Ireland's Prosperity is All Your Fault, Economist Tells Credit Unions

David McWilliams, Irish economist and T.V. personality, speaks to conference participants.

Dublin, Ireland—Addressing an audience of 1,850 on the final day of the World Credit Union Conference, popular economist David McWilliams told international credit union leaders that Irish credit unions are to blame for the widening of the country's middle class.

In a time when unemployment was at an all-time high and most people didn't have the resources to plan for the future, credit unions provided to people of modest and no means what was needed most—access to capital, McWilliams said. Without capital, people can only live for today and can't plan. If you don't plan, you can't postpone. Access to capital allows people to postpone current expenses for future social advancement, he said.

Irish Minister of Finance Brian Cowen closed the morning's session acknowledging the contribution the credit union movement has made and continues to make to Irish society. He welcomed the fact that the Irish movement is currently developing a strategy to meet the challenges of a changed economic and social environment. He also recognized that this conference had played a key role in supporting this process. The Minister congratulated the World Council on its development work, especially in Afghanistan to ensure that the Afghan people have access to credit to improve their lives.

The World Credit Union Conference, hosted by the World Council of Credit Unions and the Irish Credit Union League, brings together credit union leaders from 48 countries in every region in the world. Held this year in Dublin's Burlington Hotel, the conference attracted nearly a third more participants than the 2005 conference held in Rome.

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.