INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1991

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED AND THE TRANSFER OF ITS ASSETS AND LIABILITIES TO THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, TO AMEND THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ACT, 1986, AND THE SHANNON FREE AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1986, AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONNECTED MATTERS. [24th December, 1991]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

“the Act of 1986” means the Industrial Development Act, 1986;

“the Authority” means the Industrial Development Authority;

“the Corporation” means the National Development Corporation Limited;

“enterprise” means a body corporate in which, immediately before the commencement of this Act, the Corporation held equity share capital;

“equity share capital” has the meaning assigned to it by section 155 (5) of the Companies Act, 1963;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

2 Dissolution of Corporation.

2.—The Corporation is hereby dissolved.

3 Transfer of certain property and liabilities of Corporation to Authority.

3.—(1) The following shall be and hereby are transferred to the Authority:

• (a) all property and rights held or enjoyed immediately before the commencement of this Act by the Corporation, and

• (b) all liabilities incurred before such commencement by the Corporation that had not been discharged before such commencement,

and, accordingly, without any further conveyance, transfer or assignment—

• (i) the said property, real and personal, shall on such commencement vest in the Authority for all the estate, term or interest for which, immediately before such commencement, it was vested in the Corporation but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the property and capable of being performed,

• (ii) the said rights, shall, as on and from such commencement, be enjoyed by the Authority,

• (iii) the said liabilities shall, as on and from such commencement, be the liabilities of the Authority.

• (2) All moneys, stocks, shares and securities transferred to the Authority by this section that, immediately before the commencement of this Act, are standing in the name of the Corporation shall, upon the request of the Authority, be transferred into its name.

• (3) Every right and liability transferred by this section to the Authority may, on or after the commencement of this Act, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the Authority in its own name and it shall not be necessary for the Authority to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by this section of the transfer.

4 Preservation of certain continuing contracts and adaptation of references to Corporation in certain documents.

4.—(1) Every bond, guarantee or other security of a continuing nature made or given by or on behalf of the Corporation to any person or given by any person to and accepted by or on behalf of the Corporation and every contract or agreement in writing made between the Corporation and any other person and in force but not fully executed and completed immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue in force on and after such commencement and shall be construed and have effect as if the Authority were substituted for the Corporation as a party thereto and the name of the Authority were substituted therein for that of the Corporation and shall be enforceable by or against the Authority.

• (2) References to the Corporation contained immediately before the commencement of this Act in the memorandum and articles of association of any company (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963), shall on and after such commencement, be construed as references to the Authority.

5 Pending legal proceedings.

5.—Where, immediately before the commencement of this Act, any legal proceedings are pending in any court or tribunal and the Corporation is a party to the proceedings, the Authority shall be substituted for the Corporation as a party thereto and the name of the Authority shall be substituted in the proceedings for that of the Corporation and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

6 Exemption from stamp duty.

6.—Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895, shall not apply to the vesting in the Authority of any property or right transferred by this Act.

7 Investment by Authority in enterprises.

7.—(1) The Authority may invest in an enterprise by the purchase or taking of shares in the enterprise.

• (2) Notwithstanding section 31 (4) of the Act of 1986, the Authority shall not, without the consent of the Government, invest in an enterprise by the purchase or taking of shares in the enterprise, an amount or amounts which, when added to the amount standing invested by the Corporation in the enterprise immediately before the commencement of this Act by way of equity share capital or a loan exceeds £1,500,000.

8 Final accounts of Corporation.

8.—(1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the Authority shall cause to be prepared in such form as may be approved of by the Minister all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by the Corporation in the accounting year, or part of an accounting year, of the Corporation ending immediately before such commencement and any special account specified by the Minister in relation to those moneys.

• (2) Accounts prepared pursuant to this section shall be submitted as soon as may be by the Authority to an auditor for audit and, immediately after the audit, a copy of the profit and loss account and of the balance sheet and of such other (if any) of the accounts as the Minister may direct and a copy of the auditor's report on the accounts shall be presented to the Minister who shall cause copies thereof to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

9 Amendment of Act of 1986.

9.—The Act of 1986 is hereby amended—

• (a) in section 11, by the insertion in subsection (1) of the following paragraph after paragraph (h):

• “(hh) to hold and dispose (whether by sale or otherwise) of stocks, shares and securities standing in the name of the National Development Corporation Limited immediately before the commencement of the Industrial Development (Amendment) Act, 1991, and transferred to the Authority by section 3 of the said Act;”,

• (b) in section 14, by the substitution in subsection (2) of “£1,200,000,000” for “£700,000,000”,

• (c) in section 21, by the substitution in subsection (5) of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

• “(a) The Authority may make a grant on such terms and conditions as it thinks proper in respect of any additional person employed in an industrial undertaking.”,

and

• (d) in section 31—

• (i) by the substitution in subsection (1) of “the equity share capital (within the meaning of section 155 (5) of the Companies Act, 1963)” for “share capital”, and

• (ii) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

• “(2) All shares purchased or taken by the Authority under this section and standing entered in the name of the Minister for Finance immediately before the commencement of the Industrial Development (Amendment) Act, 1991, in the registers of members maintained by the companies concerned shall, upon the request of the Authority, be entered therein in the name of the Authority.”.

10 Amendment of Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Act, 1986.

10.—The Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Act, 1986, is hereby amended—

• (a) in section 2, by the substitution of “£150,000,000” for “£130,000,000”, and

• (b) in section 3, by the substitution of “£150,000,000” for “£105,000,000”.

11 Repeals.

11.—The National Development Corporation Act, 1986, and subsection (3) of section 31 of the Act of 1986 are hereby repealed.

12 Expenses of Minister.

12.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

13 Short title and commencement.

13.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Industrial Development (Amendment) Act, 1991.

• (2) The Industrial Development Act, 1986, and this Act, in so far as it relates to that Act, may be cited together as the Industrial Development Acts, 1986 and 1991, and the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited Acts, 1959 to 1989, and this Act, in so far as it relates to those Acts, may be cited together as the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited Acts, 1959 to 1991.

• (3) This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.