Assignment of responsibilities of the Registrar of Friendly Societies to Mr Paul Farrell, Registrar of Companies

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced today (Thursday 22^nd May 2003) that, following the establishment of IFSRA and the transfer of responsibility for credit unions to IFSRA, Mr Paul Farrell, Registrar of Companies, has been assigned responsibility for the non-credit union functions of the Registrar of Friendly Societies on an interim basis, pending decisions being taken on the future of the Registry of Friendly Societies.

The Department stated it intends to issue a consultation document to interested parties in advance of any decisions being taken in the matter.

Note for Editors

Up until the establishment of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) on 1 May 2003, the Registrar of Friendly Societies was responsible for the registration and supervision of credit unions and the registration and general regulation of societies registered under the Friendly Societies Acts, industrial and provident societies and trade unions. On 1 May 2003, the registration and supervision of credit unions became the responsibility of a new statutory post of Registrar of Credit Unions within IFSRA. This was in line with the Report of the Implementation Advisory Group on the establishment of the Single Regulatory Authority for the Financial Services Sector (the McDowell Report).

The credit union function represented a significant proportion of the workload of the Registry of Friendly Societies (RFS). The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is currently considering how the remaining (non-credit union) functions of the Registrar of Friendly Societies should be carried out in the future. In this respect the Department intends to consult with interested parties including users of the RFS before making proposals on the future of the Registry. In the meantime, and pending decisions being taken in the matter, Mr Farrell, Registrar of Companies at the Companies Registration Office will carry out the remaining statutory functions of the Registrar of Friendly Societies.

Following the transfer of responsibility for credit unions to IFSRA, the main functions remaining with the Registry of Friendly Societies is the registration of new Friendly Societies and Industrial and Provident Societies and acting as a repository for such documents, the annual returns made by such entities and any changes to registered documents.

ENDS