The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) today begins a campaign to expand its network among schools.
League chief executive Liam O'Dwyer said the campaign would coincide with International Credit Union Day today, and the ILCU would like to see a "sub-branch" in every school in the State. About 200 primary and secondary schools have sub-credit union branches.
"We see it as an important way of teaching young people the value of money, of saving and of social capital. Credit unions are run by the community by volunteers for the community," he said.
Recently, he added, the value of saving and volunteering was increasingly easy to lose sight of, especially among the young. The banks, he continued, "put pressure on young people to take out loans, pushing easy credit, or debt, at them."
At Grange Community College in Donaghmede, Dublin, principal Anthony Creevy says the local credit union - Trinity branch - approached his predecessor with a proposal to set up a sub-branch in the school. "We were enthusiastic from the beginning . . . it was seen as a way teach the students how to manage money."
Youth officer with Trinity, Noeleen Fuller, opens in the school every Friday when students and teachers deposit their money. These are logged and held at the Trinity branch. Students are not allowed to take out loans until they are 18.
Out of 350 students, over 50 are members. There is also a board of directors made up of fifth year students, including Ciarán Hand, PRO. "It works very well. I represented the credit union at the school open day and a lot of parents and students were every interested in it. The board meets every few weeks to talk about how things are going."
Second year student Marc Forde joined because "ma told me it's a great way to save. I put in about €5 a week I get for pocket money or helping out in the house". He has "about €120 now".
Laura O'Flanagan, in third year, "gets a thrill" when she sees the savings mounting. "And it makes you more aware of how much things cost and how hard you have to save to get them."
This is, says Fuller, one of the most important contributions membership of a credit union can make to a young person. "The credit union teaches them the value of money and the importance of saving, working towards a goal. It's different from the banks because there's no agenda, no hidden charges."
