AGRICULTURAL CREDIT ACT, 1978

45.—(1) Where unregistered land is subject to a priority charge which is not a permanent improvement charge and a puisne claimant against the land is, at the date of registration of the priority charge, under the age of twenty-one years or of unsound mind, the puisne claimant shall be entitled at any time after registration (but, in case the puisne claimant is under the age of twenty-one years at the time of registration, not after he attains the age of twenty-five years) to obtain from the Circuit Court an order that the mortgagor shall, by giving security, lodgment of money in Court or such other means as are approved of by the Court, give to the puisne claimant an indemnity which in the opinion of the Court adequately protects his puisne claim against the priority charge and that in default of the mortgagor giving the indemnity within three months after the date of the order the land be sold by the Court and the proceeds of sale be applied according to law and that in any event the costs of the puisne claimant in relation to the order, the application therefor and all proceedings thereunder when taxed as between solicitor and client be paid by the mortgagor.

• (2) An indemnity given by a mortgagor in pursuance of subsection (1) shall be enforceable, with the leave of the Circuit Court and in such manner as that Court directs, whenever the priority charge in respect of which the indemnity was given is enforced to the prejudice of the puisne claim for the protection of which the indemnity was given or in such other circumstances as in the opinion of the Court render it just and equitable that the indemnity should be enforced.

• (3) The rights and benefits conferred on any puisne claimant by this section shall be in addition and without prejudice to any other rights or benefits to which such puisne claimant may be entitled under this Act.

• (4) No order under subsection (1) shall be granted without notice to the mortgagor unless the Court thinks proper to dispense with notice.

46 Lodgement of cautions by the Corporation. [1947, s. 46.]

46.—Whenever the Corporation claims to be an incumbrancer on unregistered land by virtue of an instrument registered in the Registry of Deeds, the Corporation may, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 96 of the Act of 1964, lodge with the registering authority a caution under that section, and when the caution is so registered the registering authority may, on the first registration of the land, register the incumbrance created by the instrument as a burden affecting the land with such priority (if any) as is given to the incumbrance by this Act or otherwise by law.

Chapter 4 Miscellaneous Provisions in relation to Charges on Land

47 Charges by tenants for life. [1947, s. 47.]

47.—(1) Any person who is a tenant for life within the meaning of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, of any land or has under those Acts the powers of a tenant for life in respect of any land may borrow from the Corporation and the Corporation may lend to any such person money for permanent improvement purposes on the security hereinafter authorised.

• (2) Money borrowed under this section shall be paid by the Corporation to the trustees for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, of the settlement under which the borrower is tenant for life or has the powers of a tenant for life or to persons appointed under this section to receive the money, and the money shall be capital money arising under the said settlement within the meaning of the said Acts, and the purpose for which the money is borrowed under this section shall be a purpose for which capital money may be applied under the said Acts, and the said Acts shall apply to the said money accordingly.

• (3) Where money is proposed to be borrowed under this section on behalf of an infant full owner of land deemed under section 59 of the Settled Land Act, 1882, to be a tenant for life and there are not trustees for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, the Corporation may, with the consent of the President of the High Court, nominate two suitable persons to receive the money and thereupon the persons so nominated shall become and be trustees for the purposes of the said Acts in respect of such money but no further or otherwise.

• (4) Where money is proposed to be borrowed under this section and there are not trustees for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, of the settlement under which the borrower is tenant for life or has the powers of a tenant for life under those Acts and the rateable valuation of the land comprised in the settlement does not exceed £100, the Minister for Agriculture may nominate two suitable persons (other than the borrower) to receive such money and thereupon the persons so nominated shall become and be trustees for the purposes of the said Acts of the said settlement in respect of such money but no further or otherwise.

• (5) Where money is borrowed under this section the borrower or the trustees nominated under subsection (3) may charge all the land comprised in the settlement with the repayment to the Corporation of the money so borrowed and the interest thereon and such charge shall have effect as a disposition under the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, and, where the circumstances are such that such charge, if made under section 39 (1) or 42 (1), would be a priority charge, such charge shall be a priority charge and a permanent improvement charge and Chapter 2 or 3 (as the case may require) of this Part shall apply to such charge accordingly.

48 Charges by personal representatives. [1947, s. 48; 1965, s. 7; 1973, s. 5.]

48.—A personal representative of a deceased person shall be entitled to mortgage or charge the land of the deceased person, by way of priority charge or otherwise—

• (a) to secure the repayment to the Corporation of an advance or advances not exceeding £25,000 and interest thereon, made to him as such for any purpose for which the Corporation is entitled to make an advance to any person, or

• (b) to secure the payment to the Corporation of any money liable to be paid by it on foot of a guarantee of the payment of money not exceeding in amount £25,000 and interest thereon by the personal representative given by the Corporation in respect of the personal representative as such for any purpose for which the Corporation is entitled to give a guarantee in respect of any person,

and any such mortgage or charge shall be deemed to have been given or made in due course and for the purpose of administering the estate of the deceased person.

49 Sales by Corporation under priority charges. [cf. 1947, s. 49.]

49.—(1) Whenever the Corporation, in exercise of the powers of sale conferred on it by the Conveyancing Act, 1881, or otherwise as registered owner of a priority charge on registered land, sells the whole or any part of the land on which the priority charge is registered as a burden—

• (a) the power of the Corporation to transfer land so sold to the purchaser shall be exercisable as if the land were registered with an absolute title, and

• (b) such transfer shall have the same effect as if the land were so registered.

• (2) Whenever the Corporation, in exercise of the powers of sale conferred on it by the Conveyancing Act, 1881, or otherwise as a mortgagee under and by virtue of a priority charge on unregistered land, sells the whole or any part of the land—

• (a) the power of the Corporation to convey land so sold to the purchaser shall be exercisable so as to convey to the purchaser all the estate and interest of the mortgagor in the land,

• (b) a conveyance of the land by the Corporation, in exercise of its powers as mortgagee, shall operate to convey to the purchaser all the estate and interest of the mortgagor in the land, and

• (c) the conveyance shall have the same effect and operation as if the mortgagor was at the date of the instrument of charge beneficially entitled to the estate or interest in the land created by any agreement or undertaking to purchase entered into or deemed to have been entered into with the Land Commission by him or his predecessors in title in respect of the land freed from all interests, incumbrances and claims other than those saved and excepted by section 42, but subject to all conditions (whether statutory or contained in any such agreement or undertaking to purchase) which affected the mortgagor's estate or interest in the land immediately before the sale by the Corporation.

• (3) The purchase money arising from a sale by the Corporation in exercise of its powers of sale (other than a sale by order or direction of the Court) of land subject to a priority charge shall, after discharge of prior incumbrances to which the sale is not made subject, if any, and over which such priority charge has not been given priority by this Act, be applied in discharge of the principal money and interest due on the security of the priority charge and in payment of the costs, charges and expenses properly incurred by the Corporation as incident to the sale or any attempted sale of the land and the residue of the purchase money shall be paid to the mortgagor or other person or persons authorised to give receipts for the proceeds of sale of the property charged, provided always that in any case of doubt as to the person or persons entitled to receive the residue the Corporation shall pay it into Court pursuant to the provisions of the Trustee Act, 1893, or the provisions of that Act and of the County Officers and Courts (Ireland) Act, 1877, as the case may be.

• (4) If, after the money secured by a priority charge becomes due, the Corporation institutes proceedings in the High Court or in the Circuit Court to realise its security and obtains an order or decree for sale of the land charged or any part thereof in default of payment of the amount due to the Corporation, then on the application of the Corporation, the Court may—

• (a) direct that the land be sold by the Corporation out of Court (with liberty to the Corporation to bid at the sale) at any time after the expiration of the period fixed for payment by the order or decree (notwithstanding that any account of debts and incumbrances, inquiry as to priorities or other account or inquiry directed by the order or decree has not been taken or made at the time of sale), and

• (b) fix the reserve price and the remuneration of the auctioneer, and

• (c) direct that the residue of the purchase money produced by the sale, after payment and discharge thereout of all prior incumbrances to which the sale is not made subject, if any, and over which the priority charge has not been given priority by this Act, and the principal money, interest and costs due to the Corporation together with the costs and expenses of and incident to the sale, be paid into Court to the credit of the suit.

• (5) A direction under subsection (4) (c) may be given by the Court in the absence of any evidence that all or any parties interested in the land ordered to be sold are before the Court or are bound by the order or decree for sale and the sale shall not be deemed to be proceedings altogether out of Court.

• (6) Nothing in this section shall affect any powers of resumption of land conferred on the Land Commission by the Land Purchase Acts.

50 Sale by Land Commission of land subject to charge. [1947, s. 50.]

50.—Where—

• (a) land is offered for sale by the Land Commission under any statutory power in that behalf vested in them, and

• (b) the land is subject to a charge in favour of the Corporation to secure the repayment of money, and

• (c) the money is expressed in the instrument of charge to have been advanced for permanent improvement purposes and for no other purpose,

the land shall be sold subject to the charge in addition to any other charge, incumbrance or liability subject to which the land is required to be sold.

51 Charges by evicted tenants. [1947, s. 51.]

51.—Notwithstanding section 35 of the Land Act, 1927—

• (a) a priority or other charge in favour of the Corporation created by an evicted tenant on a parcel of land purchased by him under the Land Purchase Acts shall be a good and valid charge on the land, and

• (b) the Corporation may enforce the charge by any process or proceeding of law.

52 Adaptation of references in other enactments to permanent improvement charges. [1947, s. 52.]

52.—Every reference in any enactment (other than this Act) to a permanent improvement charge under this Act or any enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as a reference to a charge on land in favour of the Corporation to secure any money which is expressed in the instrument of charge to have been advanced for permanent improvement purposes.

53 Exemption from stamp duty and fees. [1965, s. 9.]

53.—(1) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any instrument whereby a charge or mortgage in favour of the Corporation is created or released or a charging order under Chapter 5 of this Part or a condition subject to which moneys are lent or advanced, or a guarantee is given, by the Corporation is varied or amended or the consent of the registered owner or the person in occupation of the land to which the charge relates or the personal representative of such owner or person is given to such creation, variation or amendment.

• (2) No fee or other payment shall be charged or imposed by the registering authority for the registration in a register or in the Registry of Deeds of a charge or mortgage created in favour of the Corporation or for the cancellation of the entry of a charge or mortgage in favour of the Corporation in a register or in the Registry of Deeds, as the case may be, or for the registration or other notation in a register of the variation or amendment of a charging order in favour of the Corporation.

Chapter 5 Charging Orders

54 Charging money advanced by Corporation. [cf. 1961, s. 9; 1965, s. 9.]

54.—(1) Where the Corporation proposes to lend or advance or has lent or advanced money to or guarantees the payment of money by—

• (a) a registered owner of land, or

• (b) a person in occupation of registered land (other than the registered owner of the land) for any one or more of the following purposes—

• (i) constructing, altering, improving or repairing buildings on the land,

• (ii) making on the land improvements of a permanent character calculated to increase, or facilitate or conduce to the increase of, the productivity of the land,

• (iii) any other purpose which will be or is intended to be of permanent or long-term benefit to the farm business conducted on the land,

• (iv) paying the costs and expenses of the loan, advance or guarantee and giving security for the repayment of the loan or advance or of any money paid on foot of the guarantee, as the case may be,

or

• (c) a personal representative of any such owner exercising a power pursuant to section 48,

the provisions of this section shall have effect.

• (2) The Corporation may, subject to any general directions given by the Minister from time to time, make an order (in this section referred to as a charging order) charging the money lent or advanced or to be lent or advanced by the Corporation or liable to be paid by the Corporation on foot of the guarantee, as the case may be, and the interest payable pursuant to the terms and conditions of the loan, advance or guarantee, on the land or on any land of which a person guaranteeing the repayment to the Corporation of the money and interest aforesaid is the registered owner.

• (3) A charging order under this section shall operate to charge the money, and the interest thereon, on the land to which the order relates in favour of the Corporation on and from—

• (a) the date of the order, or

• (b) the date on which the money is lent, advanced or paid by the Corporation,

whichever is the later.

• (4) Where a charging order has been made under this section in relation to land, the charging order and the land certificate (if any) issued under the Registration of Title Act, 1964, relating to the land shall be transmitted to the registering authority and the charge created by the charging order shall be registered by the registering authority as a burden affecting the land.

• (5) A charging order shall not be made under this section in relation to a loan, advance or guarantee which the Corporation proposes to give or has given to, or in respect of payments by, any person without the consent of that person.

• (6) A charge may be created under this section for the purpose of securing future advances, whether with or without present advances.

• (7) References in this Chapter to a person in occupation of land shall, in any case where a person in occupation of land is a person to whom the land is let for any term, be construed as references to the person by whom the land is so let.

55 Effect of charging order. [1961, s. 9(4).]

55.—A charge created under this Chapter shall be deemed to be a mortgage made by deed within the meaning of the Conveyancing Acts, 1881 to 1911, and the Corporation shall be the mortgagee for the purposes of those Acts and, accordingly, shall have all the powers conferred by those Acts on mortgagees under mortgages made by deed and a charge created under this Chapter shall, upon registration thereof, be deemed to be a registered charge within the meaning of the Registration of Title Act, 1964, and the land to which the charge relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 39, to have been charged by the registered owner thereof in favour of the Corporation with the repayment of the amount of the charge and the payment of the interest.

56 Money payable on foot of charge. [1961, s. 9(5)(6); 1965, s. 9.]

56.—(1) (a) All money payable on foot of a charge created under this Chapter in respect of money lent or advanced by the Corporation to the registered owner of land or his personal representative or paid by the Corporation on foot of a guarantee given by the Corporation of the payment of money by the registered owner of land or his personal representative shall be recoverable from the person who is the registered owner of the land subject to the charge at the time when proceedings for recovery of the money payable on foot of the charge are commenced as a personal liability of that person.

• (b) Nothing in this subsection shall relieve any other person from liability in respect of any such money and, as between successive registered owners of the land subject to the charge, all money paid or recovered from a registered owner on foot of a charge and for the payment of which a former registered owner was liable shall be recoverable by the registered owner who has paid it, or from whom it has been recovered, as a debt due to him by the registered owner in default.

• (2)
• (a) All money payable on foot of a charge created under this Chapter in respect of money lent or advanced by the Corporation to a person in occupation of land (other than the registered owner of the land) or paid by the Corporation on foot of a guarantee given by the Corporation of the payment of money by a person in occupation of land (other than the registered owner of the land) shall be recoverable from the person in occupation (whether as registered owner or otherwise) of the land subject to the charge at the time when proceedings for recovery of the money payable on foot of the charge are commenced as a personal liability of that person.

• (b) Nothing in this subsection shall relieve any other person from liability in respect of any such money and, as between persons successively in occupation (whether as registered owners or otherwise) of the land subject to the charge, all money paid or recovered from a person in occupation of the land on foot of a charge and for the payment of which a person previously in occupation of the land was liable shall be recoverable by the person who has paid it, or from whom it has been recovered, as a debt due to him by the person in default.

57 Conditions and variation of charging order. [1961, s. 9(7).]

57.—(1) Where a charge is created under this Chapter in relation to money lent or advanced to any person by the Corporation or in relation to a guarantee given by the Corporation of the payment of money by any person, the loan, advance or guarantee shall be subject to such conditions (including conditions providing for the payment of interest, the manner of repayment of the money lent or advanced by the Corporation or of any money paid by the Corporation on foot of a guarantee given by the Corporation of the payment of money by the person and payment of the interest, whether by instalments or otherwise, and the time for repayment of any such money and the payment of the interest) as may be determined by the Corporation with the consent of that person when the Corporation agrees to make the loan or advance or give the guarantee, as the case may be, and the conditions may be varied or amended subsequently in any manner whatsoever by the Corporation with the consent of the person liable to repay the money, and the conditions (including conditions as subsequently varied or amended) shall be deemed to be and shall operate as covenants entered into with the Corporation by the person liable to repay the money.

• (2) A charging order may, with the consent of the person liable to repay the money to which the order relates, be varied or amended by the Corporation.

• (3) Where a charging order is varied or amended under this section, the Corporation shall transmit to the registering authority a certificate under its seal containing particulars of the variation or amendment

• (4) Upon transmission to the registering authority of a certificate purporting to be under the seal of the Corporation and to contain particulars of the variation or amendment under this section of a charging order, the variation or amendment shall be registered or otherwise noted by the registering authority in the register in which the charge created by the charging order is registered.

58 Cancellation of charge. [1961, s. 9(8).]

58.—Where all money payable on foot of a charge created under this Chapter has been repaid to the Corporation and the registered owner or the person in occupation of the land to which the charge relates requests the Corporation to release the charge, the Corporation shall thereupon transmit to the registering authority a certificate under its seal stating that all money payable on foot of the charge has been repaid to the Corporation, and upon transmission to the registering authority of a certificate purporting to be under the seal of the Corporation and stating that all money payable on foot of the charge to which it relates has been repaid to the Corporation, the entry of the charge in the register in which it is entered shall be cancelled.

PART V Agriculture Co-operative Societies

59 Co-operative society.

59.—In this Part “co-operative society” means a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893.

60 Rules of co-operative societies. [1929, s. 29.]

60.—The rules of a co-operative society may provide for all or any one or more of the following—

• (a) advances of money by the society to its members on security other than the security of real or personal property, where such advances are made out of money advanced to the society by the Corporation;

• (b) guarantees by the society of the repayment of advances and the payment of interest on advances made by the Corporation to members of the society;

• (c) the society acting as agent for the Corporation in the making of advances by the Corporation to members of the society.

61 Restrictions on activities of co-operative societies owing money to the Corporation. [1947, s. 15.]

61.—(1) So long as any portion of a loan or advance made by the Corporation to a co-operative society (in this subsection referred to as the debtor society) remains owing to the Corporation—

• (a) the debtor society shall not lend money at interest to any person other than a person to whom the Corporation may lend or advance money;

• (b) the debtor society shall not lend money at interest to any body corporate engaged in or carrying on, as a substantial part of its business, the selling by retail of any goods which are neither produced by that body corporate or (if it is a co-operative society) its members nor are requisites of agricultural production or marketing;

• (c) the debtor society shall not itself engage in or carry on, as a substantial part of its business, the selling by retail of any goods which are neither produced by the debtor society or its members nor are requisites of agricultural production or marketing;

• (d) if the debtor society contravenes paragraph (a), (b) or (c) the whole of the loan or advance or so much of it as remains owing to the Corporation shall (notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary) forthwith become due and payable by the debtor society to the Corporation.

• (2) Where the goods sold by a body corporate are mainly goods produced by that body corporate or (if it is a co-operative society) its members, any similar goods occasionally sold by that body corporate may for the purposes of subsection (1) be deemed to have been so produced although in fact produced by other persons and purchased by that body corporate from them.

SCHEDULE ENACTMENTS REPEALED