First Previous (PART VI Amendments to Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995) Next (SCHEDULE)

8 1997

CENTRAL BANK ACT, 1997

PART VII

Miscellaneous

Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1942.

50. —The following section is hereby substituted for section 24 (as amended by section 14 of the Act of 1989) of the Act of 1942:

“24.—(1) Every Director of the Board (other than a service Director) shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office for a period of five years from the date of appointment.

(2) Every service Director shall hold office at the pleasure of the Minister and may be removed by the Minister at any time.

(3) This section shall apply to every Director of the Bank who holds office on the commencement of section 50 of the Central Bank Act, 1997.”.

Amendment of section 28 of Act of 1942.

51. —Section 28 of the Act of 1942 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Not less than ten days before the expiration by effluxion of time of the term of office of a Director to whom this section applies the Secretary to the Board shall notify the Minister of such prospective vacancy.”.

Amendment of section 16 of Act of 1989.

52. —Section 16 (as amended by section 50 of the Stock Exchange Act, 1995, and section 49 of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995), of the Act of 1989, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following for paragraph (e) of subsection (2)—

“(e) made to an authority in a jurisdiction other than that of the State duly authorised to exercise functions similar to any one or more of the statutory functions of the Bank and which has obligations in respect of non-disclosure of information similar to the obligations imposed on the Bank under this section and the Bank may require from a person it supervises any information for the purposes of assisting the authority in the jurisdiction other than the State, but the Bank may only require such information where the information requested is to assist the authority in the jurisdiction other than the State in the carrying out of its regulatory functions,”,

(b) by the insertion after subsection (2) (o) of the following paragraphs:

“(p) made to an officer of statistics as defined by section 20 of the Statistics Act, 1993, in connection with the collection, compilation, analysis or interpretation of data relating to balance of payments, national accounts or any other financial statistics for these purposes,

(q) made for the purpose of complying with section 57 (2) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 ,

(r) where the Bank is in receipt of information from an authority in a jurisdiction other than the State duly authorised to exercise functions similar to one or more of the statutory functions of the Bank and made with the permission of that authority,

(s) made to the Comptroller and Auditor General, or an officer, that is required for the performance of his functions,

(t) made to the European Monetary Institute where such disclosure is required in accordance with the Treaty on European Union,

(u) made to the Minister for the Environment for the purposes of his or her functions under the national housing programme, in respect of a mortgage lender.”,

and

(c) by the insertion after subsection (6) of the following subsection:

“(7) An officer of statistics who receives information from the Bank under section 16 (2) (p) shall be bound by the provisions of this section with regard to the disclosure of that information.”.

Application of section 47 of Act of 1989.

53. —Section 47 of the Act of 1989 shall apply—

(a) to every financial institution to which Chapter VII of Part II of the Act of 1989 relates,

(b) to every exchange to which Chapter VIII of Part II of the Act of 1989 relates and every member of that exchange, and

(c) to every person authorised by the Bank to carry on money broking business,

as if each such institution, exchange, member or person so authorised were the holder of a licence for the purposes of the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997.

Amendment of section 48 of Act of 1989.

54. —Section 48 of the Act of 1989, is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) The Bank shall be notified of any application for a petition for the winding up of the holder of a licence before the petition is presented.”.

Amendment of section 75 of Act of 1989.

55. —Section 75 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of subsection (2):

“(aa) the acquiring transaction is being entered into with the prior approval of the Bank in the interests of the proper and orderly regulation of banking or financial markets in the State, or”.

Amendment of section 76 of Act of 1989.

56. —Section 76 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by designation of that section as subsection (1) thereof and by the insertion of the following subsection:

“(2) A person may apply to the Court for an order, on such conditions as the Court may decide, declaring that, notwithstanding the failure of that person to notify the Bank as required by this Chapter, the acquiring transaction is, and always had been, a valid transaction and that title to any shares or other interest concerned did pass and that all purported exercise of powers is and always had been valid, and if the Court finds that the failure to notify the Bank of the proposed acquiring transaction was due to inadvertence on the part of the person, or if the Court considers that it is otherwise in the interest of justice to do so, it shall grant the order sought.”.

Amendment of section 90 of Act of 1989.

57. —Section 90 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by designation of that section as subsection (1) thereof and by the insertion of the following subsection:

“(2) The Bank may apply from a date specified in writing by it any or all of the provisions of this Part to any person who has applied for a certificate under section 39B (inserted by section 30 of the Finance Act, 1987 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 , where the Bank is of the opinion that the application of these provisions to that person is necessary in the interests of the proper and orderly regulation of the Custom House Docks Area (within the meaning of section 41 of the Finance Act, 1986 ) and this Part shall have full effect as if that person were a person to whom a certificate had been given by the Minister.”.

Amendment of section 91 of Act of 1989.

58. —Section 91 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an order under this section may provide that—

(a) the provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to financial institutions of a specified class or financial institutions engaged in a specified class of business, or

(b) the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to every such financial institution referred to in subparagraph (a) to the extent only specified in the order.”.

Amendment of section 92 of Act of 1989.

59. —Section 92 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsections:

“(3) The Bank may decide not to impose prudential, supervisory and reporting requirements and conditions on a financial institution or a class of financial institutions where it considers that the imposition of such requirements and conditions is not necessary in the interests of the reasonable protection of the public, the financial system or a sector thereof, or otherwise in the interests of the proper and orderly regulation of the institution or class of institutions, or the Custom House Docks Area (within the meaning of section 41 of the Finance Act, 1986 ).

(4) Where under subsection (3) no requirements or conditions are imposed by the Bank, sections 95 and 96 shall not apply to the institution or class of institutions concerned.”.

Amendment of section 3(2) of Consumer Credit Act, 1995.

60. —Section 3(2) of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) any transaction or proposed transaction conducted in the course of relevant trading operations within the meaning of section 39A (inserted by section 17 of the Finance Act, 1981 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 , or within the meaning of section 39B (inserted by section 30 of the Finance Act, 1987 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 .”.

Amendment of Part II, Chapter VII of Act of 1989.

61. —The Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 96:

Application of this Part to certain classes of financial institution.

96A.—The provisions of this Chapter shall continue to apply to a financial institution which has had its certificate revoked by the Minister, or has surrendered its certificate, until such time as the institution has discharged its liabilities in whole or in part to the satisfaction of the Bank.”.

Amendment of section 104 of Act of 1989.

62. —Section 104 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) A prospectus or other document advertising the services of an exchange shall contain a statement in a prominent position in such form or manner approved by the Bank and containing such particulars for the protection of subscribers relating to the approval or otherwise of the rules of the exchange and its proposed establishment as the Bank may direct in writing.”.

Amendment of section 139 of Act of 1989.

63. —Section 139 of the Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any enactment, or in any prospectus or other document relating to the terms of issue, holding or transfer of any securities or other instruments, the issue or the transfer of such securities or other instruments may be made and shall be effective if instructions for the issue or transfer are communicated by electronic means and any issue or transfer of securities shall be deemed to be effective if recorded in a computerised system established by the Bank or any agent of the Bank, without the need for instructions in writing.”.

Amendment of section 3 of Bretton Woods Agreements Act, 1957 .

64. Section 3 of the Bretton Woods Agreements Act, 1957 , is hereby amended in subsection (7) by the deletion of:

“and may advance to the Minister for Finance any sum or sums required for payments under this section”,

and that subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(7) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings of currency of the State and other assets of the Fund and the Bank.

Amendment of section 3 of International Finance Corporation Act, 1958 .

65. Section 3 of the International Finance Corporation Act, 1958 , is hereby amended in subsection (6) by the deletion of:

“and may advance to the Minister for Finance any sum or sums required for payments under this section”,

and that subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(6) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings of currency of the State and other assets of the Corporation.

Amendment of section 3 of International Development Association Act, 1960 .

66. Section 3 of the International Development Association Act, 1960 , is hereby amended in subsection (7) by the deletion of:

“and may advance to the Minister for Finance any sum or sums required for payments under this section”,

and that subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(7) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings of currency of the State and other assets of the Association.

Amendment of section 3 of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Act, 1988 .

67. —Section 3 of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency 1988, is hereby amended in subsection (5) by the deletion of:

“and may advance to the Minister for Finance any sum or sums required for payments under this section, subject to such security, rate of interest and other terms and conditions as are agreed between the Minister and the Bank”,

and that subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(5) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings of currency of the State and other assets of the Agency.

Amendment of section 3 of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Act, 1991 .

68. Section 3 of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Act, 1991 , is hereby amended in subsection (5) by the deletion of:

“and may advance to the Minister any sum or sums required for payments under this section, subject to such security, rate of interest and other terms and conditions as are agreed between the Minister and the Central Bank of Ireland”,

and that subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(5) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings of currency of the State and other assets of the Bank.

Amendment of Part II, Chapter II of Act of 1989.

69. —The Act of 1989 is hereby amended by the insertion in Part II, Chapter II of the following section after section 25:

“25A. (1) The Bank or any employee of the Bank or any member of its Board or any authorised person or authorised officer appointed by the Bank for the performance of its statutory functions shall not be liable for damages for anything done or omitted in the discharge or purported discharge of any of its statutory functions under this Act unless it is shown that the act or omission was in bad faith.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)—

(a) the authorisation or revocation of authorisation or supervision or regulation of any person under any of its statutory functions shall not constitute a warranty as to the solvency or performance of a person and neither the State nor the Bank shall be liable for any losses incurred through the insolvency, default or performance of such person,

(b) the approval or revocation of approval or supervision or regulation of any exchange or the approval, amendment, revocation or imposition of rules or the consent or refusal of consent to amendments of rules under any of its statutory functions shall not constitute a warranty as to the solvency or performance of any exchange or member of any exchange and neither the State nor the Bank shall be liable for any losses incurred through the insolvency, default or performance of any exchange or member of any exchange.”.

Amendment of Act of 1971.

70. —The Act of 1971 is hereby amended—

(a) by the deletion of subsection (1) (as amended by the European Communities (Deposit Guarantee Schemes) Regulations, 1995 (S.I. No. 168 of 1995)) of section 7 and the substitution therefor of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person, other than the Bank, shall not, in or outside the State, carry on banking business or hold himself out or represent himself as a banker or as carrying on banking business or on behalf of any other person accept deposits or other repayable funds from the public, unless he is the holder of a licence.”,

(b) by the substitution in section 2 (as amended by section 29 of the Act of 1989) for the definition of “banking business” of the following definition:

“‘banking business’ means—

(a) the business of accepting, on own account, sums of money from the public in the form of deposits or other repayable funds whether or not involving the issue of securities or other obligations, howsoever described, or

(b) the business aforesaid and any other business normally carried on by a bank, which may include the granting of credits on own account;

but excluding—

(i) deposits with a trader from persons employed by him in his trading business or from his customers in the normal course of his trading business and deposits or instalments in respect of the letting, leasing or selling of goods under a hire-purchase agreement, or a leasing agreement or a credit-sale agreement, or

(ii) a sum or sums of money accepted as security or collateral or as a bond for the repayment of a debt or the performance of a contract related to goods or services, or

(iii) a sum or sums of money accepted by way of advance or part payment under a contract for the sale, hire or other provision of goods or services, and repayable only in the event that the goods or services are not in fact sold, hired or otherwise provided, or

(iv) a sum or sums of money accepted solely as a premium in respect of the issue or renewal of a life assurance policy issued by a holder of an authorisation under the European Communities (Life Assurance) Regulations, 1984 (S.I. No. 57 of 1984), or

(v) a sum or sums of money accepted as a contribution within the meaning of the Pensions Acts, 1990 to 1996, or

(vi) a sum or sums of money accepted by a person where it can be shown that—

(I) no part of the business activities of the person so accepting or of any other person is financed wholly or substantially out of those funds, and

(II) such funds are, in the normal course of business, accepted on a casual or incidental basis only,

or

(vii) a sum or sums of money accepted under financial contracts, (within the meaning of the Netting of Financial Contracts Act, 1995) which may include the acceptance of collateral,

and ‘banking’ and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.”,

(c) by the insertion in section 2 of the following subsection:

“(2) Where the Minister is of the opinion that it is consistent with the orderly and proper regulation of banking he may, after consultation with the Bank, by order amend this section to add thereto any category of funds or delete therefrom any category of funds mentioned therein for the time being.”,

(d) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a) of section 8 (2) (as amended by section 31 of the Act of 1989):

“(a) Subject to such conditions, if any, as it may consider appropriate, the Bank may exempt any person or any class or classes of person from the requirement to hold a licence in respect of the issuing of any category or categories of securities or other obligations, howsoever described, where—

(i) the requirements would arise only out of the issuing of such securities or other obligations to which the definition of banking business relates; and

(ii) the Bank is of the opinion that the exemption would not conflict with the orderly and proper regulation of banking.”, and

(e) by the substitution of the following section for section 27 (as amended by section 43 of the Act of 1989 and the Regulations of 1992) of the Act of 1971:

“27.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a person shall not advertise for or otherwise solicit deposits or other repayable funds from the public on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to advertising for or otherwise soliciting deposits or other repayable funds from the public—

(a) by the holder of a licence or the Bank or a person to whom, by virtue of section 7(4) of this Act, section 7(1) of this Act does not apply, or

(b) by a person authorised by virtue of the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992, to carry on business in the State, or

(c) by any person on behalf of a person specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection.

(3) If an advertisement or other solicitation for deposits or other repayable funds from the public is published and it does not include the name and address of the person who arranged with the publisher for the advertisement or solicitation, then the Bank may, at any time within the period of twelve months after any publication of the advertisement, request the publisher to supply the name and address of that person to the Bank and the publisher shall forthwith comply with that request.

(4) In this section ‘deposits or other repayable funds from the public’ does not include the acceptance of a sum or sums of money excluded from the definition of banking business under section 2 of the Act of 1971.

(5) Reference in this section or section 58(3) of this Act (as amended by section 9 of the Act of 1989) to the solicitation of deposits, however expressed, includes every form of solicitation for deposits including, in particular, the display or publication of any such matter by way of notice, leaflet, circular, pamphlet, brochure, photograph, film, video, sound broadcasting, television, electronic communication or personal canvassing.”.

Amendment of section 11 of Act of 1971.

71. —Section 11 (as amended by section 34 of the Central Bank Act, 1989) of the Act of 1971 is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (b) in subsection (1)—

“(bb) with the consent of the Minister, revoke the licence if the business of, or the corporate structure of, the holder of the licence has been so organised or the holder of the licence has come under the control of any other undertaking not supervised by the Bank such that the holder is no longer capable of being supervised to the satisfaction of the Bank.”.

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5)—

“(6) In this section, “control”, “fellow subsidiary”, “parent undertaking” and “subsidiary undertaking” have the meanings they have in the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 395 of 1992), and “associated undertaking” has the meaning it has in the European Communities (Companies: Group Accounts) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 201 of 1992).”.

Amendment of section 48 of Act of 1971.

72. —Section 48 of the Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) The Bank shall not issue bonds to bodies other than credit institutions.”.

Amendment of section 51 of Act of 1971.

73. —(1) Section 51 of the Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1)—

“(i) altering the objects and powers of the Bank of Ireland by abandoning, restricting or amending any existing object or power or by adopting a new object or power, or”.

(2) This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of September, 1971.

Injunction to prevent an unauthorised person acting as a credit institution.

74. —The Bank may apply to the Court to seek an injunction to prohibit the continuance by any person of any contravention of section 7 (as amended by section 30 of the Act of 1989, as amended by the European Communities (Deposit Guarantee Schemes) Regulations, 1995 (S.I. No. 168 of 1995) and as amended by this Act) of the Act of 1971, or section 27 (as amended by section 43 of the Act of 1989, as amended by the Regulations of 1992 and as amended by this Act) of the Act of 1971 where such a person is not a credit institution.

Powers of inspection.

75. —(1) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised in respect of persons whom the Bank has reasonable grounds to believe have conducted or are conducting banking business or an associated undertaking or related undertaking, and these persons shall be referred to in this section as “persons to whom this section applies”.

(2) An appropriate person may, for the purpose of obtaining any information which the Bank may require to enable it to exercise any of its statutory functions, do any one or more of the following things:

(a) at all reasonable times enter any premises, at which there are reasonable grounds to believe that any banking business or any activity in connection with banking business is, or has been, carried on or that books, records or other documents in relation to such business or activities are maintained, and search and inspect the premises and any books, records or other documents on the premises;

(b) secure for later inspection any premises or any part of a premises in which books, records or other documents are kept or in which there are reasonable grounds for believing that such books, records or other documents are kept;

(c) inspect and take copies of or extracts from or, subject to a warrant being issued for that purpose by a judge of the District Court, remove for a reasonable period for further examination any books, records or other documents which the appropriate person found in the course of an inspection;

(d) require any person who carries on such banking business and any person employed in connection therewith to give to the appropriate person such information as the appropriate person may reasonably require in relation to any entries in such books, records or other documents;

(e) require any such person to give to the appropriate person any information which the appropriate person may require in regard to banking business or in regard to the persons carrying on such banking business or employed in connection therewith;

(f) require any such person to give to the appropriate person any other information which the appropriate person may reasonably require in regard to such banking business;

(g) require any person by or on whose behalf data equipment is or has been used or any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the data equipment or any associated apparatus or material, to afford the appropriate person reasonable assistance in relation thereto;

(h) summon, at any reasonable time, any other person employed in connection with the banking business to give to the appropriate person any information which the appropriate person may reasonably require in regard to such activity and to produce to the appropriate person any books, records or other documents which are in that person's power or control;

(i) require any person employed in the premises to prepare a report on specified aspects of the business of the persons to whom this section applies or to explain entries in any documents or other materials furnished.

(3) A person who has in his or her power, possession or procurement any books, records or other documents aforesaid shall—

(a) produce them at the request of an appropriate person and permit him or her to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from such books, records and documents,

(b) at the request of an appropriate person, give any information which may be reasonably required with regard to such books, records and documents, and

(c) give such other assistance and information to an appropriate person as is reasonable in the circumstances.

(4) Where any person from whom the production of a book, record or other document is required claims a lien thereon the production of any such book, record or other document shall be without prejudice to the lien.

(5) Nothing in this section shall compel the production by a barrister or solicitor of a book, record or other document containing a privileged communication made by him or her or to him or her in that capacity or the furnishing of information contained in a privileged communication so made.

(6) The duty to produce or provide any information, document, material or explanation extends to an examiner, liquidator, receiver, official assignee or any person who is or has been an officer or employee or agent of the persons to whom this section applies, or who appears to the Bank or the appropriate person to have the information, document, material or explanation in his or her possession or under his or her control.

(7) If a person to whom this section applies refuses to produce to an appropriate person when requested to do so any book or document which it is his or her duty under this section to produce, or refuses to co-operate with an appropriate person when required to do so, or refuses to answer any questions put to him or her by an appropriate person with respect to the affairs of the person to whom this section applies, the appropriate person may certify the refusal under his or her hand to the Court and the Court may thereupon inquire into the case and after hearing any witnesses who may be produced against or on behalf of the officer, employee, shareholder or other agent of the person to whom this section applies and any statement which may be offered in defence, make any order or direction as it thinks fit, including a direction to the person concerned to attend or re-attend before the appropriate person or produce particular books or documents or answer a particular question put to him or her by the appropriate person, or a direction that the person concerned need not produce a particular book or document or answer a particular question put to him or her by the appropriate person.

(8) In this section and in section 76 :

(i) “appropriate person” means—

(I) an officer of the Bank, or

(II) in relation to any particular inspection (including a proposed inspection), any other person who in the opinion of the Governor possesses appropriate qualifications or experience to carry out the inspection, or any part thereof, to which this section relates;

(ii) “premises” includes any land or building and includes a vessel, aircraft or motor vehicle.

Search and seizure.

76. —(1) (a) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied on the sworn information of an appropriate person that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there are on any premises any books, records or other documents—

(i) of which production has been required under this Act, and

(ii) which have not been produced in compliance with that requirement,

the judge may issue a warrant authorising any member of the Garda Síochána, together with any other persons named in the warrant at any time or times within one month from the date of the warrant, on production if so requested of the warrant, to enter the premises specified in the information (using such force as is reasonably necessary for the purpose) and to search the premises or other place specified in the warrant and—

(I) take possession of any books or documents appearing to be such books or documents as aforesaid, or

(II) to take, in relation to any books or documents so appearing, any other steps which may appear necessary for preserving them and preventing interference with them.

(b) Any books or documents of which possession is taken under this subsection may be retained for a period of three months.

(2) A person who—

(a) obstructs or interferes with a member of the Garda Síochána acting under the authority of a warrant issued under this section, or

(b) is found on the premises or at the place specified in the warrant by a member of the Garda Síochána acting as aforesaid and who fails or refuses to give the member his or her name or address when required to do so or gives a name and address that is false or misleading, or

(c) who obstructs the exercise of an authority conferred by a warrant under this section to take possession of any books or documents,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £1,000,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both.

Examination by Comptroller and Auditor General.

77. —(1) The Comptroller and Auditor General may, in relation to the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank, carry out such examinations as he or she considers appropriate for the purposes of ascertaining—

(a) whether and to what extent the resources of the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank—

(i) have been used, and

(ii) if acquired or disposed of by the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank, have been so acquired or disposed of, economically and efficiently,

and

(b) whether any such disposal has been effected upon the most favourable terms available.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank to evaluate the effectiveness of its operations may be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

(3) The Comptroller and Auditor General may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, prepare a special report in writing in relation to an examination carried out by him or her under this section or any general matters arising in relation to any such examination and shall submit a copy of the report to the Minister and shall, as soon as may be, submit a copy to the Bank.

(4) The Minister shall cause a copy of a report submitted under subsection (3) to be laid before Dáil Éireann not later than three months after the date of submission to him or her.

(5) The Comptroller and Auditor General may, with the consent of the Minister, require the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank to pay to the Comptroller and Auditor General a fee of an amount calculated on such basis as he or she may determine after consultation with the Minister in respect of an examination under this section in relation to the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank carried out by him or her pursuant to this Act or any other enactment.

(6) A fee under this section may be recovered by the Comptroller and Auditor General as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(7) A fee paid under this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister.

(8) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in relation to a fee paid under this section.

(9) The expenses incurred by the Comptroller and Auditor General in the administration of this section shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(10) The Comptroller and Auditor General or an officer of the Comptroller and Auditor General being a person referred to in section 16 (2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 , for the purpose of obtaining any information that is required for the performance of his or her functions, on production, in the case of the officer, of his or her authorisation, if so requested—

(a) shall have access to and may take or at his or her request, shall be given such copies of or such extracts from such books, documents and records of the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank as he or she may reasonably require,

(b) shall have access to and may take or at his or her request, shall be given such copies of or such extracts from any data or data material of the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank as he or she may reasonably require and may extract information from any such data,

(c) may obtain from any officer, servant or employee of the Bank or any subsidiary of the Bank such information within his or her knowledge or control as he or she may reasonably require, including information in relation to the contents of any such books, documents or records as aforesaid, or in relation to the data aforesaid or the sources from which they are obtained or the data material aforesaid or any information extracted from such data.

(11) An officer of the Comptroller and Auditor General or person referred to in section 16 (2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 , exercising powers conferred on him or her under this section shall be authorised in writing by the Comptroller and Auditor General to exercise the powers conferred on him or her under this section for the purposes of this section.

(12) In this section “data” and “data material” have the meanings assigned to them by the Data Protection Act, 1988 .

(13) The provisions of section 16 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 , shall apply in respect of the functions of the Comptroller and Auditor General under this section.

Amendment of Building Societies Act, 1989 .

78. —The Building Societies Act, 1989 , is hereby amended by the insertion after section 101 of the following section:

“101A.—(1) This section shall apply where a conversion scheme specifies rights of members of the society entitling them to shares in the successor company, to acquire shares in the successor company in priority to other subscribers or to any distribution of the funds of the society.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where—

(a) a member held shares in the society for the whole of the specified period,

(b) any shares held by that member were jointly held for the whole or part of the specified period,

(c) that member is named second in the records of the society for the whole or part of the period the shares were jointly held, and

(d) no person who has priority, in accordance with sub section (3), over the member referred to in paragraph (a) held shares in the society throughout the specified period,

the shares jointly held shall be regarded as having been held alone by the member referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) The following persons shall be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (2), as having priority over the member referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection, namely—

(a) where that member was the representative joint holder of the shares for part of the period the shares were jointly held, any person who was the representative joint holder for a later part of that period,

(b) where that member was not the representative joint holder of the shares for any part of the period the shares were jointly held—

(i) any person who was the representative joint holder of the shares for the whole or part of the period, and

(ii) if, in relation to the shares jointly held, that member is named second in the records of the society for part only of the period the shares are so held, any person who was joint holder of the shares and who was named second in the records of the society for a later part of that period.

(4) Where a member dies during the specified period at a time when the name of that member appears in the records of the society as a joint holder of shares, this section shall have effect in relation to any later time as if the member had never been so named.

(5) In this section—

conversion scheme” means a conversion scheme where the conversion date falls after the passing of this Act;

specified period” means the period beginning two years before the end of the day on which notice is given to members of the conversion resolution and ending on the day on which the conversion resolution is passed.”.

Information to be supplied by mortgage lenders.

79. —Every mortgage lender shall submit to the Minister for the Environment such information and returns within such period as that Minister may require from time to time for the purposes of his functions in relation to the national housing programme.

Amendment of Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act, 1958.

80. —The Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act, 1958, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following section for section 2:

Variation by order of authorised investments.

2.—(1) The Minister for Finance may by order vary by addition or deletion and may specify such conditions as he considers proper in respect of the investment of trust funds in—

(a) the investments specified in section 1 (as amended by section 1 of this Act) of the Trustee Act, 1893, or

(b) where those investments have been varied by order under this subsection or under any other statutory authority, those investments as so varied.

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if either such House, within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which it has sat after such order is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(3) Before making an order under this section the Minister shall consult—

(a) the President of the High Court,

(b) the Governor of the Central Bank,

(c) the Public Trustee,

(d) the Chairperson of the Irish Bankers Federation,

(e) the President of the Law Society of Ireland, and

(f) the Chairperson of the Irish Stock Exchange,

in regard to the terms of the proposed order.

(4) Nothing in this Act or in any order made under it shall authorise a trustee to do anything which he or she is expressly forbidden to do by the instrument creating the trust nor shall it prevent a trustee from doing anything which he or she is expressly permitted to do by the instrument creating the trust.”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following section for section 5:

Saver for certain investments.

5.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act where trust funds within the meaning of the Trustee Act, 1893, or money under the control of or subject to the order of any Court stand or stands invested in a manner which was authorised by law when the investment was effected but which, apart from this section, has ceased to be so authorised, authority is hereby given to continue to keep the funds or money invested in that manner.

(2) Where any condition specified in any order made under this Act would have the effect of requiring a trustee to dispose of any investment which was not in breach of any condition specified in any order made under this Act at the time the investment was effected, such trustee is hereby authorised to retain such investment.

(3) Nothing in this section shall have the effect of removing from a trustee an obligation to comply with any condition specified in any order made under this Act in respect of any investment effected by such trustee after the coming into operation of any order made under this Act.”.

Amendment of European Communities (Deposit Guarantee Schemes) Regulations, 1995.

81. —The European Communities (Deposit Guarantee Schemes) Regulations, 1995 (S.I. No. 168 of 1995) are hereby amended—

(a) in Regulation 3 (1), by the substitution in the definition of “relevant beneficial owner” of “10 per cent.” for “20 percent.”,

and

(b) in Regulation 16 (1), by the insertion of the following after paragraph (1) (i):

“(j) deposits by financial institutions (as defined in Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992);

(k) deposits by an insurer (as defined in section 2 of the Insurance Act, 1989 );

(l) deposits by the Government of any State or central administrative authority;

(m) deposits by provincial, regional, local and municipal authorities;

(n) deposits by—

(i) undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities within the meaning of the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 78 of 1989),

(ii) a unit trust, or

(iii) other collective investment schemes;

(o) deposits by pension and retirement funds;

(p) debt securities issued by the same institution and liabilities arising out of own acceptances and promissory notes;

(q) deposits by companies which are not permitted to draw up abridged balance sheets pursuant to section 10 (1) of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1986 , as amended by the European Communities (Accounts) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 396 of 1993).”.

References to company in ICC Bank Act, 1992 .

82. —(1) Each reference to the Company in section 3 (1) of the ICC Bank Act, 1992 , shall be construed as including any subsidiary of ICC Bank plc which carries on its business by virtue of an order made under section 7 (4) (b) (as substituted by section 30 of the Act of 1989) of the Central Bank Act, 1971.

(2) Any Regulations made under section 3 (1) of the ICC Bank Act, 1992 , shall apply equally to any such subsidiary of the Company.

Amendment of Stock Transfer Act, 1963 .

83. —The Stock Transfer Act, 1963 , is hereby amended—

(a) in section 2, by the substitution—

(i) in paragraphs (d) and (e) (inserted by the Stock Transfer (Forms) Regulations, 1991 (S.I. No. 77 of 1991)) of subsection (1), and

(ii) in subsection (5) (inserted by those Regulations),

for “Gilts Settlement Office”, in each place where it occurs, of “Central Bank of Ireland Securities Settlements Office”, and

(b) in section 5, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4) (inserted by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1977 ):

“(5) The Minister, having consulted with the Bank, may by regulation provide for the substitution for the references in that section of that name, of references to another name.”.

Representative offices.

84. —(1) Subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified by the Bank, nothing in section 7 of the Act of 1971 shall prohibit the establishment of a representative office in the State of a credit institution that is authorised in any state other than a Member State of the European Economic Area.

(2) Every representative office to which subsection (1) relates shall comply with each and every term or condition specified by the Bank under that subsection in the interests of the proper and orderly regulation of banking.

(3) Where the Bank is satisfied that the terms or conditions specified by the Bank under subsection (1) are not being complied with, it may direct the representative office to close and the office shall comply with any such direction within such period as may be specified by the Bank.

(4) A representative office shall transact no banking business in the State other than the provision of advice and information on the services provided from outside the State by the credit institution concerned.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997, a representative office may use in its name or title the words “bank”, “banker” or “banking” or any variant or derivative thereof, subject to such terms or conditions as may be specified by the Bank.

(6) In this section “representative office” includes a place of business not being a branch within the meaning of the Regulations of 1992.

(7) (a) A representative office to whom a direction is given under subsection (3) may apply in a summary manner to the Court for, and the Court may grant, an order setting aside the direction.

(b) The Bank may apply in a summary manner to the Court to have a direction by it under this section confirmed by the Court.

Amendment of Decimal Currency Act, 1969 .

85. Section 4 (3) of the Decimal Currency Act, 1969 , is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraph:

“(c) paragraph (b) of this subsection shall not apply in the case of coins made for commemorative purposes and where the coins to which the order relates are composed in whole or in part of silver or gold.”.