Three million Irish people Are members of the credit unions in Ireland
The credit unions in Ireland boast the largest number of members in Europe, new figures reveal. Three million Irish people are members of the savings and loans unions across the country, which represents 75% of the population.
Irish League of Credit Unions chief executive Kieron Brennan said this was testament to the loyalty of its members.
“As many people in this country feel the pressure of increased bills and living expenses, it is important that they have alternatives to the high cost services of moneylenders which often trap households into a cycle of debt,” said Mr Brennan.
“We want our members to know that we will put them first at all times and will continue to provide these local, accessible services well into the future.”
The new figures, released by the European Network of Credit Unions, showed there are 1,169 credit unions operating across Europe, with over 6 million members.
Among those, 498 unions are based in Ireland and have total savings of nearly 12 million euro.
“Credit unions have been operating in Ireland for over 50 years and we value all of our members,” Mr Brennan went on.
“We are delighted to see the familiar faces coming in through the doors and welcome all of our new members who have joined us in the past years.
“These figures highlight again the strength of the Irish movement and the loyalty of our members in communities and parishes across the country.”
No added/extra time to pay the €100 household tax - says Hogan
DATA PROTECTION legislation will be changed if required to secure the collection of the €100 household charge, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has said.
However, he added he expected to establish an agreement with the Data Protection Commission shortly to allow the use of information from utility bills, which would make change in the law unnecessary.
Speaking on RTÉ radio yesterday, Phil Hogan said the March 31st deadline would not be extended and those who refused to pay could find themselves in court.
“Whoever doesn’t pay the charge will be liable for the charge in law and people have to think long and hard about whether they want to be in the courts,” he said.
Latest figures from the Department of the Environment show more than 260,000 out of approximately 1.6 million eligible households have paid the charge.
A department spokesman yesterday said the numbers registering to pay were increasing by about 10,000 a day. Just under 80 per cent had registered online while the remainder had paid by post or in person at city and county council offices.
Mr Hogan said he was “getting on exceptionally well” with the Data Protection Commissioner and expected to have the necessary arrangements in place during the course of the year to use information from electricity and other utility companies to track down those who had yet to pay.
However, he said if there were any difficulties in securing the information needed, the Government would turn its attention to legislative change to ensure the charge could be collected.
“I have the full support of the Government to enact further legislation if necessary to ensure this charge is implemented in full.”
Mr Hogan said his department was working with the departments of Justice and Finance to see where changes to legislation might be needed. Specifically the Data Protection Acts and the fines Acts were being reviewed he said.
Mr Hogan said he was not concerned that the majority of home owners had yet to pay the charge.
The vast majority of people wanted to be compliant, he said. However, he warned there would be no leeway for those who failed to pay on time.
The majority of local authorities would be opening offices on the final payment date, which is a Saturday, to facilitate last minute payers, the department spokesman said.
Campaigners against the charge said Mr Hogan’s comments showed desperation.
The Campaign Against Household Water Taxes, which is organised by the United Left Alliance, said those who claimed householders were waiting till the last minute were “acutely out of touch with the mood of ordinary people”.
GALWAY-MAYO Institute of Technology meets over low morale at the institute
Motivation and morale among teaching staff within the largest of the five schools in Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) is said to be “at an all time low”,
The Institute of Technology says it is “consulting with staff” in its business school following a three-hour meeting between staff and management last week on issues relating to low morale.
A number of classes were cancelled last Monday to facilitate the meeting off campus. This follows several meetings held last month where it was reported that “motivation and morale” were at an “all-time low”, and where business school staff were concerned about lack of consultation by management, among other issues.
GMIT’s business school has been the focus of controversy and unrest dating back a number of years. Issues came to a head in March 2011 when the college management initiated an external inquiry into how it responded to and dealt with “complaints/suspicions” of plagiarism highlighted by one lecturer in 2010.
It also said it was tightening up quality standards at the college.
UCD deputy registrar of teaching and learning Prof Bairbre McRedmond, and barrister and mediator Ed Madden, were asked to conduct an independent investigation into the response to a specific incident at the college’s school of business, which had by then already been the subject of three internal inquiries.
They were to furnish a report “as quickly as practicable”, with an expected publication three weeks after investigations had concluded, according to GMIT’s terms of reference.
The investigation would cover the manner in which a complaint was made and suspicions communicated by a lecturer to the relevant department, school and institute, GMIT said. It would also focus on whether “any relevant matter was suppressed, concealed or covered up by the department, school or institute, or any member of staff”, it said.
The institute had already taken disciplinary measures against a lecturer in relation to plagiarism. Its internal inquiries had found that its school of business originally treated a misconduct allegation as a “minor” case of plagiarism by a student, when it should have been dealt with at senior management level.
GMIT said the independent investigation was continuing. It understood that the report would be completed “in the next two months”. It said some lecturers at last Monday’s meeting returned to scheduled classes, while any deferred classes would have been rescheduled so students would not have been disadvantaged.
There has been unrest among staff within the School of Business stretching as far back as 2005; which was brought to the fore again over the past 18 months when revelations about cheating, plagiarism and low morale among staff, broke
Bank of Ireland Chief paid €831,000 last year despite bank losses & Government pay ceiling
It has been revealed that Bank of Ireland CEO Richie Boucher was paid €831,000 last year.
That figure is above the Government’s €500,000 salary cap for bankers.
That figure is above the Government’s €500,000 salary cap for bankers.
The figure is contained in the bank’s annual report, which has been released this evening.
The bank recently announced a pre-tax losses of €190m for last year.
According to the Bank of Ireland report, Mr Boucher was awarded a salary of €690,000 last year.
He waived €67,000 from his salary, but when other benefits including pension contributions are added in he received a total payment of €831,000.
The bank said that Mr Boucher’s salary is the same as the previous year and was agreed with the former Finance Minister, the late Brian Lenihan.
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