Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 299: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the initiatives being planned by the Government to mark the UN International Year of Co-operatives 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34475/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives. The aim is to highlight the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development and to draw attention to their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social inclusion. It is hoped that this UN initiative will help enhance public awareness of cooperatives and their contribution to socio-economic development, and encourage the formation and growth of cooperatives internationally. Governments are being encouraged to establish effective legal, regulatory and policy frameworks to support the development of the cooperative movement. The Government supports this UN initiative. We welcome the fact that the Resolution on the subject was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly last December.

The UN Resolution was proposed following the publication in July 2009 of a report by the UN Secretary General on the socio-economic impact of the cooperative movement. The report underscored the importance of cooperatives to socio-economic development and noted the role that agricultural and financial cooperatives play in contributing to a more resilient and inclusive financial system, and to long-term solutions for food security. It also noted that the designation of an International Year of Cooperatives could provide an opportunity to highlight the role of cooperatives in wider global development issues.

The International Year will be launched officially in New York in November 2011, and a wide range of activities and events is planned across the world. I understand that regional cooperative assemblies are to be held in 2012, and expect that Irish cooperatives will engage fully with the European assembly.

The cooperative sector in Ireland plays an important role nationally, and has developed important international links. It covers a number of sectors, including agriculture, finance, enterprise and social development. Responsibility for the sector at Government level is shared across a number of Government Departments. The Government welcomes the opportunity provided by the designation of the International Year to focus on the contribution of the cooperative sector to economic growth and social development, and to the reduction of poverty and hunger in the developing world.