SUGAR MANUFACTURE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1962

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SUGAR MANUFACTURE ACT, 1933. [25th December, 1962.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“approved subsidiary company” means a company formed by the Company with the approval of the Minister;

“the Principal Act” means the Sugar Manufacture Act, 1933.

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

2 Increase of capital of the Company.

2.—Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Principal Act, or the Memorandum or Articles of Association of the Company, it shall be lawful for the Company to increase its share capital to a total of five million pounds divided into five million shares of one pound each and for that purpose to make such alterations as may be requisite in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

3 Acquisition by Minister of shares.

3.—The Minister may from time to time acquire by subscription or purchase any class or classes of shares of the Company or an approved subsidiary company, but the total amount of shares standing so acquired at any one time shall not exceed (in nominal value) three million five hundred thousand pounds.

4 Advances.

4.—(1) The Minister may make advances to the Company or an approved subsidiary company for the carrying out of its objects.

• (2) Advances under this section shall be made on such terms as to repayment, interest and other matters as may be determined by the Minister.

5 Guarantee of borrowings.

5.—(1) (a) The Minister may, if he so thinks fit, guarantee a loan to a company (thereafter in this section referred to as the borrowing company) which is the Company or an approved subsidiary company.

• (b) In this subsection “loan” does not include a loan capable of being guaranteed under section 8 of the Principal Act.

• (2) Whenever the Minister guarantees a loan under this section, he may guarantee, in such form and manner and on such terms and conditions as he considers proper, the due repayment by the borrowing company of the principal of the loan or the payment of interest on the loan or both the repayment of such principal and the payment of such interest.

• (3) Where a guarantee under this section is or has been given, the borrowing company shall, if the Minister so requires, give to him such security (including, in particular, debentures) 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.

• (4) 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 given under this section 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.

• (5) Moneys paid by the Minister under a guarantee under this section shall be repaid to the Minister (with interest thereon at such rates as he appoints) by the borrowing company within two years from the date of the advance of the moneys out of the Central Fund.

• (6) Where the whole or any part of moneys paid by the Minister under a guarantee under this section has not been repaid in accordance with subsection (5) of this section, the amount so remaining outstanding shall be repaid to the Central Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

• (7) Notwithstanding the provision of moneys under subsection (6) of this section to repay an amount to the Central Fund, the borrowing company shall remain liable to the Minister in respect of that amount and that amount (with interest thereon at such rates as the Minister appoints) shall be repaid to the Minister by the borrowing company at such times and in such instalments as he 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.

6 Advances out of Central Fund.

6.—(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 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 matters 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 the securities shall be charged on and payable out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

7 Limit on aggregate of advances and certain principal.

7.—The aggregate at any one time of—

• (a) advances under section 4 of this Act which have not been repaid,

• (b) principal which the Minister is liable to repay on foot of any guarantee or guarantees under section 5 of this Act, and

• (c) principal which the Minister has previously paid on any such guarantee or guarantees and which has not been repaid by the Company or the approved subsidiary company (as the case may be),

shall not exceed five million pounds.

8 Payment of dividends, etc., into Exchequer.

8.—There shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister thinks fit:

• (a) dividends, bonus, net proceeds of sales and other moneys received by the Minister in respect of shares of the Company or an approved subsidiary company,

• (b) moneys recovered by the Minister in repayment of or as interest on moneys paid by him under any guarantee given by him under Part II of the Principal Act in respect of the moneys secured by debentures issued by the Company,

• (c) moneys which are recovered by the Minister in repayment of or as interest on moneys advanced by him under section 4 of this Act or are repaid to or recovered by him under subsection (5) or subsection (7) of section 5 of this Act.

9 Powers of Minister in respect of shares held by him.

9.—The Minister may hold for as long as he thinks fit any shares of the Company or an approved subsidiary company subscribed for or otherwise acquired by him and may, as and when he thinks fit, sell all or any of such shares.

10 Additional provisions with respect to approved subsidiary company.

10.—(1) Section 11 of the Principal Act shall apply to shares of an approved subsidiary company held by the Minister in like manner as it applies to shares of the Company held by him.

• (2) Sections 14 and 15 of the Principal Act shall apply to an approved subsidiary company in like manner as they apply to the Company.

• (3) The restriction contained in paragraph (a) of section 4 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893, shall not apply in a case in which the member having or claiming an interest in the shares of a society registered under that Act is an approved subsidiary company and the interest does not exceed fifty per cent. of the total nominal value of such shares.

11 Repeals.

11.—Sections 7, 9, 10 and 12 of the Principal Act are hereby repealed.

12 Short title and collective citation.

12.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Sugar Manufacture (Amendment) Act, 1962.

• (2) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Sugar Manufacture Acts, 1933 and 1962.