I move:
That the Cork Gas Order, 1961, proposed to be made by the Minister for Transport and Power and laid in draft before Dáil Éireann on the 17th day of June, 1961, under subsection (4) of section 10 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, be approved.
The Cork Gas Consumers' Company is a statutory body set up under a private Act of 1868 and is not subject to the ordinary provisions of company law. Any alterations in the statutory provisions relating to the company have to be effected by means of a Special Order under Section 10 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, which enables me to grant additional powers to the company. Before the Order is made, it has to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Houses of the Oireachtas may by resolution approve the draft Order in the form submitted or approve it with modifications or additions. When such approval is given I may make the Order in the form in which it has been approved.
Before I may make such an Order, it must be publicised in order to give an opportunity to all concerned to make objections. If objections made are not either accepted or withdrawn by the objectors I may direct the holding of a Public Inquiry before making the Order.
Notice of the proposed Order was published in the Iris Oifigiúil and in the newspapers and copies were sent to the local authorities in Cork and to other public bodies who might be concerned. Two objections were made by the Cork Workers' Council. One was withdrawn and by agreement the draft Order was amended to meet the other objection. In the absence of any other objections and as there was nothing repugnant to the public interest in the Order, I recommend it to the House for approval. The Order has already been approved by Resolution of the Seanad. In the debate in that House, I was surprised to find objections raised to the reasonable provisions of the Order on grounds of what I can only describe as doctrinaire socialism. It may, perhaps, be helpful to the Dáil if I deal in some detail with the main objections raised in the Seanad. Objection was taken to the increase of the company's capital from £150,000 to £750,000; to the issue of bonus shares and to the building up of reserves which make that possible. The assets of the Cork Gas Company are now valued at £574,000 and some £176,000 further capital additions are planned for the near future to enable the company to give better service and to complete on better terms with electricity and other forms of fuel.
The £150,000 share capital was fixed in 1868 and is now entirely unreal. The reserve built up reflects very little more than the change in the value since then of real property generally. The extent to which the increased share capital will be met by new subscriptions or by bonus shares is entirely a matter for the company. I can see nothing wrong in the issue of bonus shares in respect of the accumulated capital assets which are the property of the existing shareholders. It is largely a book transaction. Unless the earnings of the company are increased there can in the long run be no increase in dividends. If by any chance the law was amended to provide for no-par shares as has been recommended by many authorities these objections would cease to have any meaning at all.
The limitation of £10,000 on the amount of reserve funds also dates from 1847 and is now unreal. Moreover, the accumulation of reserves in our situation is a useful and desirable form of saving. In present circumstances, the provision of a ceiling on the reserves which may be accumulated by the company serves no useful purpose.
Reference was made also to the need for controlling the charges and profits of the company. In present circumstances, there is no likelihood that the Cork Gas Company would be able to make excessive profits. The days when it enjoyed a real monopoly are gone and it must now face intense competition with electricity as well as with solid fuel and oil appliances. In any case I have power under the Gas Regulation Act, 1957, to fix maximum charges by Order following consideration by an advisory committee. If ever the circumstances warranted that course I should have no hesitation about establishing the necessary advisory committee.
The normal existing provisions whereby consumers are responsible for meters are clarified in the Order. I know that in some circumstances rifling of gas meters has caused hardship but human nature being what it is, it would be impracticable to shift the responsibility from the consumers. The company have assured me that they will deal with genuine hardship in such cases with generosity and discretion. They find it pays to be kind in this context.
Finally, I must say that the changes which are being made by this Order are similar to the changes which, if the company were a private one, a wise board would seek to have made in their Articles and Memorandum under the Companies Acts. They are aimed at the prudent and useful deployment and expansion of the company's resources in the interests of the shareholders and public alike and no one could take serious exception to them who does not hold the now out of date view that all profits are immoral.
