50 Years Of Irish Credit Union Movement Celebrated In Limerick

The 50th anniversary of the founding of the Irish credit union movement was today marked by an official function at Limerick County Hall in Dooradoyle.

The Board of Directors of the Irish League of Credit Unions attended the event a day ahead of the organisation’s Annual General Meeting at the University of Limerick. There are currently 521 credit unions affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions with 2.9m members and €13.4m in savings. Credit unions can be found at 25 locations throughout Limerick City and County, including Askeaton, Bruff, Athea, Rathkeale, Castletroy, Glin, Castleconnell, Abbeyfeale, Kilmallock, Mungret, Ahane and Newcastle West.

Addressing those in attendance at today’s function, Councillor Kevin Sheahan, Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, commented, “It is heartening to see that in a world of global banking and other financial institutions that there is still a place and demand for community-driven cooperative financial institutions.” He said, “Credit unions in Limerick are extremely varied in their size, membership and in the range of services they offer. However, they all share a basic philosophy and set of principles. That is to offer members the chance to have control over their own finances by making their own savings work for them. By saving together and lending to each other at a fair and reasonable rate of interest, our credit unions continue that generations-old Irish tradition of co-operative self-help.”

The Cathaoirleach said he believed that that the success of the credit union movement contributed greatly to the development of the Irish economy. He explained, “We should not lose site of the fact that the Irish credit union movement was established in response to the scarce availability and poor management of money in this country. Long before Ireland became a prosperous nation, the Irish League of Credit Union Unions was developing a system whereby people were empowered to gain more control over their finances.”

“While the Celtic Tiger has been and gone and the financial burdens on families and individuals are greater than ever, there is no doubt that our credit unions will continue to provide a helping hand for members of the community for many years to come”, concluded Councillor Sheahan.

The Irish credit union movement was founded in 1958 as a result of the efforts of three dynamic, pioneering and entrepreneurial people namely Nora Herlihy, from Ballydesmond, a teacher based in Dublin; Sean Forde, an employee of Peter Kennedy Bakers, Dublin; and, Séamus P. MacEoin from Kilkenny a Civil Servant working in Dublin. The international credit union movement has its origins in mid-19th century Germany and now has affiliates in 97 countries.

500 Euro-Per-Year Energy Savings Offered To Limerick/Clare Homeowners

The Limerick Clare Energy Agency today said that the Government’s launch of a Home Energy Saving Scheme had presented the people of Clare and Limerick with an ideal opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

The LCEA, along with Clare County Council and Limerick County Council, will administer the multi-million Euro Scheme, which is also being piloted in Dundalk and Tipperary. With an initial investment of €5 million, the regional pilot is designed to inform the rollout of the full scale €100 million national scheme envisaged in the Programme for Government.

“The aim of the Scheme is to encourage homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes in order to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions”, explained Mr. Pat Stephens, Director of the LCEA. Mr. Stephens said, “The scheme will target older housing as these homes are most in need of energy efficiency retrofitting. By participating in the Scheme, householders in counties Clare and Limerick, with the exception of Limerick City, can potentially save up to €500 on their energy bills every year.”

He added, “Thousands of tonnes of CO2 will also be saved in its first year alone, which will help both counties to make significant savings on their annual carbon levy. The full €100 million scheme is expected to yield greenhouse gas savings of 175,000 tonnes per year.” Outlining the operation of the Scheme across Clare and Limerick, Mr. Stephens stated, “Householders will avail of a Building Energy Rating (BER) assessor to come to their house, give the home a BER rating and advise on the works that need to be carried out to improve energy efficiency. The homeowner will pre-pay €100 towards the cost of this assessment, with Sustainable Energy Ireland subsidising the balance. The Government, therefore, will cover approximately two thirds of the cost of the assessment.”

“The assessor may advise that the house requires such work as attic insulation, interior or exterior wall insulation, low emissions double-glazing, heating control or a range of other energy efficient works. The Government will then cover up to 30% of the cost of these works, to a maximum of €2,500. On completion of the works a follow-up energy assessment on the building will be undertaken so that there is a ‘before and after’ test of what has been done”, he said.Mr. Stephens urged householders across Clare and Limerick to immediately consider the Scheme.

“Homeowners interested in receiving financial assistance in improving the energy efficiency of their own home should call the Lo-Call number that will be advertised by Sustainable Energy Ireland the Government over the coming days. Alternatively, they may view our website at http://www.lcea.ie/ for further information on the Home Energy Saving Scheme”, he concluded.

Avvio.com Appoints UK Sales Manager

Avvio.com, the leading web-enabled hotel software provider, has recently appointed Mr. Ciaran Brazil as UK Sales Manager.

Mr. Brazil joins the Limerick-based firm from TravelClick, where he held the position of Director of eCommerce. Ciaran’s main role as UK Sales Manager, based out of London, is to expand Avvio.com’s current portfolio of UK hotel clients, focusing primarily on the leading and preferential brands within the UK.

Avvio.com began trading in February 2002 and currently employs 35 people at its offices in the University of Limerick, County Limerick. The firm delivers online results for over 30% of hotels in Ireland, including Ashford Castle, The Merrion Hotel, The Dylan, Dromoland Castle and The K Club. 80% of 5-star hotels in Ireland use the company’s online software.

The company’s suite of software products, Avvio Suite, yielded in excess of EUR45million in accommodation bookings for clients in 2007.

For more LoCall 1890 30 2000 or visit http://www.avvio.com/