It was with great sadness that the Board and Staff of Malahide and District Credit Union learned of the passing of Barry Donaldson.

Barry spent several years on the Board of Directors up to his retirement in 2012 and also was a member of the Credit Control Committee.

A keen tennis player and golfer, Barry had a wide range of other interests and a large circle of friends.

Always great company and known for his gentle demeanour and keen sense of humour, Barry will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Our condolences go to his wife Theresa, children Steven and Suzanne, and the extended family.

Go ndeana Dia trócaire ar a anam.

We were delighted to recently announce the winners of this year’s Malahide Credit Union Art Competition.

The theme for this year’s competition was “Imagine More”.

Congratulations to our winners and also, to everyone who took part in the competition who made the judging exceptionally tough.

The very best of luck to those moving onto Chapter Level.

Our winners were:

• Caoimhe Heneghan – St. John Paul School – Winner 8-10 Age Category
• Maya Thewlis – St. Oliver Plunkett School – Joint Winner 11-13 Age Category
• Noah Moore – St. Oliver Plunkett School – Joint Winner 11-13 Age Category

Credit Unions win the Best Customer Experience Award for an unparalleled sixth consecutive year.

For the sixth consecutive year, Credit unions have claimed pole position for the best customer experience in Ireland at the official CXi awards announced earlier this week. Credit unions have strengthened their reputation as Ireland’s undisputed CX champions by not just taking the top spot again this year, but by also extending their lead at the top of the table.

The CXi Report is published annually by the CX Company based on a survey carried out on their behalf by Amárach Research. Amárach surveyed 2,500 Irish consumers who rated their customer experiences of 151 brands across ten sectors. Credit unions were deemed the overall winners with the highest scores across the six pillars of Customer Experience – Personalisation, Integrity, Expectations, Time & Effort, Empathy and Resolution.

Credit unions also topped the poll for best financial brand and the best brand for loyalty.

Speaking after today’s announcement, ILCU Head of Communications, Paul Bailey said: “In what has been an unprecedented year, we are extremely proud of this unparalleled achievement. To achieve the overall award for the sixth consecutive year is testament to every credit union across the country and to all of the frontline staff and volunteers who have exceeded their members experience and expectations despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit unions are an essential service and have stayed open during this pandemic and will continue to do so under the new Level 5 restrictions announced by the Government last night. They have adapted their services and will continue to go above and beyond for their members. To also get the top spots for best brand in financial sector and best brand for loyalty really rings true that credit unions are the best in class. Credit unions will continue to put the needs of their members at the heart of everything they do as they aim for the magnificent seven next year.”

Michael Killeen, Chairman of the CX Company, speaking at today’s award ceremony said, “Once again I have to congratulate Irish credit unions for their consistently high performance not only for winning for the sixth year in a row but for also widening the gap between themselves and the rest of the competition. This is a phenomenal achievement and really sets the gold standard for other Irish and global companies to emulate. The credit unions continue to set world records which I have no doubt is primarily down to their member or customer-centric approach. Other companies take note!”

International Credit Union (ICU) Day® is celebrated each year on the third Thursday in October. The event, while a global one, offers excellent opportunities to promote credit unions at local level, while also informing the community about the real and beneficial impact credit unions have on people’s lives the world over.

International Credit Union day takes place this year on Thursday 15th October. WOCCU has chosen the theme ‘Inspiring Hope For a Global Community’ to mark this year’s celebration. It speaks to how credit unions around the globe have continued to provide a high level of service to their members and demonstrated a generosity to their local communities during the COVID-19 crisis that has set them apart from other financial institutions. We are truly inspiring hope for a global credit union community.

#ICUDay #globalcommunity #creditunion

Our Board of Directors have made some changes to the operation of our members accounts, which became effective from 1st October 2020

The maximum savings that can be held by any member is now set at €10,000

• Members may lodge up to a maximum of €1,000 savings per month
• Remember, we are here for all your borrowing needs as well as savings; we have a wide range of very attractive loan offers that are available to our members, so why not contact us to discover our great offers.

Over a quarter (27%) of Irish parents are getting into debt to cover the costs of back to school. While this figure is down from 36% in 2019, the average debt parents find themselves in has increased by €40 from €357 to €397. Of this 27% in debt, over four fifths (81%) have debts of over €200 with over a quarter of these having debts of over €500.

This is not surprising as back to school costs continue to rise for parents, with the overall spend on school items for primary school students at €1,123, up €174 from last year. In secondary schools’ parents average spend is €1,467, up €68 on last year.

The top expense this year for parents of primary school children is after school care at an average of €200 up from €117 in 2019. For second level parents the biggest expense is books at €196 down from €220 last year.  Voluntary contributions for primary schools have increased by 25% to an average of €110 per child from €88 in 2019, with secondary school contributions remaining at an average of €140.

Over two thirds (69%) of Irish parents pay for their children’s back to school supplies from their general monthly income with 20% using their credit card, up from 13% in 2019. The use of savings has grown from 27% to 34%, 6% take a credit union loan, down from 9%, with those turning to moneylenders remaining at 3%.

66% of parents say that covering the cost of back to school is a financial burden, although encouragingly this is down from 78% last year. Almost 4 in 10 (37%) consider the costs associated with back to school as their main concern in the lead up to getting their children ready to return to school, down from 50% in 2019. Interestingly, there has been an increase in parents being concerned amount managing their schedule at 33% up from 20% last year.

The findings were revealed in the annual Republic of Ireland school-costs survey commissioned by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) and carried out by i-Reach Insights in June 2020 when 948 parents of school going children were surveyed.

The results of the survey also revealed that 66% of parents shop online for school supplies, a rise of 15% from 2019, with respondents citing convenience (59%), saving money (59%) and the availability of better deals (56%) as the main reasons for doing so.

Cutting back on family holidays is still one of the biggest sacrifices that families make to cover back to school costs at 34%, with a quarter cutting back on summer camps. 64% have had to deny their children extracurricular activities with 38% cancelling school trips to help fund back to schools costs.

44% of parents say they feel pressured into buying branded clothing, footwear and other items for their children as opposed to generic or own brand goods, while more than 2 in 3 (69%) believe that schools don’t do enough to help parents keep the costs of going back to school down, an increase of 5% from 2019.​ ​

COVID-19 findings

The ILCU survey also highlighted concerns of parents brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over a fifth (22%) of Irish parents reported that there has been a reduction in their household income as a result of Covid-19. A similar number (21%) are finding the extra cost of feeding their children when home-schooling to have had the biggest effect on household finances.

When it comes to children going back to school, 59% of parents believe there will be a mix of home schooling and classroom for the new term while nearly half (49%) said that they would carefully consider the measures put in place in schools before deciding whether to send their children back to school.

42% of parents are worried about their child’s mental health for the upcoming term if children will not be returning to school in a full-time classroom setting with a further 41% concerned about their children catching up on missed teaching.  42% of parents are already concerned that their children have fallen behind in class as a result of home-schooling during the lockdown, while 23% said they would struggle with returning to work if schools don’t reopen fully.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, 36% of parents feel their children are spending too much time watching TV or on mobile devices (32%) as a result of being home-schooled. A third of parents (33%) also believe their children are missing their friends from school and may be lonely as a result.​

If schools do not reopen or only partially reopen, 38% of parents stated that they are lacking resources for proper home schooling. These include educational resources and materials (38%) and printing (35%). Nearly a third of respondents cited poor broadband coverage as a major concern in delivering effective home schooling.

ILCU survey shows marked increase in average debt of parents coping with Back to School costs

• Over a quarter (27%) of Irish parents find themselves in debt in order to cover the costs of back to school for their children, with 8% having debts of over €500
• The average debt parents find themselves in to cover the costs of back to school is €397, an increase of €40 from last year
• Parents now spending €1,467 per secondary school child – up €68 on last year
• At primary school level, spending has increased by €174 and now stands at €1,123 per child.
• 69% of parents believe schools don’t do enough to keep costs down

Covid-19 related concerns

• 42% of parents are worried that their children will fall behind in class as a result of home schooling over the past few months.
• Over half (59%) of parents believe there will be a mix of home schooling and classroom for the new term.
• 49% will carefully consider the measures put in place in schools before deciding whether to send their children back to school.
• Over a third of parents said they are not equipped with sufficient resources if full or part-time home-schooling becomes the norm with 29% citing poor broadband as a major concern.

Check out our new podcast with Dermot McConkey talking Local with Martina Sheridan, Norma Reilly and James Liston.

The podcast highlights and explains in detail our #StayLocaBorrowLocalSpendLocal campaign and the importance of keeping business in our local communities as we adjust to the new norm.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking the play button below.

CREDIT UNIONS WANT YOU

We are delighted to launch our new campaign #StayLocaBorrowLocalSpendLocal to promote the local community and economy as a response to COVID-19. This may be the worst recession since the Great Depression Your Local SME’s and local economy have suffered greatly and need your support.

Throughout the course of this campaign, we will be showing you how to keep economic growth in your community by supporting small and local businesses. It’s down to all of us to keep things going in our communities and stick together as a TEAM.

To kick start this campaign we have prepared an explainer video to show you how you can Stay Local, Borrow Local and Spend Local.

Spread the word and support your local community today!

#TogetherEveryoneAchievesMore #SupportLocal #CreditUnionsforIreland #Malahide

Whether you’re looking to borrow to help with your household expenses or for a larger purchase, we have the right loan to suit you.

Your Credit Union is still the best place for loans and our loan book is very much open.

If you have any questions in relation to any of our loans please complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

As this Friday 1st May is a European bank holiday, electronic payments in and out of your Credit Union account will not be processed on Friday and may not be processed until Tuesday 5th May, after our own bank holiday on Monday.

Please ensure that you allow additional time for any payments to be processed over this weekend.

Thank you