S.I. No. 293/1974 - Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act (Adaptation of Enactments and Statutory Instruments) (No. 2) Order, 1974.

S.I. No. 293 of 1974.

EXCHEQUER AND LOCAL FINANCIAL YEARS ACT (ADAPTATION OF ENACTMENTS AND STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS) (NO. 2) ORDER, 1974.

ARRANGEMENT OF ORDER

Article

1. Citation and construction.

2. Interpretation.

3. Transitional provisions relating to various enactments and statutory instruments.

4. Amendments to various enactments and statutory instruments.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Transitional provisions relating to various enactments and statutory instruments effected by Article 3.

Paragraph

1. Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854 [Sections 2 and 5].

2. Currency Act, 1927 [Section 2].

3. Housing (Gaeltacht) Act, 1929 [Section 13(1)].

4. Vocational Education Act, 1930 [Section 43(2A)].

5. Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931 [Sections 3(3) and 3(4)].

6. Harbours Act, 1947 [Section 17(7)].

7. Public Libraries Act, 1947 [Section 17(1)].

8. Undeveloped Areas Act, 1952 [Sections 9(2) and 9(3)].

9. Local Government Act, 1955 [Section 56(2)].

10. Housing (Gaeltacht) (Amendment) Act, 1959 [Sections 6(1) and 6(2)].

11. Patents Act, 1964 [Section 84].

12. Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Act, 1968 [Section 3].

13. Gaeltacht Industries (Amendment) Act, 1971 [Sections 5(1) and 5(2)].

14. Industrial Development Act, 1972 [Sections 3(1) and 3(2)].

15. Land (Finance) Rules, 1925 [Rule 9].

16. Land (Finance) Rules, 1954 [Rules 7(5) and 7(6)].

SECOND SCHEDULE

Amendments to various enactments and statutory instruments effected by Article 4.

PART I

ENACTMENTS

Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854 [Sections 2 and 5].

Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866 [Section 21].

Central Fund (Permanent Provisions] Act, 1965 [Section 5].

PART II

I—ENACTMENTS

Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1921 [First Schedule].

Currency Act, 1927 [Section 2].

Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931 [Section 3(4)].

Transport Act, 1958 [Section 17(1)].

Patents Act, 1964 [Section 84].

II—STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

Land (Finance) Rules, 1925 [Rule 9].

Land (Finance) Rules, 1954 [Rules 7(5) and 7(6)].

THIRD SCHEDULE

Amended First Schedule to Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1921.

TABLE

Text of various enactments and statutory instruments incorporating amendments effected by Article 4(2) and Part II of the Second Schedule.

Paragraph

1. Currency Act, 1927 [Section 2].

2. Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931 [Section 3(4)].

3. Transport Act, 1958 [Section 17(1)].

4. Patents Act, 1964 [Section 84].

5. Land (Finance) Rules, 1925 [Rule 9].

6. Land (Finance) Rules, 1954 [Rules 7(5) and 7(6)].

S.I. No. 293 of 1974.

EXCHEQUER AND LOCAL FINANCIAL YEARS ACT (ADAPTATION OF ENACTMENTS AND STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS) (No. 2) ORDER, 1974.

I, RICHIE RYAN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 5 of the Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act, 1974 (No. 3 of 1974), hereby order as follows :

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act (Adaptation of Enactments and Statutory Instruments) (No. 2) Order, 1974.

(2) The Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act (Adaptation of Enactments and Statutory Instruments) Order, 1974 ( S.I. No. 215 of 1974 ), and this Order may be cited together as the Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act (Adaptation of Enactments and Statutory Instruments) Orders, 1974.

(3) The Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act (Adaptation of Enactments and Statutory Instruments) Order, 1974, and this Order shall be construed together as one.

2. In this Order— "Guarantee Fund", "Land Bond Fund" and "Local Taxation Account" have the meanings assigned to them respectively by the Land Purchase Acts.

3. Each of the amendments of enactments and statutory instruments set out in the First Schedule to this Order is hereby made.

4. (1) Each of the amendments of enactments set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Order is hereby made.

(2) The enactments and statutory instruments mentioned in Part II of the Second Schedule to this Order are each hereby amended in the manner set out in column (3) of that Schedule opposite the mention of the statute or statutory instrument.

(3) Unless the relevant manner of amendment set out in column (3) of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Order otherwise provides, an amendment effected by paragraph (2) of this Article shall come into force on the 1st day of January, 1975.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Amendments referred to in Article 3.

1. The following provisions shall have effect as regards the Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854 (1854, c.94):

( a ) section 2 shall be construed and have effect as requiring the accounts to which that section applies to be prepared and made up for the transitional period, and

( b ) section 5 shall be construed and have effect as requiring the account referred to therein as the annual account and the certificate mentioned in that section to be prepared for the transitional period.

2. The following provisions shall have effect as regards the Currency Act, 1927 (No. 32 of 1927):

( a ) notwithstanding the definition of "year" in section 2, any reference in that Act to "year" shall, in relation to the transitional period, be construed as a reference to the period which is co-extensive with the transitional period, and

( b ) notwithstanding the definition of "half-year" contained in section 2, any reference in that Act to "half-year" shall, in relation to the transitional period, be construed as a reference to either the period of six months ending on the 30th day of September, 1974, or the period beginning on the 1st day of October, 1974, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1974, as may be appropriate.

3. Section 13 (1) of the Housing (Gaeltacht) Act, 1929 (No. 41 of 1929), as amended by section 6 (4) of the Housing (Gaeltacht) (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 16 of 1959), and by the section, shall be construed and have effect as providing that when the work of erecting, improving or extending was completed on or before the 31st day of March, 1974, then,

( a ) in case the relevant increased valuation is shown for the first time in any revised valuation lists under the Valuation Acts published on or after the 1st day of March, 1960, in the eleventh local financial year, and

( b ) in any other case, in the twenty-first local financial year,

following the local financial year in which such work was completed (if such eleventh or twenty-first local financial year, as may be appropriate, commences after the 31st day of December, 1974), an increase in the rateable valuation of the relevant dwelling-house as a consequence of such work shall be deemed to be reduced by one-fourth.

4. Section 43 (2A) of the Vocational Education Act, 1930 (No. 29 of 1930), inserted by section 2 of the Vocational Education (Amendment) Act, 1962 (No. 28 of 1962), and amended by section 9 of the Act of 1970 and by the section, shall be construed and have effect as providing that the maximum liability of a rating authority to a vocational education committee in respect of the transitional period shall not exceed a rate of 7.5 new pence in the pound on the rateable value of the area of charge at the commencement of the local financial year which commenced on the 1st day of April, 1973.

5. As on and from the 1st day of April, 1974, the following provisions shall apply as regards the Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931 (No. 15 of 1931) :

( a ) section 3(3), as amended by section 52 of the Tourist Traffic Act, 1939 (No. 24 of 1939), by section 9 of the Act of 1970 and by the section, shall be construed and have effect as providing that the maximum contribution which may be paid thereunder in respect of the transitional period shall not exceed three-fourths of the amounts specified therein, and

( b ) section 3(4), as amended by the section, shall be construed and have effect as requiring that the local contribution which may be paid thereunder in respect of the transitional period shall be payable in three equal instalments of which the first shall be payable on the 30th day of June, 1974, the second on the 30th day of September, 1974, and the third on the 31st day of December, 1974.

6. Section 7 (7) of the Harbours Act, 1947 (No. 34 of 1947), as amended by section 9 of the Act of 1970 and by the section, shall be construed and have effect in relation to the transitional period as if the amount mentioned in paragraph (a), the amount mentioned in paragraph (b) and the amount mentioned in paragraph (c) were each reduced by one-fourth.

7. Section 17 (1) of the Public Libraries Act, 1947 (No. 40 of 1947), as amended by the section, shall be construed and have effect as providing that the total of grants to be paid thereunder in the transitional period shall not exceed one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-five pounds or one-half of the expenses of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna for the transitional period, whichever is less.

8. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 9 of the Undeveloped Areas Act, 1952 (No. 1 of 1952), as amended by the section, shall each be construed and have effect as providing that where those subsections apply and the decision to grant the remission was made before the 31st day of March, 1974, then in the eleventh local financial year next following the local financial year in which the decision to grant the remission was made (if such eleventh local financial year commences after the 31st day of December, 1974), a local authority shall, notwithstanding subsection (5) of the said section 9, remit one-sixth of a rate leviable by them in respect of the said premises.

9. Section 56 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1955 (No. 9 of 1955), as amended by section 9 of the Act of 1970 and by the section, shall be construed and have effect as requiring that the expenses incurred thereunder in the transitional period by the corporation of a borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town shall not exceed the amount of a rate of 0.9375 new pence in the pound on the rateable valuation of the borough, urban district or town.

10. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 6 of the Housing (Gaeltacht) (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 16 of 1959), as amended by the section, shall each be construed and have effect as providing that where those subsections apply and the erection of the dwelling-house, hostel or holiday chalet was completed on or before the 31st day of March, 1974, then in the nineteenth local financial year following the local financial year in which the tenement was first rated on the increased valuation such increase in the rateable valuation of the tenement which is attributable to the erection of the dwelling-house, hostel or holiday chalet included in that tenement or of which the tenement consists, shall be deemed to be reduced by one-fourth of the reduction for rating purposes applicable in relation to the transitional period by virtue of the said subsections (1) and (2).

11. Section 84 of the Patents Act, 1964 (No. 12 of 1964), shall be construed and have effect as requiring that the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks shall in relation to the transitional period, before the 1st day of June, 1975, cause a report thereunder for the transitional period to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. The aforesaid report shall, as regards the transitional period, comply with the requirements of the said section 84 regarding the inclusion of general rules and the account referred to in that section.

12. Section 3 of the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Act, 1968 (No. 24 of 1968), shall be construed and have effect as requiring that the sum to be provided thereunder by a corporation of a county borough or council of a county in the transitional period shall be three-fourths of the sum provided by the corporation or council in the local financial year which ended on the 31st day of March, 1968.

13. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 5 of the Gaeltacht Industries (Amendment) Act, 1971 (No. 7 of 1971), as amended by the section, shall each be construed and have effect as providing that where those subsections apply and the erection, enlargement or improvement of the relevant premises was completed on or before the 31st day of March, 1974, then in the eleventh local financial year next following the local financial year in which the erection, enlargement or improvement of the said premises was completed (if such eleventh local financial year commences after the 31st day of December, 1974) a local authority shall, notwithstanding subsection (4) of the said section 5, remit

( a ) in case the remission relates to premises, one-sixth of the rate leviable by them in respect of those premises, and

( b ) in case the remission relates to an enlargement or improvement, one-sixth of the rate leviable by them in respect of that enlargement or improvement.

14. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1972 (No. 9 of 1972), as amended by the section, shall each be construed and have effect as providing that where those subsections apply and the provision of the relevant premises was completed on or before the 31st day of March, 1974, then in the eleventh local financial year next following the local financial year in which the provision of the said premises was completed (if such eleventh local financial year commences after the 31st day of December, 1974) a local authority shall, notwithstanding subsection (4) of the said section 3, remit one-sixth of a rate leviable by them in respect of the said premises.

15. As on and from the 1st day of September, 1974, Rule 9 of the Land (Finance) Rules, 1925, as amended by rule 11(2) of the Land (Finance) Rules, 1954 ( S.I. No. 78 of 1954 ), shall be construed and have effect as requiring the Minister for Finance

( a ) on or before the 16th day of September, 1974, to certify for the period beginning on the 1st day of February, 1974, and ending on the 31st day of July, 1974,

(i) the amount, other than that in respect of purchasers' half-yearly payments in arrear, chargeable to each county of the sum drawn from the Guarantee Fund for the purpose of the Land Bond Fund, and

(ii) the amount which each county shall have repaid to the Guarantee Fund excluding the purchasers' half-yearly payments in arrear which have been recovered,

and

( b ) on the 17th day of September, 1974, to pay from the said Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account any cash then standing to the credit of the Guarantee Fund, except what is required for meeting any charge on the Guarantee Fund then accrued.

16. As on and from the 1st day of September, 1974, Rule 7 of the Land (Finance) Rules, 1954 ( S.I. No. 78 of 1954 ), shall be construed and have effect as requiring

( a ) the Irish Land Commission, on or before the 16th day of September, 1974, to certify, to the Minister for Finance, for the period beginning on the 1st day of February, 1974, and ending on the 31st day of July, 1974,

(i) the total amount chargeable to each county of the sum drawn from the Guarantee Fund in respect of arrears; and

(ii) the total amount which each county shall have paid to the Guarantee Fund in respect of arrears which have been recovered,

and

( b ) the Minister for Finance, on the 17th day of September, 1974, to pay from the Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account any cash then standing to the credit of the Guarantee Fund, except what is required for meeting any charge on the Guarantee Fund then accrued.

SECOND SCHEDULE

PART I

Amendments referred to in Article 4(1).

1. As on and from the 1st day of January, 1975, the following provisions shall have effect as regards the Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854:

( a ) section 2 shall be construed as requiring the accounts to which that section applies to be prepared annually and made up for each calendar year and in addition to the foregoing the section shall have effect as if section 17 of the Finance Act, 1953 (No. 21 of 1953), had not been enacted, and

( b ) section 5 shall be construed and have effect as requiring the annual accounts and certificates mentioned in that section to be prepared annually for each calendar year.

2. As on and from the 1st day of January, 1975, section 21 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866 (1866, c.39), shall have effect as if "thirtieth day of June", "thirty-first day of December" and "thirty-first day of October" were substituted for "thirtieth day of September", "thirty-first day of March" and "thirty-first day of January in the following year", respectively.

3. As on and from the 1st day of December, 1974, section 5 of the Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act, 1965 , shall be construed and have effect as if the reference therein to every month of March were a reference to every month of December.

PART II

Amendments referred to in Article 4 (2).

1. Enactments.

2. Statutory Instruments.

THIRD SCHEDULE

(Amendment of Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1921)

First Schedule

Schedule to be substituted for Schedule A of Principal Act.

TABLE

1. CURRENCY ACT, 1927 [Section 2].

the word "year" means a period of twelve months ending on the 31st day of December;

the expression "half-year" means a period of six months ending on the 30th day of June or the 31st day of December;

2. TOURIST TRAFFIC (DEVELOPMENT) ACT, 1931 [Section 3(4)].

3. (4) Every local contribution payable in respect of a local financial year shall be expressed in the local contribution agreement under which it is payable to be payable and shall be payable in four equal quarterly instalments, on the 31st day of March, the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September and the 31st day of December in such local financial year.

3. TRANSPORT ACT, 1958 [Section 17(1)].

17. (1) The Board shall, before the 1st day of August in each year, furnish to the Minister an estimate of its expenditure in respect of compensation under section 14 in each quarter of the next following financial year.

4. PATENTS ACT, 1964 [Section 84].

84. The Controller shall, before the 1st day of June in every year, cause a report respecting the execution by or under him of this Act and of any other Act for the administration of which he is responsible during the year ending on the previous 31st day of December to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, and therein shall include for the year to which the report relates all general rules made in that year under or for the purposes of the said Acts and an account of all fees, salaries, and allowances, and other money received and paid under the said Acts.

5. LAND (FINANCE) RULES, 1925 [Rules 9(1) and 9(2)].

(1) 9.—(1) On the seventeenth day of September in every year and at such other time (if any) as the Minister for Finance may direct, there shall be paid from the Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account any cash then standing to the credit of the Guarantee Fund, except what is required for meeting any charge on the Guarantee Fund then accrued, and the Minister for Finance, on making such payments, shall certify the amounts paid in respect of the Estate Duty Grant, the Agricultural Grant and the Exchequer Contribution respectively.

(2) 9.—(2) On or before the sixteenth day of September in each year the Minister for Finance shall certify for the year ending on the thirty-first day of July immediately preceding:—

[(i) and (ii) deleted by Rule 11(2) of the Land (Finance) Rules, 1954.]

(iii) The amount, other than that in respect of purchasers' half-yearly payments in arrear, chargeable to each county of the sum drawn from the Guarantee Fund for the purpose of the Land Bond Fund;

(iv) The amount which each county shall have repaid to the Guarantee Fund excluding the purchasers' half-yearly payments in arrear which have been recovered.

[Reference to (i) and (ii) deleted by Rule 11(2) of the Land (Finance) Rules, 1954.]

The amount assigned to each county under (iii) and (iv) shall, where not definitely identifiable as relating to a particular county, be ascertained by apportioning the total amount received from or paid to the Guarantee Fund in the year according to the amount of the advances under the Act outstanding in such county at the close of the preceding financial year.

6. LAND (FINANCE) RULES, 1954 [Rules 7(5) and 7(6)].

(1) 7.—(5) On the seventeenth day of September in every year, and at such other times (if any) as the Minister for Finance may direct, there shall be paid from the Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account any cash then standing to the credit of the Guarantee Fund, except what is required for meeting any charge on the Guarantee Fund then accrued; and the Minister for Finance in making such payments shall certify the amounts paid in respect of the Agricultural Grant and the Exchequer Contribution respectively.

(2) 7.—(6) On or before the sixteenth day of September in each year, the Land Commission shall certify to the Minister for Finance for the year ended on the thirty-first day of July immediately preceding:—

( a ) the total amount chargeable to each county of the sum drawn from the Guarantee Fund in respect of arrears;

( b ) the total amount which each county shall have paid to the Guarantee Fund in respect of arrears which have been recovered.

The amount assigned to each county under (a) and (b) shall be the actual amount received from or paid to the Guarantee Fund in the year in respect of that county.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 27th day of September, 1974.

RICHIE RYAN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Exchequer and Local Financial Years Act, 1974 , provided for the change of the Exchequer financial year and the local authorities' financial year to a calendar year basis. 1975 will be the first calendar financial year and the 9—months' period from the 1st day of April, 1974, to the 31st day of December, 1974, will be a transitional financial period for both Exchequer and local authority purposes.

Section 5 of that Act enables the Minister for Finance (or any other Minister of State with the consent of the Minister for Finance) to make, by Order, appropriate adjustments, consequential on the change of financial year, to the statutory provisions relating to matters such as the calculation, collection or payment of moneys or rates, the calculation and grant of rates' remissions for housing and industrial buildings and the dates for the preparation and submission of certain reports and accounts.

This Order, the second made by the Minister for Finance under Section 5 of that Act, makes a number of such adjustments to a wide variety of statutory provisions. The First Schedule to this Order contains the adjustments to various enactments and statutory instruments in respect of the 9—months' transitional period from the 1st day of April, 1974, to the 31st day of December, 1974. The Second Schedule contains the appropriate amendments for calendar financial years and the new text of certain enactments and statutory instruments, incorporating these amendments, is contained in the Third Schedule and the Table to this Order.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Adjustments for the 9—months' transitional period.

1. Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854.

Sections 2 and 5 of that Act require the Accounts of the Exchequer to be prepared and made up for each year ending on the 31st day of March. As a consequence of the change of the Exchequer financial year to a calendar year basis as from the 1st day of January, 1975, the 9—months' period from the 1st day of April, 1974, to the 31st day of December, 1974, will be a transitional financial period for Exchequer purposes. This paragraph provides that the Accounts of the Exchequer shall be prepared and made up for the transitional period. (Paragraph 1 of Part I of the Second Schedule to this Order provides that the Accounts of the Exchequer shall be prepared and made up for calendar financial years beginning with the calendar financial year 1975.)

2. Currency Act, 1927.

Under section 2 of that Act, "year", in relation to the accounting year of the Central Bank, is defined as the period of twelve months ending on the 31st day of March and "half-year" is defined as the period of six months ending on the 31st day of March or on the 30th day of September. This paragraph provides that "year" shall be construed as a reference to the 9—months' transitional period and "half-year" shall be construed as a reference to either (a) the period of six months ending on the 30th day of September, 1974, or (b) the period of three months ending on the 31st day of December, 1974, as may be appropriate.

3 and 10. Rates' remissions for Gaeltacht housing.

Section 13 of the Housing (Gaeltacht) Act, 1929 , as amended, provides a full 10 years' rates' remission and section 6 of the Housing (Gaeltacht) (Amendment) Act, 1959 , provides a scaling rates' remission over 19 years, in respect of certain housing works in Gaeltacht areas. These paragraphs provide that if either remission period includes the transitional period, a further remission of one-fourth of the remission applicable to the transitional period shall be granted in the 11th or 20th year, as appropriate, following the year in which such works are completed, to compensate for the reduction of 3 months in the span of the rates' remission due to the 9—months' transitional period in 1974.

4. Vocational Education Act, 1930.

Section 43(2A) of that Act provides that the contribution which a rating authority must make to a vocational education committee in respect of a local financial year shall not exceed a maximum equal to a rate of 10 new pence in the pound on the rateable value of the area of charge at the commencement of the immediately preceding local financial year. This paragraph provides that this limit shall be reduced by one-fourth and the maximum contribution for the transitional period shall therefore not exceed a rate of 7.5 new pence in the pound on the rateable value of the area of charge at the commencement of the immediately preceding local financial year (i.e. on the 1st day of April, 1973).

5. Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931.

Section 3 of that Act empowers certain local authorities to make payments not exceeding specified limits to companies (approved by the Minister for Transport and Power) the objects of which are wholly or mainly the encouragement and development of tourism in the State, such payments to be made in 4 equal instalments, on the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September, the 31st day of December and the 31st day of March in a local financial year. This paragraph provides that the local authorities' payment for the transitional period shall be only three-fourths of those sums and shall be made in 3 equal instalments, on the 30th day of June, 1974, the 30th day of September, 1974, and the 31st day of December, 1974.

6. Harbours Act, 1947.

Section 7 (7) of that Act provides for recoupment by the Minister for Transport and Power to certain local authorities in respect of assistance given by them to harbour authorities, such recoupment to be on the basis of one-half of the excess of the cost of such assistance over amounts to be raised from the rates by specified amounts in the pound in a local financial year. This paragraph provides that each of those specified amounts shall be reduced by one-fourth for the transitional period.

7. Public Libraries Act, 1947.

The maximum grant which the Minister for Local Government may pay to An Chomhairle Leabharlanna in a financial year towards its expenses is £2,500 or one-half the amount of those expenses, whichever is less. This paragraph provides that the maximum grant which may be paid for the transitional period shall not exceed three-fourths of that limit.

8, 13 and 14. Rates' remissions for industrial buildings.

Under section 9 of the Undeveloped Areas Act, 1952 , section 5 of the Gaeltacht Industries (Amendment) Act, 1971 , and section 3 of the Industrial Development Act, 1972 , a local authority may, if they think fit, remit two-thirds of a rate leviable by them in respect of premises to which any of those sections apply. Subject to certain conditions, this rates' remission applies for 10 local financial years. If the remission period includes the transitional period, these paragraphs provide that in the 11th local financial year following that in which the provision of the premises is completed or the decision to grant the remission is made, as the case may be, a further rates' remission of ¹/₆th (i.e. ¾th of ²/₃rds) shall be granted to compensate for the reduction of 3 months in the span of the rates' remission due to the 9—months' transitional period in 1974.

9. Local Government Act, 1955.

Section 56 of that Act empowers certain local authorities to authorise expenditure on the decoration of their borough, urban district or town on occasions of public rejoicing and other appropriate occasions, provides that those expenses do not exceed the amount of a rate of 1.25 new pence in the pound on the rateable valuation of the borough, urban district or town in any local financial year. This paragraph provides that in the transitional period such expenses shall not exceed three-fourths of that limit.

11. Patents Act, 1964.

Under section 84 of that Act, the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks shall, before the 1st day of September, lay before each House of the Oireachtas his report in respect of the year ending on the preceding 31st day of March. This paragraph provides that the Controller shall lay a report for the transitional period before each House of the Oireachtas before the 1st day of June, 1975.

12. Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Act, 1968.

Section 3 of that Act requires each county borough corporation or county council to provide in each local financial year towards grants under that Act a sum equal to the sum provided by it in the local financial year which ended on the 31st day of March, 1968. This paragraph provides that only three-fourths of that sum shall be provided by those local authorities in the transitional period. (The balance of the cost of approved grants made by each county borough corporation or county council is met from moneys provided annually by the Oireachtas under section 4 of that Act.)

15 and 16. Land (Finance) Rules, 1925 and Land (Finance) Rules, 1954.

The various Land Purchase Acts enable tenants and others to purchase land through the Land Commission by means of land purchase annuities. These annuities are payable half-yearly on what are known as "gale days" viz. May/June and November/December and annuities which remain unpaid on the "closing days" viz. the 31st day of July and the 31st day of January, respectively, are deemed to be in arrear and are made good out of the Guarantee Fund (which is administered by the Minister for Finance and is financed by the Agricultural Grant and by the Exchequer Contribution). Amounts in respect of arrears subsequently made good are repaid to the Guarantee Fund. The Guarantee Fund also makes good any shortfall in the Land Bond for the payment of interest on, and the redemption of, Land Bonds issued to vendors of land and amounts subsequently recovered by the Land Bond Fund are made good to the Guarantee Fund.

Rule 9 of the 1925 Rules requires the Minister for Finance on or before the 16th day of February each year to certify, for the year ending on the preceding 31st day of January, the amount of the shortfall of the Land Bond Fund which has been met from the Guarantee Fund. Rule 7 of the 1954 Rules requires the Land Commission to certify to the Minister for Finance, for the year ending on the preceding 31st day of January, the amount drawn from the Guarantee Fund in respect of arrears of land purchase annuities. Both rules require the Minister for Finance on the 17th day of February each year (and at any other time, if any, as he may direct) to pay the surplus cash balance then standing in the Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account (which is administered by the Minister for Local Government).

In the 9—months' transitional period in 1974, a certificate under these Rules was prepared by the Minister for Finance and by the Land Commission on the 16th day of September, 1974, and each certificate related to a period of 6 months only viz. the period from the 1st day of February, 1974, to the 31st day of July, 1974. (A certificate for the year ended the 31st day of January, 1974, was prepared by the Minister for Finance and by the Land Commission on the 16th day of February, 1974.) The Minister for Finance paid the surplus cash balance then standing in the Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account on the 17th day of September, 1974.

SECOND AND THIRD SCHEDULES AND TABLE

Amendments for calendar financial years.

Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854.

Section 17 of the Finance Act, 1953 , which changed, from the 30th day of June to the 30th day of September, the earliest date in section 2 of the Public Revenue and Consolidated Fund Charges Act, 1854, on or before which the Accounts of the Exchequer had to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, shall cease to have effect as on and from the 1st day of January, 1975. Accordingly, the Accounts of the Exchequer for the 9—months' transitional period and for each calendar financial year (the first of which commences on the 1st day of January, 1975) shall be laid before each House on or before the 30th day of June if each House is then sitting and, if not sitting, then within fourteen days after the next meeting.

Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act, 1965.

Under section 5 of that Act, the Minister for Finance is required in every month of March to lay before Dáil Éireann a statement specifying the sums which he will be authorised to issue in advance out of the Central Fund as from the beginning of the next financial year. As a consequence of the change of the financial year to a calendar year basis as from the 1st day of January, 1975, the Minister's statement shall be required in every month of December, beginning with December, 1974.

Exchequer and Audit Departments Acts, 1866 and 1921.

Under section 21 of the 1866 Act an account of all issues from the Central Fund in a calendar financial year shall be prepared by the Department of Finance and transmitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General on or before the 30th day of June following (instead of the 30th day of September, as heretofore, in respect of financial years which ended on the preceding 31st day of March) and that account together with the Comptroller and Auditor General's report thereon shall be laid before Dáil Éireann on or before the 31st day of October (instead of the 31st day of January in the following year, as heretofore) if Dáil Éireann is then sitting and if not sitting within one week after the next sitting.

The amended First Schedule to the 1921 Act specifies dates (a) by which Departments shall submit their supply services and trading accounts for calendar financial years to the Comptroller and Auditor General, (b) by which the Comptroller and Auditor General shall transmit those accounts to the Department of Finance, and (c) by which the Department of Finance shall transmit those accounts to Dáil Éireann.

Currency Act, 1927.

In section 2 of that Act, the definition of "year" shall mean a calendar year, to take account of the change of the accounting year of the Central Bank to a calendar year basis, and the definition of "half-year" shall consequently mean the period of six months on the 30th day of June or on the 31st day of December, as may be appropriate.

Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931.

In each calendar local financial year, the local authorities' payments under section 3 of that Act to approved tourism promotion and development companies shall be made in 4 equal instalments, on the 31st day of March, the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September and the 31st day of December.

Transport Act, 1958.

Under section 17 of that Act, CIE shall, before the 1st day of August (instead of the 1st day of November, as heretofore) furnish to the Minister for Transport and Power an estimate of its expenditure in respect of redundancy compensation under section 14 of that Act in each quarter of the next following financial year. This amendment shall have effect in 1974 in readiness for the first calendar financial year beginning on the 1st day of January, 1975.

Patents Act, 1964.

Under section 84 of that Act, the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks shall, before the 1st day of June (instead of the 1st day of September, as heretofore), lay before each House of the Oireachtas his report in respect of the year ending on the preceding 31st day of December (instead of the 31st day of March, as heretofore). The Controller's report for the year 1975 shall, therefore, be laid before each House of the Oireachtas before the 1st day of June, 1976.

Land (Finance) Rules, 1925 and Land (Finance) Rules, 1954.

In 1975 and in each subsequent year, a certificate under these Rules shall be prepared by the Minister for Finance and by the Land Commission on or before the 16th day of September (instead of the 16th day of February, as heretofore), relating to the year ended on the preceding 31st day of July (instead of the 31st day of January, as heretofore), and the Minister for Finance shall pay the surplus cash balance then standing in the Guarantee Fund to the Local Taxation Account on the 17th day of September (instead of the 17th day of February, as heretofore) and at any other time, if any, as he may direct.