Green Party senator, Róisín Garvey, has welcomed progress on the Cooperative Societies Bill, after meeting Minister of State with responsibility for trade promotion, digital and company regulation, Robert Troy.
She has said that the bill will see the most far-reaching reform of legislation in almost 130 years.
Senator Garvey, who is the Green Party spokesperson for rural development, enterprise, trade and employment said:
“We have a proud history of cooperatives in Ireland. They are democratic, community-driven groups that emphasise sustainability and community building.
“However, current legislation is no longer fit for purpose and many communities are unable to form cooperatives due to high audit costs, outdated regulations and poor access to finance.
“We want a level playing field for co-ops and that means modernising our legislation, which hasn’t changed in over a century,” she added.
Supporting the establishment of cooperatives
The Green Party has said that it will be pushing for greater access to financing and grants, streamlined registration procedures and adequate exemptions from audits for small cooperatives.
The party said that the “bill has the potential to reform the way we do business in Ireland that will empower and benefit our communities”.
While cooperatives take many forms across sectors, renewable energy co-ops are one example identified by the Green Party which could offer potential in Ireland.
Co-ops can be ‘part of the solution’ – senator
Senator Garvey said: “We are in the middle of a global energy crisis which has highlighted our reliance on foreign fossil fuels. This has caused a huge spike in prices for Irish people.
“We are also in the midst of a climate crisis and we need to make significant changes to our energy supply in order to reach our target of 80% renewable energy by 2030.
“Cooperatives can be part of the solution to creating a secure, affordable and clean energy future for Ireland. Many communities want to own their own energy and new legislation is how we make that a reality and allow community renewable energy to flourish,” she explained.
The party has highlighted that there are already some good examples of sustainable energy cooperatives operating in Ireland, providing cheap, clean, community-owned energy, such as the Aran Islands Energy Co-operative and the Valentia Island Energy Co-operative.
Ireland’s first Irish cooperative creamery was established in Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick in 1889.
A public consultation on the proposed legislation was launched last week. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 25.