The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has elected the first woman president in its 47-year history.

The new president is current vice-president Anne O'Byrne, of the Blessington, Co Wicklow, credit union.

After her election she criticised the banking sector, which she accused of deserting rural Ireland.

She replaces outgoing president John O'Regan after a majority of the 1,000 delegates at the ILCU's biennial delegate meeting voted for her instead of the league's treasurer, Carmel Dowling of Mitchelstown and Fermoy Credit Unions.

Speaking after her election in Killarney, Ms O'Byrne said her priority would be to reassure the society's 2.9 million members North and South that "credit unions are not withdrawing from their communities".

Credit unions were staying in small communities and in disadvantaged areas "not like the banks," said Ms O'Byrne .

In fact the ILCU was examining how it would replace banks in areas where they had pulled out, she said. In the west where there was not already a credit union and where the banks had left, the ICLU had been approached, she said.

There had been some concern that credit unions would be closed "or rationalised" into bigger units, but this was not the case.

"We feel there is a greater need than ever to be in small communities now in the absence of banks," she said.

The ICLU was also keen to expand services such as ATMs and a pilot project on cash points was under way in five areas.