Helene McManus
Director ILCU
Helene McManus has served as a board director of Kilcock Credit Union from 1998 to date where she served in all principal positions over that time. She currently serves as an ILCU non-executive director, having been elected to the Board in 2017. She served as ILCU President from 2021 to 2023 and as Treasurer from 2019 to 2021. Helene also serves as a director on the Board of WOCCU (World Council of Credit Unions) as well as serving as a director on the Board of ECCU Assurance DAC. Helene served on the ILCU Management / Presidents Committee from 2019 to 2025 and served as a delegate to the European Network of Credit Unions (ENCU) and currently continues to attend their meetings in her capacity as a WOCCU board director. She was also involved in Chapter for many years having served in both the Chair and Secretary roles.
Helene holds an MSc in Management from Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD) and is ACCUP (University of Ulster), Pathways Governance (University College Cork), and MCC qualified. She is a Member of the Institute of Directors Ireland.
1. What do you think is the greatest contribution that credit unions make?
Credit Unions' greatest contribution in the membership area they serve is being:
~ a trusted not for profit presence,
~ actively attentive to their social and financial environment,
~ impactfully relevant to members and potential members throughout members’ lives.
2. As an ILCU Board member, what do you hope to achieve during your term?
Working together with my ILCU board non-executive governance directors, the hope would be to ensure our strategic direction fully underpins the essential operational work required of our advocacy and professional services to strengthen the credit union sector so that it maintains a trusted and relevant presence throughout the 32 counties of Ireland.
3. If you were Minister of State for Credit Unions, what one change would you make?
In line with one of the key asks contained in the ILCU's Pre-Budget 2025 Submission, I would set both the Credit Institutions Resolution Fund (CIRF) and the Stabilisation Fund levies at 0%. This is an "it makes sense" change as the former Fund is above its €65 million target and the latter Fund has never been used in its 10-year existence. It is important to note that ILCU affiliated credit unions contribute to ILCU’s own Stabilisation Protection Scheme (SPS) Fund. The SPS Fund was established back in 1989 and, if required, may provide financial and other assistance (operational / governance) to a credit union that may be in difficulty in order to give them time to trade out of difficulty.