Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 272: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he provides any advisory services for persons considering the establishment of a co-operative; or if his attention has been drawn to any support networks. [40911/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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In Ireland, co-operatives usually register as industrial and provident societies under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts (IPS Acts). However some choose to register as a company, and indeed some of the larger agricultural cooperatives use both company and industrial and provident legal forms in their group structures.

The Registry of Friendly Societies (RFS) administers the IPS Acts, while the Companies Registration Office (CRO) administers company law. Both of these statutory offices are located in the one building and a single Registrar has responsibility for both. These offices provide information to potential cooperatives with regard to registration requirements and the obligations of the different legal entities, but do not provide advice on the type of corporate structure to be chosen in any particular instance.

There are a number of independent umbrella organisations for specific types of cooperatives, depending on their purpose and these bodies may be in a position to advise businesses interested in the cooperative model. These include, for example, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) which deals predominately with agricultural cooperatives, the National Association of Building Co-operatives (NABCO), and the National Federation of Group Water Schemes.