The Minister's reliance on principle and his appeal for consistency in these matters would be acceptable only if the resources available to those suffering under the Recession and Economic Crisis were sufficient for people to live on.

The subject is immensely important because, of all the victims of Recession and Economic Crisis, the people who have the greatest difficulty are those who lose not only their job, but their home, with all the consequences that has for family distress, local homelessness and the availability of emergency and social housing.

As other industries and sectors feel the impact of the Recession and the Economic Crisis, the number of co-operatives has increased in each of the past five years.