Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Independents 4 Change Deputies would appreciate a copy of the ICOS submission, if possible. The Minister of State has said that the Government is with us regarding co-operatives. While I welcome that, the problem is that I have not seen any evidence of it. I have not seen any evidence of a sense of urgency either. We are talking about 121 years to bring in the 2014 Act, 123 years to bring in the review and 126 years later, we are looking at Victorian legislation. As I have said previously, it is ironic that the English have changed it for the better in terms of facilitating and encouraging co-operatives on the ground in every way possible.

In terms of the Bill itself, I will be the first to admit that it is not perfect. However, it is a Bill that is being supported by almost everyone in Dáil Éireann, with the exception of Fine Gael Members, although I am not sure where the Labour Party stands on the Bill. It is interesting to note that when the Labour Party was in power with Fine Gael, that Government had a massive majority but the legislation was not changed. That is when it should have been changed, as I am sure the Minister of State would agree. That Government had a massive majority and if it was seriously interested in supporting the co-operative movement, it should have done so then. That said, if the Government has had a moment on the road to Damascus, I welcome that. I truly welcome the fact that this Dáil is going to work on behalf of the co-operative movement.

The Minister of State pointed out that events have overtaken us in some senses and I welcome that. Deputy Joan Collins has already pointed out that the Bill has forced a tiny bit of change in that electronic filing has been possible since December. Again, that could have been done much earlier. If we are to accept the bona fides of this Government, and I do not wish to be negative-----

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