The Government should establish a task force to safeguard the future of credit unions in the State, the Credit Union Development Association (CUDA) has said.
In a report on the development of the movement, CUDA recommends that credit unions end self-regulation to ensure greater protection of credit union depositors.
A statutory savings deposit guarantee scheme supervised by the Financial Regulator would bring credit union members into line with the protections on offer for bank customers, the report says.
Bill Hobbs, chief executive of CUDA said: "Over the last 50 years Credit unions have played a significant role in the delivery of financial services in Ireland."
"However given the legal, regulatory and societal changes in the recent past, credit unions need a revised regulatory and legislative framework to create the platform that will enable them to make the changes needed if the movement is to survive and thrive in the future. "
The report also recommends that credit unions should provide a range of updated savings and lending products and that the movement should adopt market-based principles of pricing to ensure better rates and terms for consumers.
A upgrade of the IT systems for credit unions was also recommended along with an overhaul of operational systems and internal controls to improve efficiency.