The Gazette 1988

GAZETTE

MARCH 1988

this

Issue ®

Viewpoint

Tort Reform in the USA

and Lessons for Ireland

Prom the President 37 Law Society Annual Conference 39 Practice Notes 45 Light Work - A dilemma for Employers 47

Nl Slander Settlement

Seminars - Challenge of Change 51

Professional Information

Correspondence 54

Executive Editor:

Mary Gaynor

Committee:

Geraldine Clarke, Chairman

John F. Buckley

Gary Byrne

Michael Cannigan

Jim Hickey

Nathaniel Lacy

Frank Lanigan

William Maguire

Charles R. M. Meredith

Desmond Moran

Daire Murphy

John Schutte

Maxwell Sweeney

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The views expressed in this publication,

save where otherwise indicated, are the

views of the contributors and not

necessarily the views of the Council of

the Society.

The appearance of an advertisement in

this publication does not necessarily

indicate approval by the Society for the

product or service advertised.

Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7,

•el.: 710711.

Telex: 31219.

Fax: 710704.

GAZETT

INCORPORATE D

LAW SOCIETY

OF IRELAND

Vol.82 No.2March 1988

Viewpoint

Co-operative Chaos

Now that the shareholders of

Bailieboro Co-Op have made their

choice and hopefully secured a

reasonable future for themselves, it

is to be hoped that the lessons from

the Bailieboro debacle will not be

lost on the appropriate authorities.

There have been calls by those

involved in the establishment of

"Work Co-Operatives" for the

updating of the laws governing co-

operatives. It is clear that these

laws are in need of modernization

but perhaps a more radical look at

the structure of these organizations

is required.

It may no longer be sensible to

apply the same rules to a modest

Workers Co-Operative of a dozen

people, and to a giant agricultural

co-operative with a turnover of

many million pounds. Even if there

are strong arguments for not

requiring major co-operatives to be

converted into limited companies,

and the case for such conversion is

very strong indeed, there may well

be an argument for providing the

same bifurcation of institutions on

the co-operative side as exists on

the company side. The division of

companies into private and public

limited companies is a sensible one,

even if the advantages of private

companies are not going to be in.

the future what they have been in

the past.

The concept of a Co-Operative

Society operating under the

Industrial and Provident Societies

legislation is not capable of

accommodating the multi-million

pound trading entities that many

agricultural co-operatives in Ireland

have become. A Board of Manage-

ment composed, necessarily, of

members of the Co-Op may not

always provide the appropriate

calibre of people to supervise the

executive of the Co-Op. Outside

"directors" cannot be introduced

to fill this vacuum. Whether the

scheme used when Kerry Co-Op

transformed itself into a public

limited company, while at the same

time retaining a co-operative

control over much of the share

holding, is an appropriate solution,

must be doubtful. There must be an

argument that the co-operative

ethos, however appropriate to small

and medium sized co-operatives, is

inappropriate, even as a means of

maintaining share holder power in

local hands, for trading grants. •

S O L I C I T O R S '

B E N E V O L E NT

A S S O C I A T I ON

A G M

B l a c k ha ll Pl ace,

Friday, 25 March 1988

at 12.00 noon