PART IV

Miscellaneous

28. —(1) A person or a society shall be guilty of an offence if he or it—

(a) contravenes section 5 (1), 5 (2), 6 (1), 7 (2), 7 (3), 8 (1), 12, 14 (2), 14 (13) (b), 17 (2), 23 (2), 23 (13) (b), 27 (2), 29 (1), 29 (3), 29 (4), 30 (1), 30 (2), 30 (3), 30 (4), 31, 32 or 36,

(b) contravenes or fails to comply with a direction or condition under this Act,

(c) fails or refuses to supply the books, accounts, deeds, records or other documents of a society or other body corporate, to give information reasonably required regarding any entries in the books, accounts, deeds, records or other documents to, or otherwise obstructs, an authorised person (within the meaning of section 11 or 21) who is exercising a power conferred on him by that section,

(d) fails or refuses to supply the books, accounts, deeds, records or other documents of a society or other body corporate to an inspector appointed under section 13 or 22, to give to such inspector all assistance reasonably required in connection with the investigation or to take an oath where required to do so by such an inspector, or

(e) fails to give all information required by a person appointed under section 15 or 25 for the full and satisfactory performance of his duties.

(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £5,000, or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both,

and if the contravention or failure in respect of which he was convicted is continued after the conviction, he shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £250 for each day on which the contravention or failure was so continued.

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate or by a person purporting to act on behalf of a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any wilful neglect on the part of, any person who is an officer of the body corporate, that person shall also be guilty of the offence.

29. —(1) Every society shall cause to be kept proper books of account relating to all sums of money received and expended by it, the matters in respect of which income and expenditure take place and all assets and liabilities of the society.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), proper books of account shall be deemed to be kept, in relation to the matters mentioned in that subsection, only if there are kept such books as are necessary to give a true and fair view of the state of the society's affairs and to explain its transactions.

(3) The books of account of a society shall be kept at the registered office of the society or at such other place as the committee of management think fit and shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by the members of the said committee.

(4) Every record required to be kept under this section shall be preserved by the society for a period of not less than six years after the date to which it relates.

30. —(1) The committee of management of a society shall cause to be laid before the annual general meeting of the society an income and expenditure account for the period, in the case of the first account, since the incorporation of the society and, in any other case, since the preceding account, made up in every case to the end of the preceding financial year.

(2) The committee of management of a society shall cause to be prepared and laid before the annual general meeting of the society a balance sheet as at the end of the preceding financial year.

(3) Every income and expenditure account of a society shall give a true and fair view of the income and expenditure of the society for the relevant period, and every balance sheet shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the society as at the end of the relevant period.

(4) (a) The income and expenditure account and balance sheet of a society shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Minister may specify by regulations, either generally or with respect to a specified class or classes of societies, denoted by reference to such matters as the Minister thinks fit.

(b) Unless the Minister otherwise specifies in the regulations aforesaid, the income and expenditure account and the balance sheet of a society for any financial year shall include corresponding particulars for the preceding financial year.

(5) References in this section to an income and expenditure account shall include references to a profit and loss account.

(6) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

31. —(1) A person who is a bankrupt and whose bankruptcy still subsists or who has been convicted on indictment of any offences involving fraud or dishonesty shall not—

(a) be a person establishing a society,

(b) act as a member of the committee of management of a society,

(c) directly or indirectly take part in or be concerned in the management of a society, or

(d) permit his name to be put forward for election or appointment to any office referred to in paragraph (b) or (c).

(2) Whenever a person holding an office referred to in subsection (1) (b) or (1) (c) becomes ineligible by virtue of that subsection to hold office, he shall forthwith cease to hold that office and the vacancy shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy and may be filled in the manner provided for such a vacancy in the rules of the society.

32. —A society which is not a credit union or which is not a society to which, by virtue of section 3 (4) of the Credit Union Act, 1966 , section 3 (3) of that Act does not apply, shall not issue withdrawable shares.

33. —(1) Regulations made by the Minister under section 35 (1) (i) of the Credit Union Act, 1966 , altering the financial limits prescribed by Part I of the Schedule to that Act, may apply to a specified class or classes of society denoted by reference to such matters as the Minister thinks fit, and different financial limits may be fixed for different classes of society.

(2) The provision in section 35 (1) of the Credit Union Act, 1966 , requiring the Minister to consult with the Credit Union Advisory Committee, shall apply only in relation to regulations under that section relating to credit unions.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister pursuant to this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

34. —Section 9 (1) of the Principal Act, which specifies the cases in which the Registrar may cancel the registry of a society, is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following—

“(bb) where the society has been wound up by the High Court under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1978;

(bc) where the society has ceased to function or where it has suspended its business for a period of not less than six months.”.

35. —(1) Notwithstanding anything in the rules of a society, the committee of management shall, by resolution passed not later than six months after the passing of this Act, make such amendments to those rules as may be necessary as a consequence of this Act.

(2) A society which fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

36. —(1) An investment trust company shall not accept or hold deposits.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an investment trust company incorporated before the 4th day of October, 1978, and which on or before that date had accepted or held deposits shall not hold deposits after the end of the period of two years commencing at the passing of this Act.

(3) In this section “investment trust company” has the same meaning as in the Central Bank Act, 1971 .

37. —Section 6 of the Money-lenders Act, 1900, is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph (e) of the following:

“or

(f) any class or classes of industrial and provident society in respect of which the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy, by order made from time to time declares that, from such date as he may specify in such an order, this Act does not apply.”.