INDUSTRIAL CREDIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1958

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE INDUSTRIAL CREDIT ACT, 1933. [22nd April, 1958.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Industrial Credit Act, 1933 (No. 25 of 1933).

• (2) The Principal Act and this Act shall be construed as one Act.

2 Extension of power of the Minister to acquire shares.

2.—(1) The Minister may take up by subscription shares of the Company.

• (2) Where shares of the Company are held by a person other than the Minister, the Minister may purchase the shares from that person, and the instrument of transfer by which any such purchase is effected shall not be chargeable with any stamp duty.

• (3) Subsection (1) of this section is in addition and without prejudice to section 5 of the Principal Act.

3 Guarantees by the Minister.

3.—(1) The Minister may guarantee, in such form and manner and on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit, the due repayment by the Company of the principal of any moneys borrowed, with his consent, by the Company or the payment of interest on such moneys or both the repayment of such principal and the payment of such interest.

• (2) The Minister may guarantee, in such form and manner and on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit, the payment by the Company of dividends on shares of the Company which are held otherwise than by the Minister.

• (3) The Minister shall not so exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section that the amount, or the aggregate amount, of principal which he may at any one time be liable to pay on foot of any guarantee or guarantees under that subsection for the time being in force, together with the amount of principal (if any) which the Minister has previously paid on foot of any such guarantees and has not been repaid by the Company, exceeds £5,000,000.

• (4) Where a guarantee under this section is or has been given, the Company shall, if the Minister so requires, give to him such security as may be specified in the requisition for the purpose of securing to the Minister the repayment of any moneys which he may be liable to pay or has paid under the guarantee.

• (5) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after the expiration of every financial year, lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement setting out with respect to each guarantee under this section given during that year or given at any time before, and in force at, the commencement of that year—

• (a) particulars of the guarantee,

• (b) in case any payment has been made by the Minister under the guarantee before the end of that year, the amount of the payment and the amount (if any) repaid to the Minister on foot of the payment,

• (c) the amount of principal covered by the guarantee which was outstanding at the end of that year.

• (6) Moneys paid by the Minister under a guarantee under this section shall be repaid to the Minister (with, if the Minister so requires, interest thereon at such rates as the Minister appoints) by the Company within two years from the date of the advance.

• (7) Where the whole or any part of moneys required by subsection (6) of this section to be repaid to the Minister has not been repaid in accordance with that subsection, the amount so remaining outstanding shall be repaid to the Central Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

• (8) Notwithstanding the provision of moneys under subsection (7) of this section to repay an amount to the Central Fund, the Company shall remain liable to the Minister in respect of that amount and that amount (with, if the Minister so requires, interest thereon at such rates as the Minister appoints) shall be repaid to the Minister by the Company at such times and in such instalments as the Minister appoints and, in default of repayment as aforesaid and without prejudice to any other method of recovery, shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (9) Moneys repaid by the Company to the Minister, or recovered from the Company by the Minister, under this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer.

4 Advances out of Central Fund.

4.—(1) All moneys from time to time required by the Minister to meet sums which may become payable by him under the Principal Act or this Act shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

• (2) For the purpose of providing for advances out of the Central Fund under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may borrow from any person any sum or sums, and for the purpose of such borrowing he may create and issue securities bearing such rate of interest and subject to such conditions as to repayment, redemption or any other matter as he thinks fit, and shall pay the moneys so borrowed into the Exchequer.

• (3) The principal of and interest on any securities issued under this section and the expenses incurred in connection with the issue of such securities shall be charged on and payable out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

5 Consequential repeal and amendment.

5.—(1) Section 6 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.

• (2) Subsection (1) of section 9 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of “or subscribed for or purchased by him under the Industrial Credit (Amendment) Act, 1958,” after “the shares of the Company subscribed for by him under this Act”.

6 Short title and collective citation.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Industrial Credit (Amendment) Act, 1958.

• (2) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Industrial Credit Acts, 1933 and 1958.