I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft:—
Trustee (Authorised Investments) Order, 1985
a copy of which Order in draft was laid before the House on 12th February, 1985."
The chief purpose of the Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act, 1958, is to protect the interests of the beneficiaries of trusts by providing trustees with a range of suitable investment outlets. The Act lists the investments in which trustees may place trust funds unless the instrument; if any, setting up the trust expressly forbids them to do so. The trust deed may, of course, provide wider powers of investment but many trusts and analogous funds are restricted to the investments authorised under the Act. The list of authorised trustee investments is kept under active review and changes are proposed as appropriate.
The Minister for Finance is empowered under section 2 of the Act to amend the list of authorised investments by order. A draft of the Order must be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and a motion of approval of the draft must be passed by each House. This is a working example of the kind of order to which we referred on the previous item of business.
As part of this process I am now asking the House to approve a draft order authorising trustees to invest trust funds in interest-bearing deposit accounts with Barclays Bank (Ireland) Limited. This will bring to 35 the number of licensed banks in which trust funds may be deposited. The Central Bank, the banking supervisory authority, have recommended that this bank should be named as an authorised trustee investment. Such recommendations by the Central Bank are based on strict criteria covering the standing of the bank, its capital level and its record of compliance with Central Bank licensing and supervisory standards. In addition the institution must have gross assets and gross domestic assets in excess of the minimum qualification of £25 million.
The Minister for Finance is obliged to consult with the following persons in regard to the terms of any order he proposes to make under the Act: a judge of the High Court nominated by the Chief Justice; the Governor of the Central Bank; the public trustee; the chairman of the Irish Bank's Standing Committee; the President of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland; and the President of the Stock Exchange, Irish. These statutory reference have all been consulted and no objections have been raised to the proposed addition.
I am satisfied that the bank named in the draft order is suitable for the investment of trust funds and I therefore commend the motion for approval by the House.
