Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

General Scheme of the Co-operative Societies Bill 2022: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Mr. John Shine:

We will see what we can do. Certainly, in the context of models throughout Europe, it is very disparate, as I said. I am not sure what we could come up with that would be particularly useful. In the context of potential for the sector, there is significant potential but it is ultimately a question of providing the facilitative and supportive environment and then ensuring that it is well understood. It is ultimately a matter for entrepreneurs or those in the social enterprise space to decide. There will be a certain element of displacement. There will be those who might have been attracted or, in the past, went down the company law model route, who will now decide to operate under co-operatives legislation. That, in itself, is important because it is a more supportive environment for them but whether it would necessarily result in a net addition to employment, for instance, is very difficult to determine.

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