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

For clarification, the scope of the current review is wide-ranging and encompasses issues from registration with the Registry of Friendly Societies to operational governance and winding-up issues relating to co-operatives. Based on the review, a general scheme of a co-operative societies Bill is being prepared which will provide co-operative societies with a distinct legislative identity reflecting their co-operative ethos, reducing the number of members required to form a co-operative, revising the provisions on debentures, introduce audit exemptions in line with the approach taken in the Companies Act 2014, strengthen the governance provisions and revise the powers of the Register of Friendly Societies. Work is well under way and it is my intention, before the end of this year, or at the very latest early next year, to bring that before the Houses of the Oireachtas.