There were certain points which the Minister said he would look into on the last occasion the Bill was before the House. I think we should now give him an opportunity of informing the House of the results of his researches.
Hire-Purchase Bill, 1946—Report and Final Stages.
Question proposed: "That the Bill be received for final consideration."
The principal matter that was under discussion on the Committee Stage and which led to the suggestion that the Report and Final Stage should be postponed until to-day was an amendment moved by Senator Douglas to Section 13. The effect of the amendment would be to give the court when deciding on the division of goods, which had been the subject of a hire-purchase agreement which had gone on the rocks, between the hirer of the goods and the owner of the goods, the right to take into account the length of time that instalments due under the agreement had remained unpaid after the due date. I expressed certain views against the adoption of the amendment in Committee. I have examined the matter further since last week and have decided that the amendment is not merely unnecessary, in so far as it adds nothing to the rights of an owner under the agreement, but is undesirable if it purports to add to these rights. A hire-purchase agreement may provide for the payment of interest on instalments which are not paid when due. If the agreement does provide for interest then the owner can exercise his rights under the Bill and on going to court for the recovery of the goods if instalments are in default, can claim under sub-section (1) of Section 13 the amount of money due to him, including any interest which may have accrued, and the court can take into account the amount due whether in respect of instalments or in respect of interest in deciding upon an equitable division of the goods under the section. If the owner fails to claim for interest on instalments then it is his own fault and there is no reason why we should deal with the position under the Bill.
Senator Douglas had in mind, however, the desirability of giving the owner the right to interest even though the agreement did not provide for it. That would be entirely wrong. There is no reason why we should give the owner of the goods an uncovenanted right to interest for which the agreement does not provide. The owner of goods purchased under a hire-purchase agreement would be no more entitled to interest on instalments if the agreement did not provide for it, than my butcher would be entitled to interest on his bill if I failed to pay the bill when presented. In so far as Senator Douglas's aim was to give the owner an uncovenanted right to interest his amendment is undesirable.
It is clear, however, that an agreement may provide for interest. If it does, then the owner can claim the amount of interest due and exercise his rights. If it does not provide for interest, then I think it would be wrong to give a right under this Bill which he had not got under the agreement.
I think Senator Douglas's view was that it would be undesirable to have a right for interest in the agreement and that the only occasion on which account should be taken of interest would be if the agreement came before the court because if the agreement provided for interest ab initio then the owner would have a right to claim interest without going to the court at all. It was in a desire to obviate that possibility that he was anxious that it should be inserted here. The Minister however has examined the situation and, in view of his statement, I do not think there is anything more to be said about it. I should like the Minister to assure us if in the interval he has satisfied himself from the legal point of view that the taking of physical possession of goods for repair is not a breach of the other section.
Where they are taken by agreement, there is no breach.
If they are taken without agreement it is merely an attempt by the owner to put over a quick one which he should not be allowed to do
Quite.
Question put and agreed to.
Agreed to take the Final Stage now.
Question—"That the Bill do now pass"—put and agreed to.
Bill ordered to be returned to the Dáil.