BAD DEBT QUESTIONS RAISED AT CREDIT UNION A.G.M.

- 100 people taken to court for defaulting on loans -

There was visible unease amongst some members of the attendance as an unprepared board of directors were unable to answer questions regarding the writing off of bad debts at the Mitchelstown Credit Union AGM.

During the treasurer’s report at the meeting, held last week at The Firgrove Hotel, Fr Eugene Baker, speaking from the floor, asked how the union had allowed over €300,000 worth of bad debt to be written off over the course of the last year. It was explained that these bad debts must still be pursued through the courts and that some money will be recovered.

While this appeared to have satisfied the initial query, some members at the meeting were dissatisfied with the board’s inability to answer further questioning on the matter.

Outgoing credit union manager Donal Scannell was twice required to take to the podium to give approximate answers to questions concerning the sum of debt written off over the history of the credit union and the numbers of people taken to court. Mr Scannell was able to inform members that approximately €4 million of bad debt had been written off over the years, and that in the past year roughly 100 people had been taken before the courts over failure to repay loans.

There were heated comments from the floor, slamming the “Mickey Mouse” setup that forced the revelations under such conditions. It is “crazy”, one man commented, that such a large amount should be allowed to be written off, reminding all of the detrimental affect such losses have on members dividends.

It was “frightening” the meeting heard, that members should only find this out following a line of questioning to the board. Following the criticism it was proposed that more information should be made available to members regarding bad debt, and that a running total be supplied to members at each AGM. The motion was overwhelmingly carried and the proposer and his comments were applauded by the large crowd that attended the meeting.

Also during the meeting members expressed their sincere regret that manager Donal Scannell was to leave the branch to move to Thurles. Mr Scannell was a “kind, courteous man,” one speaker noted, “and it was sad to see that, after only 3 years in Mitchelstown, a man now has to travel from Cork to Thurles to go to work”.

The board wished Mr Scannell all the best in his new role, with president Tara O’Doherty thanking him for “steadying the ship” when he first arrived during difficult times for Mitchelstown Credit Union.

Other issues raised on the night were the role of the youth council and the possibility of internet banking, a topic on which secretary Michael Hanrahan said the credit union were taking a “prudent but progressive” approach.

A prize draw was hosted at the conclusion of the meeting and several members went away happy with a collection of prizes that included hampers, gift cheques and televisions.

 

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