Trustee Act, 1931

Exercise of powers subject to consent of the holder of an extinct office.

5.—(1) Where a power of sale or any other power (except a power of appointing new trustees), whether special or general, vested in any trustees is, by the instrument creating the trust or otherwise, exercisable only with the consent or at the request or subject to the approval of the holder for the time being of a particular office (either alone or in conjunction with another person or other persons) and such office has ceased to exist, whether such cesser occurred before or after or by reason of the establishment of Saorstát Eireann or before or after the passing of this Act, the High Court may, on the application of such trustees, either—

(a) make an order consenting to, requesting, or approving of (as the case may require) any particular exercise of such power by such trustees, or

(b) make an order appointing the holder for the time being of a specified office to be, by virtue of and during his tenure of such office and in place of the holder of the said office which has ceased to exist, the person or one of the persons entitled to consent to, request, or approve of (as the case may require) the exercise of such power by such trustees.

(2) Where the High Court makes an order under this section consenting to, requesting, or approving of an exercise of a power by trustees, such order shall for all purposes be as effective as a consent, request, or approval (as the case may be) by the person or persons named in that behalf by the instrument creating the trust or otherwise.

(3) Where the High Court makes an order under this section appointing the holder for the time being of a specified office to be the person or one of the persons to consent to, request, or approve of the exercise of a power by trustees, every consent, request or approval given or made by the holder for the time being of such specified office to, for, or of an exercise of such power by such trustees shall be as effective as if such holder were the holder for the time being of the office the cesser of which occasioned the making of such order.

(4) The High Court shall not make an order under this section consenting to, requesting, or approving of an exercise of a power by trustees unless such of the persons whose consent to, request for, or approval of (as the case may be) such exercise is required by the instrument creating the trust or otherwise as are in existence consent to the making of such order.

(5) The High Court shall not make an order under this section appointing the holder for the time being of a particular office to be the person or one of the persons to consent to, request, or approve of the exercise of a power by trustees unless the person who is the holder of such office at the date of such order consents thereto.