Dr. Tom Healy:

I will make a brief comment on the question of worker co-operatives. There is not a long history or significant record of worker co-operatives in this country compared with Spain, Italy or France. However, it is one possibility, among others, that needs to be looked at. One of my NERI colleagues is here today in the Public Gallery and together we are looking at the issue. There is an opportunity now with the impending loss of jobs in Bord na Móna and possibly further down the line in the case of the peat and coal burning stations for an environmentally friendly enterprise initiative in the midlands. Community and worker co-operatives could be part of the answer to that along with other initiatives.