No. 1/1974:

TRANSPORT ACT, 1974

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Definitions.

2 Borrowing by Board for capital purposes.

3 Advances to Board by Minister for Finance for capital purposes.

4 State guarantee of borrowings by Board for capital purposes.

5 Temporary borrowing powers of Board.

6 State guarantee of temporarily borrowings by Board.

7 Expenses.

8 Short title.

AN ACT TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISION IN RELATION TO TRANSPORT.

[18th February, 1974]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.—In this Act—

"the Act of 1950" means the Transport Act, 1950 ;

"the Act of 1958" means the Great Northern Railway Act, 1958 ;

"the Act of 1964" means the Transport Act 1964 ;

"the Board" means Córas Iompair Éireann.

2.—The following section is hereby substituted for section 5 of the Act of 1964:

"5. (1) The Board may from time to time borrow money, including money in a currency other than the currency of the State, to defray expenditure incurred by it that is properly chargeable to capital and is not prohibited by virtue of section 3 of this Act.

(2) The aggregate at any one time of borrowings under this section which have not been repaid shall not exceed £55,000,000.

(3) The Board shall not borrow money under this section (other than from the Minister for Finance) except with the prior consent of the Minister given with the approval of the Minister of Finance.

(4) In relation to money borrowed under this section in a currency other than the currency of the State, the rate of exchange shall be the rate of exchange for the time being for that currency and the currency of the State."

3.—Subsection (1) of section 4 of the Act of 1964 is hereby amended by the substitution of "£55,000,000" for "seventeen million pounds" (inserted by the Transport Act, 1969 ), and, accordingly, that subsection shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

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(1) The Minister for Finance may, on the recommendation of the Minister, advance from time to time to the Board such sums (not exceeding in the aggregate £55,000,000) as he thinks proper towards the cost of defraying expenditure incurred by the Board which is properly chargeable to capital.

4.—(1) The Minister for Finance may guarantee, in such form and manner and on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit, the due repayment by the Board of the principal of any moneys (including moneys in a currency other than the currency of the State) borrowed by the Board, other than from the Minister for Finance, under section 5 (as amended by this Act) of the Act of 1964 or the payment of interest on such moneys or both the repayment of the principal and the payment of the interest and any such guarantee may include a guarantee of payment of incidental expenses arising in connection with such borrowings.

(2) The Minister for Finance shall, as soon as may be after the expiration of every financial year, lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement setting out with respect to each guarantee under this section given during that year or given at any time before, and in force at, the commencement of that year—

( a ) particulars of the guarantee,

( b ) in case any payment has been made by the Minister under the guarantee before the end of that year, the amount of the payment and the amount (if any) repaid to the Minister on foot of the payment,

( c ) the amount of principal covered by the guarantee which was outstanding at the end of that year.

(3) All moneys from time to time required by the Minister for Finance to meet sums which may become payable by him under this section shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(4) The Minister for Finance may, for the purpose of providing for the advance of sums out of the Central Fund under this section, borrow on the security of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof any sums required for that purpose and, for the purpose of such borrowing, he may create and issue securities bearing such rate of interest and subject to such conditions as to repayment, redemption or otherwise as he thinks fit, and shall pay all moneys so borrowed into the Exchequer.

(5) The principal of and interest on all securities issued under subsection (4) of this section and the expenses incurred in connection with the issue of such securities shall be charged on and payable out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(6) Moneys paid by the Minister for Finance under a guarantee under this section shall be repaid to him (with interest thereon at such rate or rates as he appoints) by the Board within two years from the date of the advance of the moneys out of the Central Fund.

(7) Where the whole or any part of moneys required by sub section (6) of this section to be repaid to the Minister for Finance has not been paid in accordance with that subsection, the amount so remaining outstanding shall be repaid to the Central Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(8) Notwithstanding the provision of moneys under subsection (7) of this section to repay the amount to the Central Fund, the Board shall remain liable to the Minister for Finance in respect of that amount and that amount (with interest thereon at such rate or rates as the Minister for Finance appoints) shall be repaid to the said Minister by the Board at such times and in such Instalments as he appoints and, in default of repayment as aforesaid and without prejudice to any other method of recovery, shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(9) Moneys paid by the Board under subsection (6) or (8) of this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance thinks fit.

(10) In relation to guarantees given by the Minister for Finance in money in a currency other than the currency of the State—

(i) each of the references to principal, each of the references to interest and the reference to incidental expenses in subsection (1) of this section shall be taken as referring to the equivalent in currency of the State of the actual principal, the actual interest and the actual incidental expenses, respectively, such equivalent being calculated according to the cost in currency of the State of the actual principal, the actual interest or the actual incidental expenses, as may be appropriate,

(ii) the reference to principal in subsection (2) of this section shall be taken as referring to the equivalent in currency of the State of the actual principal, such equivalent being calculated according to the rate of exchange for the time being for that currency and the currency of the State,

(iii) each of the references to moneys in subsection (3) and in subsections (6) to (8) of this section shall be taken as referring to the cost in currency of the State of the actual moneys.

5.—Section 28 (1) of the Act of 1950 (as amended by section 24 of the Act of 1958) is hereby amended by the substitution in paragraph (c) of "£5, 000, 000" for "£2, 000, 000" and, accordingly, that paragraph shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

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( c ) The Board shall not in any case so exercise its powers under paragraph (a) of this subsection that its total indebtedness in respect of temporary borrowing exceeds at any one time £5, 000, 000.

6.—Section 30 (1) of the Act of 1950 (as amended by section 25 of the Act of 1958) is hereby amended by the substitution in paragraph (b) of "£5, 000, 000" for "£1,500,000" and, accordingly, that paragraph shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

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( b ) The Minister for Finance shall not so exercise the powers conferred on him by this subsection that the amount, or the aggregate amount, of principal which he may at any one time be liable to repay on foot of any guarantee or guarantees under this subsection for the time being in force, together with the amount of principal (if any) which the said Minister has previously paid on foot of any guarantee under this subsection and has not been repaid by the Board, exceeds £5, 000, 000.

7.—The expenses incurred in the administration of this Act shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

8.—This Act may be cited as the Transport Act, 1974 .