No. 21/1945:

MINISTER FOR SUPPLIES (TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS) ACT, 1945

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Definitions.

2 Appointed day.

3 Transfer of functions of Minister for Supplies and abolition of office.

4 Transfer of administration and business of the Department of Supplies to the Department of Industry and Commerce.

5 Application of public moneys granted for service of financial year 1945-46 for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Supplies.

6 Adaptation of references in statutes and statutory instruments to the Minister for Supplies and the Department of Supplies.

7 Construction of certain enactments.

8 Adaptation of references to the Minister of Supplies in Memoranda and Articles of Association of certain companies.

9 Saving for statutory instruments made or given by, and acts done by, the Minister for Supplies.

10 Continuance of licences, etc., granted by Minister for Supplies.

11 Transfer of property of Minister for Supplies.

12 Land possessed on behalf of the Minister for Supplies under Article 38 of the Emergency Powers Order, 1939.

13 Transfer of liabilities of the Minister for Supplies.

14 Preservation of continuing contracts of the Minister for Supplies.

15 Continuance of pending legal proceedings.

16 Repeal of Section 2 and 3 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1939.

17 Short title.

AN ACT TO TRANSFER THE FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTER FOR SUPPLIES TO THE MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE, TO ABOLISH THE OFFICE OF MINISTER FOR SUPPLIES, AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID.

[11th July, 1945.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1.—In this Act,—

the expression "the appointed day" means the day appointed under section 2 of this Act to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act;

the expression "statutory instrument" means any instrument being—

( a ) an order or regulation made in exercise of powers conferred by any statute, or

( b ) an order, regulation, rule, or direction in writing made or given in exercise of powers conferred by any order or regulation made in exercise of powers conferred by any statute.

2.—The Government may by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act.

3.—On the appointed day,—

( a ) the powers, duties and functions vested, immediately before the appointed day, under any statute or statutory instrument, in the Minister for Supplies shall, by virtue of this section, be transferred to and vest in the Minister for Industry and Commerce, and

( b ) the office of Minister for Supplies shall, by virtue of this section, be abolished.

4.—On the appointed day the administration and business of the public services allocated immediately before the appointed day to the Department of Supplies shall, by virtue of this section, be transferred and allocated to the Department of Industry and Commerce.

5.—Notwithstanding the provisions of any Act of the Oireachtas for the appropriation of sums granted for the service of the financial year ending on the 31st day of March, 1946, any moneys granted for the service of the said financial year for the salaries and expenses (including the payment of subsidies and grants-in-aid) of the office of the Minister for Supplies may, on and after the appointed day, be lawfully expended and accounted for, by or under the direction of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, for the purposes for which the said moneys could lawfully have been expended on or after the appointed day, if this Act had not been enacted.

6.—For the purposes of the construction of any statute or statutory instrument in force immediately before the appointed day, references therein to the Minister for Supplies and the Department of Supplies shall, on and after the appointed day, be construed as if they were respectively references to the Minister for Industry and Commerce and to the Department of Industry and Commerce.

7.—(1) Paragraph (vii) of section 1 of the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 ( No. 16 of 1924 ), and the Turf (Use and Development) Act, 1936 ( No. 23 of 1936 ), shall, on and after the appointed day, have effect as if the Transfer of Administration and Functions (Turf) Order, 1941 (S. R. & O. No. 285 of 1941), and the Transfer of Administration and Functions (Turf) Order, 1943 (S. R. & O. No. 54 of 1943), had not been made.

(2) The Control of Prices Act, 1937 ( No. 26 of 1937 ), shall, on and after the appointed day, have effect as if the Minister for Supplies (Transfer of Functions under Control of Prices Act, 1937 ) Order, 1940 (S. R. & O. No. 142 of 1940), had not been made.

(3) The Scrap Iron (Control of Export) Act, 1938 ( No. 6 of 1938 ), shall, on and after the appointed day, have effect as if the Minister for Supplies (Transfer of Functions under the Scrap Iron (Control of Export) Act, 1938 ) Order, 1941 (S. R. & O. No. 369 of 1941), had not been made.

8.—(1) For the purposes of the construction of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of any company to which this section applies, the references therein to the Minister for Supplies shall, on and after the appointed day, be construed as if they were references to the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

(2) On or at any time after the appointed day, any company to which this section applies may, by extraordinary resolution within the meaning of section 69 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, make such alterations in its Memorandum and Articles of Association as are appropriate having regard to subsection (1) of this section.

(3) This section applies to any company the Memorandum and Articles of Association of which contain references to the Minister for Supplies.

9.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any statutory instrument which, before the appointed day, was duly made or given by or on behalf of the Minister for Supplies, and every such statutory instrument shall, if and in so far as it was operative immediately before the appointed day, have effect, on and after the appointed day, as if it had been duly made or given by or on behalf of the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any act which, before the appointed day, was duly done by or on behalf of the Minister for Supplies, but every such act, shall if and in so far as it was operative immediately before the appointed day, have effect, on and after the appointed day, as if it had been duly done by or on behalf of the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

10.—Every licence, certificate or other like document granted or made by or on behalf of the Minister for Supplies under any statute or statutory instrument shall, if and in so far as it was operative immediately before the appointed day, have effect on and after the appointed day, as if it had been granted or made by the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

11.—(1) On the appointed day all land which immediately before the appointed day is vested in the Minister for Supplies shall, without any conveyance thereof, become and be by virtue of this section vested in the Minister for Industry and Commerce for all the estate, term and interest for which such land was immediately before the appointed day vested in the Minister for Supplies.

(2) On the appointed day all property and assets (including choses-in-action but excluding land) which immediately before the appointed day are vested in the Minister for Supplies shall vest in the Minister for Industry and Commerce for all the interest for which such property and assets were immediately before the appointed day vested in the Minister for Supplies.

(3) All moneys, stocks, shares and securities transferred to the Minister for Industry and Commerce by this section which on the appointed day are standing in the books of any corporation or company in the name of the Minister for Supplies shall, upon the request of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, be transferred into his name.

(4) On and after the appointed day every bond, obligation, security or other chose-in-action made with the Minister for Supplies and the benefit of which is transferred by this section may be sued upon by the Minister for Industry and Commerce in his own name and it shall not be necessary for the Minister for Industry and Commerce to give notice to the person bound by such bond, obligation, security or chose-in-action of the transfer effected by this section.

12.—Any land which was taken possession of under Article 38 of the Emergency Powers Order, 1939 (S. R. & O. No. 224 of 1939) and was immediately before the appointed day in the possession of any person on behalf of the Minister for Supplies shall, on and after the appointed day, be deemed to be in the possession of that person on behalf of the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

13.—Every debt and other liability which immediately before the appointed day is owing and unpaid or has been incurred and is undischarged by the Minister for Supplies shall, on the appointed day, become and be the liability of the Minister for Industry and Commerce and shall be paid or discharged by and may be recovered from or enforced against the Minister for Industry and Commerce accordingly.

14.—Every bond, guarantee, or other security of a continuing nature made or given by the Minister for Supplies to any person, or by any person to the Minister for Supplies, and in force immediately before the appointed day, and every contract or agreement in writing made between the Minister for Supplies and another person and not fully executed and completed before the appointed day shall continue in force on and after the appointed day, and shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Minister for Industry and Commerce were substituted therein for the name of the Minister for Supplies, and such security, contract, or agreement shall be enforceable by or against the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

15.—In every action, suit, prosecution or other proceeding which is pending on the appointed day in any court or tribunal and to which the Minister for Supplies is a party, the Minister for Industry and Commerce shall on the appointed day become and be a party in the place of the Minister for Supplies, and such proceedings shall be continued accordingly and no such proceeding shall abate or be discontinued or prejudicially affected by reason of the abolition of the Office of Minister for Supplies.

16.—Sections 2 and 3 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1939 ( No. 36 of 1939 ), shall be repealed on the appointed day.

17.—This Act may be cited as the Minister for Supplies (Transfer of Functions) Act, 1945.