Land Act, 1933

Arrears and revision of rents etc., payable to the Church Temporalities Fund.

18.—(1) Where the owner of land applies to the Land Commission in the prescribed manner for such order as is hereinafter mentioned and satisfies the Land Commission that such land—

(a) is substantially agricultural or pastoral or partly agricultural and partly pastoral in character; and

(b) is in such owner's own occupation; and

(c) is used and cultivated by such owner as an ordinary farm in accordance with proper methods of husbandry; and

(d) is subject to an annual payment to which this section applies,

the Land Commission shall ascertain the amount (if any) of the arrears of such annual payment due and owing in respect of such land on the first gale day after the passing of this Act and shall make an order declaring the amount so ascertained of such arrears or an amount equal to three times the amount of such annual payment, whichever is the less to be payable by means of a funding annuity to be set up by such order and (whether any such arrears are or are not due and owing as aforesaid) revising such annual payment by reducing by fifty per cent. the amount of all gales of such annual payment accruing after the said gale day.

(2) Whenever the Land Commission by an order made under this section declares the arrears of an annual payment to be payable by means of a funding annuity, such arrears shall be payable by means of such funding annuity and not otherwise.

(3) Whenever the Land Commission, by an order made under this section, revises an annual payment, the amount payable in respect of every gale of such annual payment accruing after the first gale day in respect of such annual payment after the passing of this Act shall be fifty per cent. and no more of the full amount of such gale.

(4) The following provisions shall have effect in respect of every funding annuity set up under this section, that is to say:—

(a) such funding annuity shall rank as a charge next in priority to the annual payment for payment of the arrears of which it is set up;

(b) such funding annuity shall, so far as circumstances will admit, be consolidated with such annual payment in accordance with regulations to be made by the Minister for Finance;

(c) such funding annuity may be redeemed at any time by payment of such sum as, in the opinion of the Minister for Finance, represents the value of all the instalments of such annuity which have not then accrued due together with all arrears of such annuity then due;

(d) the Minister for Finance may, if he thinks fit, allow such annuity to be reduced by redemption of part thereof by payment of such sum as, in his opinion, represents the value of that part of all the instalments of such annuity which have not then accrued due;

(e) all moneys received by the Land Commission in respect of instalments of such funding annuity or in respect of the redemption of such funding annuity or any part thereof shall be paid into the Church Temporalities Fund.

(5) The Land Commission shall have, for the recovery of an annual payment to which this section applies which has been revised under this section, all such remedies as they would have had for the recovery of such annual payment if this Act had not been passed.

(6) An annual payment to which this section applies which has been revised under this section may be redeemed in the like manner in all respects as it might have been redeemed if this Act had not been passed, save that the sum payable for such redemption shall be fifty per cent. and no more of the sum which would have been payable for such redemption if this Act had not been passed, and that, if a funding annuity has been set up under this section in respect of arrears of such annual payment, such annual payment shall not be capable of redemption until such funding annuity has been wholly redeemed.

(7) Whenever an application is made under this section for the revision of an annual payment which is the interest payable on a simple mortgage, the Land Commission shall, before revising such annual payment and without any application by order convert under section 26 of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1896 , such simple mortgage into an instalment mortgage, but in such case such instalment mortgage shall not be subject to decadal revision under the said section 26.

(8) Section 39 of the Land Act, 1923 , shall not apply to any annual payment which is a tithe rent-charge or fixed annual instalment in lieu of tithe rent-charge and is revised under this section.

(9) The deficiency arising in the Church Temporalities Fund by reason of the funding under this section of arrears of annual payments or the revision under this section of annual payments shall, so far as may be necessary to meet the statutory charges on that fund, be made good by the Land Commission out of moneys provided by the Oireaehtas.

(10) This section applies to all such of the following annual payments as are payable into the Church Temporalities Fund, that is to say:—

(a) a tithe rent-charge payable out of lands which are subject to a purchase annuity;

(b) fixed annual instalments in lieu of tithe rent-charge payable out of lands which are subject to a purchase annuity;

(c) a perpetuity rent;

(d) the interest on a converted leasehold mortgage;

(e) the interest on a simple mortgage;

(f) an annuity in repayment of an instalment mortgage.