Mr Tony Smyth, general secretary of the Irish League of Credit Unions, said the organisation will immediately begin to put pressure on the Government to include the recommendations of a Government-appointed working group in the Finance Bill. Mr Smyth said last night that while he didn't expect the Minister for Finance to adopt these measures in yesterday's Bill, he would be hoping for their inclusion when the Bill reaches committee stage. The working group had recommended limited taxation on credit union savings.

The league will be lobbying for the implementation of a proposal where dividends above a threshold of around £375 (€478) would be subject to taxation. The threshold applies to savings of around £7,500 and would affect only around 1 per cent of its savings base.

Mr Smyth said the league expected the Minister for Finance and the Government to "honour" the findings of the working group.

Mr McCreevy had proposed last year that all annual dividends in excess of £500 be reported to the Revenue Commissioners and that all interest earned on credit union accounts would be subject to 20 per cent DIRT tax. He was subsequently forced to do a U-turn on this proposal following strong criticism from the league.