by credit unions are not met, the league board feel it advisable to set up, on a formal basis, the constituency co-ordinator structure that has operated so successfully in the past, so that if action is required it can be executed with immediate effect."