INDUSTRIAL CREDIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1971

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE INDUSTRIAL CREDIT ACTS, 1933 TO 1959. [18th May, 1971.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Industrial Credit Act, 1933.

• (2) The Industrial Credit Acts, 1933 to 1959, 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 Industrial Credit Acts, 1933 to 1959, 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 twelve million pounds divided into shares of one pound each or such other denominations as shall be in accordance with the Memorandum, and for that purpose to make such alterations as may be requisite in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

3 Principal objects of the Company.

3.—(1) Paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (c):

• “(c) that the principal objects of the Company shall include—

• (i) the acquisition, underwriting, holding, selling and otherwise dealing of or with shares, stocks, debentures, and other securities issued by any company or body corporate (wherever incorporated) which carries on or proposes to carry on in the State any trade or industry,

• (ii) the acquisition, underwriting, holding, selling and otherwise dealing of or with shares, stocks, debentures, and other securities issued by any company or body corporate (wherever incorporated and wherever operating) in which any company or body corporate (wherever incorporated) which carries on or proposes to carry on in the State any trade or industry holds more than one-fifth (in nominal value) of the issued shares carrying voting rights, provided that every such acquisition, underwriting, holding, selling or other dealing is likely to be of benefit to a trade or industry in the State,

• (iii) the lending or advancing of money, with or without security, in such manner and upon such terms as the directors of the Company may think proper to any person engaged or proposing to engage in the State in any trade or industry for the purposes of establishing, carrying on or extending such trade or industry,

• (iv) the lending or advancing of money, with or without security, to any company or body corporate (wherever incorporated and wherever operating) in which a person engaged or proposing to engage in the State in any trade or industry holds more than one-fifth (in nominal value) of the issued shares carrying voting rights, provided that every such loan or advance is likely to be of benefit to a trade or industry in the State;”

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, it shall be lawful for the Company to make such alterations as may be requisite in its Memorandum of Association.

4 Managing director and general manager or managers of the Company.

4.—(1) Paragraph 4 of the Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (b):

• “(b) that the directors of the Company may from time to time appoint one of their body to be managing director of the Company and may also from time to time appoint a general manager or general managers;”

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, it shall be lawful for the Company to make such alterations as may be requisite in its Articles of Association.

5 Power of the Company to raise or borrow money by means of debentures or otherwise.

5.—(1) Paragraph 4 of the Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (d) (inserted by section 3 (1) of the Industrial Credit (Amendment) Act, 1959):

• “(d) that the Company shall have power for the purposes of the Company to raise or borrow money (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State) by means of debentures or otherwise, subject however, as follows:

• (i) the amount so raised or borrowed and standing unpaid at any particular time shall not exceed thirty million pounds less the amount (if any) which the Minister has, under a guarantee or guarantees given by him, paid in respect of the principal of moneys raised or borrowed by the Company and which stands at that time not repaid to the Minister by the Company,

• (ii) the said power shall not, without the consent of the Minister, be exercisable at any particular time if the Minister holds at that time more than one-fifth (in nominal value) of the issued shares carrying voting rights of the Company, and

• (iii) money so raised or borrowed in a currency other than the currency of the State shall be deemed to be the equivalent in the currency of the State of the actual money raised or borrowed, such equivalent being calculated according to the rate of exchange at the time of the raising or borrowing of the money subject to the proviso that, if the currencies having, at that time, par values established under the Articles of the Agreement of the International Monetary Fund include the currency of the State and the other currency, the calculation shall be effected according to the rate of exchange based on those values;”

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, it shall be lawful for the Company to make such alterations as may be requisite in its Articles of Association.

6 Extension of period for furnishing balance sheet and profit and loss account.

6.—Subsection (1) of section 11 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following paragraph:

“Where the Company considers that it will be unable to furnish the balance sheet and profit and loss account for an accounting year within the period referred to in the foregoing paragraph, that period may, on application by the Company, be extended by the Minister by such further period as he considers reasonable.”

7 Guarantees by the Minister.

7.—Section 3 of the Industrial Credit (Amendment) Act, 1958, is hereby amended as follows:

• (a) in subsection (1)—

• (i) “and in such money (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State)” shall be inserted after “in such form and manner”, and

• (ii) “and any such guarantee may include guarantee of payment by the Company of incidental expenses arising in connection with the borrowing” shall be added after “payment of such interest”,

• (b) in subsection (3) “£30,000,000” shall be substituted for “£15,000,000” (inserted by section 5 of the Industrial Credit (Amendment) Act, 1959),

• (c) the following subsection shall be added to the section:

• “(10) In relation to a guarantee under this section in money in currency other than the currency of the State—

  • (a) the references to principal in subsection (3) of this section shall be taken as referring to the equivalent in currency of the State of the actual principal, such equivalent being calculated according to therate of exchange at the time of the giving of the guarantee subject to the proviso that, if the currencies having, at that time, par values established under the Articles of the Agreement of the International Monetary Fund include the currency of the State and the other currency, the calculation shall be effected according to the rate of exchange based on those values,

  • (b) each of the references to moneys in subsections (4), (6), (7), (8) and (9) of this section and subsection (1) of section 4 of this Act shall be taken as referring to the cost in currency of the State of the actual moneys.”

8 Membership of either House of the Oireachtas by directors, officers and servants of the Company.

8.—(1) Where a director of the Company is nominated either as a candidate for election to either House of the Oireachtas or as a member of Seanad Éireann, he shall thereupon cease to be a director of the Company.

• (2) Where a person who is either an officer or a servant in the employment of the Company becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas—

• (a) he shall, during the period commencing upon his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein and ending either when he ceases to be a member of that House or, if it should sooner happen, upon his resignation or retirement from such employment or upon the termination of such employment by the Company, stand seconded from such employment,

• (b) he shall not be paid by, or entitled to receive from, the Company any salary or wages, as the case may be, in respect of that period.

• (3) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall, while so entitled, be disqualified from becoming a director of the Company or an officer or servant of the Company.

9 Short title and collective citation.

9.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Industrial Credit (Amendment) Act, 1971.

• (2) The Industrial Credit Acts, 1933 to 1959, and this Act may be cited together as the Industrial Credit Acts, 1933 to 1971.