Co Kildare village set to lose Credit Union spurs outraged letter

Naas Credit Union has confirmed that it is to close its Ballymore Eustace sub office next month citing online services, smartphone app and the ATM in Naas as rendering the service 'unsustainable'.

Naas Credit Union CEO Sean Murray said; “Naas Credit Union has a very strong membership tradition in Ballymore Eustace. I would like to thank our members in the area for their continued support and assure them that we remain committed to providing them with a top class service. The majority of our Ballymore members already use the Naas and Monread shopping centre branches and I hope that others will find that the wider range of services available there will actually improve their experience. They will also continue to see familiar faces as staff from the Ballymore Eustace office will be available in our Naas, Monread and Maynooth branches.”

He said: “Finally, I would like offer our sincere thanks to Mae and Eddie Whelan, our long standing landlords in Ballymore Eustace for their support over the years.”

Over the years Naas Credit Union sponsored the  Ballymore Eustace People of the Year Awards. . Every year, they donate a wonderful prize to a local sports person, in memory of The Late Des Kennedy, who was formerly on the Board of Directors of Naas CU.

A woman whose late mother was a volunteer that  helped establish the Credit Union in a Co Kildare village is outraged that its sub-office is set to close.

Here is the letter from an outraged Ballymore Eustace resident:

She said: "I am disappointed and really annoyed at the recent decision to close the sub-office in Ballymore Eustace.  The foundation of the Credit Union movement originally was to provide financial services to communities, to provide, more or less, a bank for the people when banking institutions didn’t really cater for the ‘smaller’ man.

"Started in 1973 with volunteers, many of them the ladies of the ICA and the then Community Council, Ballymore Eustace has a sub office running here in various locations, from the ICA Hall to Mrs Grace’s shop to its current location in Whelan’s premises."

"You have recently taken over Maynooth CU and Newbridge CU, both with massive debts and in the case of Newbridge, a massive investment required to secure and refurbish CU premises whilst Ballymore Eustace has always held its own."

"We may have a small membership in the overall scale of things, but isn’t that what the original CU foundation was based on? When Nora Herlihy, Sean Forde and Seamus P Maceoin founded the Irish League of Credit Unions in 1960, it was “not for profit financial co-operatives”. It was founded to help working class people to manage their finances, people in rural and urban Ireland but now we find ourselves in a small rural community once again abandoned when it comes to cost cutting and down-sizing."

"Those who depend most on the location of the CU sub office in the village will lose out most. The elderly or persons who have neither personal transport nor access to online banking – where is the loyalty shown them?  Where is their reward for remaining constant in the 43 years of CU banking in Ballymore Eustace?."

"I feel really let down by Naas Credit Union – on a personal note, my late mother was one of the early voluntary workers who spent every Friday evening, with pencil and paper, no calculator and no computer, working in the ICA Hall. Just another person who contributed to the success of the CU movement in Ireland."

Representations have been made to Deputies Fiona O’Loughlin and Martin Heydon.

Deputy O’Loughlin said:. “I was disappointed to learn of the forthcoming closure but understand it was based on useage numbers and alternative service options. I am told it will impact on some members of the village, especially the elderly and hence, I have made representations to Naas Credit Union. It is a shame that perhaps a temporary office, once a month or fortnightly office might be an alternative option?”