Economic and Monetary Union
Chapter I
General
[SU5] 5. - (1) In this Part -
"the Act of 1969" means the Decimal Currency Act, 1969;
"conversion rate" means the irrevocably fixed conversion rate adopted for the
currency of each participating Member State by the Council according to the
first sentence of Article 109 l (4) of the Treaty;
"the Council Regulation of 1998" means Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3
May 1998 on the introduction of the euro;
"euro unit" means the currency unit referred to in the second sentence of
Article 2 of the Council Regulation of 1998;
"the Irish pound unit" means the unit of the Irish pound as duly defined on
the 31st day of December, 1998;
"participating Member States" means Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland;
"transitional period" means the period beginning on the 1st day of January,
1999, and ending on the 31st day of December, 2001;
"the Treaty" means the Treaty Establishing the European Community done at Rome
on the 25th day of March, 1957 (as amended by the Treaty on European Union done
at Maastricht on the 7th day of February, 1992).
(2) A word or expression which is used in this Act and is also used in the
Council Regulation of 1998 has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same
meaning in this Act as it has in that Regulation.
Chapter II
Euro Currency System
[SU6] 6. - (1) The Central Bank Act, 1989, is hereby amended by the
substitution for section 24 (as amended by section 13 of the Central Bank Act,
1998) of the following:
''24. - By virtue of Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998
on the introduction of the euro, from the 1st day of January, 1999 -
| (a) |
the currency of the State is the euro, and |
| (b) |
the Irish pound unit (within the meaning of the Economic and Monetary
Union Act, 1998) is a subdivision of the euro." |
(2) The Act of 1969 is hereby amended in section 2 by the substitution of
the following for subsection (2):
''(2) The Irish pound and the penny shall be legal denominations or units
of money in Irish currency."
[SU7] 7. - During the transitional period and notwithstanding section 25 of
the Central Bank Act, 1989, contracts may, by virtue of Article 8 of the
Council Regulation of 1998, be made, entered into, done and executed in the
euro unit notwithstanding the fact that notes and coins denominated in euro or
in cent are not in circulation.
Chapter III
Legal Tender and Legal Tender Amounts
[SU8] 8. - In this Chapter "earlier operative date" has the meaning assigned
by section 9.
[SU9] 9. - (1) Notes and coins denominated in Irish pounds or multiples or
subdivisions thereof shall retain legal tender status until the 30th day of
June, 2002, or such earlier date (in this Chapter referred to as the "earlier
operative date") as the Minister may specify by order.
(2) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section
before the earlier operative date.
(3) Where it is proposed to make an order under this section, including any
order amending or revoking an order to which subsection (1) relates, a draft of
the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall
not be made until a resolution approving of it has been passed by each such
House.
(4) Section 118(3) of the Central Bank Act, 1989, is hereby repealed with
effect from the earlier operative date or, where there is no such date, the
30th day of June, 2002.
[SU10] 10. - (1) No person, other than the Central Bank of Ireland and such
persons as may be designated by the Minister by order, shall be obliged to
accept more than 50 coins denominated in euro or in cent in any single
transaction.
(2) The following provisions are hereby repealed with effect from the
earlier operative date or, where there is no such date, the 30th day of June,
2002:
| (a) |
sections 8 to 10 of the Act of 1969, |
| (b) |
section 15 of the Decimal Currency Act, 1970. |
(3) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section.
[SU11] 11. - (1) The Minister may provide coins denominated in euro or in cent
and may set out by order the technical specifications, dimensions, composition
and design or designs of such coins subject to such specifications complying
with the denominations and technical specifications which the Council lays down
in accordance with the second sentence of Article 105a(2) of the Treaty.
(2) Coins provided under subsection (1) shall be issued by the Minister
through the Central Bank of Ireland, subject to approval by the European
Central Bank of the volume of the issue and, with effect from the commencement
of this provision, coins issued under Part III shall be subject to such
approval.
(3) Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act of 1969 are hereby repealed with effect
from the earlier operative date or, where there is no such date, the 30th day
of June, 2002.
(4) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section.
[SU12] 12. - Section 14 of the Act of 1969 is hereby amended by the
substitution of the following for subsection (1):
''(1) Except coins issued under this Act, the Decimal Currency Act,
1990, and the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998, and coins denominated in
euro or in cent and issued by one or more of the other participating Member
States, no piece of metal or mixed metal of any purported nominal face value
whatsoever shall be made or issued in the State as a coin or a token for money
or as purporting (whether expressly or by implication) that the holder thereof
is entitled to demand any value denoted thereon."
[SU13] 13. - All sums required for the provision of coins denominated in euro
or in cent and provided under section 11 shall be defrayed out of the general
fund of the Central Bank and debited therein to the currency reserve.
[SU14] 14. - The proceeds of every issue of coins denominated in euro or in
cent and provided under section 11 shall be paid into the general fund of the
Central Bank of Ireland and carried therein to the credit of the currency
reserve.
Chapter IV
Withdrawal of Legal Tender Notes and Coins
[SU15] 15. - (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may by order call in
coins of any particular composition, date or denomination -
(a) issued under the repealed enactments, or
(b) issued under the Decimal Currency Acts, 1969 to 1990, or
(c) issued under this Act, or
(d) circulating in the State and issued by one or more of the other
participating Member States which are comparable to coins issued under this Act,
and the Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section.
(2) The Minister shall not make an order under this section which relates
to matters within the competence of the European Central Bank by or under
paragraph 2 of Article 105a of the Treaty except with the consent of that Bank.
(3) The following shall apply in respect of every order under subsection (1)
:
| (a) |
the order shall provide for its coming into operation on a particular date (in this subsection referred to as the "withdrawal date") not being earlier
than 6 months after the date of its making, |
| (b) |
the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by
either such House before the withdrawal date, the order shall be annulled accordingly. |
(4) Section 12 of the Act of 1969 is hereby repealed.
(5) In this section "repealed enactments" means the Coinage Act, 1926,
(including that Act as amended by the Emergency Powers (No 140) Order, 1942,
and by sections 58 and 60 of the Central Bank Act, 1942) or the Coinage Act,
1950.
[SU16] 16. - The Act of 1969 is hereby amended by the substitution of the
following for section 11:
''11. - The Central Bank may, if it thinks fit so to do, redeem coins -
| (a) |
issued under the repealed enactments, or |
| (b) |
issued under the Decimal Currency Acts, 1969 to 1990, or |
| (c) |
issued under the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998, or |
| (d) |
circulating in the State and issued by one or more of the other participating Member States which are comparable to coins issued under Economic
and Monetary Union Act, 1998,
|
and all sums required for that purpose shall be defrayed out of the
general fund of the Central Bank and debited therein to the currency reserve."
[SU17] 17. - Section 15 of the Act of 1969 shall apply to coins issued under
this Act and coins circulating in the State and issued by one or more of the
other participating Member States which are comparable to coins issued under
this Act.
[SU18] 18. - Section 121 of the Central Bank Act, 1989, is hereby amended by
the addition of the following subsection after subsection 3:
''(4) The Central Bank may continue to redeem Irish pound notes
issued under section 44 of the Central Bank Act, 1971, or any other note which
was, immediately prior to the earlier operative date (within the meaning
assigned by section 9 of the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998) or, where
there is no such date, the 30th day of June, 2002, a legal tender note in the
State and issued under the Currency Act, 1927, or under any subsequent Act."
[SU19] 19. - Section 122 of the Central Bank Act, 1989, is hereby amended by
the substitution of ''with the authority of the European Central Bank and
subject to such conditions as to time, place, manner and order of presentation
as the Bank thinks fit" for ''subject to such time, place, manner and order of
presentation as it thinks fit" and the said section, as so amended, is set out
in the Table to this section.
TABLE
122. - The Bank may, with the authority of the European Central Bank
and subject to such conditions as to time, place, manner and order of
presentation as the Bank thinks fit, call in any legal tender notes issued
under this Act, or under the Currency and Central Bank Acts, 1927 to 1971, or
any of those Acts, on the terms of paying for such notes on presentation in the
same manner as if they were being redeemed under section 121.
Chapter V
Miscellaneous
[SU20] 20. - The Copyright Act, 1963, is hereby amended in section 57 by the
insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1):
''(1A) Subsection (1) of this section and Part II of this Act are
without prejudice to the copyright of the European Central Bank in legal tender
notes denominated in the euro unit.
(1B) This section shall apply to any national face of coins issued
under section 11 of the Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998."
[SU21] 21. - (1) Any form set out in a statute or statutory instrument passed
or made before the 1st day of January, 2002, and containing a reference to a
sum of money in the Irish pound unit (whether expressly or by reference to
section 11 of the Decimal Currency Act, 1970) may be modified by, or with the
express permission of, the authority issuing it so as to show also the
corresponding amount in the euro unit in accordance with the conversion rate.
(2) Any form set out in a statute or statutory instrument passed or made
before the 1st day of January, 2002, which is designed to accommodate
references to sums of money wholly or partly in the Irish pound unit (whether
expressly or by reference to section 11 of the Decimal Currency Act, 1970) may
be modified by, or with the express permission of, the authority issuing it so
as to enable it to accommodate references to sums of money wholly or partly in
the euro unit.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) are without prejudice to any other provision
authorising the modification of any such form.
[SU22] 22. - As of the 1st day of January, 1999, the rate known as the Dublin
Interbank Offered Rate shall be replaced by the rate known as the Euro
Interbank Offered Rate.
[SU23] 23. - (1) The Minister may by order, in respect of one or more than one
date and under such terms and conditions as the Minister determines,
redenominate into the euro unit all or part of the outstanding debt duly issued
by or on behalf of the State under the law of the State and denominated in the
Irish pound unit, and the Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under
this subsection but shall not revoke an order after its effective date.
(2) (a) (i) The Minister may redenominate into the euro unit all or part of
the outstanding debt duly issued by or on behalf of the State and denominated
in any national currency unit, where the Member State in the national currency
unit of which the debt is denominated has redenominated into the euro unit all
or part of its general government debt denominated in its national currency
unit.
(ii) The terms and conditions in accordance with which the Minister may
effect a redenomination under subparagraph (i) shall be those laid down in the
law of the Member State under which the debt was issued.
(iii)Prior notice in the Iris Oifigiúil of an intention to effect a
redenomination under subparagraph (i) shall be given by the Minister at least
one month in advance of such redenomination.
(b) An issuer of debt other than the State may, under the terms and conditions
laid down in an order under subsection (1), as if such issuer were the State,
redenominate into the euro unit bonds and other forms of securitised debt
negotiable in the capital markets, and money market instruments issued by them
under the law of the State and denominated in any national currency unit, but
only where the Member State in the national currency unit of which the debt is
denominated has redenominated into the euro unit all or part of its general
government debt denominated in its national currency unit.
(3) (a) Where, in respect of its borrowing, a State body and all other
relevant parties to a facility agreement, denominated in any national currency
unit, agree to redenominate into the euro unit the currency of the agreement
and agree to redenominate the amounts specified therein and to adjust them to
convenient euro-denominated sums, the consent of either or both the Minister
and any other Minister of the Government which, but for this subsection, would
be duly required shall not be required to such adjustments or to any other
consequential adjustments to the agreement concerned arising therefrom or
pursuant to the introduction of the euro but only if the aggregate amount of
borrowings by the State body concerned, including borrowings by way of
negotiable debt instruments, does not exceed the limit (if any) on such
borrowings to which a Minister of the Government has already consented.
(b) Where the Minister has issued a guarantee in respect of the borrowings of
a State body and the contract in respect of those borrowings is amended
pursuant to paragraph (a), the consent of the Minister and of any other
Minister of the Government to an equivalent change in the guarantee shall not
be required but only if the aggregate amount of the borrowings of the State
body concerned, including borrowings by way of negotiable debt instruments,
which are already guaranteed by the Minister is not exceeded.
(c) In this section "State body" means a body whose borrowing is subject to
the consent of a Minister of the Government.
[SU24] 24. - (1) In this section and sections 25 and 26 -
"articles of association" in the case of a company which is not a company
within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Companies Act, 1963, includes its
charter, bye-laws or other constituent documents;
"company" means a company within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Companies
Act, 1963, and any body corporate within the meaning of section 377(1) of that
Act;
"share" includes share of stock in share capital of a company.
(2) (a) Where the share capital of a company or any part of such capital is
redenominated into euro after the transitional period under Article 14 (which
relates to the reading, at the end of the transitional period, of references in
legal instruments to national currency units as references to the euro unit) of
the Council Regulation of 1998, such redenomination shall be effected at the
whole or any part of the total issued or to be issued share capital, including
each class of the foregoing (where any separate classes exist).
(b) The redenominated nominal share par value shall be calculated by dividing
the total redenominated amount determined in accordance with paragraph (a) by
the total number of shares authorised, issued or to be issued, or in the
relevant class, as appropriate, so that the nominal value is expressed in
unrounded euro amounts.
[SU25] 25. - (1) This section shall apply -
(a) to every company having a share capital, and
(b) notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Companies Acts,
1963 to 1990, or in the memorandum or articles of association of a company to
which this section applies.
(2) Where the whole or part of the total authorised share capital of a
company, the total issued share capital or to be issued share capital of a
company including any class of the foregoing (where any separate classes exist)
is, in its memorandum or articles of association, expressed in Irish pounds or
in the currency of another participating Member State immediately before the
1st day of January, 1999, such share capital, class or part thereof may be
redenominated into the euro unit in accordance with subsection (3).
(3) (a) Subject to subsection (5) and paragraph (b), the shareholders of a
company may by ordinary resolution -
(i) passed at a general meeting, or
(ii) if the articles of association of the company so permit, in writing
signed by all the members of the company for the time being entitled to attend
and vote on such resolution in accordance with section 141(8) of the Companies
Act, 1963,
determine that the whole or part of the total authorised share capital of a
company, the total issued share capital or to be issued share capital of a
company including any class of the foregoing shall be redenominated into the
euro unit at the conversion rate and converted in accordance with Article 4,
and rounded in accordance with Article 5, of Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97
of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro.
(b) The redenominated nominal share par value shall be calculated by dividing
the total redenominated amount determined in accordance with paragraph (a) by
the total number of shares authorised, issued or to be issued, or in the
relevant class, as appropriate, so that the nominal value is expressed in
unrounded euro amounts.
(4) A reduction in the nominal value of issued share capital under this
section shall be deemed not to be a reduction of share capital within the
meaning of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990.
(5) Any redenomination pursuant to a shareholders' resolution under
subsection (3) shall not in any way change the rights, privileges or advantages
that were held by, or obligations, restrictions or limitations imposed on,
shareholders prior to the passing of the resolution in relation to dividends,
voting at meetings or other matters.
(6) A company shall send a printed copy of any resolution under subsection
(3) to the Registrar of Companies within 15 days of its passing and the
Registrar shall duly record every such resolution.
(7) (a) Where a company fails to send a printed copy of any resolution under
subsection (3) to the Registrar of Companies in accordance with subsection (6),
it shall be guilty of an offence and be liable, on summary conviction, to a
fine not exceeding £250.
(b) Where an offence under this subsection is committed by a body corporate
and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or
approval of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person being
a director, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or any other
person who was acting or purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as
well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be
proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the
first-mentioned offence.
(8) This section, other than subsections (6), (7) and this subsection,
shall cease to have effect from the 1st day of January, 2002.
[SU26] 26. - (1) This section shall apply -
(a) to every company having a share capital, and
(b) notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Companies Acts,
1963 to 1990, or in the memorandum or articles of association of a company to
which this section applies.
(2) Following any redenomination of share capital or any part thereof into
the euro unit pursuant to section 25, or where at the end of the transitional
period Article 14 (which relates to the reading, at the end of the transitional
period, of references in legal instruments to national currency units as
references to the euro unit) of the Council Regulation of 1998 applies, the
authorised and issued, or to be issued, share capital and the nominal par value
of shares in a company may be further adjusted to achieve nominal share values
considered appropriate to the then share price in the euro unit (in this
section referred to as "renominalisation") in accordance with subsections (3)
and (4) but such adjustments shall not reduce the nominal value of any share to
zero.
(3) A company to which this section applies may by ordinary resolution -
(a) passed by the shareholders in general meeting, or
(b) if the articles of association so permit, in writing signed by all the
members of the company for the time being entitled to attend and vote on such
resolution in accordance with section 141(8) of the Companies Act, 1963,
alter the provisions of the memorandum and articles of association to effect
renominalisation, provided there is an appropriate adjustment in distributable
reserves (being profits available for distribution to which section 45(2) of
the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1983, relates) or through the introduction of
additional capital, which shall be properly accounted for, and where there is
not a decrease in share capital.
(4) (a) Where the result of the renominalisation by virtue of subsection (2)
would be a decrease in the whole or part of the authorised and issued share
capital, or in a class of shares, a special resolution shall be required to be
passed -
(i) in the case of the authorised and issued share capital, by the
shareholders, or
(ii) in the case of a class of share, by the shareholders of the class,
to the effect that there shall be transferred to a fund to be
known as the Capital Conversion Reserve Fund, an amount equal to the aggregate
amount of the capital reduced as a result of the renominalisation in accordance
with subsection (2), and that the amount so transferred does not represent more
than 10 per cent of the reduced share capital.
(b) The provisions of the Companies Act, 1963, which relate to the reduction
of the share capital of a company shall, except as provided in this section,
apply as if the Capital Conversion Reserve Fund were paid up share capital of
the company concerned.
(5) Any renominalisation of the nominal value of issued share capital under
this section shall be deemed not to be a reduction of share capital within the
meaning of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990.
(6) Any renominalisation of shares under this section shall not of itself
affect or vary the obligation of a shareholder to pay the amount, if any,
unpaid on such shares.
(7) Any renominalisation under this section shall not in any way change the
rights, privileges or advantages that were held by, or obligations,
restrictions or limitations imposed on, shareholders prior to the passing of
the resolution in relation to dividends, voting at meetings or other matters.
(8) A company shall send a printed copy of any resolution under subsection
(3) or (4) to the Registrar of Companies within 15 days of the passing of any
such resolution and the Registrar shall duly record every such resolution so
sent.
(9) (a) Where a company fails to comply with subsection (8) it shall be
guilty of an offence and be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not
exceeding £250.
(b) Where an offence under this subsection is committed by a body corporate
and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or
approval of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person being
a director, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or any other
person who was acting or purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as
well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be
proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the
first-mentioned offence.
(10) The Capital Conversion Reserve Fund may, notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, be applied by the company concerned in paying up
unissued shares of that company (other than redeemable shares) to be allotted
to shareholders of the company as fully paid bonus shares.
(11) This section, other than subsections (8), (9), (10) and this
subsection, shall cease to have effect from the 30th day of June, 2003.
[SU27] 27. - The Central Bank Act, 1989, is hereby amended in section 134 -
(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):
''(4A) No direction under this section shall be made by the Minister in
respect of the performance of any function or duty of the Bank, or the exercise
of any power by the Bank, required by or under the Treaty or the Statute.",
and
(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (7):
'' (7) In this section -
'foreign currency' has the same meaning as it has in the
Exchange Control Act, 1954;
'the Treaty' and 'the Statute' have the same meanings,
respectively, as are assigned to them for the purposes of this Act by
subsection (8) (inserted by the Central Bank Act, 1998) of section 23."
[SU28] 28. - The Central Bank Act, 1997, is hereby amended -
(a) in section 10, by the addition of the following subsection after
subsection (2):
''(3) In the performance of any function or duty by the Bank, or the
exercise of any power by the Bank, required by or under the Treaty or the
Statute, subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply.",
and
(b) in section 13, by the insertion of the following subsection after
subsection (2):
''(2A) (a) In the performance of any function or duty by the Bank, or the
exercise of any power by the Bank, required by or under the Treaty or the
Statute, subsections (1)(b) and (2) shall not apply.
(b) In this subsection 'the Treaty' and 'the Statute' have the same
meanings, respectively, as are assigned to them for the purposes of this Act by
subsection (2) (inserted by the Central Bank Act, 1998) of section 24."
[SU29] 29. - (1) The Minister may make regulations for enabling this Part to
have full effect.
(2) Regulations under this Part may contain such incidental, supplementary
and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be expedient for any
purpose of this Part.