Entities other than companies

Industrial and Provident Societies /Co-operatives 

Readers may be aware that in recent years the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment (DETE) has been considering a major overhaul of the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, the legislation which regulates co-operative societies.

In January 2022 DETE launched a Public Consultation on Reform and Modernisation of Legislation regarding Co-operative Societies. The press release regarding the consultation can be found here.  There had been two previous consultations in 2009 and 2016 (click here for more details of 2016 consultation) and the 2022 consultation outlined a number of issues and asked specific questions to assist DETE prior to finalising legislative proposals, for example on audit exemption and financial statements.

Please click the link for the CCAB-I response to the consultation  You can also click here to read the submissions made to DETE  in February  2022 including the CCAB-I response. DETE issued a paper dated June 2022 which provides an overview of the responses received and the policy approach to the issues raised in the public consultation on proposed legislation regarding co-operative societies launched in January 2022.Readers can access a copy of the paper here .

In November 2022 the Government approved the drafting of what is billed as ground-breaking legislation for the sector. The draft legislation proposes to repeal the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893-2021 and provide a modern and effective legislative framework suitable for the diverse range of organisations using the co-operative model in Ireland. Please click here for more details contained in the press release and here is  a link to the General Scheme of the Co-operative Societies Bill 2022.

Please click here to be brought to  an  article dated January 2023 on the subject of the Co-Operative Societies Bill 2022 written by William Fry LLP solicitors.  and the following link for an article  dated March 2023 by Matheson LLP entitled Co-Operative Societies Bill 2022 From a Financing Perspective which looks at the provisions of the Bill relating to raising finance, providing security and registration of security.

Credit Unions 

Watch the recording of an Institute webinar about new opportunities and challenges for credit unions in Ireland, a key service for communities. Author and governance expert, Gene Boyd was joined by David Malone, CEO Irish League of Credit Unions, Sean Hosford, CEO Health Services Staffs CU, and Prof Anne Marie Ward, Ulster University. The  presentation was followed by a panel discussion about the challenges and opportunities for credit unions in Ireland today, particularly arising from proposed amendments to the Credit Union Act, and the recent Retail Banking Review.

In March 2023 the Central Bank of Ireland published its ninth edition of Financial Conditions of Credit Unions, 2022.Read the press release here and the report here. The report provides an update on the financial performance and position of credit unions for the financial year ended 30 September 2022. It also provides sectoral data and commentary, and aims to inform credit union boards in carrying out their strategic analysis and decision-making. Remarks by Elaine Byrne, Registrar of Credit Unions, to the CUMA 2023 Spring Conference including remarks on the report, can be read here. 

Also in March 2023, the World Council of Credit Unions  released its 2023 International Advocacy Sustainable Finance Report, “What Credit Unions should know about Sustainable Finance” which highlights important issues, trends, and recommendations to promote sustainability in the global financial sector. The report acknowledges the efforts by regulatory and standard-setting bodies in addressing climate-related financial risks and promoting sustainable finance, emphasizing the importance of proportionality language in regulatory frameworks and considering the unique benefits of the cooperative model of credit unions.

Clubs, Societies and Other Unincorporated Associations

Click here for a consultation by the law reform commission on Liability Of Clubs, Societies and Other Unincorporated Associations. The deadline for submissions on the consultation paper to the LRC has been extended to 15 May 2023.

Please click here for an article by Addleshaw Goddard LLP where the author Donal Dunne outlines some of the unintended consequences of the current legal position of unincorporated associations by considering two similar civil cases against unincorporated associations which led to some very different outcomes. He also considers the three alternative models for law reform proposed for consideration by the LRC which all have individual advantages and disadvantages.

Please click here for an  article by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP including consideration of the pros and cons of unincorporated associations and the various proposed solutions from the law reform commission.

Click here to read an examination of the issues by Tim O’Connor BL entitled “Clubs & Societies: Reform of the issue of liability, and owed to whom?”

Readers can read details of the submission by the Corporate Enforcement Authority (“CEA”) in May 2023 to the LRC. The CEA response is supportive of the proposition that detailed consideration should be given to utilising the ‘existing solution’ referred to in the Paper and extending the applicability of the Company Limited by Guarantee (‘CLG’) regime to address the issues raised with unincorporated associations.