PART II.

Comhlucht Siuicre Eireann, Teoranta.

4. —Immediately upon the passing of this Act the Minister shall take all such steps as appear to him to be necessary or desirable to procure that a limited company (in this Act referred to as the Company) conforming to the conditions laid down in the Schedule to this Act shall be formed and registered in Saorstát Eireann under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924.

5. —(1) The Minister may out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas lend to the Company upon such terms and conditions as to time and manner of repayment, rate of interest, security and other matters whatsoever as he shall think proper, a sum not exceeding twenty thousand pounds.

(2) Any moneys lent to the Company under this section shall be applied by the Company in or towards paying the expenses of the promotion, formation and registration of the Company and the other preliminary expenses of the Company and for no other purposes.

(3) All sums paid to the Minister by the Company in or towards repayment of any moneys lent to the Company under this section or in payment of the interest on such moneys shall be paid into the Exchequer.

6. —So long as the Minister holds not less than one-tenth of the share capital of the Company, or so long as any debentures guaranteed by the Minister under this Act are outstanding, or so long as the rate of the customs duty chargeable on sugar imported into Saorstát Eireann is higher than the rate of the excise duty chargeable on sugar manufactured in Saorstát Eireann, no issue of the share capital of the Company (other than share capital issued to subscribers of the Memorandum of Association of the Company) shall be made unless the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Industry and Commerce, has authorised such issue.

7. —The Minister may from time to time acquire by subscription any class or classes of shares of the Company, but the total amount of shares so acquired shall not exceed (in nominal value) five hundred thousand pounds.

8. —(1) Whenever the Company proposes to issue any debentures the Minister may, if he thinks fit, guarantee in such form and manner as he may think proper the due payment by the Company in accordance with the terms of such debentures of the principal moneys and interest thereon secured by such debentures.

(2) A trustee may, unless expressly forbidden by the instrument (if any) creating the trust, invest any trust funds in his hands, whether at the time in a state of investment or not, in any debentures guaranteed by the Minister under this section.

9. —(1) All moneys from time to time required to meet—

(a) payments required to be made by the Minister to the Company in respect of any shares subscribed for by him under this Part of this Act, or

(b) sums which become payable under any guarantee given under this Part of this Act by the Minister in respect of the moneys secured by debentures issued by the Company

shall be charged on and paid out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(2) For the purpose of providing money for the sums charged on the Central Fund by this section the Minister may borrow from any person and the Bank of Ireland may advance to the Minister any sum or sums to meet the sums charged on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof by this section, and for the purpose of such borrowing the Minister may create and issue securities bearing such rate of interest and subject to such conditions as to repayment, redemption or otherwise as he shall think fit.

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

(4) Any money raised by securities issued under this section shall be placed to the credit of the account of the Exchequer and shall form part of the Central Fund and be available in any manner in which such Fund is available.

10. —All dividends, bonus and other moneys received by the Minister in respect of shares of the Company and all moneys recovered by the Minister in repayment of or as interest on moneys paid by the Minister under any guarantee given by him under this Part of this Act in respect of the moneys secured by debentures issued by the Company shall be paid into the Exchequer.

11. —The Minister may, so long as he holds any of the shares of the Company, exercise all or any of the rights and powers from time to time exercisable by the holder of such shares, and where such rights or powers are exercisable by attorney the Minister may, if he so thinks proper, exercise such rights or powers by his attorney.

12. —(1) The Minister may hold for so long as he thinks fit the shares of the Company subscribed for by him under this Part of this Act and may as and when he thinks fit sell all or any of such shares.

(2) The net proceeds of every sale by the Minister of shares of the Company held by him shall be paid into the Exchequer.

13. —The Minister shall, before exercising any power conferred on him by the Articles of Association of the Company in relation to the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) the nomination of directors of the Company;

(b) the issue of debentures by the Company,

consult with the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

14. —Notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924, no alteration in the Memorandum of Association or Articles of Association of the Company which is made without the previous approval of the Minister, after consultation by him with the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Industry and Commerce, shall be valid and effective.

15. —(1) The Company shall within ninety days after the end of every accounting year furnish to the Minister a balance sheet for such accounting year duly audited by the auditor of the Company and also a profit and loss account for the same accounting year similarly audited.

(2) The balance sheet and profit and loss account to be furnished as aforesaid shall be drawn up in such manner as shall be prescribed by regulations made under this section, and such balance sheet shall contain (in addition to any matter required by such regulations) a summary of the capital, assets and liabilities of the Company together with such particulars as will disclose the nature of such assets and liabilities and the manner in which the value of the assets was arrived at.

(3) The Company shall on demand furnish to the Minister such explanations as the Minister shall think proper to require in respect of any balance sheet or profit and loss account furnished pursuant to this section.

(4) A copy of every balance sheet and profit and loss account furnished to the Minister pursuant to this section shall be laid by him before each House of the Oireachtas within one month after such balance sheet and profit and loss account are so furnished to him.

(5) If the Company makes default in complying with any of the provisions of this section, the Company and every director, manager, and other officer of the Company, who, knowingly and wilfully, authorised or permitted such default, shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds for every day during which the default continues.

(6) The Minister may by order make regulations prescribing any matter referred to in this section as prescribed by regulations made under this section.

16. —The Control of Manufactures Act, 1932 (No. 21 of 1932), shall not apply in respect of any act or thing done by the Company.