A public consultation process has been launched to gather views on forthcoming co-operative society legislation. This is as government seeks to initiate legislation that will require more modern governance, accounting and compliance measures for Irish co-ops.
It is understood, according to Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy, that the legislation will affect mart and dairy co-operations, and such groups are invited to make submissions.
The proposed legislation will provide a contemporary and effective legislative framework suitable for the diverse range of organisations using the co-operative model in Ireland.
The main features of the proposed legislation include introducing modern corporate governance, accounting, compliance and reporting requirements for all co-ops. It will also cover matters relating to registration, amalgamation, strike-off and restoration, shares and share capital.
This is intended to make it easier to set up and operate a co-operative society through reducing the minimum number of founding members from seven to three.
Minister Troy said that these, “proposals will consolidate, modernise and strengthen the legislative basis for the sector and enshrine the co-operative model in legislation for the first time.”
The consultation is seeking views on a number of issues and also provides an opportunity to provide additional comments to inform the completion of the proposed co-op legislation.
The deadline for submissions is 5pm on February 25, 2022.
See here to participate.
LSL News.