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GAZETTE MARCH 1988
In
this
Issue ®$
Viewpoint
Tort Reform in the USA
and Lessons for Ireland 33
Nl Slander Settlement 50
Professional Information 53
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
Advertising:
Liam 0 hOisin. Telephone: 305236
307860
Printing:
Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford.
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
31