Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle will be aware of my views on co-operative movements. She herself raised a question about the issue the first time I took oral questions, at which stage I confirmed to the House, and I am happy to do so again, that work has commenced on comprehensive legislation relating to the co-operative movement. That work is under way, and it is my intention to work with the Department to ensure we can bring it as speedily as possible to pre-legislative scrutiny, with an opportunity for all Members to feed into it.

The legislative framework for co-operatives throughout Europe embraes a variety of approaches towards worker co-operatives. While some member states, such as France and Portugal, define worker co-operatives in their legislation, others, such as Germany and Belgium, leave it to the co-operative movement to provide definitions and rules surrounding worker co-operatives. As part of the review of the industrial and provident societies legislation, my Department intends to provide a definition of a worker co-operative in the new legislation, as I referred to. To increase the visibility of this particular form of co-operative, the Registry of Friendly Societies has added a separate category for worker co-operatives on the register of friendly societies. It is, of course, up to each individual operation to choose the model that best suits the nature of its businesses and the desired ethos of that identity. My Department does not promote one business model over another. Its role is to provide the legislative framework for co-operatives and facilitate their formation and transparent operation rather than actively to encourage or promote them as a preferred structure for enterprise. My Department supports co-operatives in the same way it supports other types of entities, and co-operatives can avail of all the supports available to all other enterprises via the State enterprise agencies. I acknowledge, however, that the legislation is antiquated and needs to be updated. That updating will take place. The Deputy is correct that there are so many good co-operatives in the agricultural sector. I am thinking even of group water schemes in rural Ireland, which were predominantly formed around co-operative movements.

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