Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am interested in whether the local enterprise offices are well equipped to promote this. If we are talking about group water schemes and housing co-ops, we can see that a local enterprise office is going to be a more accessible point of contact. What sort of capacity will the local enterprise offices have to deal with the sort of issues that make co-operatives unique? Unlike Deputy Stanton, I have not read all of the information relating to what makes co-operatives so different from companies. What new challenges will be presented to local enterprise offices if it ends up that they will be responsible for interfacing with co-ops? What new capacities do we need to see built into the local enterprise office network if they are to facilitate the growth of co-operatives?