Agricultural Credit Act, 1947
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Credit Act, 1947.
(2) The Agricultural Credit Acts, 1927 to 1929, and this Act may be cited together as the Agricultural Credit Acts, 1927 to 1947.
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
the expression “the Acts” means the Agricultural Credit Acts, 1927 to 1929;
the expression “the Amending Act of 1928” means the Agricultural Credit Act, 1928 (No. 22 of 1928);
the expression “the Amending Act of 1929” means the Agricultural Credit Act, 1929 (No. 30 of 1929);
the expression “the appointed day” means the day appointed by order of the Minister made under section 6 of this Act;
the expression “co-operative society” means a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893 ;
the expression “the Corporation” means The Agricultural Credit Corporation, Limited;
the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;
the expression “the Principal Act” means the Agricultural Credit Act, 1927 (No. 24 of 1927).
(2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Acts.
num: 3
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
the word “agriculture” includes—
(a) the breeding, rearing or keeping of animals of any kind (including birds and insects),
(b) dairying,
(c) the pasturing of animals, and
(d) the processing, manufacture, preparation or completion for sale of any farm produce,
and the word “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;
the word “farmer” means an individual who carries on or intends to carry on some form of agriculture and includes—
(a) two or more individuals who jointly or in common carry on or intend to carry on some form of agriculture,
(b) the personal representative of a deceased person who, for the benefit of the estate of such deceased person, carries on or intends to carry on some form of agriculture,
(c) the trustee of a settlement who, for the benefit of the persons beneficially entitled under such settlement, carries on or intends to carry on some form of agriculture,
(d) any body corporate which carries on or intends to carry on, as its principal business, some form of agriculture, and
(e) two or more bodies corporate which jointly or in common carry on or intend to carry on, as their principal business, some form of agriculture;
the word “farm” means the land or buildings or the land and buildings on or in which the farmer, in relation to whom the word is used, carries on some form of agriculture.
(2) In this section—
the word “trustee” includes a trustee under a trust created by parol and also a trustee by construction of law;
the word “settlement” means the deed, will or other instrument, parol declaration or construction of law, by virtue of which the trustee, in relation to whom the word is used, is such trustee.
num: 4
paragraphs: —(1) The enactments specified in column (2) of Part I of the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent set out in column (3) of the said Part I as on and from the date of the passing of this Act.
num: 5
paragraphs: —In this Part—
the expression “the Companies Acts” means the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924;
the word “director” means a director of the Corporation;
the expression “existing shares” means the “A” and “B” shares of the Corporation issued under the Principal Act, as amended by the Amending Act of 1929;
the expression “new shares” means shares of the Corporation to be issued and allotted to the Minister in pursuance of section 9 of this Act.
num: 6
paragraphs: —The Minister, after consultation with the Corporation, may by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Part.
num: 7
paragraphs: —(1) As on and from the appointed day, the capital of the Corporation shall be £300,000 (three hundred thousand pounds) divided into six hundred thousand shares of ten shillings each.
(2) On the appointed day all existing shares shall by virtue of this section be cancelled.
num: 8
paragraphs: —(1) In this section—
the expression “registered holder” means a person who is or, in the case of a joint holding of existing shares, two or more persons who are, on the day immediately preceding the appointed day, the registered holder of one or more existing shares, but does not include the Minister;
the expression “appropriate sum” means, in relation to a registered holder, a sum of money calculated at the rate of ten shillings for each existing share held by such registered holder.
(2) (a) At least thirty days before the appointed day the Corporation shall serve on each registered holder notice that—
(i) his existing shares will be cancelled on the appointed day, and
(ii) the Corporation will on the appointed day pay to him an appropriate sum,
(b) Notices under paragraph (a) of this subsection may be served in accordance with the manner provided for the service of notices by the existing articles of association of the Corporation.
(3) On the appointed day, the Corporation shall pay to each registered holder an appropriate sum.
(4) Each registered holder of any existing shares shall, in lieu of and in satisfaction of all rights and claims in respect of his existing shares, accept the payment to be made to him in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section.
(5) (a) The Corporation shall, on such date (not later than sixty days after the appointed day) as the Corporation, with the consent of the Minister, may fix, pay to each registered holder a dividend calculated at the rate of five per cent. per annum on the amount paid up in respect of existing shares held on the day immediately preceding the appointed day by such registered holder, for the period commencing on the day next following the latest date before the appointed day on which a dividend was paid by the Corporation and ending on the day immediately preceding the appointed day, and such registered holder shall not be entitled to any other dividend in respect of such shares for such period.
(b) If, on the date fixed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Corporation has not any or sufficient moneys available and applicable for the payments required to be made under the said paragraph (a) the Corporation shall forthwith certify to the Minister the sum which, with the moneys (if any) so available and applicable, is required to make such payments and upon receipt of such certificate the Minister shall pay to the Corporation the amount so certified and the Corporation shall forthwith apply the moneys so received in or towards discharge of the said payments.
(c) All moneys payable by the Minister to the Corporation under paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be paid out of and shall be charged upon the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.
(6) The Corporation may, for the purposes of this section, close its share register for a period of forty days expiring on the appointed day and refuse to register any transfer of existing shares during that period.
num: 9
paragraphs: —(1) On the appointed day, the Corporation shall, in lieu of and in full satisfaction of all claims and rights in respect of existing shares registered in the name of the Minister, issue and allot to the Minister five hundred and eighty-four thousand two hundred and thirty-seven fully paid up shares of ten shillings each of the Corporation.
(2) (a) On the appointed day, the Corporation shall also issue and allot to the Minister fifteen thousand seven hundred and sixty-three fully paid up shares of ten shillings each of the Corporation.
(b) On the appointed day, the Minister shall pay to the Corporation as consideration for the issue to him of shares of the Corporation in pursuance of this subsection, the sum of £7,881 10s. 0d. (seven thousand, eight hundred and eighty-one pounds and ten shillings).
(c) All moneys payable by the Minister to the Corporation in pursuance of this subsection shall be paid out of and shall be charged on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof, and for the purpose of providing the said moneys the Minister may borrow moneys by means of the issue of such securities as he thinks proper and all moneys so borrowed shall be paid into, the Exchequer.
num: 10
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to this section, the Minister may, in respect of new shares for the time being held by him, exercise all or any of the rights and powers from time to time exercisable by the holder of such new shares, and where such rights or powers are exercisable by attorney the Minister may, if he so thinks proper, exercise such rights and powers by his attorney, and for this purpose may appoint one person to be his attorney as respects certain new shares held by him and another person to be his attorney as respects other new shares held by him.
(2) The Minister, from time to time as occasion requires, may, for the purpose of compliance with so much of the Companies Acts as requires that there shall always be at least seven members of the Corporation or for the purpose of providing a person appointed or about to be appointed a director with the necessary qualification, do either or both of the following things, that is to say—
(a) transfer to any person one new share for the time being held by the Minister,
(b) require any member of the Corporation to transfer any new share held by him to the Minister or to any other person appointed in that behalf by the Minister.
(3) Every member (other than the Minister) of the Corporation or the personal representative of such member shall hold his new shares in trust for the Minister and shall be accordingly bound to pay every dividend, bonus and other money received by such member on or in respect of such new shares to the Minister for the benefit of the Exchequer and to transfer, as and when required by the Minister, such new shares to the Minister or to a person nominated in that behalf by the Minister.
(4) If any member of the Corporation dies or is declared a bankrupt or makes an arrangement with his creditors or is declared of unsound mind, the Minister may execute a transfer of the new shares held by such member either to the Minister or to another person and thereupon the said new shares shall vest in the person specified in the said transfer.
(5) Save as authorised or required by this section no member of the Corporation (including the Minister) shall transfer any new shares for the time being held by him.
num: 11
paragraphs: —Every dividend, bonus and other money received by the Minister in respect of new shares held by, or in trust for, him shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister may direct.
num: 12
paragraphs: —(1) The persons who are immediately before the appointed day the directors shall on the appointed day cease to hold office.
(2) On and after the appointed day—
(a) the number of directors (including the chairman) shall be not less than three nor more than five,
(b) the directors shall be nominated by the Minister,
(c) the qualification for being a director shall be the holding of at least one share in the Corporation.
num: 13
paragraphs: —(1) (a) On and after the appointed day, it shall be lawful for the Minister from time to time to make advances to the Corporation and for the Corporation to borrow from the Minister out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas such sums as the Corporation may require for the purposes of its business, upon such terms as to repayment as the Minister in his discretion may determine, but so that the total amount owing on foot of such advances at any one time shall not in the aggregate exceed two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
(b) The Corporation shall pay to the Minister on every sum advanced to the Corporation under this subsection from the date of the advance of such sum until such sum has been repaid, interest at such rate (not being less than the rate payable, at the date of the advance, on advances from the Central Fund to the Local Loans Fund) and on such date or dates as shall from time to time be appointed by the Minister in that behalf.
(c) All moneys paid to the Minister by the Corporation in respect of repayment of advances made under the provisions of this subsection or of interest on such advances shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister may direct.
(2) It shall be lawful for the Corporation with the approval of the Minister to borrow at any time or times by way of overdraft or other temporary advance from any Bank or other credit institution such sums as the Corporation may require either (as may be specified in the approval) for the purposes of its business generally or for a particular purpose, but so that the total amount owing on foot of such overdrafts or other temporary advances at any one time shall not in the aggregate exceed two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
num: 14
paragraphs: —(1) It shall be lawful for the Corporation so to alter its memorandum and articles of association that the same shall be so framed and expressed that the Corporation shall be entitled and authorised to lend or advance money upon such security, as the directors may deem proper, only to the persons and for the purposes hereinafter stated, that is to say:—
(a) to any person (being a farmer) for the purpose of—
(i) constructing buildings on such person's farm, or
(ii) making on such person's farm improvements of a permanent character calculated to increase or facilitate or conduce to the increase of the productivity thereof, or
(iii) purchasing livestock, or
(iv) purchasing agricultural machinery or implements, or
(v) purchasing materials, manures, feeding stuffs, seeds or other requisites of agricultural production or marketing, or
(vi) purchasing land which was immediately before the purchase owned by the Corporation or comprised in a security held by the Corporation for a loan or advance, or
(vii) establishing, carrying on or extending such person's business, or
(viii) paying off and discharging a debt or other liability for which such person may be liable and which was incurred (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by such person or by any other person wholly or mainly for a purpose for which a loan may lawfully be made by the Corporation, or
(ix) paying off or discharging a debt incurred at any time for the purpose of purchasing land for agricultural purposes, or
(x) paying off a mortgage, charge, burden, annuity or incumbrance on land or any debt where, in the opinion of the directors, the paying off of such mortgage, charge, burden, annuity or incumbrance on land or debt will facilitate the person whose lands are subject to the same or who may be liable for same in carrying on his business as a farmer or in effecting economies or in avoiding losses, or
(xi) paying off a mortgage, charge, burden, annuity or incumbrance on land or a loan borrowed for the purpose of paying off a mortgage, charge, burden, annuity or incumbrance on land where, in the opinion of the directors, the making of an advance to such person, for the purpose of paying off such mortgage, charge, burden, annuity, incumbrance on land or loan, will facilitate the making and securing the repayment of an advance made or intended to be made by the Corporation to such person for any purpose for which the Corporation is authorised to make an advance, or
(xii) providing such person with working capital;
(b) to any individual (being a farmer) for the purpose of financing, carrying out or completing a settlement or arrangement of his family affairs or property;
(c) to any person (being a farmer) for any purpose which, in the opinion of the directors, is related to agriculture;
(d) to any person, engaged in or proposing to engage in an enterprise primarily designed for the service of farmers, for the purposes of establishing, carrying on or extending such enterprise;
(e) to any person for the purpose of discharging the costs and expenses of borrowing money from the Corporation, of giving security to the Corporation therefor, or of perfecting such person's title to any land.
(2) (a) The memorandum and articles of association of the Corporation shall also be so framed and expressed that the persons to whom and the purposes for which the Corporation shall be entitled and authorised to lend or advance money as stated in such memorandum and articles in pursuance of this section may be varied (whether by extension, restriction or otherwise) from time to time by the Minister and the Minister for Agriculture at their joint discretion by orders made by them jointly, but so that such persons and purposes shall not by any such order be extended so as to include—
(i) any person who is not engaged or about to engage in agriculture or in a business or enterprise of an agricultural character or calculated directly or indirectly to benefit primarily persons engaged in agriculture, or
(ii) any person to whom the Corporation is expressly forbidden by this section to make a loan or advance, or
(iii) any purpose which is not directly or indirectly related to or concerned with agriculture.
(b) Every order made by the Minister and the Minister for Agriculture under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and unless either such House shall, within twenty-one days after the first day on which such House sits after such order is laid before it, pass a resolution annulling such order, such order shall come into operation at the expiration of twenty-one days from whichever of the following days is the later that is to say the first day on which DÃ¡il Eireann sits after such order is laid before it or the first day on which Seanad Eireann sits after such order is laid before it.
(3) (a) The Corporation shall not, for the purposes specified in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section, make any loan or advance to—
(i) any body corporate which, in the opinion of the directors, does not, as its principal business, engage in one or more of the following activities—
(I) the giving of agricultural credit,
(II) the production, processing or marketing of agricultural produce,
(III) the sale or hire of agricultural machinery or implements,
(IV) the production or supply of manures, feeding stuffs, seeds or other requisites of agricultural production or marketing,
(V) the production of any one or more of the following, namely, water, power and light, for distribution mainly to farmers,
(VI) the provision of works or services calculated, directly or indirectly, to benefit primarily persons engaged in agriculture, or
(ii) any body corporate, which, in the opinion of the directors, carries on, as a substantial part of its business, the selling by retail of any goods which are neither produced by that body corporate or (if it is a co-operative society) its members nor are requisites of agricultural production or marketing;
(b) where goods sold by a body corporate are mainly goods produced by that body corporate or (if it is a co-operative society) its members, any similar goods occasionally sold by that body corporate may, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this subsection, be deemed to have been so produced although in fact produced by other persons and purchased by that body corporate from them.
(4) The Corporation shall not make any loan or advance any money to a director.
(5) (a) The Corporation shall not lend or advance any money to any person (other than a co-operative society) so as to cause the total amount of principal owing at any one time by such person to the Corporation to exceed ten thousand pounds.
(b) In computing for the purposes of this subsection the total amount of principal owing at any one time by a person to the Corporation, no account need be taken of—
(i) any contingent liability which such person may incur or have incurred towards the Corporation as a guarantor or surety, or
(ii) any interest which may accrue due or may be unpaid on any loans or advances made by the Corporation to such person, or
(iii) any moneys the repayment of which is secured by a mortgage or charge in favour of the Corporation on any real or personal property which has or may become vested subject to such mortgage or charge in such person as a beneficiary under a settlement or trust or under a will or an intestacy of any other person or as trustee of a will or settlement or as a successor in title or as an assignee or transferee of any other person, or
(iv) any payments made by the Corporation for the purposes of protecting or preserving any security given to the Corporation by such person.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the Corporation may invest moneys in its hands in any of the stocks, funds and securities which are for the time being authorised by law as investments for Post Office Savings Bank funds or in the purchase of or subscription for such securities as may from time to time be approved (either generally or particularly) by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection.
(7) The first reference in subsection (1) of section 9 of the Principal Act to the restrictions imposed by the Principal Act shall be construed as a reference to this section.
(8) Subsections (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) of this section shall come into operation on the appointed day.
num: 15
paragraphs: —(1) So long as any portion of a loan or advance made by the Corporation to a co-operative society (in this subsection referred to as the debtor society) remains owing to the Corporation—
(a) the debtor society shall not lend money at interest to any person other than a person to whom the Corporation may lend or advance money;
(b) the debtor society shall not lend money at interest to any body corporate engaged in or carrying on, as a substantial part of its business, the selling by retail of any goods which are neither produced by that body corporate or (if it is a co-operative society) its members nor are requisites of agricultural production or marketing;
(c) the debtor society shall not itself engage in or carry on, as a substantial part of its business, the selling by retail of any goods which are neither produced by the debtor society or its members nor are requisites of agricultural production or marketing;
(d) if the debtor society contravenes the provisions of paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of this subsection, the whole of the said loan or advance or so much of it as remains owing to the Corporation shall (notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary) forthwith become due and payable by the debtor society to the Corporation.
(2) Where the goods sold by a body corporate are mainly goods produced by that body corporate or (if it is a co-operative society) its members, any similar goods occasionally sold by that body corporate may for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section be deemed to have been so produced although in fact produced by other persons and purchased by that body corporate from them.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall come into operation on the appointed day.
num: 16
paragraphs: —(1) The Corporation shall not discount or purchase any promissory note, bill of exchange or other negotiable instrument which—
(a) was made by a person to whom the Corporation is expressly forbidden by section 14 of this Act to lend or advance money, or
(b) was made otherwise than for the purpose of obtaining for the maker thereof or for any other person money for expenditure on a purpose for which a loan or advance could lawfully be made to such maker or person.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to, or be construed as rendering unlawful, the investment by the Corporation of moneys in the purchase of bills, notes or other negotiable instruments made by the Minister or by such other person as may be approved by the Minister.
(3) The second reference, in section 9 of the Principal Act, to the restrictions imposed by the Principal Act shall be construed as a reference to the restrictions imposed by this section.
(4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section shall come into operation on the appointed day.
num: 17
paragraphs: —(1) Any reorganisation of the share capital of the Corporation made under this Part shall not be a reduction, alteration, consolidation, cancellation or reorganisation of the capital of the Corporation within the meaning of the Companies Acts, and the provisions of those Acts relating to the reduction, alteration, consolidation, cancellation or reorganisation of share capital or to the issue of new shares shall not apply to the reorganisation of the share capital of the Corporation authorised by this Part.
(2) On and after the appointed day, neither section 115 nor paragraph (iv) of section 129 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 , shall apply in respect of the Corporation, and the Minister may at any time be or continue to be the sole shareholder.
num: 18
paragraphs: —(1) The Corporation shall, as soon as may be after the passing of this Act and before the appointed day, make all such alterations in its memorandum and articles of association as may be authorised by, and be requisite for giving effect to, the previous provisions of this Part, but such alterations shall not come into force until the appointed day.
(2) The Corporation may, at any time after the passing of this Act, so alter its memorandum of association that the same be so framed and expressed that the Corporation shall be entitled and authorised to receive from any person donations, contributions towards expenses, payments for services rendered on behalf of such person or any other moneys, but any such alteration, if made before the appointed day, shall not come into force until the appointed day.
(3) In addition to the alterations required by subsection (1) of this section or authorised by subsection (2) of this section to be made in the memorandum and the articles of association of the Corporation, it shall be lawful for the Corporation to make all such other alterations in its memorandum and articles of association as are necessary or proper by way of supplement to, or in consequence of, any alteration so required or authorised and also all such other alterations as shall be necessary or proper to give effect to the provisions of this Act.
(4) Subsection (2) of section 10 of the Principal Act shall not apply to alterations made in the memorandum or the articles of association of the Corporation under or in pursuance of this Act and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that all such alterations shall be in such form consistent with this Part as shall be approved by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Agriculture.
(5) For the purposes of effecting any alterations in the articles of association of the Corporation required or authorised by this Part, section 13 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 , shall be construed as if the words “extraordinary resolution” were substituted for the words “special resolution” where the latter words first occur.
(6) Section 9 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 , shall not apply in respect of any alteration authorised by this Part to be made by the Corporation in its memorandum of association and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that every such alteration may be made by extraordinary resolution, as defined by section 69 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 , and that, in addition to complying with section 70 of that Act, the Corporation shall, within the time mentioned in the said section 70, deliver to the registrar of companies a printed copy of the memorandum as so altered and such registrar shall register the same and shall certify the registration under his hand and such certificate shall be conclusive evidence that all the requirements of that Act as amended by this section with respect to such alteration have been complied with and thenceforth the memorandum as so altered shall be the memorandum of the Corporation.
num: 19
paragraphs: —(1) The Corporation shall, within ninety days after the end of each accounting year, furnish to the Minister such accounts (including a balance sheet and a profit and loss account) as the Minister may from time to time direct for that accounting year duly audited by the auditor of the Corporation, together with a report of the operations of the Corporation during that accounting year, and the said accounts and report shall be drawn up in such form and contain such particulars as the Minister may from time to time direct.
(2) A copy of each account and report furnished to the Minister pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall as soon as may be thereafter be laid by him before each House of the Oireachtas.
(3) (a) The Minister may from time to time request the Corporation to furnish to him such information, in relation to the business of the Corporation, as he thinks proper and specifies in the request, and the Corporation shall comply with, every such request.
(b) The Corporation shall not under paragraph (a) of this subsection furnish or be required to furnish any information which would disclose the affairs of any particular borrower or applicant for a loan.
num: 20
paragraphs: —The provisions of this Part shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Acts or the Acts or in the memorandum and articles of association of the Corporation.
num: 21
paragraphs: —(1) In this Part—
the expression “the Act of 1926” means the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926), as amended by the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940 (No. 23 of 1940);
the expression “chattel mortgage”, when used without qualification, means an instrument under seal made between a recognised borrower of the one part and a recognised lender of the other part which is—
(a) a floating chattel mortgage, or
(b) a specific chattel mortgage, or
(c) both a floating chattel mortgage and a specific chattel mortgage;
the expression “execution order” means an execution order within the meaning of the Act of 1926;
the expression “floating chattel mortgage” means an instrument under seal made between a recognised borrower of the one part and a recognised lender of the other part whereby the recognised borrower charges the stock from time to time on the recognised borrower's land with the payment of any moneys to the recognised lender;
the word “land”, when used in relation to a recognised borrower means the buildings or land or buildings and land in or on which the recognised borrower carries on business;
the expression “the mortgagee”, when used in relation to a chattel mortgage, means the recognised lender to whom the chattel mortgage is given;
the expression “the mortgagor”, when used in relation to a chattel mortgage, means—
(a) if the recognised borrower (party thereto) is an individual who is a farmer,—
(i) in case he is alive and has not become a bankrupt or of unsound mind, the recognised borrower, or
(ii) in case he has died, his heirs, executors, administrators and successors, or the executor de son tort of his estate or the person into whose possession or control, legal or actual, the chattels charged under such chattel mortgage have passed by reason of such death, or
(iii) in case he becomes a bankrupt, his assignee, or
(iv) in case he becomes of unsound mind, his committee or guardian,
(b) if the recognised borrower (party thereto) is a body corporate, the said body corporate;
the expression “recognised bank” means a bank which was appointed a recognised bank under section 24 of the Principal Act or for the time being has been appointed by the Minister to be a recognised bank for the purposes of this Part.
the expression “recognised borrower” means any person being—
(a) an individual who is a farmer, or
(b) a body corporate to which the Corporation may, having regard to section 14 of this Act, lend or advance money;
the expression “recognised lender” means any body, being—
(a) the Corporation, or
(b) a recognised bank;
the expression “specific chattel mortgage” means an instrument under seal made between a recognised borrower of the one part and a recognised lender of the other part whereby the recognised borrower charges specific stock (wheresoever situate) with the payment of any moneys to the recognised lender;
the word “stock” means agricultural stock and includes—
(a) animals and birds of every kind and the progeny and produce of such birds and animals,
(b) agricultural machinery, vehicles and implements,
(c) agricultural crops (whether growing on, or severed from, the land),
(d) machinery, implements, vehicles, fixtures and fittings used in or for the preparation for sale or the manufacture or processing or marketing of any agricultural produce.
(2) Where a chattel mortgage creates both a charge on specific stock and a floating charge on the stock from time to time on particular land, the chattel mortgage shall, for the purposes of this Part, be—
(a) in so far as it creates a charge on specific stock, a specific chattel mortgage, and
(b) in so far as it creates a floating charge on the stock from time to time on particular land, a floating chattel mortgage.
(3) An instrument shall not be excluded from being a chattel mortgage by reason only of one or more persons (in addition to the mortgagor and mortgagee) being a party or parties thereto as surety or sureties only.
(4) References in this Part to stock in relation to a chattel mortgage shall, subject to section 22 of this Act, be construed as references only to stock which is the absolute property of the mortgagor.
(5) References, in the following provisions of this Part, namely paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 24 , and sections 26 and 31 , to the county registrar shall,—
(a) in the application of the said provisions to a county or county borough in which there is for the time being an under-sheriff, be construed as references to the under-sheriff for that county or county borough, and
(b) in the application of the said provisions to a county or county borough in which there is for the time being a sheriff, appointed under section 12 of the Court Officers Act, 1945 (No. 25 of 1945), in whom the functions of the county registrar in relation to the execution of execution orders are for the time being vested, be construed as references to the sheriff for that county or county borough.
num: 22
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) a recognised lender has agreed to make a loan to a recognised borrower wholly or partly for the purchase of specific stock, and
(b) that recognised borrower, for the purpose of giving security for the loan, has, prior to such purchase, executed a specific chattel mortgage of the specific stock, and
(c) the chattel mortgage is duly registered under this Part,
that chattel mortgage shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Part, create a charge on the said specific stock as on and from the date on which the said stock comes into the ownership and possession of the recognised borrower.
num: 23
paragraphs: —The Minister may if he so thinks fit on the application of any bank, appoint such bank to be a recognised bank for the purposes of this Part, and whenever the Minister so appoints a bank to be a recognised bank he shall forthwith give to the Minister for Justice notice of such appointment.
num: 24
paragraphs: —(1) A register of chattel mortgages shall be set up in every Circuit Court Office and shall be there kept and maintained in accordance with this section and the regulations made thereunder.
(2) Subject to compliance with the conditions prescribed by or under this section for the registration of a chattel mortgage, every chattel mortgage shall be capable of being registered within fourteen days and no longer after its date in the register of chattel mortgages maintained under this section in the Circuit Court Office serving the area in which the land of the mortgagor is situate or, where such land is situate in two or more areas served by separate Circuit Court Offices, in each of the several registers of chattel mortgages maintained under this section in the said Circuit Court Offices respectively.
(3) Any person (including a surety) party to a chattel mortgage or the legal representative of any such person may register such chattel mortgage within fourteen days and no longer after its date in any register of chattel mortgages in which such chattel mortgage is capable of being registered under this section and the mortgagee or, with the consent in writing of the mortgagee, the mortgagor or any surety party thereto or his legal representative may at any time cause such chattel mortgage to be removed from any such register.
(4) Whenever the principal moneys interest and costs secured by a chattel mortgage are fully repaid the mortgagee shall forthwith cause such chattel mortgage to be removed from every register of chattel mortgages in which it is registered under this section.
(5) No chattel mortgage shall be of any force or effect unless and until it is duly registered in accordance with this section and the regulations made thereunder in the register or every register (as the case may be) of chattel mortgages in which it is capable of being registered under this section and a chattel mortgage so registered shall cease to be of any force or effect if and when it ceases to be duly registered in such register or every such register (as the case may be).
(6) The contents of any register of chattel mortgages maintained under this section shall not be published or disclosed nor shall any copies thereof or any part thereof be issued to any person save only and except that—
(a) a recognised lender may at any time by requisition under seal require the county registrar to inspect any such register and to provide such recognised lender with certified copies of any entries therein relating to the stock of any person named in such requisition; and
(b) a county registrar may at any time inspect the register of chattel mortgages maintained in a Circuit Court Office serving the area or any part of the area for which he is the county registrar; and
(c) any person in the service of the State and duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the Minister or the Minister for Agriculture may at any time inspect and take copies of any such register or any part thereof; and
(d) an officer employed in a Circuit Court Office and performing duties formerly performed by the under-sheriff may at any time inspect the register of chattel mortgages maintained in such Circuit Court Office; and
(e) whenever the Supreme Court or any Judge of the High Court or the Circuit Court directs that a copy of the portion of any such register relating to any particular chattel mortgage or alleged chattel mortgage be furnished to them or him, such copy shall be so furnished accordingly and such Court or Judge may disclose or publish such copy or the contents thereof to such extent and in such manner and subject to such conditions as in their or his opinion justice may require.
(7) The Circuit Court or the High Court or the Supreme Court on appeal from the High Court may at any time cause any register of chattel mortgages maintained under this section to be rectified (whether by variation, addition or omission) in such manner as justice may require.
(8) The Minister for Justice may by order make regulations in relation to all or any of the following matters, that is to say:—
(a) the form and contents of the several registers of chattel mortgages maintained under this section;
(b) the keeping and maintenance generally of such registers;
(c) the mode of registering a chattel mortgage in such registers and the evidence to be produced, for the purpose of such registration, of the due execution and stamping of such chattel mortgage;
(d) the mode of removing a chattel mortgage from such registers and the evidence to be produced for the purpose of such removal;
(e) the requisitioning, making and certification of searches by officials of the Circuit Court offices on the several registers of chattel mortgages at the request of those persons or bodies who under this section are authorised to inspect the said registers;
(f) the providing of certified copies of the said registers or of any parts thereof or of any entries therein at the request and on behalf of any recognised lender;
(g) with the consent of the Minister for Finance, the fees to be charged and taken in respect of the registration of chattel mortgages in such registers, the removal of chattel mortgages from such registers, the inspection of such registers and any other matter relating to such registers;
(h) the general preservation of the secrecy of such registers and in particular the evidence of authority to be produced by persons claiming to inspect or take copies of such registers.
(9) Every register of chattel mortgages maintained in a Circuit Court Office under the Principal Act shall be deemed to have been set up under this section.
(10) Regulations made by the Minister for Justice under **section 25 of the Principal Act and in force immediately before the date of the passing of this Act shall continue in force and be deemed to have been made under this section.
(11) The expenses of carrying this section into effect shall to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
num: 25
paragraphs: —(1) A specific chattel mortgage shall, so long as it is duly registered under this Part and any moneys remain owing for principal or interest or costs on the security thereof, operate and have effect—
(a) to prohibit the mortgagor from selling or otherwise transferring the ownership or possession of any stock comprised therein without giving to the mortgagee at least seven clear days' previous notice in writing of his intention to effect such sale or transfer, and
(b) to prohibit the mortgagor from selling or otherwise transferring such ownership or possession for less than a fair and reasonable price, and
(c) to impose on the mortgagor, in the event of any of the said stock dying or being stolen or being destroyed by fire or other agency, the obligation to notify the mortgagee of such event within seven days after it occurs, and
(d) to impose on the mortgagor, in the event of his selling or otherwise transferring the ownership or possession of any of the said stock, the obligation to give forthwith to the mortgagee notice in writing of such sale or transfer, with such particulars thereof as the mortgagee may require, and
(e) to impose on the mortgagor, in the event of his selling or otherwise transferring the ownership or possession of any of the said stock, the obligation to pay to the mortgagee, within seven days after such sale or transfer, all sums secured by the chattel mortgage or such lesser sum as the mortgagee may in writing agree to accept or to apply the proceeds of such sale or transfer in such other manner as may have been previously authorised by the mortgagee, and
(f) to imply a covenant on the part of the mortgagor to pay to the mortgagee on demand the principal moneys and interest secured by the chattel mortgage at the time and in the manner thereby appointed, and
(g) to impose on the mortgagor the obligation to preserve and keep safe the stock therein comprised and (save as may be otherwise authorised by the chattel mortgage or the mortgagee or as may be necessary for any intended lawful sale) not to remove such stock from his land.
(2) If the mortgagor under a specific chattel mortgage commits a breach (whether by commission or omission) of any provision implied in the chattel mortgage by virtue of subsection (1) (other than paragraph (f) thereof) of this section, or contained therein, the whole of the principal moneys secured by the chattel mortgage shall, on demand by the mortgagee for payment thereof, become and be due and be forthwith payable notwithstanding anything contained in the chattel mortgage.
(3) If the mortgagor under a specific chattel mortgage—
(a) sells or otherwise transfers the ownership or possession of stock which is the subject of such specific chattel mortgage without having given to the mortgagee at least seven clear days' previous notice in writing of his intention to effect such sale or transfer, or
(b) having sold or transferred such stock or any part thereof, does not within seven days after such sale or transfer pay to the mortgagee all sums secured by the chattel mortgage or such lesser sum as the mortgagee may in writing agree to accept,
the mortgagor shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
(4) A copy of this section shall be endorsed on every specific chattel mortgage, but non-compliance with this provision shall not invalidate the specific chattel mortgage.
num: 26
paragraphs: —(1) Where—
(a) a specific chattel mortgage is for the time being duly registered under this Part, and
(b) any moneys remain owing for principal or interest or costs on the security thereof, and
(c) either—
the principal moneys secured by the chattel mortgage or any part of such moneys or any interest thereon are or is unpaid for fourteen days after the day appointed by the chattel mortgage for payment thereof, or
a breach of any covenant or condition contained in the chattel mortgage has been committed by the mortgagor,
the mortgagee may serve on the county registrar of the county or county borough in which any of the stock comprised in the chattel mortgage is situate an order (which shall be in the prescribed form, shall certify the sum due on foot of the chattel mortgage and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed) requiring the said county registrar to proceed in accordance with this subsection, and thereupon the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—
(i) the county registrar shall, as soon as may be, seize and remove from the custody of any person (other than a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of the chattel mortgage) and from any place (other than land or premises belonging to such purchaser) within the county or county borough of such county registrar all or any of the stock comprised in the chattel mortgage,
(ii) upon such seizure the county registrar shall, with all convenient speed, cause the stock so seized to be sold, and shall apply the proceeds of such sale in or towards the discharge of expenses, fees and costs of such seizure and sale and of the sum certified in the order to be due on foot of the chattel mortgage, together with interest on the said sum at the rate of three pounds per cent. per annum from the date of the said order to the date of such seizure, and shall pay the surplus (if any) of such proceeds to the mortgagor.
(2) An order under subsection (1) of this section directed to a county registrar shall have the same force and effect as an execution order and shall be a sufficient authority to that county registrar to act in accordance therewith, and that county registrar shall, when acting in accordance with the order, have all such rights, powers and duties as are for the time being vested in or imposed on him by law in relation to the execution of an execution order.
(3) A county registrar executing an order under subsection (1) of this section shall be entitled—
(a) if the money certified in such order to be due exceeds three hundred pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such order such fees and expenses, calculated according to the scales appointed by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 14 of the Act of 1926, and for the time being in force, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such order were an execution order of the High Court, and
(b) if the money certified in such order to be due exceeds twenty-five pounds but does not exceed three hundred pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such order such fees and expenses, calculated according to the said scales, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such order were an execution order of the Circuit Court, and
(c) if the money certified in such order to be due does not exceed twenty-five pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such order such fees and expenses, calculated according to the said scales, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such order were an execution order of the District Court.
(4) The Minister for Justice may make regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this section as prescribed and the word “prescribed” in this section means prescribed by such regulations.
(5) The remedies for the recovery of moneys due under a specific chattel mortgage given by this section to the mortgagee shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedies which the mortgagee may have by law for the recovery of such moneys.
num: 27
paragraphs: —(1) So long as any moneys remain owing for principal or interest or costs on the security of a chattel mortgage, the mortgagee may between the hours of sunrise and sunset on any day on which a civil process may be served,—
(a) in the case of a specific chattel mortgage, enter any land or premises (other than land or premises belonging to a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of the specific chattel mortgage, of the stock comprised in the specific chattel mortgage) on or in which the said stock is and take an inventory of the said stock, or
(b) in the case of a floating chattel mortgage enter on the land to which the floating chattel mortgage relates and take an inventory of the stock on the land.
(2) If any person obstructs or interferes with the mortgagee in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by subsection (1) of this section, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.
(3) References in this section to the mortgagee under a chattel mortgage shall be construed as including references to the agents and servants of the mortgagee.
num: 28
paragraphs: —(1) A floating chattel mortgage shall, so long as it is duly registered under this Part and any moneys remain owing for principal or interest or costs on the security thereof, and it has not become fixed as hereinafter provided, operate and have effect—
(a) to create an ambulatory and shifting charge of the principal moneys and interest secured thereby on all stock the property of the mortgagor from time to time on the land to which the chattel mortgage relates (in this section referred to as the land); and
(b) to prohibit the mortgagor from selling any of the stock at any time on the land otherwise than in the ordinary course of business; and
(c) to impose on the mortgagor the obligation of maintaining the stock from time to time on the land at a level of value equivalent (as near as may be having regard to the ordinary course of business) to the value of the stock on the land at the date of the chattel mortgage; and
(d) whenever the mortgagor sells any of the stock for the time being on the land and does not within one month replace such stock by new stock sufficient to bring the value of the stock on the land as near as may be to the value of the stock on the land at the date of the chattel mortgage to impose on him the obligation of paying such (if any) part of the proceeds of such sale as the mortgagee shall require to the mortgagee in reduction or discharge of the principal moneys secured by the chattel mortgage and any interest and costs due thereon and to confer on the mortgagor the right to pay the whole or any part of such proceeds of sale to the mortgagee in reduction or discharge of such principal moneys and interest and costs.
(2) A floating chattel mortgage shall so long as it is duly registered under this Part operate and have effect to imply a covenant on the part of the mortgagor, his heirs, executors, and administrators with the mortgagee to pay to the mortgagee the principal moneys and interest secured by the chattel mortgage at the times and in the manner appointed by the chattel mortgage.
num: 29
paragraphs: —(1) Whenever—
(a) the principal moneys secured by a floating chattel mortgage or any part of such moneys remain unpaid for twenty-eight days after the date appointed by the floating chattel mortgage for payment thereof, or some interest secured by a floating chattel mortgage is in arrear and unpaid for fifty-six days after becoming due, or there has been a breach (whether by commission or omission) by the mortgagor of some provision (other than a covenant for payment of the principal moneys or interest secured thereby) contained in a floating chattel mortgage or implied therein by virtue of subsection (1) of section 28 of this Act, and
(b) the mortgagee has served on the mortgagor a notice in writing declaring that such floating chattel mortgage has become fixed, and
(c) the mortgagee has, before the service of the notice, taken an inventory of the stock then on the land to which such floating chattel mortgage relates, and
(d) the mortgagee, within seven days after the day on which such notice has been served, sends by registered post to the Circuit Court Office or Offices where such floating chattel mortgage is registered, a true copy of the notice and of the inventory,
the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say—
(i) such floating chattel mortgage with effect as on and from the date of the service of the notice shall, for the purposes of this Act, become and be fixed, and shall operate and have effect as a specific chattel mortgage of all stock which is on the said land at the time of the service of the said notice, and sections 25 and 26 of this Act shall apply accordingly,
(ii) on receipt of the copies of the said notice and inventory in any Circuit Court Office, there shall be entered in the register of chattel mortgages the fact that such notice has been served and the particulars of the stock set out in the inventory, and such entry shall, until the contrary is proved, be evidence in any proceedings that the said notice was served and that the stock, particulars of which are so entered in the said register, was on the said land on the date on which the said notice was served.
(2) (a) A notice in writing declaring that a floating chattel mortgage has become fixed shall, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, be sufficiently served on the mortgagor if—
(i) in case the mortgagor is an individual, a copy thereof is—
(I) delivered to the mortgagor, or
(II) left for the mortgagor, at the mortgagor's last or most usual place of abode or business in the State, with any person (being the wife or husband or a relative, agent, clerk or servant of the mortgagor) who is aged sixteen years or upwards, or
(ii) in case the mortgagor is a body corporate, a copy thereof is left for the mortgagor, at the mortgagor's place of business, with any agent, clerk or servant of the mortgagor who is aged sixteen years or upwards.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, a company registered under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924, shall be deemed to carry on business at its registered office, and every other body corporate shall be deemed to carry on business at its principal office or place of business.
(3) A copy of section 25 of this Act shall be endorsed on every notice served under subsection (1) of this section but non-compliance with this provision shall not invalidate the notice.
num: 30
paragraphs: —A chattel mortgage shall not prevent or restrict the lawful seizure of any stock comprised therein or affected thereby by a duly authorised officer distraining or levying under the Income Tax Acts or a rate collector distraining for rates or a landlord distraining for rent.
num: 31
paragraphs: —(1) A chattel mortgage shall not prevent or restrict the lawful seizure and sale of any stock comprised therein or affected thereby under—
(a) a warrant issued under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 (No. 38 of 1933),
or
(b) an execution order issued for the enforcement of a judgement or order for the payment of—
(i) moneys due or payable to or for the benefit of the Central Fund, or
(ii) moneys in respect of advances made out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas or the interest on such advances, or
(iii) moneys due or payable to the Irish Land Commission under the Land Purchase Acts, or
(iv) moneys due to the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland in respect of a local loan, within the meaning of the Local Loans Fund Act, 1935 (No. 11 of 1935), or
(v) moneys due to a rate collector in respect of rates levied by the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town.
(2) A floating chattel mortgage shall not prevent or restrict the lawful seizure and sale of any stock comprised therein or affected thereby under an execution order issued for the enforcement of a judgment or order for the payment of moneys due or payable to a landlord in respect of rent.
(3) Save as is provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section no stock comprised in or affected by a chattel mortgage shall be seized or sold under an execution order, unless before such seizure the creditor has previously obtained the consent in writing of the mortgagee or has paid to the county registrar executing such execution order the full amount of the principal moneys and interest and costs then owing and unpaid on the security of such chattel mortgage.
(4) Whenever a creditor pays under subsection (3) of this section to a county registrar the full amount owing on the security of a chattel mortgage, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—
(a) the county registrar shall pay such amount to the mortgagee and the mortgagee shall accept such amount in discharge of the moneys secured by such chattel mortgage notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in such chattel mortgage and in particular notwithstanding that such moneys are not then due or payable, and
(b) the said amount shall be added to the debt for which execution is leviable under the execution order, and such execution order shall have effect accordingly.
(5) For the purpose of enabling a creditor to take advantage of the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—
(a) whenever a creditor requires an execution order to be executed against any stock the county registrar shall inspect the appropriate register of chattel mortgages and if on such inspection such stock is found to be comprised in or affected by a chattel mortgage such county registrar shall inform the creditor of the existence of such chattel mortgage, the date thereof and the name and address of the mortgagee, and
(b) the mortgagee shall on demand made by the creditor furnish to the county registrar for transmission to the creditor a statement of the full amount of the principal moneys and interest and costs then owing and unpaid on the security of the chattel mortgage.
(6) In this section the word “creditor” means the person at whose instance an execution order is issued, but does not include the mortgagee under a chattel mortgage.
num: 32
paragraphs: —(1) Chattel mortgages shall have priority in accordance with the times at which they are respectively registered under this Part.
(2) A bill of sale made before the passing of the Principal Act shall, if and so long as it continues to be valid and enforceable under the Bills of Sale Acts 1879 and 1883, have priority over a chattel mortgage.
(3) Stock comprised in a specific chattel mortgage or in a floating chattel mortgage which has become fixed shall not be deemed to be in the possession, order or disposition of the mortgagor within the meaning of the Irish Bankrupt and Insolvent Act, 1857, or any Act altering or amending that Act.
num: 33
paragraphs: —(1) It shall be an obligation on every person (in this section referred to as the debtor) who seeks from another person (in this section referred to as the creditor) the grant or continuance of credit to disclose in writing to the creditor (if required in writing by the creditor so to do) whether there is or is not a chattel mortgage subsisting in respect of any of the debtor's stock and the particulars of every (if any) such chattel mortgage.
(2) No creditor shall disclose any information furnished to him by the debtor in pursuance of this section save in so far as such disclosure may be necessary or proper for the purposes of a prosecution under this section or for the institution or conduct of legal proceedings for the recovery of moneys due by the debtor to the creditor.
(3) Every person who shall make in writing a statement in pursuance of this section which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect and every person who shall in contravention of this section disclose any information furnished to him in pursuance of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.
num: 34
paragraphs: —(1) Whenever a recognised borrower (in this subsection referred to as the intending mortgagor) agrees to make and a recognised lender (in this subsection referred to as the intending mortgagee) agrees to take a chattel mortgage (in this subsection referred to as the proposed chattel mortgage), the following provisions shall have effect—
(a) the expression “existing creditor” means any other recognised lender to whom the intending mortgagor is for the time being indebted;
(b) the intending mortgagor shall furnish to the intending mortgagee a statement in writing stating—
(i) whether or not there is or are any existing creditor or creditors, and
(ii) if there is one existing creditor and no more, the name of such existing creditor, and
(iii) if there are two or more existing creditors, the names of such existing creditors;
(c) if—
(i) the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection are not complied with, and
(ii) the proposed chattel mortgage is made, and
(iii) there is or are any existing creditor or creditors,
the proposed chattel mortgage shall be deemed to be fraudulent and void as against such existing creditor or creditors;
(d) if the said statement is furnished and it appears therefrom that there is or there are any existing creditor or creditors—
(i) the intending mortgagee shall send by post to that existing creditor or, if there is more than one existing creditor, to each of the existing creditors a notice in writing stating the intention of the intending mortgagee to take the proposed chattel mortgage;
(ii) if the intending mortgagee does not comply with subparagraph (i) of this paragraph in respect of any existing creditor the proposed chattel mortgage shall be deemed to be fraudulent and void as against that existing creditor;
(iii) if the proposed chattel mortgage is made within ten days after the day on which sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph is complied with, the proposed chattel mortgage shall be deemed to be fraudulent and void as against all existing creditors specified in the statement.
(2) Every person, who makes a statement in writing in pursuance of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and be liable on conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds, or at the discretion of the court, to penal servitude for three years or imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years.
num: 35
paragraphs: —Every bill of sale of stock (whether including or not including any other chattels) made after the passing of this Act shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Bills of Sale Acts, 1879 and 1883, be void and of no effect and be incapable of being registered under those Acts.
num: 36
paragraphs: —Every chattel mortgage, which was immediately before the date of the passing of this Act duly registered in accordance with section 25 of the Principal Act, shall be deemed to have been duly registered under section 24 of this Act, and this Part shall apply to such chattel mortgage accordingly.
num: 37
paragraphs: —In this Part—
the expression “the Act of 1891” means the Registration of Title Act, 1891, as amended by the Registration of Title Act, 1942 (No. 26 of 1942);
references to equitable claims against registered land shall be construed as references to estates and interests in, and incumbrances on, and claims against, such land which at the date of the registration of a priority charge against such land are not entered in the register of freeholders but are preserved by virtue of such land being registered subject to equities;
references to an equitable claimant shall be construed as references to a person entitled to an equitable claim against registered land;
the expression “the Land Commission” means the Irish Land Commission;
the word “mortgagor” means a person by whom a priority charge is given and the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of such person;
the expression “periodic (Land Commission) sum” means any sum for the time being payable to the Land Commission being—
(a) rent, or
(b) interest in lieu of rent, or
(c) payment in lieu of rent, or
(d) interest on purchase money, or
(e) any annual or other periodic payment whatsoever;
the expression “permanent improvement charge” means, in relation to any land, a priority charge on such land in respect of which it is shown by the mortgagor that—
(a) the principal sum secured by such charge was advanced by the Corporation solely for permanent improvement purposes, and
(b) the said principal sum was expended for one or more of those purposes;
the expression “permanent improvement purposes”, in relation to a charge on land, means any one or more of the following purposes—
(a) constructing, altering, improving or repairing buildings on such land,
(b) making on such land improvements of a permanent character calculated to increase, or facilitate or conduce to the increase of, the productivity of such land,
(c) paying the costs and expenses of borrowing the money secured by the charge and giving security for the repayment thereof;
the expression “priority charge” means—
(a) in relation to registered land, a charge on such registered land to which priority is given by section 39 of this Act,
(b) in relation to unregistered land, a charge on such unregistered land to which priority is given by section 42 of this Act;
the expression “puisne claim” means, in relation to unregistered land, any estate or interest in, or incumbrance on, or claim against such land which is postponed in priority by virtue of section 42 of this Act to a priority charge on such land;
the expression “puisne claimant” means, in relation to unregistered land, a person entitled to a puisne claim;
the expression “register of freeholders” means a register of freeholders maintained under the Act of 1891;
the expression “registered land” means land registered in a register of freeholders;
the expression “registered subject to equities” means, in relation to registered land, registered subject to a note that such land is registered subject to the rights or equities (if any) arising from the interest vested in a purchaser thereof under the Land Purchase Acts being deemed to be a graft on such purchaser's previous interest or arising in any other manner from the existence of such previous interest;
the expression “the registering authority” means the registering authority under the Act of 1891;
the word “registration” means registration in a register of freeholders, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;
the expression “the Registry of Deeds” means the office for registering deeds, conveyances and wills in Ireland;
the expression “unregistered land” means land which is, at the date of the execution of the relevant instrument of charge in favour of the Corporation, subject to a periodic (Land Commission) sum and is not registered land.
num: 38
paragraphs: —This Part applies in respect of every charge on land given before the date of the passing of this Act in favour of the Corporation and subsisting immediately before the said date and to which this Part would have been applicable if it had been in force at the time such charge was given, and any proceedings taken or thing done before the said date as respects such charge under any provision of the Acts repealed by this Act shall be deemed to have been taken or done under a corresponding provision of this Act.
num: 39
paragraphs: —(1) Where—
(a) (i) a person is registered in a register of freeholders as full owner of land, and
(ii) such land is registered subject to equities, and
(iii) such person charges such land in favour of the Corporation with the repayment of a principal sum not exceeding four hundred pounds and any interest, and
(iv) such charge is duly registered in such register as a burden affecting such land,
or
(b) (i) a person, registered in a register of freeholders as full owner of land, is dead, and
(ii) such land is registered subject to equities, and
(iii) the person who is the personal representative (whether his name is or is not entered in such register as full owner subject to an inhibition) of such deceased person, in his capacity as personal representative charges such land in favour of the Corporation with the repayment of a principal sum not exceeding four hundred pounds and any interest, and
(iv) such charge is duly registered in such register as a burden affecting such land,
or
(c) (i) a person is registered in a register of freeholders as limited owner of land, and
(ii) such land is registered subject to equities, and
(iii) such person or the assignee of the limited estate of such person and the person or all the persons entitled to such land for an estate or estates in remainder or in expectancy after or in defeasance of the estate of such first-mentioned person join in charging such land in favour of the Corporation with payment of a principal sum not exceeding four hundred pounds and any interest, and
(iv) such charge is duly registered in such register as a burden affecting such land,
then, subject to the provisions of this section, such charge (which shall be construed as extending, in addition to the said principal sum and interest secured thereby, to the costs and expenses of all legal proceedings instituted by the Corporation for the purpose of realising the amount at any time owing on foot of the said principal sum and interest) shall as against such land be in priority to and shall override all equitable claims against such land.
(2) Where—
(a) at the date of an instrument creating a charge on registered land which, but for this subsection, would on registration be a priority charge, a caution under section 69 of the Act of 1891 appears on the register in respect of such land, and
(b) such caution was lodged by a person claiming to be entitled to an equitable claim against such land, and
(c) such equitable claim is at any time after the registration of such charge registered as an estate or interest in or burden on such land,
then, notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of this section, the relative priorities of such charge and such equitable claim shall, unless such person agrees to the contrary, be determined as if the said subsection (1) had not been enacted.
num: 40
paragraphs: —(1) A priority charge on registered land which is not a permanent improvement charge on such land shall as between the mortgagor and equitable claimants (other than the mortgagor) against such land be deemed to be charged on all and every (if any) estate and interest in such land to which such mortgagor was at the date of the registration of such priority charge or becomes at any time thereafter beneficially entitled in indemnification of all equitable claims against such land by equitable claimants other than the mortgagor.
(2) All moneys paid to the Corporation by, or out of the share, estate or interest of an equitable claimant (other than the mortgagor) on foot of a priority charge on registered land which is not a permanent improvement charge on such land shall be repaid to such equitable claimant by the mortgagor on demand with interest thereon at the rate of three per cent. per annum and until so repaid such moneys and the said interest thereon shall be a debt due by the mortgagor to such equitable claimant and shall be deemed to be charged in favour of such equitable claimant on all and every (if any) estate and interest to which, the mortgagor is beneficially entitled in such land or the proceeds of the sale thereof at the date of such payment to the Corporation.
num: 41
paragraphs: —(1) Where registered land is subject to a priority charge which is not a permanent improvement charge and an equitable claimant against such land is, at the date of registration of such priority charge, under the age of twenty-one years or of unsound mind, such equitable claimant shall be entitled at any time after such registration (but, in case he is under the age of twenty-one years at the time of such registration, not after he attains the age of twenty-five years) to obtain from the Circuit Court an order that the mortgagor do, by giving security, lodgment of money in Court or such other means as shall be approved of by the Court, give to such equitable claimant an indemnity which in the opinion of the Court adequately protects his equitable claim against the said priority charge and that in default of the mortgagor giving such indemnity within three months after the date of such order the said registered land be sold by the Court and the proceeds of such sale be applied according to law and that in any event the costs of such equitable claimant in relation to such order, the application therefor and all proceedings thereunder when taxed as between solicitor and client be paid by the mortgagor.
(2) An indemnity given by a mortgagor in pursuance of an order under the foregoing subsection shall be enforceable, with the leave of the Circuit Court and in such manner as that Court shall direct, whenever the priority charge in respect of which such indemnity was given is enforced to the prejudice of the equitable claim for the protection of which such indemnity was given or in such other circumstances as in the opinion of the said Court render it just and equitable that such indemnity should be enforced.
(3) The rights and benefits conferred on any equitable claimant by this section shall be in addition and without prejudice to any other rights or benefits to which he may be entitled under this Act.
(4) No order under subsection (1) of this section shall be granted without notice to the mortgagor unless the Court shall think proper to dispense with such notice.
num: 42
paragraphs: —(1) Where—
(a) (i) a person is in occupation of land which is for the time being subject to a periodic (Land Commission) sum, and
(ii) such person is certified by the Land Commission to be the person by whom such periodic (Land Commission) sum is payable at the date of such certificate, and
(iii) such person (either alone or in conjunction with other persons) within one month after the date of such certificate charges such land in favour of the Corporation with payment of a principal sum not exceeding four hundred pounds and any interest, and
(iv) the instrument effecting such charge is duly registered in the Registry of Deeds,
or
(b) (i) a person (in this paragraph referred to as the personal representative) is, in his capacity as a personal representative of a deceased person, in occupation of land which is for the time being subject to a periodic (Land Commission) sum, and
(ii) the Land Commission certify in respect of such land that a periodic (Land Commission) sum is at the date of such certificate payable by the personal representative, and
(iii) the personal representative (either alone or in conjunction with other persons) within one month after the date of such certificate charges such land in favour of the Corporation with payment of a principal sum not exceeding four hundred pounds and any interest, and
(iv) the instrument effecting such charge is duly registered in the Registry of Deeds,
then, subject to the provisions of this section, such charge (which shall be construed as extending, in addition to the said principal sum and interest, to the costs and expenses of all legal proceedings instituted by the Corporation for the purpose of realising the amount at any time owing to the Corporation on foot of the said principal sum and interest) shall as against the land so charged be in priority to and shall override all estates and interests in and all incumbrances and burdens on the said land which may be subsisting at the date of such instrument except the said periodic (Land Commission) sum, compounded arrears of rent within the meaning of the Land Purchase Acts, mortgages in favour of the Land Commission, any land purchase annuity which may subsequently be charged on the said land under the Land Purchase Acts, any annuity, rent charge or other periodic payment payable to the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, any charge or mortgage in favour of the said Commissioners on foot of any moneys due or payable to them in respect of a local loan within the meaning of the Local Loans Fund Act, 1935 (No. 16 of 1935), and any of the charges mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (e) and (g) of section 47 of the Act of 1891.
(2) Where at the date of an instrument effecting a charge on land which would, on such instrument being registered in the Registry of Deeds, be entitled, but for this subsection, to priority under this section, a caution under section 61 of the Act of 1891, as extended by section 43 of this Act, appears in the Land Registry in respect of such land, then, notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of this section, the relative priorities of such charge and of the estate, interest, incumbrance, or other claim against such land of the person by whom such caution was lodged shall, unless such person agrees to the contrary, be determined as if subsection (1) of this section had not been enacted.
num: 43
paragraphs: —(1) Any person claiming to be entitled to an estate or interest in or incumbrance on or claim against any unregistered land which is a puisne claim against such land or would become a puisne claim against such land if a priority charge were created on such land, may (whether the instrument, if any, under which such claim arises is or is not registered in the Registry of Deeds) lodge under section 61 of the Act of 1891 a caution against the registration against such land on or after the first registration thereof of any dealing with such land in favour of the Corporation to the prejudice of such claim.
(2) Where a caution is lodged under section 61 of the Act of 1891 as extended by subsection (1) of this section in respect of any land, subsection (2) of the said section 61 shall not apply to such caution but in lieu thereof such caution shall, on the first registration of such land, be entered on the folio relating to such land as a caution lodged under section 69 of the Act of 1891 and shall have effect accordingly.
num: 44
paragraphs: —(1) A priority charge on unregistered land which is not a permanent improvement charge against such land shall, as between the mortgagor and puisne claimants against such land, be deemed to be charged on all and every (if any) estate and interest· in such land to which the mortgagor was at the date of the registration of such priority charge in the Registry of Deeds or becomes at any time thereafter beneficially entitled in indemnification of all puisne claims against such land by puisne claimants.
(2) All moneys paid to the Corporation by, or out of the share, estate, or interest of a puisne claimant (other than the mortgagor) against unregistered land on foot of a priority charge which is not a permanent improvement charge on such land shall be repaid to such puisne claimant by the mortgagor on demand with interest thereon at the rate of three per cent. per annum and until so repaid such moneys and the interest thereon shall be a debt due by the mortgagor to such puisne claimant and shall be deemed to be charged in favour of such puisne claimant on all and every (if any) estate and interest to which the mortgagor is beneficially entitled in such land or the proceeds of the sale thereof at the date of such payment to the Corporation.
num: 45
paragraphs: —(1) Where unregistered land is subject to a priority charge which is not a permanent improvement charge and a puisne claimant against such land is, at the date of registration of such priority charge, under the age of twenty-one years or of unsound mind, such puisne claimant shall be entitled at any time after such registration (but, in case such puisne claimant is under the age of twenty-one years at the time of such registration, not after he attains the age of twenty-five years) to obtain from the Circuit Court an order that the mortgagor do, by giving security, lodgment of money in Court or such other means as shall be approved of by the Court, give to such puisne claimant an indemnity which in the opinion of the Court adequately protects his puisne claim against the said priority charge and that in default of the mortgagor giving such indemnity within three months after the date of such order the said land be sold by the Court and the proceeds of such sale be applied according to law and that in any event the costs of such puisne claimant in relation to such order, the application therefor and all proceedings thereunder when taxed as between solicitor and client be paid by the mortgagor.
(2) An indemnity given by a mortgagor in pursuance of an order under the foregoing subsection shall be enforceable, with the leave of the Circuit Court and in such manner as that Court shall direct, whenever the priority charge in respect of which such indemnity was given is enforced to the prejudice of the puisne claim for the protection of which such indemnity was given or in such other circumstances as in the opinion of the said Court render it just and equitable that such indemnity should be enforced.
(3) The rights and benefits conferred on any puisne claimant by this section shall be in addition and without prejudice to any other rights or benefits to which such puisne claimant may be entitled under this Act.
(4) No order under subsection (1) of this section shall be granted without notice to the mortgagor unless the Court shall think proper to dispense with such notice.
num: 46
paragraphs: —Whenever the Corporation claims to be an incumbrancer on unregistered land by virtue of an instrument registered in the Registry of Deeds, it shall be lawful for the Corporation, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section 61 of the Act of 1891, to lodge with the registering authority a caution under the said section, and where such caution is so registered it shall be lawful for the registering authority, on the first registration of such land, to register the incumbrance created by such instrument as a burden affecting such land with such priority (if any) as is given to such incumbrance by this Act or otherwise by law.
num: 47
paragraphs: —(1) Any person who is a tenant for life within the meaning of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, of any land or has under those Acts the powers of a tenant for life in respect of any land may borrow from the Corporation and the Corporation may lend to any such person money for permanent improvement purposes on the security hereinafter authorised.
(2) Money borrowed under this section shall be paid by the Corporation to the trustees for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, of the settlement under which the borrower is tenant for life or has the powers of a tenant for life or to persons appointed under this section to receive such money, and such money shall be capital money arising under the said settlement within the meaning of the said Acts, and the purpose for which such money is borrowed under this section shall as respects such money be a purpose for which capital money may be applied under the said Acts, and the said Acts shall apply to the said money accordingly.
(3) Where money is proposed to be borrowed under this section and there are not trustees for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, of the settlement under which the borrower is tenant for life or has the powers of a tenant for life under those Acts and the rateable valuation of the land comprised in the said settlement does not exceed sixty pounds, the Minister for Agriculture may nominate two suitable persons (other than the borrower) to receive such money and thereupon the persons so nominated shall become and be trustees for the purposes of the said Acts of the said settlement in respect of such money but no further or otherwise
(4) Where money is borrowed under this section the borrower may charge all the land comprised in the settlement under which he is tenant for life or has the powers of a tenant for life with the repayment to the Corporation of the moneys so borrowed and the interest thereon and such charge shall have effect as a disposition under the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, and, where the circumstances are such that such charge, if made by any of the persons specified in subsection (1) of section 39 of this Act or in subsection (1) of section 42 of this Act, would be a priority charge, such charge shall be a priority charge and a permanent improvement charge and Chapter II or Chapter III (as the case may require) of this Part shall apply to such charge accordingly.
num: 48
paragraphs: —A personal representative of a deceased person shall be entitled to mortgage or charge the land of the said deceased person, by way of priority charge or otherwise, to secure the repayment to the Corporation of an advance, not exceeding four hundred pounds and interest thereon, made to him as such personal representative for any purpose for which the Corporation is entitled to make an advance to any person, and any such mortgage or charge so given or made by such personal representative shall be deemed to have been given or made in due course and for the purpose of administering the estate of the said deceased person.
num: 49
paragraphs: —(1) Whenever the Corporation, in exercise of the powers of sale conferred on it by the Conveyancing Act, 1881 , or otherwise as registered owner of a priority charge on registered land, sells the whole or any part of the land comprised in the folio of a register of freeholders on which the said priority charge is registered as a burden—
(a) the power of the Corporation to transfer land so sold to the purchaser thereof shall be exercisable as if no note as to equities appeared on such folio,
(b) such transfer shall have the same effect as if no note as to equities appeared on such folio, and
(c) upon the registration of the transferee, the said note as to equities shall be discharged in so far as it affects the land so transferred.
(2) Whenever the Corporation, in exercise of the powers of sale conferred on it by the Conveyancing Act, 1881 , or otherwise as a mortgagee under and by virtue of a priority charge on unregistered land, sells the whole or any part of such land,
(a) the power of the Corporation to convey land so sold to the purchaser thereof shall be exercisable so as to convey to the purchaser all the estate and interest of the mortgagor in such land,
(b) a conveyance of such land by the Corporation, in exercise of its powers as mortgagee, shall operate to convey to the purchaser thereof all the estate and interest of the mortgagor in such land, and
(c) such conveyance shall have the same effect and operation as if the mortgagor was at the date of the instrument of charge beneficially entitled to the estate or interest in the said land created by any agreement or undertaking to purchase entered into or deemed to have been entered into with the Land Commission by him or his predecessors in title in respect of the said land freed from all interests, incumbrances and claims other than those saved and excepted by section 42 of this Act, but subject to all conditions (whether statutory or contained in any such agreement or undertaking to purchase) which affected the mortgagor's estate or interest in the said land immediately before the sale thereof by the Corporation.
(3) The purchase money arising from a sale by the Corporation in exercise of its powers of sale (other than a sale by order or direction of the Court) of land subject to a priority charge shall, after discharge of prior incumbrances to which the sale is not made subject, if any, and over which such priority charge has not been given priority by the Acts or by this Act, be applied in discharge of the principal money and interest due on the security of the said priority charge and in payment of the costs, charges and expenses properly incurred by the Corporation as incident to the sale or any attempted sale of such land and the residue of such purchase money shall be paid to the mortgagor or other person or persons authorised to give receipts for the proceeds of sale of the property charged, provided always that in any case of doubt as to the person or persons entitled to receive such residue the Corporation shall pay the same into Court pursuant to the provisions of the Trustee Act, 1893 , or the provisions of that Act and of the County Officers and Courts (Ireland) Act, 1877 , as the case may be.
(4) If at any time after the money secured by a priority charge becomes due, the Corporation institutes proceedings in the High Court or in the Circuit Court to realise its security and obtains an order or decree for sale of the land charged or any part thereof in default of payment of the amount due to the Corporation, the Court may, at the request of the Corporation, direct that the land be sold by the Corporation out of Court (with liberty to the Corporation to bid at such sale) at any time after the expiration of the period fixed for payment by the said order or decree (notwithstanding that any account of debts and incumbrances, inquiry as to priorities or other account or inquiry directed by the said order or decree has not been taken or made at the time of sale) and the Court may fix the reserved price and the remuneration of the auctioneer and may direct that the residue of the purchase money produced by such sale, after payment and discharge thereout of all prior incumbrances to which the sale is not made subject, if any, and over which such priority charge has not been given priority by the Acts or this Act, and the principal money, interest and costs due to the Corporation together with the costs and expenses of and incident to the sale, be paid into Court to the credit of the suit and such direction may be given by the Court in the absence of any evidence that all or any parties interested in the land ordered to be sold are before the Court or are bound by the order or decree for sale and such sale shall not be deemed to be proceedings altogether out of Court.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting any powers of resumption of land conferred on the Land Commission by the Land Purchase Acts.
num: 50
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) land is offered for sale by the Land Commission under any statutory power in that behalf vested in them, and
(b) such land is subject to a charge in favour of the Corporation to secure the repayment of money, and
(c) such money is expressed in the instrument of charge to have been advanced for permanent improvement purposes and for no other purpose.
such land shall be sold subject to such charge in addition to any other charge, incumbrance or liability subject to which such land is required to be sold.
num: 51
paragraphs: —Notwithstanding anything contained in section 35 of the Land Act, 1927 (No. 19 of 1927),—
(a) a priority or other charge in favour of the Corporation created by an evicted tenant on a parcel of land purchased by him under the Land Purchase Acts shall be a good and valid charge on the said land,
(b) the Corporation may enforce such priority or other charge by any process or proceeding of law.
num: 52
paragraphs: —Every reference in any enactment (other than this Act) to a permanent improvement charge under the Acts shall be construed as a reference to a charge on land in favour of the Corporation to secure any money which is expressed in the instrument of charge to have been advanced for permanent improvement purposes.
num: 53
paragraphs: —Notwithstanding anything contained in any rules of court or in the Enforcement of Courts Orders Acts, 1926 to 1940, in any proceedings in any court of law for the recovery by the Corporation of any moneys owing to the Corporation whether for principal, interest, or otherwise in respect of any loan or advance made (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by the Corporation, a certificate in writing purporting to be sealed with the seal of the Corporation stating that a specified sum of money was due at the date of such certificate to the Corporation by a specified person on account of a specified loan or advance by the Corporation shall, at any time within one month after the date purported to be borne by such certificate and without proof of the seal of the Corporation or of the due affixing thereof to such certificate, be prima facie evidence that the sum specified in such certificate is and remains due and owing to the Corporation by the person and on the account specified in such certificate.
num: 54
paragraphs: —After the passing of this Act no loan shall be made by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland—
(a) for any of the purposes mentioned in section 4 of the Land Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1847, as extended by section 8 of the Public Money Drainage Act, 1850, or by the Landed Property Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1852, or by section 1 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1860, or by section 5 of the Landed Property Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1866, or
(b) under section 31 of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881 .
num: 55
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, appointments to situations in the service of the Corporation shall be made in accordance with such arrangements for securing the appointment of suitable and qualified persons as shall from time to time be determined by the directors, after consultation with the Commissioners, and such arrangements shall include—
(a) in the case of situations in the clerical grades, a provision prescribing, as an essential qualification for appointment, the possession of a knowledge of the Irish language of such a standard as the directors, with the concurrence of the Commissioners, may fix,
(b) in the case of other situations, a provision for giving to suitable and qualified candidates, who possess a knowledge of the Irish language of a standard not less than that fixed by the directors, credit in respect of such knowledge.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to—
(a) appointments made in the ordinary course of promotion, or
(b) appointments of casual employees, or
(c) appointments of industrial workers, or
(d) the hiring of persons to perform subordinate duties.
(3) In this section—
the expression “the directors” means the directors of the Corporation;
the expression “the Commissioners” means the Local Appointments Commissioners appointed under the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926).