I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill arises from the fact that it is Government policy not to continue to rely on emergency statutes where it is appropriate to have permanent legislation. The present Bill implements that policyin connection with State guarantees. The Emergency Powers (No. 157) Order, which was made in 1942, and subsequent amending Orders, authorised the guarantee of repayment with interest of borrowings by certain State-sponsored bodies, mainly those which were set up during the emergency to provide for and assist in the maintenance of essential supplies.
The bodies whose borrowings are so guaranteed at present are set out in the Schedule to the Bill. A limit to the amount which may be guaranteed in each case has been specified by the relevant Orders, which require also that a statement be submitted to the Dáil every year containing particulars of the amount which may be guaranteed in each case, of the guarantees actually given and showing the State's contingent liability for principal as at the 1st April and the amount of any payment by the State in fulfilment of the guarantee.
It is desirable to retain permanently the power to give guarantees of this kind so that central importing and distributing agencies and other concerns functioning under State auspices may be facilitated in obtaining the financial accommodation necessary for their activities. As I have stated, the bodies listed in the schedule to the Bill are those whose borrowings are at present guaranteed under the Emergency Powers (No. 157) Order, as amended, and the maxima specified in the schedule are those provided for by the Orders with one exception, that is Fuel Importers (Éire) Ltd., where the maximum is being reduced from £6,000,000 to £4,000,000, which is considered to be sufficient in present circumstances.
The Bill will continue in force existing guarantees, but provision is being made in Section 9 for amending the Schedule by deleting a body, adding a new one or altering the maximum amount of the guarantee which may be given in any case. The amendment of the Schedule will be by Government Order. A significant change is being made in so far as before any Order is made adding a new body to the Schedule or increasing the maximum amount of the guarantee, such an Order must havebeen approved in draft by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas.
It will, therefore, be seen that the provisions of the Bill differ in three important respects from those of the basic Emergency Powers Order. Under the 1942 Order any State payment under a guarantee would be from voted moneys. As this Bill, when enacted, will become permanent legislation, it is considered preferable to provide for the fulfilment of a guarantee by an advance from the Central Fund, subject, however, to the recoupment to the Central Fund from voted moneys of any amount not repaid within 12 months.
Secondly, under Section 9, as I have already mentioned, an Order adding a new body to the Schedule or increasing the maximum amount that may be guaranteed in the case of a scheduled body cannot be made until a draft of the Order has been approved by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas. As I have already indicated, the position under the existing law is that a guarantee Order can be made without reference to the Dáil or Seanad and becomes effective forthwith, but like all Orders made under the Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act of 1946, it has to be presented to each House, either of which may by resolution annul it.
Section 8 of the Bill for the first time requires bodies availing of State guarantees to furnish an abstract of their accounts, together with the auditor's report thereon, to the Minister for Finance, who will present them in due course to each House of the Oireachtas. This provision will ensure that the full information will be available about the financial operations of the bodies whose borrowings are guaranteed by the State. The relevant Emergency Powers Orders will be revoked from the date on which the Bill comes into operation.