Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

I said on Second Stage that we would propose some amendments to the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts in connection with financial limits on co-operative societies. Under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts of 1893 to 1978, there are statutory limits on the maximum amount a member of a society may have by way of interest in the shares of a society and on the amounts that may be distributed by way of testamentary nomination or on intestacy. The limits were last adjusted in 1985 and 1990, and the co-operative movement has requested that they be increased.

The effect of amendment No. 28, if accepted, will be to increase the limits concerned to the amount stated in the text of the amendments. In the case of shares, that is €150,000, or 1% of the total assets of a society. In the case of nominations and intestacy, it is €15,000 and €10,000, respectively.

In the course of preparing the financial limits, it became evident that the power of the Minister to alter the statutory limits by means of regulations had been inadvertently removed by the Credit Union Act 1997 and that the regulations then in place had lapsed. The purpose of amendment No. 29 is to validate the financial limits provided in the regulations. The limits will be replaced by the new limits provided in amendment No. 28, which, by virtue of amendment No. 1, will immediately come into operation on the enactment of this legislation. The amendments necessitate a change in the Long Title of the Bill, which is reflected by the contents of amendment No. 31. I commend the amendments to the House.