PART I

Preliminary and General

1. —This Act may be cited as the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989.

2. —This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.

3. —(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1963” means the Companies Act, 1963 ;

“the Acts” means the Trustee Savings Banks Acts, 1863 to 1979;

“the Central Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;

“company”, “equity share capital”, “holding company” and “subsidiary” have the meanings assigned to them by the Act of 1963;

“the Companies Acts” means the Act of 1963 and every Act which is to be construed with it as one Act;

“the Court” means the High Court;

“deposit” includes a deposit in a current account;

“depositor” means a person who maintains a deposit with a trustee savings bank and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“former bank” means a trustee savings bank that immediately before the commencement of Part II stood certified under the Acts;

“licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 10 ;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“the special account” has the meaning assigned to it by section 32 ;

“trustee savings bank” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 .

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act or regulations made under this Act,

(b) a reference to a Part, section or schedule is a reference to a Part, section of, or schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended,

(d) a reference to any provision of this Act shall, where appropriate, be construed as a reference to that provision as modified by regulations.

4. —(1) Without prejudice to any specific provision of this Act, any regulations thereunder may contain such incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provisions (including provisions for the purpose of effecting the transition from the enactments repealed by section 7 of this Act) as may appear to the Minister to be necessary or proper for any purpose of this Act or in consequence of, or to give full effect to, any provision of this Act.

(2) Every regulation made under this Act 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 the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(3) (a) The Central Bank may give a direction to a trustee savings bank in relation to any matter (other than a matter in relation to which a direction may be given by the Central Bank to a trustee savings bank under any other provision of this Act) connected with the business carried on by the bank or where it considers it necessary to do so in the interest of the orderly and proper regulation of trustee savings banks.

(b) A person who fails or refuses to comply with a direction under this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) (a) A direction by the Central Bank under this Act shall be given in writing by an officer of the Central Bank duly authorised for that purpose.

(b) The provisions of subsection (1) shall, subject to any necessary modifications, apply to such a direction as they apply to regulations.

(c) Such a direction may be given to a trustee savings bank by sending it by ordinary prepaid post to the secretary or other like officer of the bank addressed to him at the chief office of the bank.

(d) The Central Bank may by a direction under this paragraph amend or revoke a direction given by it under this Act including this paragraph.

5. —If, in any respect, any difficulty arises in bringing any provision of this Act into operation or in relation to the operation of any such provision, the Minister may by regulations do anything which appears to him to be necessary or expedient for removing that difficulty, for bringing that provision into operation, or for securing or facilitating its operation, and any such regulations may modify any provision of this Act so far as may be necessary or expedient for carrying such provision into effect for the purposes aforesaid but no regulations shall be made under this section in relation to any provision of this Act after the expiration of 3 years commencing on the day on which the relevant provision of this Act came into operation.

6. —(1) If, on any modification of the enactments in force relating to companies, banks or building societies, it appears to the Minister to be expedient to modify the provisions of this Act for the purpose of assimilating the law relating to trustee savings banks to the modifications of the law relating to companies, banks or building societies, the Minister may by regulations make such modification of any provisions of this Act as he thinks appropriate for that purpose.

(2) The power conferred by subsection (1) includes power to modify the relevant provisions of this Act so as to—

(a) confer power to make orders, regulations or other instruments,

(b) provide for the charging of fees but not for the making of any charge in the nature of taxation.

(3) Regulations under this section may—

(a) make consequential amendments to or repeals of other provisions of this Act,

(b) make such transitional or saving provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient.

(4) In this section “modification” includes any addition and, as regards modifications of the enactments relating to companies, banks or building societies, any modification whether effected by any future Act or by an instrument made after the passing of this Act under an Act whenever passed.

7. —(1) The enactments specified in column (2) of the First Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

(2) In so far as any instrument made or other thing whatsoever done under any provision repealed by this Act could have been made or done under a corresponding provision of this Act, it shall not be invalidated by the repeal of that provision but, if in force immediately before that provision was repealed, shall have effect as if made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act.

(3) A reference in any statute or instrument made under statute or in any book, record or other document to a former bank shall be construed as a reference to a trustee savings bank.

8. —(1) The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) The expenses incurred by the Central Bank in the administration of this Act shall be paid out of the general fund of the Central Bank.