Friendly Societies and Industrial and Provident Societies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014

Amendment of Act of 1893

10. The Act of 1893 is amended—

(a) in section 4 (amended by section 85(a) of the Act of 2005), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) No member other than a registered society shall have or claim any interest in the shares of the society exceeding €150,000 or an amount equal to 1 per cent of the total assets of the society, whichever is the greater, except where otherwise specified in the rules of the society, and”,

(b) in section 7, by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (1) (substituted by section 3 of the Industrial and Provident Societies (Amendment) Act 1895 ):

“(1) If the registrar refuses to register a society, or any rules or amendment of rules of a society, the society may appeal from such refusal to the Circuit Court.

(1A) The jurisdiction conferred on the Circuit Court under subsection (1) may—

(a) as respects a refusal to register the society, be exercised by the judge of the court for the time being assigned to the Dublin Circuit, and

(b) as respects a refusal to register any rules or amendment of rules, be exercised by the judge of the circuit in which the registered office of the society is situated.”,

(c) in section 9—

(i) in subsection (1) —

(I) by the substitution of “in writing:” for “by writing under his hand or seal:”, and

(II) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “On proof” for “With the approval of the Treasury, on proof”,

and

(ii) in subsection (2) —

(I) by the deletion of “, with the approval of the Treasury,” in both places where it occurs, and

(II) by the substitution of “in writing:” for “by writing under his hand or seal:”,

(d) in section 10, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) A copy of the rules of a registered society shall be furnished by the society to any member who demands it, on payment of such fee as may be determined by the society in its rules.”,

(e) in section 14—

(i) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

(1) Every registered society shall once in every year send to the registrar an annual return of the receipts, expenditure, funds and effects of the society as audited.”,

and

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c) (substituted by section 3(1) of the Act of 1913) of subsection (2):

“(c) shall be submitted no later than—

(i) 31 October, where the date of its last published balance sheet falls between 1 January and 30 June, and

(ii) 30 April, where the date of its last published balance sheet falls between 1 July and 31 December (of the preceding year);

and”,

(f) in section 17—

(i) in subsection (2), by the insertion of “and their holdings in the society, whether in shares or loans,” after “the names of the members”, and

(ii) by the deletion of subsection (3),

(g) by the insertion of the following new section after section 17:

“Inspection of books by non-members

17A. (1) Any person shall be allowed to inspect the books of a registered society containing the names of the members, and their holdings in shares, at all reasonable hours at the registered office of the society, or at any place where the same are kept, subject to such regulations as to the time and manner of such inspection as may be made from time to time by the general meetings of the society, on payment of €10, or such lesser sum as the society may prescribe, for each inspection.

(2) Any person may require a copy of the books mentioned in subsection (1), or of any part thereof, on payment of €10, or such lesser sum as the society may prescribe.

(3) The society shall cause any copy so required by any person to be sent to that person within a period of 10 days commencing on the day next after the day on which the requirement is received by the society.

(4) In the case of any refusal or default, the court may by order compel an immediate inspection of the books or direct that the copies required shall be sent to the persons requiring them.”,

and

(h) in Schedule II, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 5:

“5. Determination of the amount of interest in the shares of the society which any member may hold.”.