I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This Bill is capable of very simple explanation. A couple of years ago an application for a trade loan guarantee was received from a company which proposed to embark on certain house building activities on a large scale. The matter was considered, and I was advised that the application came within the scope of the Trade Loans Acts, as they then existed, and that, so far as the law was concerned, there was no difficulty in giving the guarantee. That opinion was supported by the fact that a precisely similar Act in operation in Great Britain had been interpreted to include housing activities within its scope. The question of law having been settled, the question of policy was considered. The Executive Council considered that there was no objection to using the Trade Loans (Guarantee) Act for facilitating housing operations where largescale operations were contemplated: operations for a large development in new areas, and the erection of a substantial number of houses. For practical purposes we fixed the number of houses at 200 as the minimum in the consideration of any scheme in respect of which an application for a trade loan might be made.
The particular application upon which these decisions were made was not proceeded with, but subsequently another application by a firm called Irish Homes Limited was made. It was referred to the Advisory Committee. It was favourably reported upon by the Committee, and it was approved of by me and by the Minister for Finance. The firm concerned was informed that the State guarantee would be given in respect of the loan to be raised. It was instructed in the ordinary way to proceed with the steps necessary to raise the loan. At the final stage, however, that is the preparation of the debenture deed, certain legal gentlemen were consulted in that connection, and between them differences of opinion arose as to whether there was, in fact, power to guarantee a loan that had to be raised for the purpose of financing a building scheme, although in the opinion of the officers of my Department and in my own opinion there was, in fact, no doubt. Although a similar Act had been interpreted in Great Britain in precisely the same way as we proposed to interpret it, the fact that these doubts were raised gave rise to certain complications, and after consultation with the Attorney-General it was decided to put the matter beyond all doubt by introducing this legislation which declares that the term "manufacturing undertaking," as used in the Trade Loans (Guarantee) (Amendment) Act, 1933, shall
"by way of extension of the meaning given to it by Section 1 of that Act, include and be deemed always to have included an undertaking of which the principal or only object is the erection and equipment in Saorstát Eireann of dwelling-houses, including the acquisition and development of land for that purpose, and the said Section 4 shall be construed and have effect and be deemed always to have had effect accordingly."
In connection with the form of the Bill, whereas the original application was under the Trade Loans (Guarantee) Act, 1924, and it was held in my Department that the application came within the Act of 1924, it was decided that, as legislation had to be introduced to remove these doubts that arose, the simplest way of doing that was by way of amendment of the 1933 Act by an extension of the term "manufacturing undertaking." There is nothing further than that in the Bill which I do not suppose will cause Deputies any difficulty.