It's four years since the then Registrar of Friendly Societies, Mr Martin Sisk, started an inquiry into Gurranabraher Credit Union in Cork, but the brickbats are still being thrown.
Last Monday's annual general meeting saw bottles and microphones flying and the Regulator of Credit Unions, Mr Brendan Logue, being surrounded and subjected to abuse.
A High Court case that followed the 2002 dismissal of the former manager and deputy manager of the credit union, heard allegations of intimidation from both sides.
But despite all the negative publicity, Gurranabraher Credit Union in Cork city, with an asset base of €65 million and more than 15,000 members, is one of the biggest credit unions in the State.
The branch is located in the working-class region of the city's north side, a huge area where social deprivation and poverty go hand in hand. Despite the area's difficulties, the local credit union branch has grown beyond all expectations.
For many the branch was seen as an alternative to the moneylender and allowed otherwise cash-strapped families to save and enjoy a previously unattainable standard of life.
However, serious questions about the running of the credit union have been raised over recent years, not least in the report produced by Mr Sisk and discussed at an extraordinary general meeting in 2001 that ran from 7.30 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Among other issues, the report dealt with bullying and the behaviour of members at board meetings; the question of directors' expenses being unreceipted; and the fact that a financial adviser, Mr Damian Wallace, a former Lord Mayor of Cork and son of former Minister of State at the Department of Environment and Local Government, Mr Dan Wallace, was paid €120,650 in consultancy fees for investing €3.8 million on behalf of the credit union. Mr Wallace was appointed without other tenders being sought.
During the 2001 meeting, Mr Sisk said the fees paid to Mr Wallace appeared to be excessive.
After manager Mr Alec Good and deputy manager Ms Patricia O'Neill were dismissed in December 2002, they contested the move in the High Court. During hearings, the court heard of an investigation by a lawyer into complaints by staff against the two senior executives. The lawyer found evidence of unprofessional conduct, including the alleged use of a security camera to check on staff at work. The lawyer concluded that the staff found the atmosphere at work to be intimidating.
The court also heard that some 639 loans totalling €1.18 million appeared to have been issued in a two-year period without written records or authorisation. Mr Good told the court that he had not approved the loans.
The court also heard of a loan for €127,000 that was granted to a borrower so he could buy a shampoo business in Australia.
The case was settled earlier this year but not before it had cost the credit union €1.5 million. These costs included €707,229 in legal charges, €614,456 in consultancy fees, and €250,000 in a termination payment to the two former managers.
The cost of the case led to the credit union having to cancel its loan interest rebate for 2003, which added to the heat of last Monday's meeting.
