Community rallies behind Charleville Credit Union following shock closure

Over 800 concerned locals packed into Charleville Community Hall on Tuesday night for a public meeting to discuss the shock closure of Charleville Credit Union last Friday. It was standing room only as Cllr Ian Doyle, who hosted the meeting, said that the priority was the restoration of a fully functioning Credit Union in the town. He added that Mallow Credit Union had made an offer to extend its common bond to service the mem-bers of Charleville Credit Union, and he was hopeful that the Central Bank would look favourably on it. “We cannot be without a Credit Union in Char-leville,” he said. “What we want is a viable, working Credit Union in the town, six days a week.”
He also revealed, having talked to the liquidators, that it is hoped that a desk will be opened in the Charleville office shortly, so that people can make loan repayments, though the priority at the moment is to get people’s deposits paid back as quickly as possible. The councillor also paid tribute to the staff and board of the Credit Union for their contribution to the community over the years, while Yvonne Mor-rissey read out a statement on behalf of the staff, saying, “We didn’t just work at the Credit Union to make a living – we love what we do, helping our neighbours, friends and everyone in the community improve their lives. A large number of us have very long service, and have spent all our working lives in Charleville.
“We knew that the Credit Union had its problems, but we also know that everyone worked incred-ibly hard to save the Credit Union. Huge sacrifices have been made by the staff since 2009. We saw our colleagues made redundant, and a halving of the workforce. We worked long, unpaid hours, all to try and ensure that the Credit Union could survive and continue to serve the local com-munity.”
Other speakers included Pat Savage, along with Annette Kiely, former CEO.
The closure of the Credit Union means that 11 staff have now been made redundant from their jobs, though they are continuing to work with the provi-sional liquidators for the present.
The matter was raised in Dáil Eireann on Tuesday night by Deputy Michael Moynihan, and he and Cllr Ian Doyle will meet officials from the Central Bank today, Thursday, in Dublin.