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

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It would be useful if Mr. Shine could provide us with a little information. It looks like less than 0.5% of such businesses are in operation. We are not talking about something massive as regards the existing base but, if we are to set up a unit of some sort, it is presumably with the prospect that this figure will grow dramatically from 800 to something much more substantial. I am interested to know where that growth has come from in these other countries. Where is that growth likely to be in Ireland? I am not a great fan of setting up a unit, or a new agency, just because we have a problem. We need to feel out the territory to know what the challenge is, what the scale of it is, and what we need to do to respond to the need. Will Mr. Shine help us by giving us a little information about where the potential growth is, what the spheres might be, and what challenges those sectors might have?