Chapter II

General Provisions Relating to the Bank

12. —(1) The repeal of the Currency Act, 1927 , by section 4 shall not affect any function, power or duty exercisable by the Bank by virtue of section 6 (1) of the Principal Act.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that the powers and functions exercisable by virtue of section 47 of the Act of 1971 include the powers—

(a) to acquire, hold, sell, assign or otherwise deal in securities or any other property,

(b) to extend loans and advances, and

(c) to give guarantees and make payments on foot of such guarantees.

(3) The Bank shall, for the purpose of—

(a) the protection of the interests of persons, or any class thereof, maintaining deposits with any other person in respect of which the business of that other person is supervised by the Bank, or

(b) the orderly and proper regulation of the business of any person in respect of which he is so supervised,

have the following powers, where they are not already exercisable by the Bank, that is to say the powers—

(i) to acquire, hold, sell, assign or otherwise deal in securities or any other property,

(ii) to extend loans and advances, and

(iii) to give guarantees and make payments on foot of such guarantees.

13. —(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may, after consulting the Bank, by regulation prescribe the fee to be paid to the Bank by any person supervised by it under any enactment and different fees may be prescribed for different classes of persons.

(2) Regulations under this section may provide for such incidental or related matters as are, in the opinion of the Minister, necessary to give effect to such fees.

(3) Where the Minister proposes to prescribe a fee under subsection (1), he shall—

(a) notify the persons of the class to which the proposed fee relates of that proposed fee, and

(b) only prescribe the proposed fee or a lesser fee after he has considered any representations made to him within such period, being not less than two months after the date the notification was sent by him to each person concerned, as he shall specify in the notification.

(4) In this section “person” includes a financial futures and options exchange within the meaning assigned to it for the purposes of Chapter VIII .

14. —(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3) of section 5:

“(3) The Bank shall be conducted and managed in accordance with this Act by a Board of Directors consisting of—

(a) a Governor, and

(b) such number of other Directors (not exceeding nine and not including at any one time more than two service Directors) as the Minister shall from time to time determine.”;

(b) by the deletion of sections 14 (5), 23 (7) and 29;

(c) by the substitution of the following section for section 24:

“Tenure of office of the Directors.

24.—(1) Every Director (other than a service Director and a Director appointed to fill a casual vacancy) shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office for five years from the expiration by effluxion of time of the term of office of his predecessor.

(2) Every Director (other than a service Director) who is appointed for a purpose other than filling a vacancy amongst the Directors (other than as aforesaid) shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office for five years from the day as on and from which he is appointed.

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

(4) A person appointed to fill a casual vacancy in the office of Director (other than the office of a service Director) shall hold office for the residue of the term for which the Director whose death, resignation, or disqualification created the vacancy would have held office if he had not died, resigned or become disqualified.”;

(d) in section 28 (which relates to notices of vacancies and appointments of certain Directors) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) This section applies only to Directors who are not service Directors.”.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the deletion of section 53.

(3) (a) Any person who, immediately before the coming into operation of this section, was a banking Director shall, unless his term of office expires on such coming into operation, continue to hold office for the period of 3 months thereafter unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified.

(b) In respect of each Director to whom paragraph (a) applies, the provisions of sections 14 (5), 23 (7) and 29 of the Principal Act and section 53 (3) of the Act of 1971 shall continue to apply to him, until he ceases to be a banking Director in accordance with paragraph (a), as if this section had not been enacted.

15. —(1) The Bank may purchase, take on lease, build or otherwise acquire and may equip and maintain such offices and other premises in such places as it considers necessary for the due performance of its functions under this Act and may sell or let any such premises which it considers to be no longer necessary for that purpose.

(2) The Bank shall appoint a secretary and such other officers and servants as the Bank shall from time to time consider necessary for the due performance of its functions under this Act and every secretary, officer, and servant so appointed shall hold office upon such terms and subject to such conditions as the Bank shall determine.

(3) (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), every appointment under subsection (2) of an officer or servant of the Bank shall be made by competition (including a qualifying or competitive test in Irish) to be conducted according to regulations to be made by the Board and the Board may, in relation to any such competition, impose such conditions of entry, limitations, and safeguards as it thinks proper.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to appointment to a position in respect of which appointment by competition is, in the opinion of the Board, unsuitable.

(4) There shall be paid to the secretary and the other officers and servants of the Bank such salaries and remuneration as the Bank may determine.

(5) (a) The Bank may, with the approval of the Minister make such further scheme or schemes for granting pensions, allowances and gratuities on retirement or death to or in respect of such of its officers and servants as it thinks proper and may, out of funds available under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, for defrayal of the expenses of the Bank, pay in respect of such persons on retirement or death the pensions, allowances or gratuities in accordance with the relevant scheme and the Minister may determine the said funds to be public funds for the purposes of the Superannuation Act, 1892.

(b) The Bank may from time to time, with the approval of the Minister, make a scheme amending a scheme under paragraph (a).

(c) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a scheme under this subsection may provide for the granting of superannuation benefits (including pensions, allowances and gratuities) to widows and children of officers and servants of the Bank and for the payment of contributions in respect of such benefits by the officers and servants to whom the scheme applies.

(6) Every scheme made under subsection (4) of section 31 of the Currency Act, 1927 , shall, to the extent that it is still in force immediately before the coming into operation of this section, continue in force as if that subsection had not been repealed by this Act.

(7) Subsection (2) of section 54 of the Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the insertion of “(as continued in force by virtue of section 15 (6) of the Central Bank Act, 1989)” after “the Act of 1927” and the said subsection, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

(8) Every scheme made by the Bank under subsection (5) 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 21 days on which it has sat after such scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling such scheme, such scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

TABLE

(2) The Bank may from time to time, with the approval of the Minister, make a scheme amending a scheme under section 31 (4) of the Act of 1927 (as continued in force by virtue of section 15 (6) of the Central Bank Act, 1989) or section 33 (1) (c) of the Act of 1942 or a scheme under this subsection and a scheme under this subsection may, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, provide for the granting of superannuation benefits (including pensions, allowances and gratuities) to widows and children of persons to whom those schemes apply and for the payment of contributions in respect of such benefits by the persons to whom those schemes apply.

16. —(1) A person, who at the commencement of this section is, or at any time thereafter is appointed, Governor or a Director, officer or servant of the Bank or who is employed by the Bank in any other capacity, shall not disclose, during his term of office or employment or at any time thereafter, any information concerning—

(a) the business of any person or body (whether corporate or unincorporate) which came to his knowledge by virtue of his office or employment, or

(b) the Bank's activities in respect of the protection of the integrity of the currency or the control of credit,

unless such disclosure is to enable the Bank to carry out its functions under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, or under any enactment amending those Acts.

(2) The provisions as to non-disclosure contained in subsection (1) shall not apply to any disclosure—

(a) required by a court in connection with any criminal proceedings,

(b) made with the consent of the person to whom the information relates and, where not the same person, of the person from whom that information was obtained,

(c) where the Bank is acting or has acted in the capacity of an agent for a person, made to the person in respect of that capacity,

(d) where the Bank considers it necessary for the common good, made to any person charged by law with the supervision of financial institutions (whether or not entitled to take money on deposit from the public) and who, in the opinion of the Bank, has obligations concerning that person duly imposed in respect of non-disclosure of information and corresponding to obligations under this section,

(e) made to an authority in a foreign jurisdiction duly authorised to exercise functions in that jurisdiction which correspond to the functions of the Bank under this Part and Part II of the Act of 1971 and which, in the opinion of the Bank, has obligations concerning the authority duly imposed in respect of non-disclosure of information and corresponding to obligations under this section,

(f) made to any institution of the European Communities for the purpose of the State's membership of any of those Communities,

(g) made for the purpose of complying with any requirement, under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, or any other enactment, that a report, statement or other document be laid before a House of the Oireachtas,

and the provisions as to non-disclosure contained in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) shall not apply to any disclosure—

(i) in the case of the said paragraph (a), which, in the opinion of the Bank, is necessary for the protection of depositors of money with any person carrying on the business of banking or any business to which section 7 (4) (a) (ii) of the Act of 1971 (as amended by this Act) or regulations under section 26 relate or to safeguard the interests of the Bank,

(ii) in the case of the said paragraph (b), made with the consent of the Bank or where the disclosure is not prejudicial to—

(I) the operations of the Bank in any financial market, or

(II) the issue by the Bank of legal tender, or

(III) the integrity of the currency.

(3) After the commencement of this section, every person who is appointed Governor or a Director, officer or servant of the Bank, or who is employed by the Bank in any other capacity, shall—

(a) before entering into the office or employment, be informed by the Bank of his obligations under this section, and

(b) acknowledge that he has been so informed and understands his obligations,

in such manner as the Bank shall determine.

(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £25,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.

(5) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it shall not be necessary to prove that the provisions of subsection (2) do not apply and the onus of proving that any of those provisions do apply shall be on the person seeking to avail himself thereof.

17. —With effect from the commencement of this section, the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1906, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1916, shall apply to every person to whom section 16 relates and, accordingly—

(a) section 1 (3) of the said Act of 1906 (as adapted by the Prevention of Corruption Acts, 1889 to 1916, Adaptation Order, 1928 (S.R. & O. No. 37 of 1928)) and section 2 of the said Act of 1916 (as so adapted) shall be construed as if there were included, after the reference to a person holding an office remunerated out of the Central Fund or moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a reference to a person to whom section 16 of the Central Bank Act, 1989, relates, and

(b) sections 1 and 2 of the said Act of 1916 (as so adapted) shall be construed as if there were included, after the reference to a statutory body required by law to exercise its functions subject to the direction and control of a Minister who is head of a Department of State, a reference to the Bank.

18. —(1) No provision of the National Debt Act, 1870, or of the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, shall be construed as requiring the Bank to preserve any document or other record for a period of more than 6 years after the latest date of the period to which such document or other record relates and no regulation under section 17 of the Finance Act, 1911, or section 37 of the Finance Act, 1917, shall provide for the preservation of such document or other record for a period of more than the said 6 years.

(2) A document or other record to which subsection (1) refers may be kept in whole or in part by recording otherwise than in a legible form so long as the recording is capable of being reproduced in a legible form.

(3) In any legal proceedings, a copy or reproduction in legible form of any entry in a document or other record kept, or formerly kept, by the Bank shall be received as evidence of such entry or of the matters therein recorded where such document or other record has been destroyed or is kept by the Bank otherwise than in a legible form.

19. —(1) The Bank shall keep all proper books of account and other books and records, and shall within 6 months after the end of every year prepare and transmit to the Comptroller and Auditor General a statement of accounts in respect of such year in such form as shall be approved of, from time to time, by the Minister after consulting with the Bank.

(2) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall audit, certify, and report upon every statement of accounts transmitted to him by the Bank under this section and every such report of the Comptroller and Auditor General together with the statement of accounts to which it relates shall be transmitted by him to the Minister who shall cause copies of the documents so transmitted to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

20. —(1) The Bank shall, within 6 months after the expiration of every year, prepare and send to the Minister a report of its proceedings during such year and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as possible after its receipt by him.

(2) The Bank shall furnish to the Minister for publication in the Iris Oifigiúil such periodical returns in respect of the transactions of the Bank as the Minister may from time to time direct.

21. —Notwithstanding any provision of the Tax Acts or the Capital Gains Tax Acts, profits, income and chargeable gains of the Bank shall be exempt from corporation tax, income tax and capital gains tax.

22. —(1) As soon as possible after the date on which this section comes into operation and in any event with effect from a date not later than one month thereafter, the legal tender note fund shall be wound up by the Bank and the assets of that fund shall be transferred to the general fund.

(2) The legal tender notes on issue at any time after the winding up of the legal tender note fund shall be a liability on the general fund.

(3) (a) References to the legal tender note fund in any statute (other than this Act) or instrument made under such statute and in force at the date of the winding up of the legal tender note fund shall, with effect from that date, be construed as references to the general fund unless the context otherwise requires.

(b) The Minister may by regulations make, in respect of any statute or instrument to which paragraph (a) applies and relating to any matter dealt with by this section, any adaptations or modifications which appear to him to be necessary to enable such statute or instrument to have effect in conformity with this section.

(4) As soon as possible after the winding up of the legal tender note fund, the Bank shall cause a notice to that effect to be published in the Iris Oifigiúil which shall state therein the date of the winding up.

23. —(1) Notwithstanding the repeal of section 63 of the Currency Act, 1927 , the Bank shall continue to keep the fund called the general fund to which it shall carry all receipts and out of which it shall draw all payments.

(2) The Minister may, after consultation with the Bank, make regulations providing for the determination periodically of the surplus income of the Bank and may by such regulations enable provisions to be made for reserves, depreciation, and other like matters before determination of the surplus income.

(3) Any regulations made under section 63 (5) of the Currency Act, 1927 , shall, to the extent that they are still in force immediately before the coming into operation of this section, be deemed to have been made under this section.

(4) The Bank shall pay its surplus income as and when determined under this section into the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister shall direct and may at any time pending such determination pay into the Exchequer such sums on account of surplus income as may be agreed upon by the Minister and the Bank.

24. —(1) The monetary unit of the State shall be the Irish pound which shall be issued in legal tender form.

(2) The Minister may, whenever he considers it necessary after consultation with the Bank, do either or both of the following, that is to say:

(a) vary the general exchange rate arrangements for the time being for the Irish pound in respect of any or all other monetary units,

(b) make specific exchange rate adjustments consistent with those arrangements.

(3) Whenever the Minister varies the general exchange rate arrangements or makes specific exchange rate adjustments under subsection (2), a notice to that effect shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil.

25. —Every contract, sale, payment, bill, note, instrument, and security for money, and every transaction, dealing, matter, and thing whatever relating to money or involving the payment or the liability to pay any money which is made, executed, entered into, done, or had on or after the coming into operation of this section shall be made, executed, entered into, done and had according to coins or notes which are for the time being legal tender in the State and not otherwise, unless the same be made, executed, entered into, done or had according to a currency other than the currency of the State.