Industrial Alcohol (Amendment) Act, 1980

Guarantee by Minister of borrowings by Company.

3.—(1) The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may guarantee, in such form and manner and on such terms and conditions as the Minister for Finance may sanction—

(a) the due repayment by the Company of the principal of any moneys (including moneys in a currency other than the currency of the State) borrowed by the Company, or the payment of interest on such moneys or both the repayment of the principal and the payment of the interest, or

(b) the due payment by the Company of instalments or other amounts of money (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State) owed by the Company under a contract entered into by the Company or the payment of interest on any such instalments or amounts or both the payment of the instalments or amounts and the interest,

and any such guarantee may include a guarantee of the payment by the Company of commission and incidental expenses arising in connection with such borrowings or contract.

(2) The Minister shall not so exercise the powers conferred on him by this section that the amount, or the aggregate amount, of principal which he may at any time be liable to repay on foot of any guarantee or guarantees under this section for the time being in force, together with the amount of principal (if any) which the Minister has previously paid on foot of any guarantee under this section and which has not been repaid by the Company, exceeds £10,000,000.

(3) Where a guarantee under this section is or has been given, the Company shall, if the Minister so requires, give to him such security (including, in particular, debentures) as may be specified in the requisition for the purpose of securing to the Minister the repayment of any moneys which he may be liable to pay or has paid under the guarantee.

(4) For the purposes of calculating the amount of borrowings guaranteed by the Minister under this section by reference to the limit on principal in subsection (2) of this section, the equivalent in the currency of the State of borrowings in a foreign currency shall be calculated at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the giving of the guarantee.

(5) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after the expiration of every financial year, lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement setting out with respect to each guarantee under this section given during that year or given at any time before, and in force at the commencement of that year—

(a) particulars of the guarantee,

(b) in case any payment has been made by the Minister under the guarantee before the end of that year, the amount of the payment and the amount (if any) repaid to the Minister on foot of the payment,

(c) the amount of principal covered by the guarantee which was outstanding at the end of that year.

(6) All moneys from time to time required by the Minister to meet sums which may become payable by him under this Act shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(7) Moneys paid by the Minister under a guarantee under this section shall be repaid to him (with interest thereon at such rate or rates as the Minister for Finance appoints) by the Company within two years from the date of the advance of the moneys out of the Central Fund.

(8) Where the whole or any part of moneys required by subsection (7) of this section to be repaid to the Minister has not been paid in accordance with that subsection, the amount so remaining outstanding shall be repaid to the Central Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(9) Notwithstanding the provision of moneys under subsection (8) of this section to repay the amount to the Central Fund, the Company shall remain liable to the Minister in respect of that amount and that amount (with interest thereon at such rate or rates as the Minister for Finance appoints) shall be repaid to the Minister by the Company at such times and in such instalments as the Minister for Finance appoints and, in default of repayment as aforesaid and without prejudice to any other method of recovery, shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(10) Moneys paid by the Company under subsection (7) or (9) of this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance thinks fit.

(11) In relation to guarantees given by the Minister in money in a currency other than the currency of the State—

(i) each of the references to principal, each of the references to interest and the reference to commission and incidental expenses in subsection (1) of this section shall be taken as referring to the equivalent in the currency of the State of the actual principal, the actual interest and the actual commission and incidental expenses, respectively, such equivalent being calculated according to the cost in the currency of the State of the actual principal, the actual interest or the actual commission and incidental expenses, as may be appropriate;

(ii) the reference to principal in subsection (5) of this section shall be taken as referring to the equivalent in the currency of the State of the actual principal, such equivalent being calculated according to the rate of exchange for the time being for that currency and the currency of the State;

(iii) each of the references to moneys in subsection (6) to (9) of this section shall be taken as referring to the cost in the currency of the State of the actual moneys.