The Gazette 1976

January-February 1976

GAZETTE

of Friendly Societies shall for the purposes of the Act be the Registrar of Building Societies as well (Section 85). Further provision is made to enable the Minister for Finance to make moneys available to Building Soci- eties by borrowing on foot of a Guarantee by that Minister of such borrowings, so that the total amount outstanding of any moneys, the repayment of which is guaranteed under the relevant Section, does not exceed twenty million pounds. Further provision is made that any moneys advanced under such a Guarantee must be paid within a two-year period. Section 87 : Provision is made that the financial year for the Building Societies shall be ended on the 31st December, and that all existing accounting dates be brought into line within a period of eighteen months. Section 88 : The usual provision is made that a Certificate of Incorporation or registration or other document relating to a Society purporting to be signed by the Registrar shall in the absence of any evidence to the contrary be deemed to have been signed by the Registrar and shall be received in evidence accordingly and also that a printed document purporting to be a copy of the Rules of the Society and certified by an Officer of the Society, to be a true copy of its regis- tered Rules, shall, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, be deemed to be a true copy of its Rules and shall be received in evidence accordingly. Section 91 of the Bill makes provision for the exemp- tion from stamp duties but this does not apply of course to Mortgages in excess of the £10,000,00 limit at the present time. Further provision is made in this part of the Bill for the punishment of offences and the breach of the Act and also provision in relation to Judgments against the Societies, the suspension and cancellation of registrations and the winding-up thereof, based on the provisions applicable under the Gomapnies Act, 1963. The final Section in the Bill is Section 96 which is a saving Section in respect of all things done and Instruments created under the repealed Legislation set out in the Schedule to the Act.

having regard to the demand for loans for house pur- chase and the financial needs of the housing programme, he may subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance make Regulations in relation to the purposes and amounts of loans by Societies and the conditions subject to which such loans may be made. This Section is also likely to be controversial delimiting as it does the powers of the Societies in the conduct of their business. Sections 76 and 77 in conjunction with Section 5 vest in the Minister virtual control of the Building Societies and their activity and, unlike the English Building Soci- eties Act of 1962 which spells out the Statutory limita- tions in detail, these Sections, as contemplated by the Bill, will enable the Minister to control the affairs and activities of Building Societies, their lending policy, the rates of interest on loans, the amount of advances and also all other matters relevent to national housing policy. As to how these Sections will in fact operate would be mere speculation and the future of the Building Society movement will in the final analysis depend on the confidence shown in it by the people as an attractive investment, giving a realistic return with security and ease of withdrawal. Th e Bill provides certain criteria which must be observed as security for loans on freehold and leasehold Estates and the valuation of the security for loans. Provision is made in the Bill to continue the prohi- bition of Building Societies from making advances on the security of freehold or leasehold Estate which is subject to a prior Mortgage unless the prior Mortgage is in favour of the Society making the loan (Section 80). There is an interesting provision in the Bill at Section 82 which lays down strict Rules for Societies to account to the Mortgagor after the realisation of a Mortgage within twenty-one days from the completion of the sale. Strangely enough no mention is made of puisne incum- brancers in the Section and the liability of the Societies to account to second and subsequent Mortgagees who may be entitled to the surplus rather than the Mort- gagor. This particular Section appears to be based on Section 36 of the English Building Societies Act, 1962, and there is a Sub-section in the English Act which would appear to give some authority to Building Soci- eties to account as Mortgagees in possession realising the property to see that the rights of puisne incumbrancers are protected. There appears to be no specific provision in the Sec- tion or in the English Section enabling Societies to lodge the proceeds of sale in Court under the provisions of the Trustee Act. It may well be that this right exists and express power to a Building Society would be very helpful to Societies, where difficult problems between contending puisne incumbrancers arise and in cases where liability is challenged by the Mortgagor. The Societies are bound to keep a record of all loans and all other relevant details in connection with the making of advances (Section 83). Section 84 provides for the operation of a receipt under the seal of the Society in lieu of a re-Conveyance both in registered and in unregistered land in like man- ner, as heretofore operated, under the provisions of Section 42 of the 1874 Act (Section 84). By way of general comment a number of provisions in the Bill bring Building Societies into line with the relevant provisions in the Companies' Act, 1963, and in this connection reference should be made to the expla- natory memorandum published with the Bill. We now pass to Part 7 of the Bill which is the final or tidying up part of the Bill dealing with miscellaneous ••ems. This part of the Bill provides that the Registrar 8

SAINT LUKE'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND

Gifts or legacies to assist this Fund are most gratefully recived by the Secretary, Esther Byrne, at "Oakland", Highfield Road, Rathgar Dublin 6. Telephone 976491. This Fund does not employ canvassers or collectors and is not associated with any other body in f und raising.