Credit unions across Ireland support local communities to the value of €8 million
Posted on: 27 Feb 2026
The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has published the first all-island report highlighting the community impact of credit unions, showing €8 million worth of contributions in support of communities for FY2024 across the island of Ireland.
The support from individual credit unions took the form of cash through community funds, sponsorships and bursaries to members and organisations within their common bond. Contributions from 305 credit unions supported a diverse range of projects, programmes and organisations in communities across the country, in areas such as education, arts and culture, sport, health and wellness, and sustainability.
In total, close to €8 million was donated by credit unions in 2024 - €7,169,551 million in the Republic of Ireland and £686,383 (€824,415 million) in Northern Ireland. Of this overall figure, €3.71million was contributed via community funding, €3.5million was contributed via direct sponsorship, and €776K was contributed via bursaries and scholarships.
Commissioned to fully understand how much is being given by credit unions to individual communities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the ILCU engaged and surveyed credit unions across Ireland in 2025 as well as reviewing information from annual reports. The first of its kind for such an analysis, FY2024 was chosen as a benchmark to accurately map all types of contributions and serve as a basis for future reporting.
Commenting on the publication of the report, Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Robert Troy TD, said, “I am delighted to launch the ILCU all-island community impact report, which quantifies, for the first time, the level of funds distributed to communities through their credit unions. It showcases the important work that credit unions do on this island and provides a baseline for future performance. The Government has supported the sector through amendments to the Credit Union Act, and I look forward to seeing this community impact continue to grow in the years ahead. The sector also has a wider opportunity to deploy funds within their communities through increased lending for SMEs and mortgages, as well as directly to social housing.”
Brendan Jenkins, President of the Irish League of Credit Unions, stated, “I am delighted to introduce this first all-island report highlighting the community impact of credit unions, tangibly demonstrating their importance to communities. The work of credit unions is more than numbers and financial figures. This report showcases multiple examples of credit unions going beyond their financial role, serving as hubs for local communities and supporting organisations that make our communities stronger, more vibrant and more resilient. Whether donations are large or small, we can clearly see that it all has a big impact on the recipients across this island".
Commenting, Davd Malone, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions stated, “This report is a very important milestone for the credit union movement. Credit unions are financial services providers that are truly focused on those that they support and whether donations are large or small, we can clearly see that it all has a big impact. The island of Ireland has a higher number of credit unions members per capita than any country. There are over 305 credit unions contributing significantly to improving the lives of their members and their communities.
“Looking to the future, building on their community presence, credit unions are evolving digitally and innovating to ensure that they are competitive in the modern financial services landscape. This report demonstrates the breadth of impact to date and is very much a signal of intent from the movement in its future commitment to communities across Ireland and ambition to further grow as a financial services provider.”
The full report can be viewed here along with a selection of stories showing community support from credit unions.
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About the Research
The survey found that an overall figure of €7,993,965.60, almost €8 million, was donated to local organisations and individuals across the island of Ireland by credit unions operating in communities in the financial year ending September 2024. This is the amount donated by individual credit unions in the form of cash through community funds, sponsorships and bursaries to members and organisations within their common bond.
A total of 122 credit unions responded directly to the survey, representing 64% of credit union assets in ROI and 64% of credit unions in NI. To ensure full representative information for the sector, further desktop research was carried out, resulting in additional data being included for a further 33 credit unions. This meant that the survey findings represent information from 155 credit unions with 89% of total assets of sector, €16.4 billion of €18.4 billion.
About the Irish League of Credit Unions
The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is the largest credit union representative body on the island of Ireland. Founded in 1960 with the aim of providing representation, leadership, co-operation, support and development for credit unions in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the ILCU today has an affiliated membership of more than 235 credit unions across the island of Ireland.