R E P O R T of the Registrar of Friendly Societies 2020
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R E P O R T OF THE REGISTRAR OF FRIENDLY SOCIETIES 2020 REPORT OF THE REGISTRAR OF FRIENDLY SOCIETIES 2020 PURSUANT TO THE TRADE UNION ACTS, 1871-1990; INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES ACTS, 1893-2018; FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ACTS, 1896- 2018; AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE MINISTERS AND SECRETARIES ACT, 1924. To the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment I have the honour to submit my Report for the year 2020. The Report records the activities of this office and statistics in respect of industrial and provident societies, trade unions and friendly societies up to 31st December 2020 Maureen O’Sullivan Registrar of Friendly Societies June 2021 Registry of Friendly Societies, Bloom House Gloucester Place Lower Dublin 1. Postal Address: - Registry of Friendly Societies Post Office Box 12858 Dublin 1 2 Index Introduction 4 Industrial and Provident Societies 10 Friendly Societies 18 Trade Unions 20 Miscellaneous Functions of the Registrar 23 List of Industrial and Provident Societies on the Register at 31 December 2020 24 List of Friendly Societies on the Register at 31 December 2020 46 List of Trade Unions on the Register at 31 December 2020 48 3 Introduction The Registry of Friendly Societies (RFS) is a statutory office of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment. The RFS deals with three different entity types, namely industrial and provident societies which in the main consist of co-operatives, friendly societies, and trade unions which include employee unions, employer associations and trade associations. The principal legislation governing these entities is: • Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 – 2018. • Friendly Societies Acts, 1896 – 2018. • Trade Union Acts, 1871 – 1990. Statement of Strategy The Mission Statement of the Registry of Friendly Societies is: “To ensure that the various mutual entities registered at the Registry, which are subject to general regulation and supervision in varying degrees by the Registrar of Friendly Societies, comply with their statutory obligations and to maintain an up-to- date public record on those entities”. This mission statement is accomplished through two core objectives, namely: • The efficient and effective registration and general regulation of industrial and provident societies, friendly societies and trade unions. • The provision of an efficient and effective service to the public. 4 2020 Overview At the end of 2020 there were 960 industrial and provident societies, 46 friendly societies and 53 trade unions on the register, making a combined total of 1059 registered entities. As such, 2020 saw an increase of 4 in the number of societies/trade unions on the register compared to the end of 2019. The charts below show the ratio of industrial and provident societies, friendly societies and trade unions on the register at 31 December 2020, and over the years 2011 – 2020. Make up of the Register as at 31.12.2020 53 46 Ind & Prov. Societies Trade Unions Friendly Societies 960 Fig. 1: Ratio of I&P Societies, Friendly Societies and Trade Unions at end 2020 RFS Register 1200 1000 800 Ind & Prov Societies 600 Friendly Societies Trade Unions 400 200 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Fig. 2: Ratio of I&P Societies, Friendly Societies and Trade Unions 2011 - 2020 5 The fluctuation in numbers each year is as a result of new acknowledgements of registry, restorations, cancellations, amalgamations, transfer of engagements, conversions, dissolutions and liquidations. Details of the various registrations completed during 2020 are set out in the following pages of this report. There are additional matters which a registered society or trade union must register or record in addition to sending annual returns and accounts to the Registrar, and these matters include: • partial and complete rule amendments/alterations, • changes of name and registered office, • special resolutions. Details of each of the above matters are also included in this report. The RFS customer service targets regarding processing applications and making documents available to the public range from five to ten working days in respect of correctly completed applications and are dependent on the nature of the application involved. From time to time the RFS carries out targeted enforcement campaigns aimed at identifying societies and unions overdue in their annual return filing obligations, seeking their compliance in coming up-to-date on the register and, where this cannot be achieved, ultimately cancelling the registration of those entities and removing them from the register. The RFS continues to monitor compliance with a view to encouraging all societies to file on a timely basis, and where necessary will initiate further targeted compliance and enforcement drives. In light of the difficulties being experienced by societies and presenters, the Registrar suspended enforcement activity in March 2020 and it had not resumed by year end. The RFS collaborates with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) regarding making information available to the public on-line, and to this end general information and prescribed forms pertaining to industrial and provident societies, friendly societies, and trade unions are available on the Society/Union section of the CRO website at www.cro.ie. Statutorily filed RFS documents pertaining to all entities filed from 2010 onwards, including annual returns, are available on-line via the CRO CORE online portal. Payments are made by Credit/Debit card or CRO customer account. Access to the online portal allows members of the public to view and check the status of all registered entities and purchase registered documents. It also removed the need for members of the public to visit the Office. Under normal circumstances, access to public record files for inspection and/or purchase of copies of registered documents in respect of all entities registered by the RFS is facilitated through the public enquiries counter in the CRO at Bloom House, Gloucester Place Lower, Dublin 1 during the hours 9.30 to 13.00 and 14.15 to 16.30, Monday to Friday. As most public record files are now stored off-site it is advisable to make an appointment before attending the office to view a public record file. The public enquiries counter closed to the public due to the covid pandemic in March 2020 and remains closed at end of this year. 6 During 2020, fees received in the RFS amounted to €28,414.45 compared to €46,367.70 for 2019. As a result of the migration of the Companies Registration Office (CRO) to the new computer system on the 16th December 2020, it is now possible to pay by CRO customer account for Registry of Friendly Societies submissions and all RFS fees are now channeled through the CRO CORE portal. The reduction in fees received in 2020 is due to two factors, a reduction in the number of new registrations and an increase in online filing. In line with the introduction in online filing of RFS documents in late 2018 the RFS fee structure was rebalanced to ensure that where possible the fees for certain transactions in the RFS matched those in the CRO. For example, fees for annual return forms for trade unions were reduced from €60 to €40 for manual submissions and €20 for online submissions. The RFS engaged throughout the year with stakeholders and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to matters of common interest and issues of policy concerning societies and trade unions. The Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 came into effect in August 2020 and makes temporary amendments to the Companies Act 2014 and the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 to address Covid-19 related issues. The Act provides for the holding of Annual General Meetings and general meetings by electronic means. It also makes provision in respect of business solvency by extending the period of examinership and increasing the threshold at which a company is deemed unable to pay its debts. In March 2020, because of the ongoing pandemic situation, extra time was allowed for industial and provident societies, friendly societies, and trade unions to file their annual returns up to 31st December 2020. 7 There is a search and purchase facility for documents filed in RFS. Customers can pay by credit/debit card and CRO customer account, following the migration of the CRO onto the new system from 16th December 2020. Industrial and Provident Societies During the year under review the RFS registered 14 new societies. This includes 1 society which converted from a company. One society was restored to the register by High Court Order in 2020. A number of existing societies amended their rules either partially or completely during the year. A total of 11 societies were cancelled, 3 on completion of liquidation, 5 at their own request, 2 societies converted to companies and were removed from the register and 1 society was cancelled by the Registrar. Following cancellation societies lose all privileges granted under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893-2018 which includes the loss of limited liability. Friendly Societies Since the enactment of the Friendly Societies and Industrial & Provident Societies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 it is no longer possible to register a new friendly society. No society was restored to the register in 2020. 3 societies had partial amendments to rules registered during the year. No society had a complete amendment to rules registered during 2020. No society was cancelled at its own request. 8 Trade Unions No new trade union was registered in 2020, 1 trade union had its registration cancelled at its own request. No trade union had partial or complete alteration of rules registered during the year. The intention to cancel 10 trade unions for failure to file annual returns on time was published in Iris Oifiguil on the 21st January 2020.